Airalain and the Mystery Twin

Chapter Nine: Class

Attention: This chapter may contain sensitive topics such as potential negative body image. Reader discretion is advised.

Alison entered the classroom, and she gasped too. Then she started shaking, almost as if she was cold. I knew that being cold wasn't the case for her, since Sonic keeps the school at a toasty 80 degrees in the winter. He gazed at us for a minute, then he turned to Ali and told her, "Alison, today we are learning about werehogs and their markings left on offspring or their mates."

It struck me like a two ton anvil as to why she is familiar after Sonic said that. She is my twin sister. I realized. My fangs were threatening to unsheath themselves during class, but I suppressed it. Ali stared at Sonic as if to say, Yeah, and...? Sonic continued, his cheesy voice soft and rich, "Can you please undress yourself? You are the visual aid for this year, and this undressing step is a one time thing. Step inside the chamber when you are done deciding." I can see exactly the kind of thoughts that were going through her mind at that point, and I had a feeling that Ali might not be up for that sort of thing. I can see her face paling, but she did as she was asked.

I knew that she was a little uncomfortable at the thought. After getting in, Ali started getting quite panicky. She tried to rap on the glass, her pale face full of horror. I watched as Sonic pressed on the intercom and asked pleasantly, "Are you alright, Alison?" She nodded, her curly brown hair bouncing madly, and Sonic continued in a reassuring tone, "Okay. Now please place the tube in your mouth." 

Every Mobian student grinned at each other because we knew what this meant: Sonic was going to ripen her and show us everything that happens to a human as they progress through the ripening stages. I grinned too, since it felt right.

At first she was slightly nervous about the whole ordeal, but after a few quick gulps of the ripener, she became relaxed and loose. Something told me that she was going to be getting good and fatter than a well fed tick under the power of the ripening stuff. Then Sonic started teaching. He asked, his cheesy voice soft, "Does anyone in this classroom happen to know what a werehog is?"

I raised my hand first. Sonic nodded curtly, encouraging me to answer. I replied, "Isn't a werehog a werewolf-hedgehog creature?"

Sonic nodded again, a grin playing on his peach lips, then he continued, "Werehogs are generally considered docile creatures, but can become incredibly dangerous if they are aroused or in the middle of a transformation." Sonic stared me dead in the eyes, as if he was making sure that I don't forget about that frightening night where I saw him transform. He waited silently until everyone was done whispering among themselves, then he told us this, "Werehogs have a special means of letting other werehogs know that they should never go near a human that they had picked to be either a mate or their offspring. What is it called that our visual aid has?"

He pointed to the visual aid, and I saw something on Ali's chest that I hadn't noticed before. I silently cursed myself for my own stupidity. There was a werehog's mark in the middle of her chest, almost identical to the small one on my arm.

Adrian replied, his quills stiffened, "It's called a werehog's mark."

Sonic grinned at him, then he asked, "What is it used for?"

Little Johnny, the class know it all from the Knuckles House, replied, "Marking for a mate?"

Sonic smiled warmly at this short answer, then he added onto what Little Johnny said. "Yes, it can be used for targeting a mate, and to earmark offspring, whether natural born or adopted." He told us. Then his green eyes latched onto Ali, and his expression changed briefly. His face changed from his "resting teacher" face to "concerned parent" face. I am the only hedgehog in the class to see that he was feeling a little bit guilty about something.

I knew that Ali was definitely out of it. Her hazel eyes were half closed from the mere power from the ripener. I knew that she was relaxed. Class continued, but I was now kind of worried for my new roommate's wellbeing. She seemed so overwhelmed and terrified at all of us looking at her. I knew that once she was done breathing in the ripener, she is going to be completely out of it and ready to fling herself into our arms. I thought to myself, Damn, that made things that much more interesting.

Class continued as normal, and I was mesmerized by how beautiful Alison's skin appeared in the cyan glow of the ripening chamber. Although she is very pale and covered in scars, her body was small. Her posture reminded me of a ballerina, with her slim body posing as if to begin dancing. Her tiny feet were on tiptoe, as if she was going to dance. I had to admit that the cyan light was making her look scrawny in the light. I knew that Sonic would work on getting her plumped up.

Sonic ended class with homework being to study how one becomes earmarked to become a werehog and how it goes about doing so. I stayed behind to watch what Sonic does with the new girl next. I lingered around the door and watched as he freed Ali from the ripening chamber (this is what we call the visual aid holder behind human backs). Then he asked, his tone concerned, "How do you feel, Alison?"

She replied dazedly, her monotone voice just a dreamy whisper, "I feel really good, Father. Thank you for asking." I blinked in shock, and I wanted to run up to that cocky human and slap her. I recognized that horrible feeling immediately: I was jealous of Ali. But I swallowed down the urge to beat her up. I feverishly hoped that Sonic doesn't choose her over me.

I turned around, fighting back tears of anger at the thought of Sonic replacing me for a human. I hid from her, now angry and ashamed. But that was when I turned around and saw them. I saw a group of students from all houses approach Ali and yank her into a classroom by the arm. I knew who they were. They were the Survivors of STH Academy. They are this group of students who try to hinder the progress of STH Academy.

I watched as one of them hissed something in her ear. Judging by her expression of horror, I don't think that they are telling her anything good. I glared at them when they shoved her out of the doorway. Now I felt anger towards them instead of my twin sister. They emotionally scarred my sister with things that us Mobian students rather not share with humans, and there will be some serious hell to pay.

I watched Ali stumble away from the herd of students, her pale face registering shock and horror at what she had heard. I headed towards her, my expression probably terrifying. She turned her face towards me and she froze as if she was doing something bad. She whispered, "Airalain... is it true!? Am I merely a puppet for Sonic to toy with? Am I only a pet to him? Am I really just cattle to him and not his daughter!?" Her tone clearly had terror in it, which means that those assholes told her too much about our plans with her.

I knew what had to be done. I lied, "No, Alison. They only said that to scare you into breaking a rule." I added as her expression refused to change, "Come on. I think that you'd like to be on the dance and cheer team here at STH Academy."

Her facial features finally relaxed. She said in a soft voice, "I like to dance. I don't have rhythm. Only the moves."

I grinned, finally getting somewhere. "We can help you with that. Our school has the best dance and cheer team out there. I think that you'll love them." I have a good feeling that we are going to have a lot in common.