New York City. The big apple. The city that never sleeps.
For the life of her, Emma Jones could not figure out how she had let her mom and her brother talk her into going to New York University. Yes, it was a good school, and yes, they offered her major. Still, it was far outside of her comfort zone. The city was always too loud, obnoxious and polluted for her tastes when she had visited her brother, Casey. She tried to remember the conversation that had led to this misadventure. Chocolate must have been involved somehow. They always knew her weakness. Damn them.
All she knew was that she would miss the simple quiet of the country. It wasn't like she lived on a farm, but in a town of less than one thousand, farmland was easy to find. After all the time mom spent trying to get away from New York, Emma found it frustrating she was the one pushing her back. Mom hadn't even seen the city since dad died.
Then again, Casey was saving her a good amount on housing costs by allowing her to live with him. That just made her feel guilty about the whole thing. He just wanted her to experience more of the world. Casey offered her a home and support as she faced her first real challenge as an adult. Could that be so bad?
Yes, actually, it could. New York had been dealing with a lot over the past few years. First, the Shredder was arrested after terrorizing the city, then a giant hole opened in the sky over downtown. One minute a spaceship was forming over the Chrysler Building, the next it was flying away. Why would alien life come to Earth, only to turn around after five minutes? No one seemed to have the answer. Emma swore that if she saw one creepy or unusual thing, she was going back to Findley Lake.
"You want to stop to get something to eat?" Casey asked, as he pulled the car off the interstate and jarred Emma out of her thoughts. "April said she'd be happy to meet us somewhere." Right, Casey's new girlfriend.
"Sounds good," Emma replied, not taking her eyes off of the world passing by her window. "You know me. I'll eat anything." Casey nodded and pulled out his phone. A short call later, they now headed in a more targeted direction, if you could call it that. Casey turned down the radio.
"Mom said she'd mail more of your clothes to us next week. I guess she was worried my car wouldn't handle the load." Emma grinned. Casey's car had seen better days ten years ago.
"Will I have a place to put them? I know your apartment isn't the biggest. I don't want mom sending so much that will make things difficult."
"I've already got everything set up for you. Trust me, you'll love it. I had to move my desk into the basement, but I wasn't using it much." Emma gave her brother a gentle shove.
"You're grades would have been better if you did." Casey laughed.
"I don't have your brains. Besides, classes only teach you so much. You have to get out and live." He made a grand gesture with his hand to emphasize his point. "I'm not letting you stay home all the time just to read."
"What else am I going to do?" Emma was only half joking. She had no idea what New York had to offer for someone of her age besides parks and museums.
"You are going to make friends and get into trouble." She chuckled, but Casey's sly grin made her laughter die. "I'm serious. If you aren't escorted home by a cop by the end of the semester, you can forget about my Christmas gift." Each year, he bought her a leather bound classic in memory of their father.
"That's not fair! You can't break dad's tradition."
"I can and I will." His face grew serious. "He wouldn't want you to close yourself off from the world, Em."
"So, what, you want me to break some laws just to make dad proud?"
"That's not what I said." Casey's hands tightened on the wheel. "Part of the reason mom and I pushed this so hard is because we're worried about you. Ever since dad… you've been closed off."
"Well not everyone can beat people senseless on the ice or fuck their way through college." Emma regretted the words as soon as she said them. She knew Casey had as hard of a time losing their dad as she did. He just went on a different path. The past few years, he had really turned his life around, dedicating himself to law enforcement. She glanced over to see his face. It was hard and his mouth was a thin line. "I'm sorry, that was low." A nod was his only response. They drove in silence until Casey pulled into the parking lot of a diner.
"Casey, I'm sorry," Emma said, staring at her hands in her lap. The guilt was crushing her. "If… if it'll make you happy, then I'll try to get out more." Casey's face immediately broke into a beaming smile.
"Good, I'm glad we had this talk." He stepped out of the car before Emma could respond. She blinked through the darkness. Slamming the door behind her, she caught up to him after a few steps.
"So all of that was a guilt trip?" Emma asked with a huff.
"Yes, and it worked." Casey laughed heartily as he lead her through the doors. "I almost pulled something when you made that comment about fucking through college. I would have crashed if I hadn't kept a straight face." He paused and looked around. His smile was the biggest Emma had seen on his face in a long time. "In the booth at the end." A woman with dark hair and a yellow jacket waved to them as they approached.
The woman stood and offered her hand to Emma. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you," she said.
Emma was impressed. Casey's girlfriends weren't usually so nice. April was smart, funny, and beautiful. For a brief moment, she wondered what her brother had done to find such a catch. He was a beat cop and she was a news reporter for channel six. After a fantastic meal, Emma had been sorry to part ways. She wasn't looking forward to sleeping on her brother's couch for the next five months.
A short drive and a few minutes later, Casey was helping Emma unload the car. She moved things from the trunk to the sidewalk and Casey would climb six stories to drop things off. Emma was glad she had only brought a few things. She would have felt bad if Casey had to do more than two trips without her.
The apartment looked the same as it always had. A short hall to the left led to the bathroom while the door in front opened to Casey's bedroom. On the right, the hall opened to the living room and kitchen. From here, she could see the small dining room (more like a small nook where the dining table and an unused desk had been) was closed off from the rest of the room by a large curtain hanging from the ceiling. The furniture had also been rearranged. The chair from the near corner was now against the window, the aforementioned dining table now in its place.
"I figured that you'd prefer your own space," Casey said from behind her. He nodded at the curtain. "Take a look."
Emma walked through the living room to see that the curtain extended right up to the ceiling and went from wall to wall. Pulling back the fabric, she smiled. Casey had cobbled together a cozy nook for her. He had squeezed a lot in by pretending the drapes were walls. A dresser was in the corner created by the makeshift wall and the windows. Right at its feet was a small bed, just short enough to allow her use of the dresser's bottom drawer. He had also closed off the door to the kitchen with a second curtain and most of a large bookcase. A goose-necked lamp was clamped to its side.
"It's perfect!" Emma exclaimed as she ran to her brother and wrapped her arms around him. He chuckled and hugged her back.
"Good, let's get your stuff unpacked."
Across the street, on a rooftop that gave perfect vision into the Jones' apartment, a figure cloaked in shadows cursed under his breath.
Raphael had a frustrating day. His brothers had been annoying since he woke up. Not that was unusual for them. Coming to Casey's to hang out had been the best option when Leo had started in on him for the third time since dinner. The guy couldn't take a fucking break for five goddamn minutes.
Getting some air wasn't as simple for Raph and his family as it was for everyone else in the world. Being a massive mutant tended to draw attention. Part turtle, part… not, he and his three brothers were big, green and freaky looking. That's why his father had taught them how to hide, how to use the shadows to their advantage. Leaving the lair meant he had to be aware of his surroundings constantly. Casey's place was usually a good place to go when he just wanted to relax, no hyper-vigilance necessary. That was before the human's sister had moved in.
Casey had been talking about her all week, letting everyone know how awesome it would be to have the turtles meet her. That would be weeks off yet, Raph knew. The girl was going through enough just dealing with college and moving into the greatest city in the world. Not that he had any experience with school. Most of what he knew about them, he learned from movies. He and his brothers had been taught by their father, Master Splinter. After the basics of reading, writing and math, they had begun training how to fight. Now they were fully trained ninjas.
Damn. Now he'd have to find some other place to relax. The top of the Manhattan Bridge would do well enough. It just didn't have the television access he had been hoping for that night.
With a final look at the pair, Raphael raced into the night.