"Hey, guys," Mikey said wandering into the living room, "Where is Kelen?"
"She went to the mall," said Donny, barely glancing up from his book. "What about Lauren?" Mikey wondered. "Mall," sighed Donetello. Mikey threw himself onto the green leather couch. "So they're both gone?"
"Yep," Raphael said, rolling his eyes, "They're at the mall."
"Why?" Leo wanted to know. Mikey sighed, and decided to tell them.
"Kel seemed real upset this morning," he said quietly. Leo directed all his attention to Mikey. He had always sensed that something was wrong with Kelen. That maybe none of her smiles were real. But he had always brushed the thought away, telling himself not to worry. But now that someone else sensed the same thing, maybe something really was wrong. "What do you mean upset?" Leo demanded. Mikey started telling them about the day he had experienced. About finding her outside and the way she slept out there when she wasn't in a good mood, and how she had locked herself in the bathroom. He finished with telling them about the way she kept shifting her weight on the couch earlier that day, like she wanted to get away from all the conversation.
"Well," Leo said, "it does sound like something is wrong, but we really have no way of finding out what."
"Or maybe," Raphael began, "She's really an alien from outer space, and she's here to take over our planet! Just a possibility, maybe you are all way to paranoid! Just leave her alone!"
"Come on Raph, not even you can say that nothing is wrong!" Leo protested.
Raph leaned back against the small bar in the living room He crossed his arms and looked away. He really was worried about Kelen. She had earned his trust almost immediately by not judging him. And the past few months, he had begun to like her. Much more than he wanted too.
Leo and Mikey thought about what was wrong and slapped each crazy idea that came out of their mouths away.
Leo was laughing at the idea Mikey had just suggested, when he glanced over to Donny. He had remained silent this whole time. His book was down, but he just sat there, as if contemplating something over in his mind.
"Donny?" Leo said, snapping Don's attention toward him. The room fell silent. Everyone knew that he was hiding something. It was practically written in his eyes.
"I was walking past the bathroom this morning," He began, knowing they would pry it out of him anyway, "I heard a kind of muffled noise, almost like someone crying. Kelen and Lauren were talking about something. I know I shouldn't have, but I stayed there to listen. Kelen said something about a terrible pain. One she wasn't yet willing to share with us. Something much more terrible than we can imagine. Something maybe we haven't had to go through yet." These guys had been through a lot. So that kind of limited their choices. They started tossing around ideas again, but these were more ridiculous than the last
Now it was Raph's turn to be silent. He and Kelen shared a lot of the same emotions. Kelen had opened up to him a little more than she had with the others. Even though he wasn't the greatest guy to go to advice for, he liked knowing that someone understood the way he felt. Because they felt that way too. And he was determined to find out what it was that she was hiding.
"Okay, lets be rational guys," Donny said wiping away the tears he had gotten from the suggestion that maybe it was just long term PMS. That one obviously came from Mike.
"Now I think that maybe if we had hit the topic before with her, we might have some clue. But I'm blank. So start listing things that we haven't talked to her about at all yet."
Mikey took a deep breath and began, " Roof repair, installing carpet, tools, grass, cooking, family…"
Donny rolled his eyes, each of them were ridiculous. Except, "What was that last one Mike?"
"Ummm… grass?" he completely guessed.
"No, family, it's a shot in the dark, but I think we've covered almost everything else with her."
"She's talked about her family before," Raph said matter-of-factly.
"No," Leo said, "I don't think she has."
"Well, anyway, you can't just go and decide that she's automatically upset about her family. We have no proof and it's a complete guess. So drop it." Raph said defensively, " You have no right to be doing this."
They all stared at him. "Ohhhh, I think Raphie has a crush on someone." Mikey said in a singsong voice. Then they all giggled, yes giggled, at the thought that Raph might have a crush on Kelen.
Then a huge argument erupted out of Raph's mouth and they were all talking at once. After a few minutes of this, a sharp whistle turned their heads to two girls, a blonde and a brunette, looking very confused and trying not to laugh.
" What's up?" Kelen asked, hoping for a decent answer.
Raph clasped a hand over Mikey's mouth, so nothing would spill, and said quickly, "Nothin'."
"Nothin', huh?" Kelen responded, noting the hand over Mike's mouth.
"Yeah," said Leo, "Just about, uh, TV."
Donny was trying very hard not to laugh. "Something funny, Donnetello?" Lauren asked him. He shook his head no. All was silent for a little while.
"Okay then," Lauren said, exiting the room. Kelen stood there her gaze meeting Raphael's. She got a funny feeling, like he was searching her soul for some un-known. She quickly turned her gaze to Mikey, who gave her an apologetic stare. She had hoped Mikey wouldn't tell them she had been acting so strangely. But now she knew he had. She turned on her heel and quietly padded up the stairs to the room that was practically hers. Downstairs, the guys heard the door to her room click shut and lock. Now they all knew, something was definitely wrong with Kelen.
"She went to the mall," said Donny, barely glancing up from his book. "What about Lauren?" Mikey wondered. "Mall," sighed Donetello. Mikey threw himself onto the green leather couch. "So they're both gone?"
"Yep," Raphael said, rolling his eyes, "They're at the mall."
"Why?" Leo wanted to know. Mikey sighed, and decided to tell them.
"Kel seemed real upset this morning," he said quietly. Leo directed all his attention to Mikey. He had always sensed that something was wrong with Kelen. That maybe none of her smiles were real. But he had always brushed the thought away, telling himself not to worry. But now that someone else sensed the same thing, maybe something really was wrong. "What do you mean upset?" Leo demanded. Mikey started telling them about the day he had experienced. About finding her outside and the way she slept out there when she wasn't in a good mood, and how she had locked herself in the bathroom. He finished with telling them about the way she kept shifting her weight on the couch earlier that day, like she wanted to get away from all the conversation.
"Well," Leo said, "it does sound like something is wrong, but we really have no way of finding out what."
"Or maybe," Raphael began, "She's really an alien from outer space, and she's here to take over our planet! Just a possibility, maybe you are all way to paranoid! Just leave her alone!"
"Come on Raph, not even you can say that nothing is wrong!" Leo protested.
Raph leaned back against the small bar in the living room He crossed his arms and looked away. He really was worried about Kelen. She had earned his trust almost immediately by not judging him. And the past few months, he had begun to like her. Much more than he wanted too.
Leo and Mikey thought about what was wrong and slapped each crazy idea that came out of their mouths away.
Leo was laughing at the idea Mikey had just suggested, when he glanced over to Donny. He had remained silent this whole time. His book was down, but he just sat there, as if contemplating something over in his mind.
"Donny?" Leo said, snapping Don's attention toward him. The room fell silent. Everyone knew that he was hiding something. It was practically written in his eyes.
"I was walking past the bathroom this morning," He began, knowing they would pry it out of him anyway, "I heard a kind of muffled noise, almost like someone crying. Kelen and Lauren were talking about something. I know I shouldn't have, but I stayed there to listen. Kelen said something about a terrible pain. One she wasn't yet willing to share with us. Something much more terrible than we can imagine. Something maybe we haven't had to go through yet." These guys had been through a lot. So that kind of limited their choices. They started tossing around ideas again, but these were more ridiculous than the last
Now it was Raph's turn to be silent. He and Kelen shared a lot of the same emotions. Kelen had opened up to him a little more than she had with the others. Even though he wasn't the greatest guy to go to advice for, he liked knowing that someone understood the way he felt. Because they felt that way too. And he was determined to find out what it was that she was hiding.
"Okay, lets be rational guys," Donny said wiping away the tears he had gotten from the suggestion that maybe it was just long term PMS. That one obviously came from Mike.
"Now I think that maybe if we had hit the topic before with her, we might have some clue. But I'm blank. So start listing things that we haven't talked to her about at all yet."
Mikey took a deep breath and began, " Roof repair, installing carpet, tools, grass, cooking, family…"
Donny rolled his eyes, each of them were ridiculous. Except, "What was that last one Mike?"
"Ummm… grass?" he completely guessed.
"No, family, it's a shot in the dark, but I think we've covered almost everything else with her."
"She's talked about her family before," Raph said matter-of-factly.
"No," Leo said, "I don't think she has."
"Well, anyway, you can't just go and decide that she's automatically upset about her family. We have no proof and it's a complete guess. So drop it." Raph said defensively, " You have no right to be doing this."
They all stared at him. "Ohhhh, I think Raphie has a crush on someone." Mikey said in a singsong voice. Then they all giggled, yes giggled, at the thought that Raph might have a crush on Kelen.
Then a huge argument erupted out of Raph's mouth and they were all talking at once. After a few minutes of this, a sharp whistle turned their heads to two girls, a blonde and a brunette, looking very confused and trying not to laugh.
" What's up?" Kelen asked, hoping for a decent answer.
Raph clasped a hand over Mikey's mouth, so nothing would spill, and said quickly, "Nothin'."
"Nothin', huh?" Kelen responded, noting the hand over Mike's mouth.
"Yeah," said Leo, "Just about, uh, TV."
Donny was trying very hard not to laugh. "Something funny, Donnetello?" Lauren asked him. He shook his head no. All was silent for a little while.
"Okay then," Lauren said, exiting the room. Kelen stood there her gaze meeting Raphael's. She got a funny feeling, like he was searching her soul for some un-known. She quickly turned her gaze to Mikey, who gave her an apologetic stare. She had hoped Mikey wouldn't tell them she had been acting so strangely. But now she knew he had. She turned on her heel and quietly padded up the stairs to the room that was practically hers. Downstairs, the guys heard the door to her room click shut and lock. Now they all knew, something was definitely wrong with Kelen.