Disclaimer: Ninja Turtles are not mine but Chloe is. Please do not sue and no flames.
School Trouble
Eight year old Chloe Calls was sitting on the bench at the school playground working on Sudoku® puzzles. Raph had dropped her off a few minutes ago.
Chloe saw a girl heading towards her. She tried to introduce herself but the girl completely ignored her while passing the bench.
Chloe decided to put away her puzzles. She got up and walked over to where a couple girls were talking.
"Hi, I'm Chloe Calls," Chloe said in a friendly tone. The two girls walked away without saying anything.
Why is everyone shutting me out? Chloe wondered. All I've done is be friendly and no one will give me the time of day.
Chloe decided to sit on the steps. She noticed that a couple girls nearby were talking about her.
"Did you hear anything about the new girl Chloe Calls?" the first girl asked.
"I heard that she didn't express any emotion when she found out that her parents were killed in the apartment fire," the second girl replied.
"She has no feelings at all."
"I would've broken down if either of my parents were killed."
"Same with me."
"She's totally heartless."
Chloe couldn't believe what those girls were saying. It was true that she didn't express any emotion when she found out about the death of her parents but that was because she wasn't good at showing emotion.
Chloe got her Tetris® game out of her bag. She played until the bell rang.
After school, Leo brought Chloe to the lair. She headed right for Donny's lab.
"Everything all right with Chloe?" Raph asked with concern.
"She didn't say hi to us," Mikey chimed in.
"She's been quiet since I got her from school," Leo said. "Something must've happened."
A few minutes later, Chloe burst out of the lab and ran out of the lair. Donny came out a few moments later.
"I'm going to find Chloe," Donny said and then left the lair.
Chloe was racing through the sewers. Eventually, she ended up at the spot where she first met Mikey and Donny.
Chloe sat down against a wall, took some deep breaths, but she wasn't able to stop the floodgates from opening. She curled up in a ball, buried her face in her arms, and broke down completely for the second time in her life.
Several minutes later, Chloe felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Donny looking at her with concern.
"Why would those girls at school think I'm heartless just because I didn't show any emotions when my parents were killed in the fire?" Chloe inquired.
"I have no idea but I do know that everyone deals with death in different ways," Donny replied. "I also know that you're not heartless. In fact, you're the only human that didn't scream or faint at the first sight of my family."
"Remember when I broke down because my grandparents enrolled me in public school?"
"I remember."
"That was the first time I've ever done that."
"It is?"
"That's something I've never done even as a baby."
"How'd you communicate when you were a baby?"
"I made baby sounds."
"I see."
Chloe and Donny wrapped their arms around each other. They released each other several minutes later.
"We should head back now," Chloe said.
"Good idea," Donny said
Chloe, Splinter, and the turtles were in the entertainment area. Chloe had just finished explaining what she'd told Donny earlier.
"We had no idea, Miss Calls," Splinter said.
"Now we know why you didn't have any reaction to your parents' death," Leo said.
"I'm glad we met you," Mikey said.
"We all are," Raph said.
"We'll do what we can to help you out," Donny offered.
"I'd really appreciate that," Chloe said gratefully.
Splinter and Chloe wrapped their arms around each other. Then the turtles each got a turn.
Splinter headed to his room to meditate. Mikey got ready to play video games. Raph and Leo headed for the dojo. Chloe and Donny headed for the lab.
The End