I do not own the TMNT
Normal
"Okay. Now, maybe a little more to the left." April instructed.
"Your left, or my left?"
"My le- we're facing the same direction!"
Kit chuckled as she moved the plate over. "Just keeping you on your toes, April. Next plate, please." April handed another china plate up to Kit on the ladder. The mutant cat carefully positioned the dish on the topmost shelf of one of the display cabinets in April's store. "How come you couldn't bat those green eyes of yours at somebody and get Casey or one of the guys to do this?" Kit asked.
"Right," April scoffed. "I'd have to change my shop name from the Second Time Around to the Last Stop if I asked any of those klutzes. Do you know what happened to the antique white suit I'd put on display the first time the guys helped out?"
Kit hid her smile and focused on the plate she was positioning. "Uh, no. Can't say that I do." Kit knew full well that Mikey had had a little 'accident' involving a typewriter and the white suit, but from the sound of it April was still more than willing to make a turtle shish kabob if she found out who exactly was responsible.
"It was ruined!" April shouted. She started waving another china plate around and Kit quickly caught it before something else could get ruined. "I'm sorry Kit, I love the guys, but sometimes I don't know how you put up with them!"
More chuckling. "Wow, you make me sound sane. Should I be insulted?"
"You know what I mean!" April kicked the ladder just hard enough to shake it. "You grew up with normal humans; the guys are just so…so…"
"Different?"
"Well…" April blushed and looked intently at the bowl in her hands. "Not mutant different but… You know…sometimes they act just like any other guy their age, and sometimes they act so…"
"Different. Yeah, I know what you mean." Kit took the bowl. "I guess it's because they grew up away from people... society? Yeah, society. We grew up with schools, TV, movies, everyone telling us how to behave. Humans aren't allowed to grow up as the individuals they were meant to be. Although, that still doesn't explain Raph's accent."
April laughed at that. As she sobered and held up a teacup she looked thoughtful. "What do you think they'd have been like as humans?" She asked.
Kit held up the teacup and paused, frowning. "Normal." She finally said, her tone held distaste, possibly disgust, for the idea. "They'd be normal."
"How so?"
"Describe Donnie to me." Kit ordered.
April smiled fondly. "He's a kind-hearted genius who loves to tinker." She said easily.
"Class nerd. He'd get shoved into lockers on a weekly basis, be forced to do other kids' homework in self defense and have his entire social life based on science or physics club and his computer. Ten to one says internet junkie."
April blinked, both at Kit's words and the reminder that the turtles were still school aged, "That's a little cynical don't you think?"
Kit grinned down at her, "Yep. Next victim, describe Mikey to me."
"Goofball, class clown with a talent for art." April guessed.
"And pranks!" Kit added, "Due to his inability to respect the pecking order in life he'd probably get on the popular guys' bad side and join the weekly locker club. Fortunately we know this means he and Don would know each other."
April covered her mouth and chortled at the mental image of Donnie and Mikey talking to each other from neighboring lockers. "Fine, what about Raph?" She finally asked.
"Describe his basic nature." Kit said, by now she had turned around on the ladder and was sitting on the rungs with her tail hanging down on the other side, swinging gently.
"He's a hothead with a tough crust and a gooey center. Alpha male type." April said, she waited expectantly.
"Football and wrestling team, very physical, probably gets expelled at least once before he finally graduates and knows Mikey because he spends so much time shoving people who make him angry into lockers. Probably lets Donnie's type out once in a while."
April laughed, "Fine, what about good old dependable, hard working, Leonardo?"
Kit didn't hesitate before answering, "Brown nosing teacher's pet who's the best in every club, student council, and captain of the football team constantly butting heads with hotheads on the team." April nodded, this made sense. Kit finished with, "Spends a great deal of time freeing students from lockers." That got April laughing again. She missed the look on Kit's face as the mutant stood and turned away from her. She had a sad sort of smile that if April had seen she would have questioned in an instant.
Yes, if the turtles had been human they would have been normal. The more cynical part of Kit saw things a little differently than she had described.
At her old school; Donnie, the genius with a need for challenge and discovery, would have dropped out of the slow, redundant educational system first chance he got. Without the expected education, getting a good job would be difficult, regardless of his brains. Mikey would have been punished to no end, eventually either being broken to the system or dropping out himself. Raphael, the hothead, would probably be in jail by now. And Leo, strong protective Leo. In the real world, without his brothers needing his protection and vigilance he would probably fall back on parental and teacher approval, eventually growing to be the sort of person who does everything to the satisfaction of others. Even if they were still brothers, their bond could never grow so strong.
Kit frowned as she stared at the dark reflection in one of the china plates. If the guys had been human, grown up human, and lived normal lives, they wouldn't be what made them the 'guys'.
They would have been normal.
Kit's personal experiences have left her with a rather cynical opinion of the American Educational system and as a product of that system I have to agree.
Since posting this way back when, I've continued to study public schools and my opinions have only been reinforced.
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