𝙄'𝙢 𝙎𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣'𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜...

      I don’t even know if I should tell you about this story, but... I’m ashamed to tell you about this incident, because it became a valuable lesson for me that you can’t be naive and just trust just anyone, even if this someone is real good and honest. After all, who knows, maybe he is pretending and then at one point he will betray you? It all started on the day when my phone broke and I took it in for repair. I then really wanted to call the pizzeria to cancel the order for me, since I changed my mind about the pizza and wanted to go to the store for lemonade myself.

***

      That day, I asked Amy to borrow her phone so I could call the pizzeria from her cell phone and ask them to cancel my order. And I was lucky. Before they had time to prepare and send my order, I warned them and they canceled the order for me. I wanted to immediately return the phone to Rose, but she said that I could keep it for the day and use it if necessary, but she herself didn’t need it yet, because she would be busy all day learning scales on the piano under the guidance of Blaze. And so, if I still have her phone number, as she thinks, then nothing and no one will distract her from her piano lessons. I thanked her for the mobile phone and promised to return it to her tomorrow. I just walked to the store with a pink phone in my hands and walked. Suddenly I see four gopniks in hats that look like raccoons. They pushed each other like Infinite the jackal's ball and mocked him. — Ha ha. What a loser you are! Get it! What a weakling you are! Ha ha ha! I couldn't just stand by and watch it. I immediately intervened and pushed the raccoons away from the jackal, getting in their way. — I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND??? WHAT IS THIS DISGRACE??? WHY DO YOU HURT HIM??? — I shouted at them. — Hey, listen! Why are you not minding your own business? — one of them snapped and wanted to push me, but I managed to dodge, grab his hand, spin him around and threw him at the other three, knocking them to the ground. I helped Infinite get up and he just ran away without even thanking me. Apparently he was afraid that I would beat him this time. Although I didn't intend to. So let him run! — Who are you, impudent people? Why are you offending him? — I asked those raccoons. — Yes, because he is a horseman. — one of them answered me. — And you are the strongest, so you have been found. Apparently you have strong balls, dude. — Do not make me laugh! I don't have any eggs. — I answer him. — Really? — he grinned and came up and hit me between the legs. True, I didn’t feel anything at that moment. At all. He hits between my legs again, and I just jump in time with the blow and again don’t feel anything. — Really! There are no eggs. — he realized and wanted to touch me in that place, as I did not let him, grabbed him by the hand and turned him back to him, clasping his right hand around his neck. - Ay! What are you doing? — Don’t you dare touch me without my permission, you pervert! — Otherwise I'll break your neck. — I threatened him, and he was afraid of me and said: — Okay, okay, sorry, dude! I was just curious and I wanted to personally check by touch whether you really don’t have balls or whether you just have them hidden inside and are made of steel, not soft. — But this is no longer your business! — I answered him, and he answered me: — Said the one who minded his own business, preventing us from having fun with this horse. If it weren't for you, we would still be having fun. And you showed up and ruined everything for us. — And he did the right thing, because there is no point in hooliganism and mocking unfortunate people! — I told him and pushed him towards his brothers. — And now if you want to live, then get out of my area and never offend anyone again, otherwise I will come back for each of you and break each of your legs, so that you will remain disabled for the rest of your life. They immediately ran away from me, cowards. Well, of course, when I am in front of them, the fastest, strongest and bravest hedgehog, then of course they will not be able to cope with me. Even if they attack in a whole crowd, I’ll knock them all to the ground at once. So, after that, I bought myself some lemonade and was just walking home, when suddenly someone pushed me from behind and shouted: — LOOK OUT!!! I fell immediately, but fortunately I didn’t hurt myself. At the same time, I heard the sound of steel behind me. I turned around and saw one of those raccoons, and between him and me on the ground lay an anvil, which, like a nail, had sunk a little into the ground as if it had been thrown from the fifth floor. — What, did you die? Are you tired of living? Don't look carefully where you're going! — he told me. — Did that anvil almost fall on me? — I asked him, and he answered me: — Yes, can you imagine? What the hell are you doing, huh? — Wait a minute! Did you push me away from the anvil? She would crush me now. — Yes. She would have flattened you so much that instead of you we would have had a Sonic pancake and a Christmas tree stick. You don't even keep track of what's going on. How are you moving through life in general? — But how did she end up here? — Yes, probably Dr. Eggman flew by unnoticed and wanted to finish you off with such a stupid trick that you wouldn’t even suspect it, finally! — Damn, it turns out you saved my life. — I suggested then and shook his hand as a sign of gratitude. — What do I owe you in return? Just not a license for hooliganism! — No, no, what are you talking about? We understood and realized everything. We are not like that anymore, we want to improve. And you know, dude, we even liked you. In general, we want you to become one of our bros, bring us beer or sunflower seeds and chat with us. This is a real topic, finally! Let's come with us to my brothers and tell you one funny thing. This is really interesting. — he suggested to me, took my hand and dragged me along with him. I didn’t even resist and followed him. — Okay! Since you insist!

***

      They and I sat in a corner in front of a fire inside an iron barrel and told funny stories to each other, after which we laughed. The stories were really funny, and the raccoons themselves were really funny dudes. Except that the phrases they chatted with confused me a little and at first I didn’t understand exactly what they were talking about. When it was my turn to tell funny stories, I told them the story of how I shaved Eggman's big mustache. — ...And after that his gorgeous huge mustache was no longer on his face. — I finished and they all laughed at once. — We have to admit, Sonic, we envy you. What kind of life is a hero? Free like the wind! No worries, no family problems. Unless it’s responsibility for friends and loved ones. And so, you are free to save people and Mobians as much as you like. — Well, yes. That's who I am. — I answered him proudly. — Listen, let’s come back to us tomorrow at the same place after breakfast and let’s have some real fun. We'll throw a bros' party on the street. — Okay. I agree. — I answered and was about to leave. — Yes wait! Take this with you too! Just put on this uniform when you come to us. You just can’t live without it and it’s mandatory. Just don’t forget to wash it, otherwise it stinks later. — the second raccoon told me, handing me a jacket with black pants, black men's shoes and a cap. — Fine. Thank you. — I thanked him, took my clothes and left. — O! O! And don’t forget, just for fun, to paint something like a bruise under your right or left eye with paint or makeup. This will make you look even cooler. — the fourth raccoon shouted after me. — Okay. I have to admit that the guys are humorous, but they really aren’t as bad as I initially thought. After all, according to their stories, they are not so bad, despite the fact that they mocked Infinite before. I’m not at all used to being in such companies and didn’t think about meeting them again tomorrow, but I still liked them in terms of communication, and I don’t want to offend them with refusals. Besides, I took their gift in the form of clothes and will have to return it to them later. And first, I’ll wash it, as they asked me, otherwise it really stinks later. Besides, one of them still saved my life. If it weren’t for this gopnik, then consider this my story would have been over and I would have simply been crushed by an anvil. Or worse! I would have hit my head hard and would have lost my memory sooner.

***

      The next day, the washed Gopnik uniform had dried and I decided to try it on, looking at myself in the mirror. It fit me perfectly, as if they knew my size. I also took purple paint and, as I promised them, I also drew a black eye under my right eye for fun. It was both scary and even funny at the same time. What did I look like now? This is just a real guard! After breakfast in the form of two chili dogs, I immediately went into the same alley in this form, as promised. At that time they were sitting on the floor and thinking about something. The third of them paid attention to me first and said: — O-o-o! Sonicu-u-us! How are you doing? — Yes, things are normal in general. We even sat together normally yesterday, as I recalled today. — Yes, yes, it was cool chatting yesterday. In short, we have bad news. — explained the first one. — In terms of? — I didn’t understand him about the news, but he explains: — Our party is unfortunately cancelled. — Why? — Let's explain. — says the second one. — After you went to your home, we further discussed how cool you really are and I even bought myself a house in our village. — Is it true? And where he? — I asked. — Let's go, we'll show you. — the fourth one answers and they took me to the mayor’s house. — Here he is. — But... This is the mayor's house. — Yes, this used to be his house. But early this morning I bought him for two and a half million gold rings and he has moved for now, but forgot to warn everyone. So, I still had all the things for the party there, at home. I just left there, but I remembered that I forgot my keys at home, can you imagine? At first I thought that it was no big deal and that I would return home quickly, but... The door slammed. — the second explained, and the first finished: — The only way out is to climb through the window and try to open the door from the inside. We would have climbed in through the window ourselves, but you know, we’re cranky, and our knees hurt. You, Sonic, are strong and agile. You can climb through the window yourself and open the door for us so that we can get our things for the party and go celebrate? — Damn, listen, I don’t really believe that you bought this house from the mayor. No, the mayor, of course, said that he could sometimes sell his own houses, but only if someone bought something from him, he would immediately warn the whole village about it. — Yes, he promised to tell me, but he was just busy and left on some important business. He says that this is very urgent and cannot be delayed. — explained the third. — Well, you will help us. We saved your life yesterday after all. Pay us back in kind! — asked the first one. — OK. — I waved my hand, without arguing with them, and climbed through the window, fortunately it was not closed. I got inside the supposedly former mayor's house and looked around. The house keys were indeed inside, but strangely they were labeled “Spare.” Apparently, after the sale, the mayor took his own keys and left the spare keys with that gopnik. But why did he ask me for help in this case, because he could have simply waited until the mayor himself returned and asked him to open it for him with his real keys. OK! That’s what I thought then, took them, put them in the keyhole of the door, turned the keys and pulled the door towards me. Suddenly, the siren inside this house turned on and the red lights began to blink. I didn't understand. What kind of alarm went off and what is happening? And these four quickly ran into the house and began to collect things from the chest. — So! Hurry up, lads, let's collect everything! Well, well, well, well, well! — Hey! Hey guys! What are you doing? — Sticks asked, walking past the mayor's house. And the gopniks took all the things and ran away from the house. — COME ON, GUYS, GET OUT OF HERE!!! GET OUT!!! I jumped out of the window and shouted after them: — WAIT!!! WHERE ARE YOU GOING??? IS THIS YOUR HOUSE OR NOT YOUR HOUSE??? — Calm down, Sonic! Stay where you are and I'll call the police. — Sticks told me and ran away from here. — Wait, Sticks, what police? I didn't do anything that bad. — I tried to persuade her, but she didn’t hear me because of the alarm and ran away. Tails comes up to me and asks: — Sonic, why did you open the door to the mayor’s house to the gopniks? They robbed our entire village and mocked and beat each of us. — It’s not my fault, Tails, I didn’t want to rob anyone. — They simply deceived me. — I believe you, Sonic. I will tell the police that you are not guilty. It’s better for you to go home and not go out anywhere for now. — Fine. And with my head bowed, I went to my home in shame. When I reached the house, I was immediately greeted by a police car with two policemen, Tangle and the she-wolf Whisper, in police uniforms and caps. — There you are! — Tangle told me. — Sonic Hedgehog, explain to us why you broke into the mayor’s house without his permission and opened the door of this house to the gopniks, allowing them to rob it? — Yes, I didn’t want to rob anyone, honestly! These nasty gopniks deceived me! — Just calmly try to explain to us how this happened. We will immediately understand that perhaps you are not guilty. — Tangle explained to me. — Why are you friends with Gopniks? — Whisper asked. — Why do you need such connections? You are an honest citizen and always help peaceful citizens. Why do you need such communication? — Yes, it happened because I almost died. An anvil almost fell on my head, and one of them saved my life by pushing me away in time, and I didn’t even have time to look around and didn’t think of dodging myself. He saved my life, and I was in his debt. Otherwise, I would never have gotten along with them if they had not saved me. I really, as you put it, communicate only with normal individuals. When they saved me, I was somehow happy, I sat with them for one day yesterday and they invited me to meet today. They said that they wanted to throw some kind of party, and then when I came today, they told me that they had bought a house from the mayor. — That's it! — The lemur scratched her chin. — And yet you have big problems, Sonic. Since you helped the gopniks break into the house and rob it, then you are still partly considered a criminal. So you'll have to come with us to court. — the she-wolf answers. — But... But... — Don't piss, you! — Tangle waved her hand. — Just explain to the court everything the same as you explained to us and that’s it! You are also partly a witness to the crime, which means you must tell everything as it happened. And don't try to run away, as that will be resisting arrest. There was nothing to do! I had to put my hands forward, and these girls handcuffed my hands, put me in the back seat of the car, and we drove off. I can’t tell you how ashamed I was of this, that I didn’t even want to run and have fun. How could I fall for such an easy deception of these bastards?

***

      When I found myself in court, the walrus judge began to address me: — Mr. Hedgehog, you are charged with breaking, entering and assisting in the theft from the home of the mayor of your village. As a judge, I want to know why you did this? — I’ll explain everything as it happened! — and I more accurately and clearly, and also at length, recounted to the judge all the events that happened to me yesterday and today with those gopniks. — That's how it was. But do you believe me? If not, then give me a lie detector test. I will prove that I am not lying at all. — We believe you, Sonic. But still. as you say, you thought that Gopnik saved you from the anvil, although as you know, they themselves wanted to throw it at you and then push you away, thereby staging your salvation. Then, you thought that Gopnik bought himself a house in which the mayor lives. As a result, you helped him and he stole all the gold rings from there. Don’t worry, the police are already looking for them, but you still broke into the house. And despite the fact that you are well aware of your guilt and honestly admit all this, you will still have to be punished so that in the future you will never repeat such a mistake again and will continue to think with your head before trusting someone dubious in appearance. words. And even if you didn’t know that the gopnik deceived you, this does not exempt you from responsibility and knowledge of the laws. And communicating with such people is not good for you. — Yes, I knew that communicating with such dubious people could lead to evil. But I really will never do that again. — But still, you did it for the first and, for now, the last time. So you will have to be punished. — Why should I sit here for twenty years now? — I was indignant. — Well, why twenty years? — The judge grinned. — You realize all your mistakes and promise that you won’t do it again. Therefore, we will take pity on you and give you just one day in prison. You'll sit behind bars for a day and just think about what you've done. Take him away! Afterwards, the lemur and the she-wolf first took me to the locker room and put me on a prison uniform in the form of a red jumpsuit. After that, they took me to one of the free cells and locked me there. — Have a nice rest, Sonic. — Whisper joked in response, and she and Tangle, joking at home, left. I sat down on one of the free beds and noticed that Knuckles himself was sitting next to me in the same cell. — Knuckles? — O! Hello Sonic. Why are you imprisoned? — Yes, they set me up. What are you for? — I asked. — No way. Just fourteen days ago I gave one of these police officers a slap on the head and they put me here for fifteen days for that. I only have one day left to sit here. — Why did you hit him? — Yes, I just wanted to go to the toilet, and all the toilets in our village are paid. But here in prison the toilets are free. Walk as much as you want and sit on the potty as much as you like. It’s true that they serve some kind of disgusting food here, but I’m already used to it. — Hm-m. I do not envy you. At least you got here by your own free will, but I didn’t by my own. This is such a horror. This is kind of the “I'm Sonic, but I can't stop being prisoner” story. Really! — I told him. — Who framed you and why? — the echidna asked and I told him the same thing. — Hm-m. Well, you're in trouble, Sonic. That is okay. You won't get bored with me. You will serve a day with me and we will be released at the same time, after which we will calmly go home. The main thing is, when you go to wash your face in the shower, don’t drop the soap. — I know. — I answer him and lay down on my bed, starting to think about what I had done. Damn, who did I turn into then? At first I was an ordinary and good citizen, then for some reason I got involved with the Gopniks. Why did I do this? Why communicate with bad company at all? And this is where this worst company put me. And I was lucky that it was only for a day, but they could have put me in prison for several years. So long and my whole life would have been wasted without freedom. Now I was behind bars. Therefore, kids, under no circumstances communicate with bad company! She won't bring you any good. If you are offended by some gopniks or bandits there, then don’t hide it! Tell everyone and tell everyone about it! Perhaps they will definitely help you.