Honesty is the Best Policy {Comic Edition}

Chapter 3: Introductions

The library was on the first floor of the building with the math and language classes, a floor it shared with the main office and Mephiles's office, both of which were located at the front, the side of the building facing the road. Dr. Finitevus's room was in another building, at the very far end down a set of stairs.

When the bell signalling the end of second period rang, Scourge and Shadow left their building and made their way towards this one. The two buildings were connected by a long sidewalk. The air felt steamy and thick this morning, so they wanted to get inside as quick as possible so as to avoid getting too hot before class.

However, as soon as they were safely indoors, both their speeds slowed dramatically. It was as if the threat of being tardy was no longer existent. Neither of them wanted to face their biology teacher it seemed.

Scourge was the first to notice this and pursed his lips in thought before making his discovery and stretching that same pair of lips into a puzzled frown instead.

"You're afraid, aren't you?" A hop and a step brought him around to face Shadow and block his path. The striped rodent was surprised and reacted by crossing his arms loosely and adjusting his expression accordingly. "All it took was a general, verbal description from Honest, and you're terrified, huh?"

Shadow chose to take this personally. With his arms now down at his sides, the shadowy hedgerat stood his ground behind a barrier he had raised countless times before.

"I'm not scared; I just don't know what I'm up against." His gaze firmly locked on his opponent, Shadow asked a question: "It makes sense for someone to be wary of the unknown, right?"

Finding himself now confronted by steel-reinforced reason, Scourge shifted his dispirited gaze towards the tile flooring of the hallway.

Acting as if he had won something, Shadow hmphed triumphantly and pushed past the perplexedly puzzled pineapple before him, intending to face his fears and get to class on time whether Scourge did or not.

"Hello. Third row, third chair."

Scourge followed Shadow into the classroom slowly. The not-so-noble king noticed that a lot of the students were there already and occupying most of the seats. Scourge kept his eyes primarily on the teacher, though.

Upon seeing Shadow, Dr. Finitevus gave a warm smile and greeted him. "Good morning. Are you here for Biology?"

The dark hedgehog just nodded. Scourge sighed inwardly. Apparently Shadow had gotten over the fear he had felt earlier and was now just acting cool.

"You can take a seat there in the middle. We'll get everybody introduced once the bell rings." When Shadow moved away, Scourge was revealed.

"Y-You remember me, don't you?"

A toothy grin spread across the doctor's mouth. "Why of course. You're the Anti-Sonic and used-to-be ruler of Moebius. I can't forget you."

Scourge gritted his triangular teeth. "My name's Scourge."

"Oh, right." Dr. Finitevus kept smiling and pointed towards Shadow as he took one of the centermost desks on that side of the room. "Go join your friend before the bell rings so we can begin."

Scourge made his way towards Shadow begrudgingly and sat at the desk at the end of the row beside him. The whole time he was walking, Scourge had this incredibly strong feeling that somebody was watching him-- like his or her gaze was boring holes into the back of his head. He was trying desperately to shake it off when the bell rang and Doctor Fin began to take his place at the front of the room.

"Alright, students," the demented doctor said, clasping his hands together as if doing an impression of every other teacher he had seen in his life. "Starting near the door and working our way down the rows, I want everybody to introduce themselves."