After the girls and the boys got dressed up in their locker rooms. Their next class was simply lunch time in the cafeteria. Shadow was still thinking about that new girl again. Why was she so different than any other girl in school? Does she have any powers like the other mobians in school? All these questions were making Shadow's head spin.

Then he saw Nebula sitting by herself having her lunch meal. Why does she like to be alone? Shadow was not really sure as he goes up to her.

"Hi Nebula. Mind if I sit here?" Shadow asked her.

"I don't mind" Nebula shrugs. Shadow placed his food tray on the table and sat in front of her.

"I'm Shadow" Shadow introduced himself to her.

"Nice name on a guy like you" Nebula said, she was not having direct eye contact with him and ate her lunch.

"I got to admit you really owned Scourge today" Shadow said.

"Hmph, that green hedgehog? Yeah, I did. And I don't really like him one bit" Nebula said, pushing the food tray aside.

"He's very annoying to my friends too. But Fiona really is more bad than him" Shadow continued.

"I know, but I only help when it's needed" Nebula said.

"Okay then" Shadow shrugs and continues having his meal.

---

Nebula was in the school garden and leaned against a rock on a grassy hill. She needed some time to think after learning to know the other students.

"I don't know if I should trust them" she sighs.

"Why not?" Rouge flies in.

Nebula didn't even flinch that she was being watched the whole time in the school garden outside, "Because it's not easy to make friends. And since you never know who you can trust, it's best to never trust anybody" she said.

"Nebula, there's always someone to trust. Trusting no one is a selfish way. Your true friend can you trust. I don't bully anyone" Rouge said.

"That's not the point. And I know you don't bully anyone. Sometimes it's best if I rather be alone" Nebula said, heading back inside the school to get to art class.

She arrived there and saw many finished and unfinished sketches and paintings around the room. Some students were already there. Nebula searches for the art teacher.

"Um, excuse me. Are you Mrs. Msanii?" she asked the female mobian lioness.

"Yes, that's me. Are you new here?" the teacher said with a Swahili accent.

"Yup, my name is Nebula Emerald and it's an honor to be welcomed here in class" Nebula introduced herself to Mrs. Msanii.

"Well class has already started. Since you're new here, you can pair up with anyone in the class" the teacher said.

"How about I pair up with you, doll" Scourge walked up to Nebula in a very rude way.

"Hmph, I don't think so" Nebula gently pushed him away. She looks at the classmates but in the far back she spots Shadow, "Hmm..." she walks up to the back row and sits next to him.

"Grrr.....one day I'm gonna make you mine, babe" Scourge growled angrily.

"Ahem, I suggest you get back in your seat, Scourge" Mrs. Msanii said with a glare.

"Fine" Scourge scoffs and walks back to his seat.

Nebula simply brought in her own sketchbook that she likes to draw. Her art style is human anime that she's very good at. Ever since she was in girl education school, her female classmates was not interested in her art stuff and that they made fun of her and accused her that she draws naked people which isn't true. Which is why she got transferred to a new school and promised herself to never trust anyone ever again.

She's now drawing an anime human girl of herself, adding the hedgehog ears and tail.

Shadow who was sitting next to her noticed this, "Very nice drawing Nebula" he said.

"Oh thanks, in my previous school my classmates didn't think so" Nebula said.

"I see" Shadow shrugs and continues his work. Once Nebula was done sketching her human-self, she was adding colors. Using her prisma-color pencils that blend easily for the details.

"Um....can I borrow your.....pencils?" Shadow asked shyly.

"Well, okay. But don't waste them" Nebula handed over her pencils to Shadow.

Shadow used the red, yellow and gray pencil to start with while Nebula kept some of her other pencils. Nebula peeked to see what Shadow was drawing.

"So you're an anime artist too?" Nebula asked.

"Yes I am. Right now I'm drawing an anime human biker" Shadow said.

"Cool, and that's his bike?" Nebula guessed, noticing the motorcycle colored red and black.

"Yup, I designed it after a motorcycle I saw" Shadow said, coloring his anime human. Nebula shrugs and keeps coloring her pic.

Soon, they had only 5 minutes left before the bell rings. The art teacher walks around to take a look at her students' sketches of what they drawn. The lioness was very shocked to what Scourge has drawn was very.....INAPPROPRIATE!!!!

"Mr. Scourge, what is that supposed to be?" the art teacher asked with a very angry glare on her face.

"Why, Teacher. It's a drawing of my soon to be girlfriend over there" Scourge pointing at the new girl Nebula.

Nebula gasps in horror and gets up from the table to see what exactly he drawn, "Oh, my god!" she gasps at the Scourge's drawing of her naked body.

"Yup, what do you think, babe?" Scourge grinned, showing his drawing to the class.

"Oooohhh!" the classmates but Shadow saw this and laughed at the new girl.

"Students, enough!" Mrs. Msanii yelled at the class but they didn't stop laughing.

Nebula was feeling so humiliated and embarrassed, her whole body went cold and her vision was getting blurry. She lost her balance and stumbles on the counter, hits her head on the side of the edge really hard and whole body fell on the cold floor. She has fainted badly.

"Oh, look at that! She was too clumsy!" Fiona laughed along with the others.

"Nebula!" Shadow rushed towards her and gasped at what he's seeing, blood flowing on the floor from her back head, "Oh, my god! She's bleeding!"

The classmates minus Scourge and Fiona gasped at what they just heard.

"Shadow, stay with Nebula! I'll get the first aid!" Mrs. Msanii said to Shadow and goes to get the first aid kit at the nurse.

Shadow stays with the unconscious girl but glares at the classmates, he goes over to Scourge and snatched his drawing; ripping it to shreds.

"This is all your fault, asshole! First you called her 'babe' and now you go into extremes to humiliate this innocent new girl like that when this is her first day of school?!" Shadow shouted and goes back to Nebula, holding her badly head to stop the bleeding.

"And all of you just laughed at her and made her faint! And this is what you call yourselves as nice kids?! This new girl hasn't done anything to you!" Shadow shouted in anger to the rest of the class for what they done.

"Well...I...I" Scourge stuttered. But Shadow glares at him again and also at Fiona. The teacher came back with the first aid kit.

--

Later, the medics arrived and carried Nebula to the ambulance. Shadow was nearby and watched with Sonic and Tails.

"I could have stopped him" Shadow said, feeling guilty.

"What just happened, Shadow?" Silver asked in concern.

"Scourge did something terrible to her, I don't want to talk about it" Shadow said, "If he does something to her again I'll kick his ass so hard he won't sit for weeks!" Shadow growled in anger, clutching his hand into a tight fist.

"Shadow, chill-ax. Nebula will be alright. We are her friends" Silver said.

From the school garden, Scourge, Fiona and Sally watched the ambulance leave. They didn't care what happened.

"Shadow, there's something I should tell that Nebula told me" Rouge said.

"What is it?" Shadow asked with his ears perked up.

"She told me that she's not very good with making new friends. She doesn't know who she can trust and she thinks it's best to not trust anybody. I can see why she likes to alone" Rouge said with a sad sigh.

"I understand. She seems to have a miserable time in her previous school" Shadow sighs with his ears down. They all head their way home but Shadow decides to go for a walk alone. He kept her small backpack that she left in art class, ever her iPhone was in there too.

"I can't take this anymore. I need to see if she's okay" Shadow hover skates to the hospital.

---

At the hospital, Nebula had her head bandaged and has regained consciousness yet still a bit woozy. She was lucky to survive from almost losing too much blood from her head and that the hit to her skull didn't crack.

"I suggest you rest Miss Emerald, I've talked to your aunt about this" the doctor said to her.

Nebula had the oxygen mask cup on between her nose and mouth, since she needs to breathe in oxygen for her lungs and heart to help store her blood cells with fresh clean oxygen.

"Just....tell my aunt.....to not worry so much......because it also makes me worry myself too....." Nebula said with a weak voice.

"I will, I'll tell her" the doctor made his promise. He then left the room to let her rest.

Then Shadow arrived at the hospital to visit Nebula. He goes to the reception, "I'm here for Nebula Emerald, I'm a friend of hers" Shadow said to them in the reception desk.

"She's in room 245 and she is resting" the man at the desk said.

"Thank you" Shadow said and goes to room 245.