Dagger walked down the long hallways of Central City High towards the doors. It was just after lunch, the time when he had his phys ed. An hour of drills and scrimmages, the thought of which made him sick. School as a whole felt like a waste of time. He was a clone, but he didn’t know what that meant. Who was he? That’s another thing, Dagger noted as he pushed open the door. He realised that he could be using this time to gather more of his memory, figure out who he is, but instead he has to endure classes. Nutty was well behaved yesterday, but whose to say he didn’t go crazy on the streets while he was at lunch? Dagger needed a break. Dagger jogged towards the field. The rest of his class was slow and hadn’t arrived yet. Central City High took sports pretty seriously, so they had a football stadium at the edge of the field. Dagger entered and waved at the coach. The coach was finishing his lunch at a table by the 30 yard line. Dagger’s eyes were drawn to the bleachers. “Early again, I see.” The coach, a muscular grizzly bear, commented. “Is this going to be a normal thing?” Dggare smiled. “So long as the food is unapitising and my peers are crazy.” The coach laughed. “Yeah, young adolescents are a bit wonkers. Their brains aren’t quite done developing, so they don’t always make smart choices. You’re probably not much different.” Dagger scoffed. “I’m not that immature. Then again, I’m not sure what I am.” At the coach’s questioning look, he added “A while ago, I was told I’m a clone. I don’t really have a lot of memories and I’m trying to figure out who I am.” “You're not alone in figuring yourself out,” the coach assured him. “Sure, you’re doing it from scratch, but all teens go through figuring out how they’re gonna live.” Dagger was about to reply, when more teens began to find the stadium. Dagger grabbed the football from the coach and jogged down to the 10 yard line. He threw his arm back, then sent the ball sailing in a perfect spiral. It flew over the heads of the others and landed in the hands of a guy standing in the opposite end zone. Dagger signalled for him to throw it back. “Whoa!” he cried. “What an arm! How do you expect me to throw that back to you?” Dagger, who had been cupping his hand over his ear, replied “Just throw it.” Bewildered, he drew his arm back and sent the ball forwards — and into the other players. Dagger slapped his forehead as the other guys scrambled for the ball. A gray wolf wearing a Navy Blue sweater came up with the ball and threw it. The ball soared towards Dagger and landed just at his feet. “Hey, not bad!” Dagger called. “You’ve got some patencial!” “Who are you to measure my skill?” he replied. “I have more experience than anyone else in this field.” “That’s nice,” Dagger said as he threw another perfect throw towards the opposing end zone. “I just started yesterday, and it looks like I’ve got a better arm than you.” The wolf charged down the field, rage on his face. Dagger yawned and tapped his foot as he flew forwards like a freight train. Just as he was about a foot away from him, Dagger stepped to the side and his enraged foe crashed into the goal post. Dagger laughed. “You should’ve seen your face!” he said. “I haven’t seen someone move that fast all day. Have you been drinking a lot of Red Bull?” “No, actually,” he replied. “Just comes naturally.” “Hey, you got a name?” Dagger asked. “Chase,” Chase replied. “And you?” “Dagger” “You're named after a weapon?” “Well, that’s what my memories say.” “Your memories? You got a hard drive or something?” “What’s a ‘hard drive’?” Dagger scratched his head. “Is that some kind of joke? It’s not funny, bro.” “I’m being perfectly serious, ‘bro’.” The coach's whistle cut the conversation short. Dagger jogged towards where the others were gathered. The coach went on about some reminders for about two minutes while Dagger tried to get a piece of gum off of his shoe. Then, they got into a game. The teams were split up by fur colour, with the final teams being warm vs cool colours. Dagger looked to Chase, who had been put on his team. Dagger had been positioned quarterback, while Chase was in the defensive line. The warm team started with the ball. The kickoff sent the ball soaring beyond the 20 yard line and into cool’s half. Someone from the cool team managed to get the ball and threw it back to Dagger. Dagger scouted the field. Off in warm’s side, one of his teammates was standing between the 10 and 20 yard lines. Dagger sent a perfect pass into his hands. (continue to N&C)
Dagger’s teammate, a mint coloured chameleon, started towards Dagger’s side. Then Dagger became aware of the yelling from his teammates. He looked over and saw the chameleon change to his true colour: burnt orange. Dagger’s eyes went narrow as his foe sprinted down the field. Dagger rushed to meet him and threw himself onto him. The two of them met at the 40 yard line, sending the ball loose, and every player on the field flew towards it. Despite starting on his stomach, Dagger got there first. “Spread out!” Dagger yelled to his teammates. “Give me options!” Every single player on the field reacted. The cool team ran into the other team's end to receive a pass, while the warm team ran for their checks to put a stop to it. Then Dagger saw it. One of his teammates — a male azure armadillo — was open at the opposite 40 yard line. Dagger threw his arm back and threw to the other end of the field. The pass was caught, and a touchdown was scored. Dagger sprinted over and high-fived the teammate he had assisted. The rest of the game was in their favour. . . . Dagger pushed the school’s front doors open. He walked with a spring in his step towards the woods that loomed over the school. Dagger felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and there they were. The same group of girls was back, all looking at him fondly. “Hey guys,” Dagger said. “I see you came by. Cool.” Dagger noticed Raelyn in the crowd. His eyebrow raised. “What’s she doing here?” “We convinced her to tag along,” Mackenzie replied, “since she doesn’t think you like her anymore. Does she need to go?” “No,” Dagger said. “Just wanted to know what changed her mind. I’d suppose you guys will be following me again?” “Yep,” Harper said. “And we’ll keep doing it until you tell us who you like.” Dagger sighed, started off, then waved for them to follow. The group started out towards Aurora’s house, where Nutty had been staying all day. The streets were crowded and the sidewalks were narrow. There was a lot of noise from angry drivers trying to get a move on through the traffic. Hazel had ended up beside Dagger. “So, I heard you’re a football star.” Dagger shrugged. “So I can throw a decent spiral. Big deal.” “Do you play outside of school?” “Didn’t know it was a sport until yesterday.” Hazel’s eyes went wide. “You just started playing yesterday? From what I heard, every pass you threw was perfect!” “Maybe I’ve got some ‘natural talent’. That’s what the coach said, anyway.” Hazel was about to reply when someone grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back. Dagger glanced over and noticed she’d gone. After a minute, Lucy came forward in her place. Her bright blue eyes gazed into his dreamly. “Uh, hey,” Dagger stared. “How’s life?” Lucy lit up like the sky on the Fourth of July. “It’s going great,” She replied enthusiastically. “For one, I’m with you.” She reached out and grabbed Dagger by the hand. Dagger heard a protest from behind. “Oh, um…” Dagger blushed. They stopped walking at an intersection. “Thanks.” Dagger freed his hand. “You’re welcome,” Lucy said, gripping his hand again. “What kind of stuff do you like to do for fun?” “I don’t usually have time for fun. After all, I’ve got a kid to watch.” Lucy was grabbed by the arm just as Hazel had been before her. She was pulled back, her hand slipping out of Dagger’s. Dagger looked back and saw a very heated argument between them. Raelyn noticed Dagger and shook her head. The whole day was going to be like this. The light turned green, and Dagger crossed, moving faster than before. His footsteps got the girls’ attention. They began to sprint across the street. Raelyn looked at them disaprovingly, then onto Dagger with pity. Harper ran back and pulled Raelyn along with them. They caught up to Dagger at Aurora’s place. Dagger was just heading in the door. “Nutty!” he called. We’re getting out of here! Come on!” Nutty walked slowly down the stairs, his bangs covering his eyes and dyed dark violet, and slouching. Dagger looked at him with wide eyes. “Whatever,” Nutty said. “No matter where I go, life will always be a disappointing void of grey.” “What?” Dagger asked. “Are you okay?” “Nothing can be okay in a world filled with crime and selfishness.” Dagger sighed. “Okay, we’re going to go.” Dagger grabbed Nutty and headed for the door. When he opened it, Harper was in his face. “We finally caught up to you,” she said, gasping for air. “What was that all about?” “I had to get to Nutty.” “Ok. Let’s go get something to eat.” Harper grabbed Dagger and pulled him through the door. To be continued... Song: Planet Wisp from Sonic Generations
