Green Hill University (Sonadow College AU)

Chapter 9

Sonic

"Wow, really screwed the pooch on that one, didn't you?" Knuckles, just going to town on a plate of enchiladas, bluntly responded to Sonic's recounting of his less-than-stellar class. The two of them met up for lunch at the caf on campus, waiting for Tails to join them. Knuckles was done for the day, and didn't have to go to work for another few hours.

"Well geez, thanks. Glad to know I can count on you to cheer me up." Sonic replied, unamused, sipping his drink with a slight frown. He'd considered getting a bite to eat as well, but he always had trouble eating when he felt like this. "Can I at least count on you to help me figure a way out of this hole I've dug myself into? Honestly, at this point, I just need the guy to not blow up everytime we meet. We have to work together enough to pass this class."

"Can you ask the professor to switch you guys for other partners?" Knuckles was always the best person to turn to for advice—straight to the point, always looking for solutions.

"Nah, I may be on even worse terms with him than with Mr. Short, Dark And Angsty," Sonic quipped, balancing on the back two legs of his chair.

"Have you considered just dropping the class? I'm sure there are other classes you can take to fulfill credit needs, and it'll nip the problem right in the bud." That was an option; it wasn't too late to drop classes with the deadline weeks away.

"Yeah, I could, but you know me - I don't back down from a challenge. Besides, noon classes are too sweet to give up, dude." Wouldn't want to risk the chance of having to wake up before 11 a.m. "And any class where part of my final project is just learning to use a kitchen knife and patch up a shirt seems easy enough for even me to get through."

"Point taken," Knuckles responded, nodding.

"I just don't understand how I could make a guy I've known for literally less than a week so violently hate me. I don't even know him beyond his first name."

"You know, Sonic, there's probably not much you can do. Some people are just like this. You can't make everyone happy, and some people would prefer to keep it that way. So, I suggest you either drop the class, or just stay out of Shadow's way, like he told you." Knuckles had already scarfed down most of his food, and seemed to be ready for round two."Want me to get you anything? I think they have chili dogs."

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks though."

Knuckles, skeptical at his utter disinterest towards a free chili dog, gave him a friendly pat on the back.

"Hey, don't let it get to you dude. I know you're trying, and hey, you'll always be a golden boy in my eyes." Despite his tougher exterior, Knux was probably the most considerate and thoughtful of Sonic's friends.

"Hey, you don't gotta convince me of anything. I know I'm perfect," he insisted, smoothing his quills back and flexing for effect. With a chuckle, Knuckles departed for the buffet, giving Sonic more time to revel in his perfection.

If he was being honest, though, he felt semi-perfect at best. Sure, he wasn't always loved by everyone, but even then, he was at least on okay terms with most people. Take Knuckles; the two of them couldn't stand each other at first, but now they'd do damn near anything for each other. This guy, though, just wasn't giving him anything to work with.

Everyone tended to like Sonic. He always tried his hardest to make sure he was the cool guy people could depend on. It sucked being proved wrong. He generally didn't care about what randos thought, but this Shadow guy seemed to hate his very existence. It...hurt. He had to get Shadow to at the very least tolerate him. Maybe if he got to actually know Sonic...