"Comma Rules." I begin as I read over the paper that I had written, briefly in my haste, what I wanted to imprint into my memory. "Fish ID's… Wait… Fish don't have ID's why did I even WRITE THAT?" I rub my temple before spotting a note to the side stating what Fish ID's were and I mentally grunted wondering how I even forgot about it, so simple.
"Fanboys, Insertions, Series, He/she said, Introductions, Dates make Fish ID's." I raise my brow before wondering who in the world would make a ridiculous and hilarious picture in my mind, way of remembering comma rules. "Does it really matter, Donatello?"
I shrugged.
"Fanboys:," I typed in the computer for an easy to read paper, "I went out of state, but Raphael stayed in New York." I knew from prior experiences I had to use people I would remember and my brother's name was perfect.
"Insertions:," I took a sip of water, "Leonardo, his leg in a cast, laid in bed." These were the stupidest sentences I have ever written but they were to the point.
"Series: Arobics helps to make me limber, majestic, and sturdy." From what April told him, it did do that… not as well as Tai chi helped him.
"He/she said: Michelangelo shouted, 'Donnie!'." He flinched when he turned, not really meaning to type that but his brother really was shouting his name as the orange masked turtle, yes turtle, ran in his room.
"Donnie! Raphie's after me!" I raise my brow before I do hear Raph's heavy, and angry, foot fall a few paces behind the youngest brother.
"Do I even want to know…?" I sigh as I get up and walk over to him directing him to a closet, that didn't even look like it was there, and closed the door behind my prankster of a brother.
"Donatello!" Raph ran into the room just as I picked up a paper, the one with the Comma Rules on it, and turned to look at him. "Where is he?"
"Introductions:" I begin with a smile at my brother as I shrugged, "However, Raphael didn't move." My red masked brother blinked at me twice tilting his head in confusion.
"Uh, Donnie, what was that for?" his anger, I noticed, was dropping with his ever growing question of 'what' I was doing. I laughed.
"Dates: February 11, 1993, Mikey lost his first tooth."
"What the shell?" I watched the aggressive behavior of my brother vanish in outright bewilderment at what I was saying.
"Compound Sentences, page 53," I take a breath and wave my hand good bye to Raphael, "Independent Clause, Franboys, Independent Clause."
I return to my computer and decide to give up on typing in favor of saying it out loud.
"Great, you're studying, aren't ya, Donnie." I give a nod. "I ain't listening to that crap." I grin as Raphael leaves and I quickly walk to the closet I hid Mikey in.
"You can leave now, I got things to do." Mikey give me a quick hug and I hug him back before I shove him out the door and close it, should have done that in the beginning knowing my family, and I return to the chair.
"IC; IC… Independent clauses…" I paused mauling this in my head. "Oh, I see. IC; Transition word, IC." I look at the door and wonder what transition or sentences I could use for these.
"NO!" Mikey's voice cuts through my thoughts before in minutes, though truthfully only five, I hear pounding on my door, I locked it, and I hear something smash against the wall with a metallic 'ting' and I jump rushing forward.
"What the shell!" I open the door to be quickly pinned by two falling brother turtles. "OW! Get off!" I hear Mikey cry and Raph grunt before,
"If EITHER of you two does that again," My eldest brother hissed in obvious anger, "I won't beat you as bad." I opened my eyes to look at Leo glaring down. "Don, are you okay?" his tone changes and I gulp at how it was smooth and… there wasn't anger anymore.
"Yes…" I meep out even as I feel the shuffling of two brothers to disentangle and get off of me, but I was more concerned by WHAT happened while I had kicked Mikey out and locked my door… what two seconds ago, I believed…?
"I did nothing, Leo." Raph hissed.
"You," Leo pointed, "dishonored Mikey." Okay, I missed something important.
"No I didn't!" Raphael retorted with no evidence of his innocence.
"You did too!" Michelangelo joined in. "You… How could you!"
I wanted to badly interject and ask what happened but… I was scared as a dead stiff on the ground forgotten about by murderers.
"I didn't do anything!" Raph said again even as his eyes lowered a bit. "I …"
"You know," Leo said sharply, "You'll have to make Mikey some new chucks now." I look surprised as see, indeed, Mikey had no chucks.
"Fine, outta my way." Leo didn't bulge. "What now, huh, fearless?"
"Apologies."
"Hell no!"
"Now."
I opened my mouth to say something but my mind was not functioning at all with my words as I uttered, "Splinter has four children, but Raphael is a hot head." I gulp when my eyes widen and all of them look at me with confusion.
"What?" I look away as I blush at Leo's words.
"Nothing, go on arguing… but… I have work to do." They don't move.
"What did you call me, Donnie?" Raph questioned.
"Why did you say 'Splinter has four sons'?" Mikey piped in.
"NO reason." Leo looks at me before he looked at the other two and grinned shutting the door and locking it before… "What are you doing!" I nearly scream when he activates my alarm system I showed him for emergencies.
"I am punishing the two dimwits." Leo finds a chair, not mine, and I realize, as did my brothers, what Leo was doing.
"Oh god!" I cover my eyes as I fear for my life and sanity. "You've got to be kidding me!" What a great day to be studying, huh?
"Why don't you continue whatever you were doing prior our interruption, Donatello." Leo said with a silky and very demented tone as he was enjoying the pale completions on the other two turtles.
"I can feel a headache already." And I get up and walk to my paper, which was on the floor, and began again to study all the while a bit more conscious of myself.
"Go ahead." Leo coaxed.
"You're going to owe me big time, big brother." And I look at where I was. "Transition words, page 53, first, then, last, however, also." I watch as Mikey and Raph resign themselves.
I set this page, I did only one side papers so the ink didn't seep through, and looked at the second page of paper, "Key words, page 54, if, because, since, before, after." I think about this and wonder exactly what the difference between key words and transition words are.
"Something wrong, Donnie?" Mikey ask watching me think.
"Just wondering, Mikey."
"About?"
"The differences."
"Oh… like: What Trans are and keys are?" I blink and nod. "Just forget about it bro." I slap my forehead.
"You're going to ruin the braincases brain, dumbbell." Raph grunted out with his eyes closed.
"So?" I hear Leo giggle and I turn to him, he WAS the cause of this.
"Don't listen to him, Don, just continue."I nod as I look over my notes and figure out what I was looking for.
"Transition words: Raphael is hot headed; also, Michelangelo is stupid." I hear two set of complains while Leo begins to laugh. "Key words: Leonardo is going to pay because I'm suffering." Leo frowns as the other two giggle.
"Don." He grumbles.
"I suffer, you suffer." I said in a mi casa you casa style. "Fanboys: For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so."
"Leo's a douch, so Mikey suffers!" Mikey called triumphantly. Everyone blinks at him before Raph looks at him in a challenging way,
"Mikey's in trouble, for Raphael still is mad." I turn to Leo and he's grinning holding back some laughter and I know this is what he wanted and I was… kind of finding it interesting…
"Up yours, Raph."
… maybe not.
"Semi colon… ';'." I blink. "An IC and IC." I nod and I see confusion in the room, who cares. "Colon ':'… Mikey and Raph: rude, obnoxious, and brothers."
"Donnie: brainier, know it all, and purple." Raph retorted.
"Donatello: Bo wielder, knows it all- you stole my line-, and suck up!" I blink and turn to Leo with an expression of 'do I have to go through this?' and the look I received said everything.
"Unity, Neatness, development, and grammar."
"Why'd you say those?" Raph asked looking slightly a bit more interested just for something to do.
"College level writing." I blinked. "Trust me; Grammar is important with capital and non capital letters." Raph ask for an example and I knew only one. "Helping Uncle Jack off a horse." I see no understanding so I state it differently. "Helping uncle jack off a horse."
I see Leo blanch and I laugh as he looks at me with disgust while Mikey asked, "What are you saying?"
"Don't think too much about it, Mikey, Raph." I return to looking at my paper.
"What is a sentence?"
"OH OH I know!" Mikey raised a hand. "Doesn't a sentence have a subject and verb?" I nod. "And…"
"It's a complete thought, stupid." Raph grunted.
"Wow… I'm surprised." Leo said for the first time. "You guys are not as stupid as I thought."
"Screw you, fearless." Raph blinked for five seconds before he jumped from his chair and looked at me. "Oh that is disgusting!" I realize that Raph had just gotten what Leo had when I stated the grammar thing. "Why the shell did you use that as an example, Donnie… arg!"
"What? WHAT!" Mikey questioned wanting to understand.
"No… not saying… oh defiantly not saying." Raph turned green, if that is possible for a naturally green turtle, and sat down, inching away from Leo and I… Leo because he instantly understood the meaning, I figure.
"I think it explained what grammar is perfectly, Raph, besides, what would you have used, hm?" Raph turned away blushing before mumbling to low for any of them to hear.
"Raph, we can't understand a word you've said." Leo points out.
"I said, fearless, 'I ain't doin' no grammar with you two sick-o's in the room'!" Raph turned and looked at the door. "I want out; you two are freaking me out."
"No can do." Leo said as he sat and got ready for whatever else I was going to do. "Is that it, Don?"
"Yes… unfortunately… well, no, I do have one other segment to do."
"What is that?"
"College level words for Good and Bad." I pause to look down at the paper, I had not found any and I was going to with a dictionary.
"OH OH!" Mikey raised a hand wanting to give it a try. "Can I say one for bad?"
"Sure…" I felt that a fight might break out and I'd be forced to fix my lovely equipment, but out of my better judgment I indulged my brother.
"Raphael." And I watched Mikey slam into the ground as he was pinned in a head lock by said 'Raphael'.
"I think that one should work, Donnie… it fits him." I moan as I turn to my dictionary to search up some 'good' words.
"How about I shove one of those 'good' words down your throat, Mikey, might shut ya up for once!" Raph hissed before I look to see him thinking. "You're a competent bastard for always getting on my nerves." I raise my brow.
"Works, Raph." I see the discouraged look on Mikey's face. "Your turn, Mike."
"Well, Raphie," Mike spoke with some difficulty, "You're a debauched, unscrupulous, depraved, unruly turtle with an acute," He coughs from Raph's chock hold, "sense of problem with antagonism and exasperating manner!"
Raph, blinking at the huge and difficult words that Michelangelo said looked up at me, while I had my mouth gapping open, before, "Wow… that was… I …" I turn to Leo who is looking like his brain was busted open. "Leo, did you know he could do that?"
"No."
I turn back to Raph as he didn't let Mike up, "What he call me, Don?"
"Raph, he just called you a brute… with… a horrible attitude… but in a highly vocabulary way… I… I got a headache, I'm leaving." I stood up and, now more than ever, wanted to forget about improving my English. "Leo, never do this again to me." It was not a form of a statement it was swear that if he did it he'd be in trouble. "I have absolutely no love for being in these situations." And I was out the door after it opened and in my room two seconds later lying down and thinking,
'I'm giving up on helping my brothers anymore with any problems!'