Reader's Revenge

Carrie sat on the sofa, listening to the explanation with feigned interest. Her eyes were dried from staring so long. She might've fallen asleep if it weren't for the fact that he was SO excited by his lecture that he spoke in loud, excited tones which were about as easy to sleep to as a 3 month old's screams. How could he POSSIBLY think she was interested in this?

"So I had to cast replacement threads out of epoxy cement, which is tinted with earth pigments, in order to match the color of the original threads. And the results were very good from both a mechanical and visibility standpoint."

She stared at the turtle, her mind drifting. If only she had finished that next chapter of the book she had been working on, none of this would have happened. She could be watching TV right now, or even doing HOMEWORK! ANYTHING would be better than THIS!

"I actually found this plane at an outdoor farm auction in the fall. It was one of those drizzly, rainy days, and all of the non-furniture items were laid out on hay wagons in the rain. There were several tools, and when I spotted a screw arm plough plane, my heart totally began racing."

She nodded mutely. Maybe if she went along with it, he'd let her go. The handcuffs around her wrists were starting to get uncomfortable. She shifted, trying to move just a little bit. She'd been sitting in this chair for over three hours, tied up, waiting patiently for Donatello to finish his explanation on the joys of woodworking. More specifically, he was talking about replacing threads on a plough plane, and her interest was about as peaked as it had been when her algebra teacher explained the joys of exponents.

"So I got some 'Rubbertex Molding Compound' and mould release spray, some plasticine, some two part epoxy cement - the squeeze tube kind because you want to avoid the fast setting 15 minute epoxy in case you need the open time - and a selection of earth pigments from Lee Valley."

"Hey, Carrie, how ya doin'?"

Carrie's head turned, and Raphael grinned evilly at her wide-eyed, panicked look. "Let me go!" she pleaded. "Please! I'll do anything!"

Donny continued undeterred, as if he had not even heard her. "So using the good screw arm, I selected an area of threads that matched up with those that I wanted to re-build, and gave them several coats of paste wax…"

Michaelangelo appeared behind Raphael, and cocked his head slightly to the side. "Carrie? What are you doing tied up?"

"Raphael tied me up!" she cried. "Because I'm being so slow with finishing that one story I'm writing about you guys."

Mikey considered that for a moment. "Mmm… You mean the one with Raph's girlfriend where the guys came into her apartment at night and then she left it at that AWFUL cliffhanger and her readers threatened to string her up by her toenails and torture her?"

Raphael nodded. "Yep, that's the one."

Mike considered that for a moment. "Too bad. I was really interested in finding out what happened next. But if I know Raph, you're NEVER gonna get outta there!"

And with that, he turned and walked away.

"Aaah! No! Please! Don't leave me here!"

"Hey Mikey, wait up!" Raphael called, running after him.

"Noooooo!"

"Because this was a large area I felt the repair would need the extra grip, and yes, I cringed at having to do this. As you know, for smaller areas or single threads this would not be necessary..."

Donatello's hands were waving in the air as he continued his narrative. Carrie struggled furiously against her bonds, to no avail.

"Hey, have I ever told you about the time l had to fix the toaster?"

Carrie screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping that someone, ANYONE, might hear her.

Leonardo walked into the room, followed closely by Master Splinter. "Donatello, what is all this commotion about?" Splinter demanded.

"Oh my god, HELP!" Carrie cried. "Leo! Please! Help me! I'll do ANYTHING! Just UNTIE me!"

Leonardo stared at the strange teenage girl tied to the chair in the middle of the living room floor. "Hey, aren't you Raphael's girlfriend?" he questioned.

She blushed for some unidentifiable reason. "Uh, yes, I am… er, was… er, well, am, but it's a long story! Just please! Help me!"

Splinter inspected the handcuffs, as Raphael walked back into the room. "Hey, Leo," he greeted. "Splinter. What's up?"

Splinter shot a disapproving look in Raphael's direction. "Raphael, what have I told you about handcuffing innocent young ladies to furniture?"

Raph hung his head sheepishly. "Sorry, Master. It's just that she has this project that she's right in the middle of, and she's taking soooo long to finish it."

"What is this project?" Splinter asked, turning to Carrie.

Carrie stared at the ground. "A book," she mumbled. "It's called 'Her'. And I really WANT to finish it, it's just that I'm so BUSY!"

Master Splinter sighed. "Carrie, it is very important to finish the tasks we begin," he lectured gently. "And in a prompt manner. Especially when other people are waiting to see your product."

"I'll write it!" she cried. "I'll write it right now! Just PLEASE get me outta here!"

Splinter nodded slightly. "I trust that you will be true to your word. Raphael…" He looked up and caught his student's eye. "Please unlock these handcuffs and untie her legs."

And the moral of the story is…

FINISH "HER"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PRONTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL (We love you, Carrie!)