Leonardo POV

I gulp, glancing around the campus with shaky legs and quivering fingers. I take a deep breath, inhaling it all in. The high school, tall and long, is my new project. No more crime fighting. Only studying.

Months back, along side the Mighty Mutanimals, me and my three little brothers defeated the Kraang, banishing them from our planet, closing them in Dimension X forever. Soon after, the Shredder faded away. No more foot soldiers, no more Tigerclaw or Rahzar or Bebop or Rocksteady or Fishface. No more Karai. Everything was still, calm, for our city. For the first time in a year, nothing was happening. As Raph put it, "We ran outta butts to kick."

Not much time passed before the world had recovered from the invasion. And, with nearly half off the world mutated, mutants now roamed free.

Hence, Master Splinter registered us for school. And here we are now.

I look at my brothers, all broadcasting different emotions.

Raphael stands to my left. His emerald eyes narrowed into slits, he balls his fists, inhaling sharply through his nostrils, his exhales slipping past his teeth. Although his posture reads fierceness, making him look Boulder-strong, I can see past his tough mask, I can see the nervousness, the edginess, in his form. He's scared, I can see it in his eyes. But, I know that'll never admit to it.

To my left stands Donatello. Excitement radiates off of him like rays of the sun. He's practically bursting with joy, looking like he's gonna explode as vibrantly as a firework. It's always been a dream of Donnie's to school; his thirst for knowledge is what kept him from sleeping the last few nights, he was more than anxious to arrive at school.

And finally, there's little Michelangelo. His freckles lift with his chubby cheeks, his eyes lit happiness. His bounces slightly, eyes wandering around, never stopping on one place for more than a second before moving on to the next. It's obvious what he's feeling, and I wish I shared the emotion.

Instead, I'm shaking in fear. Never have I ever been such a wreck in my life. I've dealt with aliens from another dimension, evil mutants, and a human knife, and I'm afraid of this? I shake my head. 'Pull it together, Leo, it's just high school,' I remind myself reassuringly.

I decide to do what I always have; observe.

My sapphire eyes move across benches and crowds of people. It isn't hard picking out the jocks from the geeks, the cheerleaders from the goths, the socialists from the loners.

But not one person catches my eye. I just glide over them, ignoring their existence altogether. And then, I see her. A tall girl leaning back against a blooming cherry blossom tree. Her hair blows with the breeze, the straight, wave free strands looking as wild as her attire. She wears black, fingerless gloves, and a blue and grey plaid long sleeve with skinny jeans. Black combat boots cover her feet.

My head tilts to the side and I can feel my posture soften, as well as my eyes. Even from a distance, just looking at her sends me into a feel of pure relaxation. She makes me feel safe, and I can't help but feel as if I've meet her somewhere before.

"So we gonna go in or just stand around all day like a bunch'a retards?" Raphael demands harshly, cutting through my thoughts.

I was about to reply, when Donnie beat me to it, "Raph's right, we should go in. I think we're all pretty confident about this." I gulp, but force a nod of agreement.

"Can we go now, Leo?" Mikey's wide, baby blue eyes shimmer in the morning light.

"You don't have to ask him for permission anymore, Mikey. Leo ain't our leader," Raphael's rough voice growls. He stalks off, his red mask tails trailing after him, his backpack slung over his shell.

Mikey follows after him, without a moments hesitation. And, just before Donnie goes after the other two, he shrugs and looks at me with eyes that say, "oh, well, what can you do about it?"

I frown, left alone on the sidewalk. Raph's right, sadly. I am not their leader, I'm just their brother. I'm just a regular, teenage guy.

Biting my lip, I race after them, calling out for them to wait up.

Michelangelo Pov

I stare at my surroundings in amazement as I walk beside Donnie. "And I thought the outside was cool," I murmur. I breathe it all in—the posters, flyers, students and teachers. Door upon door that I have yet to pass through.

We stop at the locker-pod, stuffing out belonging in them. Me and my brothers lockers are lined up beside each other, as well as April's and Casey's. At the far end of the row, next to Leonardo, is a girl with black hair with blonde tips.

Me and my brothers split up to our home rooms. Donatello and I walk in one direction, April as well. As we depart, I look back, watching Leonardo and Raphael walk away. It's strange, not being with them. Because all our lives, it's been one for all, of all for none.

Raphael Pov

I slide into a seat, sitting next to Leo. He pulls out the newest Space Heroes comic book, and begins to read. I, on the other hand, take a second to observe my classmates.

Most everyone in the room is human, though there are a few mutants. In the front of the room is a pigeon man, who, at the sight of him, reminds me of Pigeon Pete. I smirk a bit. Behind two seats is a squirrel-girl, and beside her is a lizard girl. I can't seem to take my eyes off her.

Dirty blonde locks, pulled back with a pink headband. Bright, ice blue eyes shinning. She wears a pink scarf around her neck.

My eyes are glued to her, no matter how hard I try, I can't look away.

Suddenly, she turns, meeting my gaze. I quickly turn away, wanting to look as innocent as possible. I can't let this girl catch me staring!

Out of the corner of my eye, I see her walking towards me. "And I told Mikey, you have to leave Donnie alone. I mean, lord knows how the guy gets when he hasn't had his morning cup'o coffee," I say to Leonardo, acting as if we'd been having a regular conversation. My brother stares at me with a raised brow, seemingly confused by my random conversation.

I can sense the girl looming, so I say, "just a sec," to Leo, and turn to her. "You want something? We were kinda in the middle of a conversation," my tone is rude, not exactly the best first impression, but sadly, it's all I got. Anger is what I know.

"We were not!" Leonardo exclaims in argument. I shoot him a glare, which he pays no mind to.

Rolling my eyes, I turn back to reptile-girl.

"You were staring at me," she says with a dull voice. God, if I didn't know any better I'd say we were practically the same person, what, with that stone-cold glare and tempered tone of voice. I can tell that me and her are gonna get along nicely.

"Was not," I say playfully. But, even that comes out mean-sounding.

"Right," I can tell that she isn't playing games. "What's your name?"

"Raphael Hamato, only, you can call me Raph."

The girl smirks. "Mona Lisa," she says in introduction. Then, she spins around on her heel, and walks back to her seat, just in time for homeroom to take action.

Hm, Mona. She has a beautiful name, too.