Radical Transformation
~
"Am I allowed to go today?" Mikey asked.
It was quart to eight in the morning on Monday, and he was laid on the couch with his foot on a pillow. He watched as April brought his breakfast over, and as Donny came out of the bathroom having just brushed his teeth. Leo and Raph were sitting groggily on the edge of the couch, in front of Mikey, fully dressed and tousled haired.
"No," April said firmly for the third time this morning. "You heard the doc: No pressure of that foot, which means no walking."
Mikey groaned and rolled his head, which was propped on a pillow.
"Stop moaning, can't understand why you WANNA go to school," Raph muttered, tiredly, running a hand through his hair automatically, tightening his bandanna as his fingers pulled at it on his forehead. They all had forgotten to take them off, and were still wearing them since Saturday.
"I get bored on my own, and I have friends to talk to, unlike you."
Donny lifted his index finger. "Not true, Raph has got a friend; Prida."
"Don't worry, we'll bring ya your homework," Leo joked to Mikey, who stuck out his lip.
"I have to tell Matt . . . something," Mikey said, looking meaningful at Leo.
Leo shrugged casually. "I'll tell 'im."
Donny, Raph and April looked at them suspiciously. They avoided their eyes.
Mikey finished his breakfast and held the plate up for April, smiling.
"Thanks, Ape, that was great," He said, wiping his mouth. At that minute Splinter appeared from his room, and made his way to his chair. His sons, and April, said good morning.
"Ah, Michelangelo, you will be resting today," Splinter ordered softly after he had sat down and greeted his sons for the morning. He took the cup of tea April had just given him.
"I am doing! But that's all people have been saying to me! It's already boring." Mikey folded his arms over his chest.
"Heh-heh, well, I'll tell ya what ya miss," Donny said, grinning. He enjoyed school, unlike his brothers. Mikey just liked to socialise with people and make friends. Donny found them all looking at him.
"You sound like you like school," Raph said slowly, look of disgust on his face.
"So what if I do?" Donny shrugged. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
April came in from the kitchen and stood next to him.
"Well, Mikey," she said. "I shouldn't be at work as much; hopefully, anyway. I'll be home earlier today, so I can grab you a pizza for lunch and rent a movie."
"Pizza, man I haven't had one in too long," Mikey said. Then he remembered why. "Erm, a Chinese will do."
April's mouth fell open. Then she shut it with a look at his brothers. They all seemed to think Mikey's decision was a wise choice.
"Er - okay," April said, and looked at her watch. "We should be going, guys."
With groans from Raph, and moans from Mikey, they soon had their bags on their backs and were waiting for April to find her keys. She accused Mikey of hiding them so they wouldn't go, but she tackled him and managed to pull her key chain out from under the pillow. They left Mikey with Splinter, and were soon in arriving at school. But when they got there, April pulled up the car and stopped the engine. They frowned.
"What, you coming to school, too?" Raph grinned.
April slammed the door shut as they all got out and locked it.
"No, just having a word with one of your teachers about you," she smirked back while Raph's face frowned angrily. He knew who that teacher was.
Leo and Donny smiled, and they all walked in together. April disappeared into the math block while the three bros headed for their form rooms.
The teacher greeted them and marked them down on the register, then noticed there were only three.
"Um, where's Leo?" He asked.
Leo looked at him. "I'm here."
"Oh, oops, sorry," the teacher grinned apologetically. "Your name's the only one that that I seemed to have remembered. Er, where is . . . ?"
"Mikey," Donny said. "He's at home, er, resting. His foot's still pretty painful."
The teacher wished him well mending, and then said goodbye as the bell went, signalling first class. The form, all looking tired and pretty miserable, trudged out slowly.
The corridors were packed, but they always seemed to empty quickly. The three bros where the only ones left walking down the math corridor.
"Hey guys!" A call from behind them echoed slightly on the bare corridor walls.
They turned around to see Prida right behind them, tying back her necklace. She was wearing a purple baseball cap that really seemed to make her eyes stand out. She had a loose, blue T-shirt on and denim cut-offs. Her long, slim legs ended in purple sneakers. Her hair was tied loosely back, draping down to her waist and over her shoulder.
"Hey Prida," they said, stopping for her.
Raph, level with his room, slipped in. The sounds of Mr. Reilys voice rose slightly higher than a normal teacher would use to greet a student.
"Math, Leo," Prida said, slapping her hair back behind her shoulders.
"Yeah, with Mr. Gallegar," Leo nodded, mostly informing Donny about the teacher, as Prida didn't exactly need to know again who she was being taken by in Math.
Donny smiled and they all walked up the corridor to their rooms. Donny's was further down, so he said bye to his brother and his friend and made his way to his room.
His teacher was a nice, middle-aged woman called Mrs. Hefton. She was a smallish woman with brown hair. She was really nice to Donny and, when he walked in, gave him a kind, happy smile she seemed to save for him only.
Smiling back, Donny made his way to his seat next to his friend Michael Deta, who he had made good friends with in this class.
Michael was a thin kid, a little taller than Donny, and about Leo's height. He had short stand-on-end hair, and was a good laugh. Right now he was grinning at Donny. He always had a smile, Donny thought, smiling back.
As the class started, Donny's concentration was interrupted by sudden thoughts. He frowned slightly to himself, forgetting the work he was doing with Michael. This class seems so normal and great, Donny wondered if he would ever feel the same after he and his brothers move back down into the sewers . . . if they change back. He felt so happy to be in here, with people who actually appreciated him now, and didn't shunt him away for being too brainy or for being part of a weird family.
"Dooooonny?"
His eyes refocused and he shook himself mentally. Donny looked to his friend, who was watching him, eyebrows raised.
"What's wrong?" Michael asked him, slightly concerned, as Donny had just looked drugged a second ago.
"Eh? Oh, nothing," Donny said, smiling and shaking his head.
He and his friend got back into the flow of work again, and, at the end of the class when the answers from their exercise had been called out, Donny got all his questions right, while the rest of the class got at least some wrong. Donny walked out of his class with Michael, smiling.
"Whatcha got now?" Michael asked him when they had stopped for Donny to look at his timetable in the corridor, just outside their room.
"Bio," Donny read off his timetable. He put it away and straightened up to see Leo walking towards him from down the corridor.
"That means I got Chemistry," Michael said. "I'll see ya later." He walked off down the corridor, and round the corner.
"Hey," Leo said when he reached his brother. "We got Biology, coming?"
They walked off towards Raph's room, meeting Prida on the way who had only just come out of her and Leo's Math classroom.
And after rescuing Raph from the dreadful Reily, who was giving out lectures, they headed to their biology room, with Mrs. Lyne.
Today she had sprung a pop quiz on them, and at the moment, the only one who was thrilled about this was, of course, Donny. His brothers, and even Prida, shook their heads at him, not looking too happy. They took their seats and waited as the teacher handed out file paper, then the question sheets.
The test was not a hard one for the top group, but no one whizzed through it like Donny did, who was writing so fast his brothers, and some people on the row in front of him looked back to him. He didn't notice, and his pencil was so blunt when he put it down half an hour later that it was surprising he could have written anything at all. The rest of the class finished some time after him, and he was doodling absentmindedly on his spare piece of paper.
The bell rang loudly in the classroom, as it was positioned on the corridor wall just near the biology room door. Everyone packed their bags, pulling out snacks from home to eat at break. Mrs. Lyne started to collect the papers in.
Donny watched as Prida and Raph walked over to him and Leo, eyebrows raised at Donny. He frowned politely.
"You think you could have finished that quiz any faster?" Prida joked.
"Don, we could heard you writing from back there," Raph said, pointing with his thumb behind his shoulder.
Donny shrugged and smiled. "Hey, it was easy." He walked off, Leo, Raph and Prida followed, Leo smiling. He was proud of his bro.
Once they were outside (kids were shooed from the corridors, clogging up the place) Prida turned to face them, backing up a bit.
"I'm gonna get some grub, I'm starving," she said. "I'll see you guys in . . . well, we've got Chemistry next, and I got PE Theory after that, see ya then." She trotted off.
Just as she disappeared indoors, heading to the snack shop, Tyson appeared behind them, tapping Donny on the shoulder.
"Eh - hey, Tyson," Donny said, turning around with his brothers. His friend no longer had that gauze bandage on his temple. But there was a red mark. Donny's eyes flickered to it, then back to Tyson's face.
"Hey, where's . . . Mikey?" Tyson asked, thinking of the name and saying it slowly. "Oh yeah, the foot." He said before Donny could answer.
Automatically Leo, Donny and Raph spun around, searching the crowd of kids, then realized what Tyson had meant.
"What's wrong with you?" Tyson asked, frowning and glancing behind them, wondering why they had done that.
The three bros lowered their heads, slightly embarrassed. They had thought Tyson had meant the Foot clan.
"Er, oh, er thought someone was calling us . . ." Donny stammered. His brothers nodded. Donny could have laughed.
A few minutes later the bell rang and they all joined the stream of kids walking indoors to classes. Tyson, who was in Prida's Chemistry group, said bye and walked into the room next to theirs in the Science block.
He saw Prida rush in a few seconds later, chewing. She seated herself next to her friend on the row in front of him. He found himself thinking that his friend, Donny, had a lucky brother, the one in red, as he found her quite attractive despite the tomboyish look. He shook his head, shaking away those thoughts and sunk into the class' topic of Chemistry.
Prida swallowed her food, and took another bite out of her sausage roll, hiding behind her bag on the desk.
Her class was one of those she could stand to go in, mostly because the teacher was nice. And since he was, Prida dared to go and ask . . .
"Sir," she said. "I haven't done my diagram of the chemical particles, and I did it on the computers. Could I go print it off?"
Knowing how she usually did some good work and that it was true she hadn't got her diagram, the teacher told her she could go.
"See ya in a few," Prida said to her friend, Bonnie Sukes, and left the classroom, heading down the corridor to the staircase, as the library was upstairs of the science block.
She passed the room next her hers and glanced in. She saw the three bros in there, two were listening carefully to the teacher, who was explaining something; and the other was sat right down in his chair, flicking bits of eraser at his brother in front.
Prida smiled, and then Raph looked up at her. She mouthed 'hello' through the glass in the door.
He frowned and mouthed 'where are you going?'
She pointed to the ceiling. 'Library'.
He gave a nod, and turned back as though someone had called his name. Prida quickly walked away.
The library was nearly empty and quiet, and looked some much bigger. There were a few kids, a year or so younger, at the counter asking Mrs. Stein something. She smiled at Prida, then turned back to the two boys, telling them they had to go fetch whatever they wanted.
Prida walked over to the line of computers at the very end of the library. She had to walk up a few steps onto the higher platform to get to them, and quickly logged in. She heard the library door close, and the kids' voices go. Now only Mrs. Stein could be heard moving around and shifting things.
Prida found her diagram and pressed the print button, then waited for the printer (at the end of the line of computers) to start printing. She heard the doors to the library shut a second time and the library was deadly quiet. She glanced around at the peaceful book sanctuary, and turned back to the printer to see the paper being taken in by it.
But a soft, almost silent noise from behind a large bookcase made her frown and turn around, listening. She smelt something lingering in the air, and by the second it seemed to grow stronger until it was recognizable as smoke. She frowned even more and silently made her way to that soft noise. There were so many standing book shelves in there that she had to look past and down three before she turned around and found the source of the noise. She gasped and froze, staring at the human figure that was standing there, dressed in black. It stared back, shocked, too. But it's face made her eyes widen. It must have had a mask on, because it had black dressing covering it's head as well, and it had, like, nets over the cut outs for the eyes. It wore a red bandanna across it's forehead.
It recovered faster than she did, but before it moved, she could already feel the heat, and see the dancing red and orange bright flames of fire eating the books and licking the shelves behind it, which seemed to grow rapidly in front of her very eyes. The figure in black made a sudden move, and charged at her.
Prida managed to moved slightly, but not enough. She was hit, and thrown into a small bookcase. She and it fell to the floor with a loud thud, and the thin, wooden shelves snapped under her weight. She lay in the hole she created, shocked and stunned.
But the black figure didn't just knock her over on its way out. As it rushed past Prida, pushing her over, it also careered into the edge of the bookshelf next to her. It creaked and fell, fast, onto her, trapping and dazing her.
The black figure was gone, as the doors slammed shut.
The smoke had spread rapidly, which meant the fire had also. The whole library was now smoky, but at the back of the library, it was very thick, and only outlines could be seen through the gray.
Prida coughed, still slightly dazed. Her head throbbed, and she couldn't see anything except smoke in front of her. But her heart quickened as she saw the fire had now moved from the back bookshelf to the surrounding, and had nearly closed around her. Some books fell from the shelves, and spread the fire that was eating them onto the floor.
She tried to move, but her body seemed to have stop working, and she could only cough.
--
Leo's whole class stopped working as a bell went off, lifting their heads up from work. Even Donny, who had been scratching pencil to paper stopped and frowned.
"It's the fire alarm," Mr. Hodcroft called out, quite calmly. "Everyone leave your stuff and line up on the field. Just another practice bell . . ."
Everyone groaned and didn't hurry to move out of the fire exit door.
Leo, Donny and Raph shrugged at each other and followed. All wondering why there was another fire practice straight after Friday's one. All around them were kids moaning about practice bells, and saying they should only let them off when there was a real fire.
As they got onto the field, they saw that most of the other classes and grades had lined up and were watching the last few come out. All looked unbothered about all this. Teachers were stood at the front of the lines, also looking the same.
Leo, Donny and Raph's Chemistry class broke apart and some went to friends and started chatting, while others stood, bored. The three bros stood near the science building, watching people. Jo Tooks, across a short way away, was watching them.
"Hey, Donny!" Tyson called, jogging over and looking excited.
"Oh, hey. Sup?" Donny asked.
"This is," Tyson waved his hand, motioning all the teachers and students.
"Whadda ya mean?" Donny frowned. Leo and Raph frowned also, and stepped a bit closer to hear.
"Haven't ya heard?" Tyson said. "Someone said this is the real thing - fire!"
"Where?" Leo asked.
But now, behind Tyson to the kids and teachers on the field, they were shouting and pointing to the top floor of the science block.
"The library," Tyson said, watching the three glance up above them to the thin, but visible smoke that was drifting out of the windows.
"Where's your class?" Raph asked Tyson suddenly, looking back to him.
"Over there, well, half of them." Tyson pointed.
Raph scanned the group he pointed to, while Leo Donny and Tyson continued the conversation.
"Does anyone know how it started?" Leo asked, watching a few smaller kids shriek in hysteria. He heard someone behind him mutter 'damn!'.
"No, didn't even know it was a real fire until the principle went to ask why they had put on the bell and found out it was set off either by some kid, or a fire. One of the teachers musta seen the smoke and told him. I think it was Mrs. Stein."
But Tyson stopped talking and watched as one dark haired, unwelcome boy walked over. Tooks walked right up to Leo and Donny, completely ignoring Tyson, back to him.
"What do you want?" Leo said coldly.
"Just wondered, but, how does it feel to be triplets now?" Tooks said, clearly seeing something that they did not.
"What are you talking about?" Leo snapped. "The only reason Mike's not here is because of you. He's fine though, so what do you care?"
"Oh I didn't mean HIM," Tooks said in a low voice, ignoring some shrieks and teachers voices behind him on the field.
Leo and Donny narrowed their eyes at him. Donny said, "look, make your point and scram."
"Oh, if you haven't noticed then I shouldn't bother saying anything," Took said, enjoying whatever he was getting at. "I mean, it would do everyone good, to get rid of him, and in a school fire as well. Something everyone would enjoy."
Leo, knowing who Tooks detested the most, felt his stomach turn cold. He spun around and searched for him.
"Raph?" He called. Donny noticed too. Tooks moved off, smiling and watching them.
Tyson suddenly looked pale.
"Oh God," he said, almost whispering. Leo and Donny looked at him. "Prida went to the library!"
Leo and Donny stared, then scanned the group Tyson had pointed out for Raph. Prida wasn't among them.
"Damn!" Leo said, and remembered he had heard the same word a minute ago. He and Donny turned and ran, Donny shouting something to Tyson. But before they could get to any of the fire doors, they were stopped by a teacher.
"No - Sir, we have to get in there -" Leo said quickly.
"No one is to go in, there's a fire." The man said. "We all stay out here until the fire brigade arrive."
"No, we have to get in there!" Leo shouted. "Our brother's -"
"Listen, go back to your line!" The man said sharply. "I'm not letting you in, and I don't care what your brother has left in there."
Leo and Donny were forced to stop pushing him, and to go back. They rushed around to the other side of the building, but there was a teacher guarding all entrances to the building.
They both stopped, and looked at each other. Shrill alarms of the fire brigade rang through the air.
"Let's just hope," Leo said, looking up at the now thicker smoke coming from the window. "That Prida's okay."
--
The smoke was really thick, and Raph was coughing just before he got to the library. He yanked the door open, and immediately took a step back from the smoke and the heat. The whole library was gray, and he couldn't see anything.
Well, I won't from here, he thought, and, taking a breath, he dashed inside, hoping Prida would be outside somewhere. But he had a feeling she was in here.
He gagged as soon as he entered the sweltering library. He covered his mouth with his hand, breathing hard. He could see enough to realize that there was fire so close to him, eating at the books, that his red shirt was now a half blackened one. He walked carefully, but quickly, further in. The roar of the flames was the only thing he could hear.
"Pri -" He shouted, but was cut off from a cough attack. If he was like this, what would she be like?
A bookcase next to him, in the gray smoke, fell with a creak, and he jumped out the way. Burning books fell to the floor. The fire was everywhere, all over the shelves, and bits over the floor. He slipped past two close bookshelves, both burning with flames. As he went past them, turning sideways to avoid being burnt, he could feel beads of sweat fall down his forehead from the flames.
He almost tripped on something, and realized it was steps that lead to the higher platform in the library. He jumped up them and, wafting away as much smoke as he could, and squinting his eyes, he walked into the thickest part of the library.
--
Prida, coughing and almost unconscious from the smoke and heat, gave up trying to shift the bookcase off her, and collapsed, coughing and gasping. Her head felt like it was filled with too much smoke, and was about to explode if she didn't get fresh air soon. Her eyes, which she closed a few minutes ago, hurt from the heat and from squinting too hard. She was drenched in sweat, and felt it trickle down her face, down her neck and onto the bookcase she had been entrapped in.
But then she thought she heard something. Maybe Death coming to collect her. But she opened her eyes a crack, and saw something pass in front of the flames that was dancing on a bookcase. It might be Death; it was dark, and humanly shaped. But as she stared, the figure came into view, and she could just hear coughing over the roar of the flames.
The flames from the fire danced over a familiar face, lighting up just one side. But that was all Prida needed, to know Raph was there. She tried to call his name, but she was stopped by a coughing fit, and couldn't stop.
Raph saw her now. He rushed straight over to her, shocked to see her where she was; but before he could reach her, one of the computers nearby blew up with a mighty crash, and the glass from the screen, and other bits, flew everywhere. Raph dropped to the ground, heavily, as a flaming piece of wire from it flew at him. He jumped back up again and crawled over to his friend.
"Prida - hang on -" he coughed.
Raph started to heave the shelf off her, but it was hard work while he was coughing, gasping and sweating. But not for nothing was he a Ninja. He wrapped his hands around the wood frame tightly and pulled it off her, throwing it to the side.
"Prida-!"
Prida heard his voice, but now she was trying hard not to loose consciousness and it sounded far away. She fought back, and the roaring of the fire became louder slightly. She felt arms lift her up, then she was being carried away from her trap. She felt Raph stumble, and realized he had just jumped down the three steps. Her eyes flickered, and she saw the flames go past. The smoke was thinning out, and she fell into coughing fits again.
Raph used his elbow and side to open the door, and quickly jogged down the stairs with Prida in his arms. Her head bobbed worryingly with each step. On the last one, his injured leg almost gave way, and he buckled. But he regained his balance and burst out of the building into fresh air where he coughed and took it in, deeply.
They had come out around the other side to where all the kids were lined up. Any teachers round here must have left their posts at the doors.
There was a bit of field here, and Raph crouched down and laid Prida down on it. She coughed, putting a hand to her mouth, then gasped in the fresh air. For a few seconds she just lay there, breathing deeply, with Raph crouched next to her, clearing his smoked-up throat.
After a minute, Prida managed to prop herself up on her elbows, eyes closed as the world was spinning. Then she opened them and looked at Raph, who was watching her worriedly.
She opened her mouth to speak, but was stumped for words. She just gave him a look that alone said thank you.
"Are -" Raph coughed "- you okay?"
Prida nodded slowly, her head still hurt and she felt tired.
"God, I thought -" she choked "- I was dead then . . . you . . . saved my life . . ."
Raph smiled. "All in a school day's work. I guess it was better than written work."
They both looked at each other, then laughed. Raph stopped, but Prida carried on, though she looked physically drained.
"You look really funny," she said, grinning and pointing to his black shirt and black face mixed with sweat.
"You don't look much prettier yourself," Raph grinned back.
In the light of day, they could both see how black they both were. Then Prida dropped her smile.
"What's wrong?"
Prida stared at the grass. "I lost my Chemistry work."
He stared at her, then her face broke into a grin, and his too. They both looked up at once as a shout came from behind them.
A woman teacher was running towards them, with a whole load of paramedics and other teachers behind the. Raph spotted Leo and Donny. They reached them and Prida was surrounded by the paramedics. Raph shook them off and watched his brothers rush up to him.
Leo and Donny both looked at Prida, blackened, then at Raph.
"Why the hell did you run off like that without telling us?!" Leo shouted at him.
Raph looked taken aback, but then Leo's face split into a proud smile.
"Good job Raph," he said, grinning at Raph's face. "That's was . . . brave . . ." He put a hand on his brother's shoulder. Donny was grinning.
But then Raph was swarmed by paramedics, and while they were busy with him, Prida managed to see through them to Leo and Donny. She was about to say something, but someone shouted her name, and the next thing she was spun around and wrapped tightly in a hug.
"Prida! God, are you alright! Oh God!"
It was her sister, Mai. She hugged her little sister, eyes watering.
"I'm okay, Mai!" Prida said when they broke, but Mai still had her hands on her little sister's arms. Behind them a young man stood, obviously Mai's boyfriend. He smiled at Prida, much like a big brother would. He walked over and hugger her as well.
"Thanks Korey, but I'm fine now," Prida said, smiling back at him.
"What happened?" Mai insisted.
"I think we'd all like to know that."
They all looked up to see Principle Simmons smiling down at them. They stood up. The paramedics stepped back while Prida explained, planning to seize her again when she'd finished.
"I was in the library for a Chemistry diagram," Prida said, twisting the collar of the jacket Mai had draped round her shoulders. "And . . . I heard a noise, so, I went to see what . . ."
She continued, but Leo and Donny were half listening, and trying to rescue Raph from the paramedics. Their brother wasn't too happy about being treated for smoke damages.
"And I couldn't move under the bookcase," Prida went on, wearily. "Then I heard someone and Raph saved me." She ended it in a smile.
"Saved you?" Simmons asked. "I thought at first both of you got trapped."
Mai turned around from the conversation, along with Prida and Korey, and walked over to Leo, Donny and Raph. They looked up at her. Mai turned to Raph (obvious he was the one who went in the fire as he was almost black, which had been beaten away a bit).
"Thank you so much," Mai said, smiling thankfully. "I dunno what would of happened if you hadn't been there."
Prida grinned as Raph went red slightly under the black smudges on his face. His freckles stood out.
Korey put a hand on his shoulder, grinning.
"That was pretty amazing, dude," he said.
Leo and Donny were both smiling proudly for their brother. But were glad that he was safe as well as Prida.
Simmons walked over to them, as well as the lingering paramedics.
"I think when there's a fire bell, all students are to remain outside of the school building," he said sternly, and their smiles faded. "But it just goes to show today, that there are some rules that must be broken for certain emergencies." He smiled, and they all sighed. "I'm proud you joined us." He put a hand on Raph's shoulder. "Shame you won't be staying long . . ."
Simmons, along with some teachers walked away, leaving Prida's smile to fade and the bright glint in her eye to dim.
~
"Am I allowed to go today?" Mikey asked.
It was quart to eight in the morning on Monday, and he was laid on the couch with his foot on a pillow. He watched as April brought his breakfast over, and as Donny came out of the bathroom having just brushed his teeth. Leo and Raph were sitting groggily on the edge of the couch, in front of Mikey, fully dressed and tousled haired.
"No," April said firmly for the third time this morning. "You heard the doc: No pressure of that foot, which means no walking."
Mikey groaned and rolled his head, which was propped on a pillow.
"Stop moaning, can't understand why you WANNA go to school," Raph muttered, tiredly, running a hand through his hair automatically, tightening his bandanna as his fingers pulled at it on his forehead. They all had forgotten to take them off, and were still wearing them since Saturday.
"I get bored on my own, and I have friends to talk to, unlike you."
Donny lifted his index finger. "Not true, Raph has got a friend; Prida."
"Don't worry, we'll bring ya your homework," Leo joked to Mikey, who stuck out his lip.
"I have to tell Matt . . . something," Mikey said, looking meaningful at Leo.
Leo shrugged casually. "I'll tell 'im."
Donny, Raph and April looked at them suspiciously. They avoided their eyes.
Mikey finished his breakfast and held the plate up for April, smiling.
"Thanks, Ape, that was great," He said, wiping his mouth. At that minute Splinter appeared from his room, and made his way to his chair. His sons, and April, said good morning.
"Ah, Michelangelo, you will be resting today," Splinter ordered softly after he had sat down and greeted his sons for the morning. He took the cup of tea April had just given him.
"I am doing! But that's all people have been saying to me! It's already boring." Mikey folded his arms over his chest.
"Heh-heh, well, I'll tell ya what ya miss," Donny said, grinning. He enjoyed school, unlike his brothers. Mikey just liked to socialise with people and make friends. Donny found them all looking at him.
"You sound like you like school," Raph said slowly, look of disgust on his face.
"So what if I do?" Donny shrugged. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
April came in from the kitchen and stood next to him.
"Well, Mikey," she said. "I shouldn't be at work as much; hopefully, anyway. I'll be home earlier today, so I can grab you a pizza for lunch and rent a movie."
"Pizza, man I haven't had one in too long," Mikey said. Then he remembered why. "Erm, a Chinese will do."
April's mouth fell open. Then she shut it with a look at his brothers. They all seemed to think Mikey's decision was a wise choice.
"Er - okay," April said, and looked at her watch. "We should be going, guys."
With groans from Raph, and moans from Mikey, they soon had their bags on their backs and were waiting for April to find her keys. She accused Mikey of hiding them so they wouldn't go, but she tackled him and managed to pull her key chain out from under the pillow. They left Mikey with Splinter, and were soon in arriving at school. But when they got there, April pulled up the car and stopped the engine. They frowned.
"What, you coming to school, too?" Raph grinned.
April slammed the door shut as they all got out and locked it.
"No, just having a word with one of your teachers about you," she smirked back while Raph's face frowned angrily. He knew who that teacher was.
Leo and Donny smiled, and they all walked in together. April disappeared into the math block while the three bros headed for their form rooms.
The teacher greeted them and marked them down on the register, then noticed there were only three.
"Um, where's Leo?" He asked.
Leo looked at him. "I'm here."
"Oh, oops, sorry," the teacher grinned apologetically. "Your name's the only one that that I seemed to have remembered. Er, where is . . . ?"
"Mikey," Donny said. "He's at home, er, resting. His foot's still pretty painful."
The teacher wished him well mending, and then said goodbye as the bell went, signalling first class. The form, all looking tired and pretty miserable, trudged out slowly.
The corridors were packed, but they always seemed to empty quickly. The three bros where the only ones left walking down the math corridor.
"Hey guys!" A call from behind them echoed slightly on the bare corridor walls.
They turned around to see Prida right behind them, tying back her necklace. She was wearing a purple baseball cap that really seemed to make her eyes stand out. She had a loose, blue T-shirt on and denim cut-offs. Her long, slim legs ended in purple sneakers. Her hair was tied loosely back, draping down to her waist and over her shoulder.
"Hey Prida," they said, stopping for her.
Raph, level with his room, slipped in. The sounds of Mr. Reilys voice rose slightly higher than a normal teacher would use to greet a student.
"Math, Leo," Prida said, slapping her hair back behind her shoulders.
"Yeah, with Mr. Gallegar," Leo nodded, mostly informing Donny about the teacher, as Prida didn't exactly need to know again who she was being taken by in Math.
Donny smiled and they all walked up the corridor to their rooms. Donny's was further down, so he said bye to his brother and his friend and made his way to his room.
His teacher was a nice, middle-aged woman called Mrs. Hefton. She was a smallish woman with brown hair. She was really nice to Donny and, when he walked in, gave him a kind, happy smile she seemed to save for him only.
Smiling back, Donny made his way to his seat next to his friend Michael Deta, who he had made good friends with in this class.
Michael was a thin kid, a little taller than Donny, and about Leo's height. He had short stand-on-end hair, and was a good laugh. Right now he was grinning at Donny. He always had a smile, Donny thought, smiling back.
As the class started, Donny's concentration was interrupted by sudden thoughts. He frowned slightly to himself, forgetting the work he was doing with Michael. This class seems so normal and great, Donny wondered if he would ever feel the same after he and his brothers move back down into the sewers . . . if they change back. He felt so happy to be in here, with people who actually appreciated him now, and didn't shunt him away for being too brainy or for being part of a weird family.
"Dooooonny?"
His eyes refocused and he shook himself mentally. Donny looked to his friend, who was watching him, eyebrows raised.
"What's wrong?" Michael asked him, slightly concerned, as Donny had just looked drugged a second ago.
"Eh? Oh, nothing," Donny said, smiling and shaking his head.
He and his friend got back into the flow of work again, and, at the end of the class when the answers from their exercise had been called out, Donny got all his questions right, while the rest of the class got at least some wrong. Donny walked out of his class with Michael, smiling.
"Whatcha got now?" Michael asked him when they had stopped for Donny to look at his timetable in the corridor, just outside their room.
"Bio," Donny read off his timetable. He put it away and straightened up to see Leo walking towards him from down the corridor.
"That means I got Chemistry," Michael said. "I'll see ya later." He walked off down the corridor, and round the corner.
"Hey," Leo said when he reached his brother. "We got Biology, coming?"
They walked off towards Raph's room, meeting Prida on the way who had only just come out of her and Leo's Math classroom.
And after rescuing Raph from the dreadful Reily, who was giving out lectures, they headed to their biology room, with Mrs. Lyne.
Today she had sprung a pop quiz on them, and at the moment, the only one who was thrilled about this was, of course, Donny. His brothers, and even Prida, shook their heads at him, not looking too happy. They took their seats and waited as the teacher handed out file paper, then the question sheets.
The test was not a hard one for the top group, but no one whizzed through it like Donny did, who was writing so fast his brothers, and some people on the row in front of him looked back to him. He didn't notice, and his pencil was so blunt when he put it down half an hour later that it was surprising he could have written anything at all. The rest of the class finished some time after him, and he was doodling absentmindedly on his spare piece of paper.
The bell rang loudly in the classroom, as it was positioned on the corridor wall just near the biology room door. Everyone packed their bags, pulling out snacks from home to eat at break. Mrs. Lyne started to collect the papers in.
Donny watched as Prida and Raph walked over to him and Leo, eyebrows raised at Donny. He frowned politely.
"You think you could have finished that quiz any faster?" Prida joked.
"Don, we could heard you writing from back there," Raph said, pointing with his thumb behind his shoulder.
Donny shrugged and smiled. "Hey, it was easy." He walked off, Leo, Raph and Prida followed, Leo smiling. He was proud of his bro.
Once they were outside (kids were shooed from the corridors, clogging up the place) Prida turned to face them, backing up a bit.
"I'm gonna get some grub, I'm starving," she said. "I'll see you guys in . . . well, we've got Chemistry next, and I got PE Theory after that, see ya then." She trotted off.
Just as she disappeared indoors, heading to the snack shop, Tyson appeared behind them, tapping Donny on the shoulder.
"Eh - hey, Tyson," Donny said, turning around with his brothers. His friend no longer had that gauze bandage on his temple. But there was a red mark. Donny's eyes flickered to it, then back to Tyson's face.
"Hey, where's . . . Mikey?" Tyson asked, thinking of the name and saying it slowly. "Oh yeah, the foot." He said before Donny could answer.
Automatically Leo, Donny and Raph spun around, searching the crowd of kids, then realized what Tyson had meant.
"What's wrong with you?" Tyson asked, frowning and glancing behind them, wondering why they had done that.
The three bros lowered their heads, slightly embarrassed. They had thought Tyson had meant the Foot clan.
"Er, oh, er thought someone was calling us . . ." Donny stammered. His brothers nodded. Donny could have laughed.
A few minutes later the bell rang and they all joined the stream of kids walking indoors to classes. Tyson, who was in Prida's Chemistry group, said bye and walked into the room next to theirs in the Science block.
He saw Prida rush in a few seconds later, chewing. She seated herself next to her friend on the row in front of him. He found himself thinking that his friend, Donny, had a lucky brother, the one in red, as he found her quite attractive despite the tomboyish look. He shook his head, shaking away those thoughts and sunk into the class' topic of Chemistry.
Prida swallowed her food, and took another bite out of her sausage roll, hiding behind her bag on the desk.
Her class was one of those she could stand to go in, mostly because the teacher was nice. And since he was, Prida dared to go and ask . . .
"Sir," she said. "I haven't done my diagram of the chemical particles, and I did it on the computers. Could I go print it off?"
Knowing how she usually did some good work and that it was true she hadn't got her diagram, the teacher told her she could go.
"See ya in a few," Prida said to her friend, Bonnie Sukes, and left the classroom, heading down the corridor to the staircase, as the library was upstairs of the science block.
She passed the room next her hers and glanced in. She saw the three bros in there, two were listening carefully to the teacher, who was explaining something; and the other was sat right down in his chair, flicking bits of eraser at his brother in front.
Prida smiled, and then Raph looked up at her. She mouthed 'hello' through the glass in the door.
He frowned and mouthed 'where are you going?'
She pointed to the ceiling. 'Library'.
He gave a nod, and turned back as though someone had called his name. Prida quickly walked away.
The library was nearly empty and quiet, and looked some much bigger. There were a few kids, a year or so younger, at the counter asking Mrs. Stein something. She smiled at Prida, then turned back to the two boys, telling them they had to go fetch whatever they wanted.
Prida walked over to the line of computers at the very end of the library. She had to walk up a few steps onto the higher platform to get to them, and quickly logged in. She heard the library door close, and the kids' voices go. Now only Mrs. Stein could be heard moving around and shifting things.
Prida found her diagram and pressed the print button, then waited for the printer (at the end of the line of computers) to start printing. She heard the doors to the library shut a second time and the library was deadly quiet. She glanced around at the peaceful book sanctuary, and turned back to the printer to see the paper being taken in by it.
But a soft, almost silent noise from behind a large bookcase made her frown and turn around, listening. She smelt something lingering in the air, and by the second it seemed to grow stronger until it was recognizable as smoke. She frowned even more and silently made her way to that soft noise. There were so many standing book shelves in there that she had to look past and down three before she turned around and found the source of the noise. She gasped and froze, staring at the human figure that was standing there, dressed in black. It stared back, shocked, too. But it's face made her eyes widen. It must have had a mask on, because it had black dressing covering it's head as well, and it had, like, nets over the cut outs for the eyes. It wore a red bandanna across it's forehead.
It recovered faster than she did, but before it moved, she could already feel the heat, and see the dancing red and orange bright flames of fire eating the books and licking the shelves behind it, which seemed to grow rapidly in front of her very eyes. The figure in black made a sudden move, and charged at her.
Prida managed to moved slightly, but not enough. She was hit, and thrown into a small bookcase. She and it fell to the floor with a loud thud, and the thin, wooden shelves snapped under her weight. She lay in the hole she created, shocked and stunned.
But the black figure didn't just knock her over on its way out. As it rushed past Prida, pushing her over, it also careered into the edge of the bookshelf next to her. It creaked and fell, fast, onto her, trapping and dazing her.
The black figure was gone, as the doors slammed shut.
The smoke had spread rapidly, which meant the fire had also. The whole library was now smoky, but at the back of the library, it was very thick, and only outlines could be seen through the gray.
Prida coughed, still slightly dazed. Her head throbbed, and she couldn't see anything except smoke in front of her. But her heart quickened as she saw the fire had now moved from the back bookshelf to the surrounding, and had nearly closed around her. Some books fell from the shelves, and spread the fire that was eating them onto the floor.
She tried to move, but her body seemed to have stop working, and she could only cough.
--
Leo's whole class stopped working as a bell went off, lifting their heads up from work. Even Donny, who had been scratching pencil to paper stopped and frowned.
"It's the fire alarm," Mr. Hodcroft called out, quite calmly. "Everyone leave your stuff and line up on the field. Just another practice bell . . ."
Everyone groaned and didn't hurry to move out of the fire exit door.
Leo, Donny and Raph shrugged at each other and followed. All wondering why there was another fire practice straight after Friday's one. All around them were kids moaning about practice bells, and saying they should only let them off when there was a real fire.
As they got onto the field, they saw that most of the other classes and grades had lined up and were watching the last few come out. All looked unbothered about all this. Teachers were stood at the front of the lines, also looking the same.
Leo, Donny and Raph's Chemistry class broke apart and some went to friends and started chatting, while others stood, bored. The three bros stood near the science building, watching people. Jo Tooks, across a short way away, was watching them.
"Hey, Donny!" Tyson called, jogging over and looking excited.
"Oh, hey. Sup?" Donny asked.
"This is," Tyson waved his hand, motioning all the teachers and students.
"Whadda ya mean?" Donny frowned. Leo and Raph frowned also, and stepped a bit closer to hear.
"Haven't ya heard?" Tyson said. "Someone said this is the real thing - fire!"
"Where?" Leo asked.
But now, behind Tyson to the kids and teachers on the field, they were shouting and pointing to the top floor of the science block.
"The library," Tyson said, watching the three glance up above them to the thin, but visible smoke that was drifting out of the windows.
"Where's your class?" Raph asked Tyson suddenly, looking back to him.
"Over there, well, half of them." Tyson pointed.
Raph scanned the group he pointed to, while Leo Donny and Tyson continued the conversation.
"Does anyone know how it started?" Leo asked, watching a few smaller kids shriek in hysteria. He heard someone behind him mutter 'damn!'.
"No, didn't even know it was a real fire until the principle went to ask why they had put on the bell and found out it was set off either by some kid, or a fire. One of the teachers musta seen the smoke and told him. I think it was Mrs. Stein."
But Tyson stopped talking and watched as one dark haired, unwelcome boy walked over. Tooks walked right up to Leo and Donny, completely ignoring Tyson, back to him.
"What do you want?" Leo said coldly.
"Just wondered, but, how does it feel to be triplets now?" Tooks said, clearly seeing something that they did not.
"What are you talking about?" Leo snapped. "The only reason Mike's not here is because of you. He's fine though, so what do you care?"
"Oh I didn't mean HIM," Tooks said in a low voice, ignoring some shrieks and teachers voices behind him on the field.
Leo and Donny narrowed their eyes at him. Donny said, "look, make your point and scram."
"Oh, if you haven't noticed then I shouldn't bother saying anything," Took said, enjoying whatever he was getting at. "I mean, it would do everyone good, to get rid of him, and in a school fire as well. Something everyone would enjoy."
Leo, knowing who Tooks detested the most, felt his stomach turn cold. He spun around and searched for him.
"Raph?" He called. Donny noticed too. Tooks moved off, smiling and watching them.
Tyson suddenly looked pale.
"Oh God," he said, almost whispering. Leo and Donny looked at him. "Prida went to the library!"
Leo and Donny stared, then scanned the group Tyson had pointed out for Raph. Prida wasn't among them.
"Damn!" Leo said, and remembered he had heard the same word a minute ago. He and Donny turned and ran, Donny shouting something to Tyson. But before they could get to any of the fire doors, they were stopped by a teacher.
"No - Sir, we have to get in there -" Leo said quickly.
"No one is to go in, there's a fire." The man said. "We all stay out here until the fire brigade arrive."
"No, we have to get in there!" Leo shouted. "Our brother's -"
"Listen, go back to your line!" The man said sharply. "I'm not letting you in, and I don't care what your brother has left in there."
Leo and Donny were forced to stop pushing him, and to go back. They rushed around to the other side of the building, but there was a teacher guarding all entrances to the building.
They both stopped, and looked at each other. Shrill alarms of the fire brigade rang through the air.
"Let's just hope," Leo said, looking up at the now thicker smoke coming from the window. "That Prida's okay."
--
The smoke was really thick, and Raph was coughing just before he got to the library. He yanked the door open, and immediately took a step back from the smoke and the heat. The whole library was gray, and he couldn't see anything.
Well, I won't from here, he thought, and, taking a breath, he dashed inside, hoping Prida would be outside somewhere. But he had a feeling she was in here.
He gagged as soon as he entered the sweltering library. He covered his mouth with his hand, breathing hard. He could see enough to realize that there was fire so close to him, eating at the books, that his red shirt was now a half blackened one. He walked carefully, but quickly, further in. The roar of the flames was the only thing he could hear.
"Pri -" He shouted, but was cut off from a cough attack. If he was like this, what would she be like?
A bookcase next to him, in the gray smoke, fell with a creak, and he jumped out the way. Burning books fell to the floor. The fire was everywhere, all over the shelves, and bits over the floor. He slipped past two close bookshelves, both burning with flames. As he went past them, turning sideways to avoid being burnt, he could feel beads of sweat fall down his forehead from the flames.
He almost tripped on something, and realized it was steps that lead to the higher platform in the library. He jumped up them and, wafting away as much smoke as he could, and squinting his eyes, he walked into the thickest part of the library.
--
Prida, coughing and almost unconscious from the smoke and heat, gave up trying to shift the bookcase off her, and collapsed, coughing and gasping. Her head felt like it was filled with too much smoke, and was about to explode if she didn't get fresh air soon. Her eyes, which she closed a few minutes ago, hurt from the heat and from squinting too hard. She was drenched in sweat, and felt it trickle down her face, down her neck and onto the bookcase she had been entrapped in.
But then she thought she heard something. Maybe Death coming to collect her. But she opened her eyes a crack, and saw something pass in front of the flames that was dancing on a bookcase. It might be Death; it was dark, and humanly shaped. But as she stared, the figure came into view, and she could just hear coughing over the roar of the flames.
The flames from the fire danced over a familiar face, lighting up just one side. But that was all Prida needed, to know Raph was there. She tried to call his name, but she was stopped by a coughing fit, and couldn't stop.
Raph saw her now. He rushed straight over to her, shocked to see her where she was; but before he could reach her, one of the computers nearby blew up with a mighty crash, and the glass from the screen, and other bits, flew everywhere. Raph dropped to the ground, heavily, as a flaming piece of wire from it flew at him. He jumped back up again and crawled over to his friend.
"Prida - hang on -" he coughed.
Raph started to heave the shelf off her, but it was hard work while he was coughing, gasping and sweating. But not for nothing was he a Ninja. He wrapped his hands around the wood frame tightly and pulled it off her, throwing it to the side.
"Prida-!"
Prida heard his voice, but now she was trying hard not to loose consciousness and it sounded far away. She fought back, and the roaring of the fire became louder slightly. She felt arms lift her up, then she was being carried away from her trap. She felt Raph stumble, and realized he had just jumped down the three steps. Her eyes flickered, and she saw the flames go past. The smoke was thinning out, and she fell into coughing fits again.
Raph used his elbow and side to open the door, and quickly jogged down the stairs with Prida in his arms. Her head bobbed worryingly with each step. On the last one, his injured leg almost gave way, and he buckled. But he regained his balance and burst out of the building into fresh air where he coughed and took it in, deeply.
They had come out around the other side to where all the kids were lined up. Any teachers round here must have left their posts at the doors.
There was a bit of field here, and Raph crouched down and laid Prida down on it. She coughed, putting a hand to her mouth, then gasped in the fresh air. For a few seconds she just lay there, breathing deeply, with Raph crouched next to her, clearing his smoked-up throat.
After a minute, Prida managed to prop herself up on her elbows, eyes closed as the world was spinning. Then she opened them and looked at Raph, who was watching her worriedly.
She opened her mouth to speak, but was stumped for words. She just gave him a look that alone said thank you.
"Are -" Raph coughed "- you okay?"
Prida nodded slowly, her head still hurt and she felt tired.
"God, I thought -" she choked "- I was dead then . . . you . . . saved my life . . ."
Raph smiled. "All in a school day's work. I guess it was better than written work."
They both looked at each other, then laughed. Raph stopped, but Prida carried on, though she looked physically drained.
"You look really funny," she said, grinning and pointing to his black shirt and black face mixed with sweat.
"You don't look much prettier yourself," Raph grinned back.
In the light of day, they could both see how black they both were. Then Prida dropped her smile.
"What's wrong?"
Prida stared at the grass. "I lost my Chemistry work."
He stared at her, then her face broke into a grin, and his too. They both looked up at once as a shout came from behind them.
A woman teacher was running towards them, with a whole load of paramedics and other teachers behind the. Raph spotted Leo and Donny. They reached them and Prida was surrounded by the paramedics. Raph shook them off and watched his brothers rush up to him.
Leo and Donny both looked at Prida, blackened, then at Raph.
"Why the hell did you run off like that without telling us?!" Leo shouted at him.
Raph looked taken aback, but then Leo's face split into a proud smile.
"Good job Raph," he said, grinning at Raph's face. "That's was . . . brave . . ." He put a hand on his brother's shoulder. Donny was grinning.
But then Raph was swarmed by paramedics, and while they were busy with him, Prida managed to see through them to Leo and Donny. She was about to say something, but someone shouted her name, and the next thing she was spun around and wrapped tightly in a hug.
"Prida! God, are you alright! Oh God!"
It was her sister, Mai. She hugged her little sister, eyes watering.
"I'm okay, Mai!" Prida said when they broke, but Mai still had her hands on her little sister's arms. Behind them a young man stood, obviously Mai's boyfriend. He smiled at Prida, much like a big brother would. He walked over and hugger her as well.
"Thanks Korey, but I'm fine now," Prida said, smiling back at him.
"What happened?" Mai insisted.
"I think we'd all like to know that."
They all looked up to see Principle Simmons smiling down at them. They stood up. The paramedics stepped back while Prida explained, planning to seize her again when she'd finished.
"I was in the library for a Chemistry diagram," Prida said, twisting the collar of the jacket Mai had draped round her shoulders. "And . . . I heard a noise, so, I went to see what . . ."
She continued, but Leo and Donny were half listening, and trying to rescue Raph from the paramedics. Their brother wasn't too happy about being treated for smoke damages.
"And I couldn't move under the bookcase," Prida went on, wearily. "Then I heard someone and Raph saved me." She ended it in a smile.
"Saved you?" Simmons asked. "I thought at first both of you got trapped."
Mai turned around from the conversation, along with Prida and Korey, and walked over to Leo, Donny and Raph. They looked up at her. Mai turned to Raph (obvious he was the one who went in the fire as he was almost black, which had been beaten away a bit).
"Thank you so much," Mai said, smiling thankfully. "I dunno what would of happened if you hadn't been there."
Prida grinned as Raph went red slightly under the black smudges on his face. His freckles stood out.
Korey put a hand on his shoulder, grinning.
"That was pretty amazing, dude," he said.
Leo and Donny were both smiling proudly for their brother. But were glad that he was safe as well as Prida.
Simmons walked over to them, as well as the lingering paramedics.
"I think when there's a fire bell, all students are to remain outside of the school building," he said sternly, and their smiles faded. "But it just goes to show today, that there are some rules that must be broken for certain emergencies." He smiled, and they all sighed. "I'm proud you joined us." He put a hand on Raph's shoulder. "Shame you won't be staying long . . ."
Simmons, along with some teachers walked away, leaving Prida's smile to fade and the bright glint in her eye to dim.