“So let me get this straight;” Nutty said the next morning, “me and you have to stay in this place because you need an education?” Dagger sighed. “Yeah, I have to go to school for six and a half hours by law. I get that learning is important, but I think I can speak for all teens when I say ‘hard pass’!” Nutty laughed. “Based on yesterday, I’d say you can’t speek for any teens except yourself! The way that girl yelled at you was hilarious!” Dagger flushed. “You saw that?” he moaned. Nutty shrugged. “Even if I hadn't in first-person, the attack was on a TV I spied through a window. I can’t believe you let yourself get shoved by a girl, and that you let them put it on TV!” “You say that as if I had a say on what they put on their news channel.” Dagger noted. “If I had any say, they wouldn’t show any clip of me on the news. The last thing I need is extra attention.” Nutty raised an eyebrow. “You mean you’re not doing this for fame?” “Are you?” “No, I’m doing this because it’s too boring at home. Fame is a close second.” “Since I’m going to school here,” Dagger explained, changing the subject at the notice of the time, “we’ve got to get a place. That means I need a job. The real question is are there any places that accept clones?” . . . Dagger sprinted across the hallway towards his first class. Eyes drifted in his direction as he glided forwards. The hallways were narrow, and every-so-often you’d see graffiti on the walls. He made it just as the bell rang. All eyes were on him as he looked for a seat. Dagger made a face as he realized the only seat was right beside that girl from yesterday. With a sigh, he walked over and went to sit. Thinking fast, the girl put her books on the seat. “That seat is taken,” she said, glaring at him. “There are no other seats,” Dagger shot back. “Besides, books don’t take priority over living beings.” “The seat is taken!” she insisted. “It means you can’t sit there!” The teacher came from the front of the room. “Raelyn, don’t be rude.” She looked over at Dagger. “I’m sorry. She’s not usually like this. You may take a seat.” Once the teacher was back at the front of the room, Dagger felt a hard fist in his shoulder. If things kept up like this, things were going to be rough. “Now, turn to page 30 in the textbooks.” The female teacher said, writing on the board. When she turned back around, everyone had their textbooks out except Dagger, who was staring blankly at the writing on the board. “Young man, I told you to take out your textbook. Page 30, please.” Raelyn bumped Dagger again. “Take out your textbook.” Dagger looked at her with a confused expression. “I’m sorry, what?” “Your textbook!” she whispered. “You act like you were born yesterday.” “Try two weeks ago,” he replied. Raelyn scoffed. “Very funny,” she said as she reached into his desk and dug out his history textbook. “Page 30, and don’t waste anymore time.” Dagger opened his textbook, noting that he had a lot to learn about high school. . . . Dagger sat isolated at a lunch table in the corner. He hadn’t thought about all the murmuring from people around him wondering who he was, he had only thought about how much of a drag it was going to be to do this every day. The food in the cafeteria was pretty tasteless, and Dagger had lost his appetite. Suddenly, Dagger picked up on a conversation a couple of tables away. He peered over, trying not to make it obvious that he was watching, but listening eagerly. They were talking about hime, to his surprise. The table was all girls, he noted. He noticed one specifically: Raeyln. Dagger resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow. “You should go over there and talk to him,” one of the girls said. “You two were looking at each other funny yesterday.” Raelyn rolled her eyes. “I bet he only saved me because he’s into me. Otherwise, he would have got up sooner.” “All the more reason you should go over there!” another girl cut in. “What’s the worst that could happen?” Dagger flushed without realizing it. He didn’t understand what they meant by “like”. How was it different from liking a friend? Before he could finish processing all of that information, he saw Raelyn. At first, he thought she was coming over by will, but the other girls had begun pushing her towards the table. They sat her down, all 7 of them smiling widely. “You two love-birds have fun!” one of them said. They all giggled as they walked off. (continue to N & C)
Raelyn avoided eye contact. The two of them sat in silence for a while. Some of the other tables had caught on to what was happening, and all eyes were on them. The room began to grow quiet, and within a few minutes, you could hear a pin drop. Raelyn tried to hide behind her bangs. Dagger opened his mouth to speak, but changed his mind after laying eyes on her. Embarrassed, he stood up and started towards the other side of the room. Before he got halfway, one of the girls from the table Raelyn was at grabbed him and started pulling him as they had to Raelyn. “Are you going to let yourself be pushed around by a bunch of girls?” called one of the boys to Dagger. Dagger shoved his heels into the floor, counteracting the pulling from the 7 girls and staying in place. “First off: they’re pulling me. Second, is it bad to let them do this?” “Yep,” he said simply. “Big time embarrassing.” At that, Dagger continued his movements towards the other side of the room, pulling the 7 girls, desperately trying to pull him back, with him. Once they reached the other side, Dagger sat down amongst cheers from the guys. The girls he had been pulling around stood above him.“Hey, get up and get over there.” One of the girls, an indigo panther, commanded him. Dagger smiled. “Look, I don’t know why you want me to do this, but I’m staying right here. It’s obvious to me this is my best bet.” “Don’t you want to talk to Raelyn?” Another girl, a red panda with hazel patterns, questioned. “After the way she’s treated me lately, not really.” Dagger admitted. He paused for a moment. “Can you explain what you meant by ‘like’ earlier?” The panther motioned to one of the benches. “Sure, if we don’t have to sit on the floor.” Dagger got up and moved over to one of the long tables. The 7 girls sat around him, and all started talking at the same time. Dagger couldn’t make out a word any of them were saying. They kept getting louder and louder, trying to outdo each other. They made hand gestures that made no sense without hearing their sentences. Dagger held up his hand for quiet. “Yeah, this isn’t getting anywhere.” He pointed to a random girl, a purple dog, “Let’s hear what you’ve got to say.” “Liking basically means you have a crush on her,” she explained. “You think she looks cute, you like the sound of her voice, you like her attitude, or a million other combinations. In other words, you find her attractive in some way.” Dagger stared. “And you think I like Raelyn?” “Yep” all seven chorused in unison. Dagger scoffed. “She hasn’t said a kind word to me since I first met her, and I was saving her life. There’s no way. Not in a million years would I like her.” “So, you’re available?” one of the girls, an actually white arctic fox, asked. “Um… Yes?” Again, all the girls began talking at once. “Awesome!” “What’s your take on me?” “How? You’re so cute!” “What was your name again?” “Do you want to be my boyfriend?” “You should hang out with us more often!” “Are you free tomorrow?” “He never gave us his name!” “You don’t want to go out with Zoey! You’d much rather spend time with me!” Dagger groaned. “You’re doing it again,” he told them. Again, he pointed to a random girl, this one being a tall, Carolina Blue leopard. “Hey, I’m Harper,” she said silkily. “Do you have a name?” “Well, if that information I got from that blue orb is right, my name is Dagger.” The girls giggled. “Blue orb?” “Well, yeah. You see, I’m actually a clone of some other guy, except I’m pretty sure he has a different personality and beliefs.” “Cool!” Harper enthused. “Is it weird to be a clone?” The red panda with hazel patterns asked. “I’m Hazel, by the way.” “Nice to meet you, and how should I know?” Dagger replied. “I don’t know what it feels like to be normal.” Just then, the bell rang. Dagger got up, causing the girls to groan. “Hey!” called Zoey, one of two identical twin burnt orange wolves. “Want to hang with me—” she paused at the gaze of the others. “— us after school today?” Dagger shrugged. “Sure, see you then.” To Be Continued... Song is Emerald Coast Act 2 from Sonic Generations 3DS
