[angelfire]

AN: Okay, first off, this is a new novel I'm working on, and originally, it isn't Sonic-based. But I'm making two versions: the original and the Sonic-style version, which I'll post here. 'Kay, got that cleared up, I hope! Oh, and my chars are all mine, all right? MINE. Thank you, and enjoys!

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Jazz Jones stared at her reflection in the dirty, finger print-smeared mirror or the freshmen girls' bathroom at Rosewood High. The Papa Roach song on her iPod was blaring at top volume, for she was all alone in the bathroom. Most of the prissy, stuck-up girls in the ninth grade were too "good" or "superior" to use a public restroom. But Jazz wasn't like them, thank the Lord.

This was how she normally spent her Study Halls on Friday: asking her homeroom teacher to go to the bathroom, then ending up listening to her music in there until the bell to go home rang. This was the only place in the whole school that she could go to to be alone. It may have smelled like bleach and pee, but it was quiet and away from everyone. Not that Jazz was a total loner; she had friends. But she valued her alone time.

Biting her red lipstick-coated bottom lip, Jazz yanked her earbuds from her ears and stuck her iPod in the pocket of her ripped blue jeans. She ran a silver ring-covered hand through her black and blond fur until it was messy again, then turned on the hell of her bright yellow Converse and walked out of the bathroom and into the hall. It was empty just like the bathroom had been.

The soles of Jazz's shoes squeeked as she walked down the eerily silent hallway to her class. Two freshmen girls she knew strutted by her, wrinkling thier noses as her as they crossed paths. When the two girl's backs were tunred, Jazz flipped them off, rolling her brown eyes. She still wasn't sure why, but hardley anyone that knew her had some kind of problem with her.

When she got to her classroom, Jazz pulled the door open and glanced to her right to see her homeroom teacher, Mr. Mukler, reading a paperback novel at his desk. She walked quickly but as quiet as she could to get to her seat in the second row without him noticing that she had been gone a full forty-five minutes in the bathroom. She was almost safely to her desk when she felt Mr. Mukler's hand on her shoulder.

"Jasmine, would you mind explaining to me why you've been gone this whole time?" Mr. Mukler's gruff voice asked. Jazz winced and blushed because 1) she hated when people called her Jasmine and 2) because she could feel all of her classmate's eyes on her,

"Erm, I-" Jazz stalled, flushing red from her ears down to her feet. How would she lie her way out of this?

"Yes?" Mr. Mukler pushed, waiting for an answer.

"I-I got lost on the way back from the bathroom?" Jazz answered finally, sort of pleased with herself for coming up with a logical excuse. School had started only a week ago, and the high school was still unfamiliar to most freshmen. Mr. Mukler would have to buy it.

Most of the students snickered loudly into thier palms and Jazz ignored it, shaking her head.

Mr. Mukler eyed Jazz suspiciously. "Okay, I guess that's understandable, seeing as you all are new to Rosewood High..." He finally took his hand off her shoulder. "Next time though, Jasmine, you might want to use the map of the school when you go?"

Jazz shrugged and sat in her seat, leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest. "Sure, I'll do that. But can you please not call me Jasmine? I already told you, I prefer to be called Jazz."

That only made the other students giggle more.

"Okay, then, Jazz," Mr. Mukler said, turning to go back to his own desk and mind his own buissiness.

"I bet she cuts herself when she goes into the bathroom," Jazz heard one of the cheerleaders whisper to a boy next to her. The boy nodded as though her were agreeing.

"No, I heard she did drugs in there," another cheerleader butt in not-so-quietly, flipping her blond quills over her shoulder in that annoying, preppy way. "Don't you ever wonder why she always looks so spaced out when she comes back?"

Jazz wanted to get out of her seat and beat the shit out of those people who were gossiping about her, They had no right to be talking about her and making up lies like that.

"Hey, ease up," a teal-furred fox girl sitting next to Jazz whispered, smiling and showing two rows of silver braces. This girl happened to be one of Jazz's only friends, Vanessa. Like Jazz, she was a unque individual who was her own person. "They're just trying to piss you off."

"Yeah, and it's working," Jazz whispered back, tugging at the red rubber bracelets stacked up on her wrists. Even though Vanessa and she were practically sisters, Jazz felt like Vanessa just didn't get her all that well.

"Well, don't let it work. Take a deep, cleansing breath and block out thier negative energy!" Vanessa adivsed, still smiling peacefully.

Jazz was tempted to tell her best friend that now was not the time for her meditation and yoga-induced methods of remaining calm. Vanessa was a guitar-playing, nature-loving, vegan granola girl with hippie parents, so she was always calm and always stayed stress-free. but sometimes her breathing adivice could get really annoying.

"I'm telling you, just breath," Vanessa advised again.

Jazz wanted to protest but decided to just take her friend's advice and took a slow, full breath, exhaling through her nose. But it didn't work to lower her annoyance.

"Class, the bell to dismiss you will ring in a few minutes, you're free to get your things to leave," Mr Mukler announced to the class suddenly. Then all at once, the class sprang to life, rushing to grab thier bookbags and books while talking about thier weekend plans, since it was Friday.

"So, what were you doing in the bathroom?" Vanessa asked, grabbing her binder and poetry notebooks and stuffing them into her organic burlap school bag.

"Doing what I always do," Jazz replied, flicking the Red Hot Chilli Peppers band pin on her black bookbag with her index finger, forcing a few extra school books into her bag before zipping it up. "Listening to music."

"But why in the bathroom?"

"Uh, 'cause it's the only private place in the school since nobody uses it?"

"Hm, good point."

Jazz didn't answer. She just sat down in her desk, her bookbag in her lap while she waited for the bell to ring.

"So, what are you doing this weekend?" Vanessa questioned on.

Jazz shrugged. "Probably not muh. Maybe go into the city to buy some new drum sticks. My ones right now got broken by my cousin the last time he was over."

"Oh, how is your cousin?" Vanessa's lavender eyes opened up and she leaned in her seat.

Jazz sighed, resting her chin in her palm. "Ry's fine," she replied plainly. She didn't really like discussing her popular cousin, Ry. Ry went to another school, but even at Rosewood High he was well known and loved. He was a star athlete, got good grades, and was involved in a lot of school functions. He was perfect, whereas Jazz was

But here's what's funny: he's a twin to Jazz. Despite thier gender difference, they look exactly alike. No one in thier family knew how, though, because they weren't brother and sister. Just cousins.

Vanessa smiled dreamily at the mention of Ry's name. She had been in love with him since Jazz and her had become friends in fifth grade.

Jazz laughed at Vanessa's so-in-love expression and shook her head again, tapping her nails at her desk while she continued to wait anxiously fopr the bell to ring, but while she waited, she couldn't help but wonder how her cousin was doing riht now...

This post has been edited by angelfire: 14 May 2007 - 03:19 AM