Mike was the first one up. He was still a little tired, but excited to see the new city.
"Too bad I won't get to see it 'til after dark," he muttered.
He peeked out the blinds in the room he was borrowing. The house was situated in a nice neighborhood. Judging from the decorations he saw, it appeared that several of the houses were rented to students of the local college.
With a sigh, Mike left the room and went downstairs. Raph was snoring, sprawled on the couch like he owned it. Leo was curled on his side, head buried under a couch cushion. Mike grinned and moved into the kitchen. He wasn't super hungry, but if Dan didn't get up soon, Mike decided he'd have to raid the refrigerator.
A little more exploring revealed a door to the basement. A basement loaded with fun stuff for an early riser to play with. There was a pool table, a dart board, and best of all, the latest gaming system.
His brothers found him sometime later, ensconced in a beanbag, happily blowing enemies away.
"So, Mikey," Raph said, pulling the orange turtle from his game, "you gonna join us at the beach, or are we gonna leave you here to paly your game?"
Mike paused his game and looked back at his brothers, Dan, and Casey.
"I didn't think we'd be going to the beach this early," he said.
"Mike, it's, like, practically noon," Casey said. "Time to get movin', ya know?"
"You're one to talk," Raph cut in. "Who was the last one up, eh?"
Casey and Raph went toe to toe and started yelling insults at each other. The others moved closer to Mike to get away from the noise.
"Dan says he knows a place we can go," Leo said. "It's kinda hard to get to, so no one should bother us."
"Theoretically," Raph muttered, taking a moment out from arguing with Casey.
"You can stay here," Don said helpfully. He turned to Mike. "So, you comin'?"
Mike jumped up, flipping the TV off. "Like, of course, dude! I'm not going to be left here while you guys go play. I was just killin' time until you dudes were up."
"We'll we're up now," Don said, "so let's go!"
"I've got some sandwich stuff in the fridge," Dan said. "We can make a picnic and spend the whole day at the beach. It's supposed to be great weather today."
"Righteous!" Mike crowed.
"Excellent!" Leo chimed in.
Don threw his two cents in. "Auspicious!"
Leo and Mike rolled their eyes. Dan just laughed.
"Last one upstairs is a rotten turtle egg!" Mike yelled, charging past Casey and Raph.
Leo, Don, and Dan were close on his heels, leaving Casey and Raph to finish their argument in peace.
"Sand and surf, here we come!"
"Look! It's a Larus californicus!"
Don made a mark on the paper he was carrying around on a clip board. Mike rolled his eyes.
"Donnie, put the scientific research away and enjoy the sun, dude."
"I am enjoying the sun. Just because I choose to look for mollusks and gulls doesn't mean I'm not having fun. You like laying around. I like classifying."
Mike raised his hands in surrender. "All right, already. I give. You're having fun."
"Mikey, come play ball," Dan called.
Dan, Leo, and Casey were playing a lopsided game of volleyball. Mike had been having fun watching Leo beat the other two.
"Why not ask Raph?"
The red turtle was farther down the deserted beach, skipping rocks out into the surf.
"He's communing with the sea or something," Casey said. "Either you come help Dan and me, or Leo's gonna continue to wipe the beach with us."
Mike got to his feet from where he'd been laying near the remnants of their picnic.
"So, what, turtles against humans?" he quipped walking over.
"I was hoping you'd be on my team," Dan said. The young man was a little breathless from running after the ball. "You and me against Leo and Casey. Or all three of us against Leo?"
Mike laughed. "Leo's not that good."
"Hey!" interjected Leo.
"It's true. You're good, but not three-on-one good."
"Sounds like a challenge to me," Casey said. He chucked the ball at Leo.
"Right," the blue turtle said. "I'll get three points in a row, one for each of you, or you win."
Leo took a few steps away from the net, threw the ball into the air, and spiked it toward the other three. Dan and Casey dived out of the way. Mike yelled 'yikes!' and turned his back toward the oncoming missile. The thud reverberated through his whole body as the ball rebounded off his shell. He spun back around to face his sibling.
"Dude, are you trying to kill us?!"
Leo looked cocky with his arms folded across his chestplate. Mike bared his teeth in a grimace. If that's they way Fearless Leader wanted to play it, Mike would oblige him.
"Where's the ball?"
"Uh, in the drink," Dan said.
That deflated some of Mike's enthusiasm. He could see the white orb floating out on the waves. "I'll get it," he said.
He jogged to the water, ran a few lengths into the water, then dove, Baywatch style, beneath the waves. His head popped up and he swam with sure strokes toward the ball. He caught it, and hugged it beneath his chin, floating on the waves for a moment. He could see around the spur of jagged rock that separate the secluded beach where his brothers were from the busy beach just a few hundred yards away.
He felt a little spurt of jealousy, watching families play and swim together. The jealousy didn't spring from the sight of the families, his own family shared a strong bond of friendship and love, in their own way. It was the fact that the others had nothing to hide. Nothing that would keep them away from crowds of people on a bright sunny day anyway. Mike sighed and, keeping the ball between his stroking arms, headed back toward his family.
A woman's scream brought him up short. He turned back to the busy beach, his brown eyes singling out a woman up to her knees in the water. She was pointing frantically and screaming. Mike followed the direction of her finger and was horrified to see a little girl flailing in the deep water. Near her floated an inflatable lounge.
Without thinking, Mike started toward the girl, volleyball forgotten. As he got closer, he plunged under the water so he wouldn't be seen. He floated just beneath the little girl, supporting her with his hands around his waist and started kicking toward the floating lounge. His lungs were starting to burn with the need for air and he popped his head up, coming face to face with the little girl.
"Turtle," she said, poking his snout.
Mike blinked salt water from his eyes. "Uh, yeah, little dudette. But you can't tell your mommy about me."
"'Kay," the girl said.
"I'll get you on your floaty thing and then you have to hang onto that until the lifeguard comes to get you."
The little girl nodded again.
Mike looked toward the beach. Several people were already headed out to the floating lounge. He was going to try and get her closer to them. Keeping his head up, but hidden behind the girl's body, he swam to the lounge and helped her climb on.
"Lay on your tummy and hold on tight," he said.
"'Kay, Mister Turtle," she said.
Marveling at her acceptance, Mike gripped the back of the lounge and swam toward the shore. When he thought he was close enough he peeked around the side of the lounge and came face to face with a pair of bright blue eyes.
"Oh!" the mouth below the eyes said.
"Crap!" Mike yelled.
He let go and kicked backward. He saw a young woman holding onto the lounge. Saw her wide eyes and mouth open to scream, and then he dove beneath the surface.
She saw me! he thought wildly. We gotta leave! They'll be combing the beach for huge turtles now!
Though his lungs ached for air, he surfaced only once to catch a breath and make sure he was going in the right direction.
"Guys, we gotta go!" Mike gasped as he staggered out of the water.
"Man, what took you so long?" Casey asked. "Where's the ball?"
"There was a girl," Mike said. "She fell of her raft. I had to save her, but someone saw me. We gotta go!"
"Way to go, dunder head," Raph said.
Mike's hands balled into fists. Leo stepped between them.
"Now's not the time," he said. "Pack up. Get moving."
Five minutes later they had all the gear up to Casey's van and were driving for Dan's house. Mike was miserable. He'd saved the girl, but ruined the day for his brothers and friends. He hoped they could salvage the rest of the trip, or he'd never hear the end of it.