Radical Transformation
I am soooooooooooooo sorry this hasn't been updated in a long time. I had exams so I couldn't stay on the comp much, and that's why it took me three days to read Felicia Mcfurry's Swat Kats crossover! Sorry about that, heh. Well, won't keep ya, read on!
Monday morning's sun peeked above the tall buildings, sending its bright, warming rays to heat up the cool night air and to shine into the homes and awaken people. It had that affect of getting people out of bed, and arriving nice and early for their jobs. However, the sun seemed to have failed with one particular home of teenagers, who didn't even roll away from the bright rays of light that shone onto their closed eyelids. Even when the sun had reached a point in the sky where it was unmistakably late in the morning, the four guys did not bother to arouse themselves. It was only until April's voice shouted up from downstairs (for the fifth time, the other times had been muffled with sleep and were not so loud) that Donnie on the couch suddenly jerked from a pleasant dream and snapped his neck round to look at the clock. It was eight twenty-five. They had to be at school in five minutes - and they had only just got up!
"Donnie I've been shouting for five minutes," April said, wearily. "You guys are late."
"I know!" Donnie gasped, and threw himself out of bed on the couch, only to collapse as soon as he supported his weight on his legs. "Ouch! Gotta remember that side still hurts . . ."
"Donnie, you okay?" April helped him stand up, while he massaged his side.
Just then, loud scuttling could be heard from upstairs, and then a bang. Mikey's moan floated downstairs, and Raph saying "Mikey, gerroff me!" Leo could be heard saying "Raph, get off me."
"I can't 'cause Mikey's on me!"
"Shift him out the way, my legs are numbing."
"Have you ever tried to shift Mikey?"
They broke into a morning argument, while Mikey came downstairs giggling. Now the scuffling started again and Leo and Raph were both throwing insults at each other at the same time.
"Mikey, get dressed," April said hurriedly. "You only have five minutes till school starts."
Mikey's grin dropped and he looked at the clock.
"Holy green!" He said, and dashed back upstairs. There was another bang, thud and another "Ow Mikey get - off - me!"
"Sorry Raph - we're la -"
"Raph, you're crushing my arm!"
"Well he's crushing my legs!"
"Guys we're late f -"
"Mikey get off, you're crushing us."
"We're late for school!" Mikey yelled.
April and Donnie, who had stood quite still, listening, heard silence, then a second later it sound like Leo had thrown both Raph and Mikey off him and dashed about trying to get ready while his two brothers were littering the floor. April turned to Donnie.
"I think you should get ready too," she said, smiling. The guys' antics always made her smile.
Donnie nodded, and went upstairs to retrieve his clothes. He still had his bandanna on, which he hadn't realised he slept in, as did Mikey when he came down, so Leo and Raph obviously hadn't taken their off. They fit quite comfortably around their forehead, Donnie thought as he dug under the sheets on the floor for his purple shirt and blue jeans. It was good for when they were in their night clothes (shorts and grey T-shirt) because April would be able to tell who was who, though she could already figure out by their slight differences. Raph's bandanna was mostly covered by his untamed, scruffy hair. But they al had scruffy hair, but it suited them, and it was a nice scruffy, as unusual as that sounds.
A few minutes later, three boys galloped down the stairs, bags slung over two of their shoulders, Raph had no bag but shared with Mikey, who was still upstairs, searching desperately for his game boy.
"Mikey, c'mon!" Leo yelled, glancing at the clock on the wall that said they had two and a half minutes to get to school, for registration. The bell for the start of school had probably already gone.
After giving up searching, Mikey leaped down the stairs, missing the last three; grabbed his bag from Donnie, and they all hurried out the door, April close behind, shouting good byes to Splinter, who had only just emerged from his room to see what the loud noises were about.
"Um, kids," he muttered, smiling to himself, then went about to make his usual cup of tea.
//
"Um, April?" Leo said gingerly, gripping the side of his seat. "Aren't you speeding?"
April, who was at the steering wheel, shook her head.
"No, this is the speed limit round here, and besides, it not that fast."
She broke hard as they sped up to a set of traffic lights, and Leo and Raph's faces hit the front seat head cushions, while Mikey, who was in the middle on the back seat, went straight through the middle and saved himself from a painful experience by stopping his fall with his hands, where he would have landed on the gear stick had he not stopped himself. Donnie, who was in the front, and had smartly put on his safety belt, gripped the seat, pushing his back into the chair, keeping his head straight, but looking at Mikey, who glanced at him.
"Seat belts," April chuckled nervously.
A minute later they arrived at school, unscathed, but not surprisingly car sick. Mikey practically jumped out of the car.
"Hey, I didn't want you guys to be late," April said, smiling.
"I think I'll walk next time," Raph said, holding his head and walking in a very wobbly line.
They rushed into school, and into their form rooms, where, even with April's fast and furious driving, they received late marks. The tutor group was now used to the quadruplets and most didn't look up. Some girls, which they had now believed to be their fan club (or just fans of cute guys in the school) giggled and stared.
"Hate school, hate school, hate school," Raph chanted as they sat down, after having to listen to the teacher talk.
"Hey, now you're sounding more like your normal teenager," Mikey pointed out with a grin.
Raph stopped chanting at stared at him slowly.
The bell signalled for first class a minute later, and everyone moved out the room. The guys made their way to their first and, to Raph and Mikey, most hated class: Maths.
"Ut oh, Maths with . . ." Leo said to Donnie, glancing at Raph, who was disappearing into his and Mikey's room. " . . . Prida."
Mikey poked his head out the room as the passed.
"Actually dude, she said Friday lunch she would be at the dentist for first class," he said, smiling. His dimples stood out, and he looked positively cute. He was pulled back in the room by Mr Reily and the door slammed after him. The teacher's shouts could be heard.
"I don't know what to say about this whole break-up-with- Prida thing," Donnie said, cutting Leo off as he took a breath to speak. "I know one thing; I don't like it . . ." Donnie walked into his room, leaving Leo to stare after him, then walk into his own Maths room.
It seemed timed sped up for the sole purpose of Prida returning to school, and Maths class was soon over; well, to Leo and Donnie it sped by. To Raph and Mikey, who suffered torture every time they had a Maths class, it was slow.
The bell rang for Biology to start, and the guys trudged (in two cases) and walked (for the other two) lightly out of their rooms, making their way together for their next class. Half way there, someone who made them wince with guilt called their names, and they turned around slowly to see Prida smiling, walking towards them. She was wearing blue pedal pushers and a baggy, Navy T-shirt. Her long, red hair was tied back in two loose, pigtails.
"Hi guys," she said, sounding tired. "Man, dentists are nightmares." She looked up at them, and her smiled faded. She could tell by their faces that something was up.
Mikey, forgetting everything his brother discussed and saving them from her question (which was bound to pop up any second), grinned merrily to her and said, "Yo Pri, how's it goin'?"
Prida gave the smallest frown at the others before smiling back at Mikey.
"Great Mikey, thanks."
Encouraged, and greatly thankful of what Mikey did, Raph gave Prida a rare, genuine smile and greeted her.
Leo and Donnie glanced at each other, remembering what they said Saturday. Raph and Mikey had not joined in, and after a split second of coming to the same decision at once, they both decided that since their two other brothers are going to forget it, there was no point in them keeping it up. They both smiled sweetly.
Still giving them a questioning glance, Prida seemed satisfied and her smiled widened. They looked so cute when they smiled.
"Bio next," Mikey said, starting to walk, the others automatically following. "How'd the dentist go?"
"Scary," Prida admitted with a sheepish smile. "They have all this weird equipment that they lay out when you go in, I think they do it deliberately, 'cause they don't use them."
They all chuckled as they entered their Biology room, and it seemed that these five smiles spread rapidly as everyone else seemed to be smiling when they entered. The teacher smiled at their teenage happiness.
The class settled down a minute later as everyone took their seats, and the teacher called for silence. Donnie was sat with Leo as they always do, and Prida was sat in-between Raph and Mikey, as Mikey wanted to sit with Matt.
The teacher spoke: "Right, as you know, your exams will be starting next week, and I think this class would be best as a revision session . . ."
Her voice continued, but all four brothers turned to frown in startled horror at each other. Exams?
A few minutes after the teacher explained and suggested things that might be in the exams, she handed out text books, wrote down the page and question numbers for them to do, and left them to it while she sat down at started some of her own paperwork at her desk.
"Oh God, exams," Prida moaned, dropping her head on her hand. "I am NOT looking forward to these."
The guys glanced nervously at each other. Donnie shrugged, and got down to some work. His brothers stared at him, knowing why he wasn't as worried as they were. Donnie was born a brain and would most likely pass this exam. They all just hoped that they would have changed back before that week . . . at least, some part of them wanted to change back.
The class ended half an hour later, after Donnie had managed to write four pages and still had time to explain to a confused Mikey the difference to Mitosis and Meiosis.
"Whoa, I've never seen someone as smart as you," Prida said quietly in awe as they walked out.
Donnie blushed and shrugged, muttering that it's easy if you know how you absorb information and use it. His brothers shot a look at Prida, as in saying 'we're used to this'. Prida smiled.
Since it was break, the guys headed to their lockers, the usual meeting place, where they hung out or met Mikey or Donnie's friends. Sure enough, a few seconds after they had stopped and lent against the metal lockers, Tyson Zera and Amba Jasins, chatting together, walked up to them from down the corridor.
"Hey Donnie," Tyson greeted. He held his hand up for a high- five and Donnie slapped it, grinning. Leo rolled his eyes. That's just what Donnie's needs; a boost of happiness from his friend, and he won't want to leave.
Someone who they hadn't seen in a while popped up suddenly, smiling.
"Hey TJ," Mikey said, sounding surprised. "Where ya bin?"
"I had my tonsils out," TJ said, sounding a little hoarse. "My throat's still sore, but I'm fine now."
"Yowch," Mikey winced. "Never had my tonsils out, so please don't share detail."
TJ laughed, but as he did, he was making motions with his hands that his throat was hurting, but he continued to laugh.
Meanwhile Donnie was in deep conversation with Amba. She was a pretty blond haired girl, with blue eyes. They were talking about this contest that had happened a few months before Donnie and his brothers started Vinilla High. It raised a few laughs.
Leo glanced to his other side, surprised to see Raph, leaning against his locker, talking animatedly to Prida, who was laughing at something he said. Leo smiled, amazed. He had never seen his brother talk like that to someone, not even to Mikey . . . well, maybe once with Mikey, as he demanded a smile.
In no time the bell to end break rang, echoing through the corridors, and already the people were thinning out. The guys and their friends dispersed to their next class, Chemistry.
It wasn't a fun class. Mr Hodcroft gave them, like in Biology, a list of questions to do from a Chemistry textbook, and they weren't easy. Of course Donnie was the only one who actually got more than two pages done. This seemed to make the teacher angry. His face showed it, but unlike Mr Reily, he did not punish Donnie or his brothers for doing too much good work.
"Man, I think Chemistry is my second worst class," Mikey moaned as he ran his hand in his sandy hair, making it stand on end.
"What's your worst?" Leo asked, then immediately knew what.
"Maths," Mikey said with a groan. Raph, next to him, nodded once.
After the long, hard questions, all of the class looked up, relieved, when the bell went. Everyone gathered their stuff and left rather quickly.
"Wass next?" Mikey asked, massaging his temple.
"P.E Theory," Prida muttered, referring to her own class.
"Well, I have Geography," Donnie said, smiling happily. It was apparent that he enjoyed the class. He glanced behind him and saw Amba Jasins walking on her own, head down.
His brothers turned to look. Then Donnie turned back to them and said, "See ya at lunch," and he jogged up to Amba, who looked up and smiled. They walked into their geography together, talking about something that seemed to spark Donnie's interest.
"Well, looks like he's making friends rather well," Raph said, smiling, with a glance at Leo, who was scowling softly. As happy as he was for his brother to be fitting in (Donnie was usually too shy), he was wincing inside. His brother would get way too attached, just as Raph already had to Prida, and as Mikey had with Matt and TJ. Leo didn't want any more pain for his brothers. Unfortunately they didn't see it how Leo did. He could see the pain it would cause, added on to the pain right now. He didn't want that for his brothers.
Mikey disappeared into his Art class as they passed it, saying he'll meet them at lunch, where Prida suggested, the canteen.
The three left, Leo Raph and Prida, continued on to the Sports Hall for their P.E class.
()()()()
"Lunch! Man, am I hungry!" Mikey exclaimed as he bounced out of his art class, which hadn't been as fun as it usually was. He wasn't talking to no one but himself, and a few people stared at him, and smiled as he grinned to himself and set off for the canteen. He had that effect on people. He smiles, the whole school smiles. He grinned to himself. The school loves me, he joked to himself in his head. He saw the building that he smiled at, and headed towards it.
//
At the same time Leo, Raph and Prida were walking down from the Sports Hall, having had a writing period, they didn't have to waste five minutes of their dinnertime getting changed. Just as they rounded the first corridor corner, they bumped into Donnie, who announced his starvation, and they set off for the canteen, catching a glimpse of an orange shirt before it disappeared inside. They hurried to catch up, not wanting to have Mikey lose control and eat all the pizza, for his sake as well as theirs.
Just as they got to the door, Tyson appeared through the crowd, not noticing them at first. Until Donnie tapped him on the shoulder and loomed in his face did he nearly have a heart attack.
"God, you scared me!" He said, clutching his chest, and grinning. Donnie grinned and shrugged.
As that had happened, Roxanne had appeared behind Prida, asking if she could join them.
Leo leaned over to Raph as they joined the stream of kids going in the canteen.
"In just three weeks, we sure have made a crowd," he said quietly to his brother, smiling. Raph nodded, smiling at the group.
Prida heard that and smiled. Yes, it was true, they had made quite a good bunch of friends. But Prida noticed that these were the true friends, not ones that hang around for popularity. True friends . . .
Suddenly someone grabbed her arm tightly and yanked her out of the line of kids entering the canteen. She was dragged backwards, and watched as Leo and Raph walked in the building without realising she was being carried away.
"Ow - what the - Tooks?" Prida was spun around, and now faced the handsome but unwelcome face that was smirking at her.
"Hey babe," he said casually, his eyes glinting as they looked her up and down, scanning her as they always did, and making her shudder.
She wrenched her arm out of his grasp; her face now set angry.
"What do you want?" She demanded.
"Oh, I just wanna know that my baby's okay with her dangerous friends," Tooks said.
"What are you talking about -?" Prida asked, but he grabbed her hand and pressed something into it. It was a folded up piece of paper. She looked down at it, then looked back up at his face, his eyes burning into hers. He did not let go of her hand.
"I think there's something you should know about your friends," he replied, his voice a little low. "You see, they're not normal teenagers . . . they're crooks - criminals . . . I know, and I know that you're a smart girl and you'll know - you'll see that I'm the one to hang with, not those. You've seen what that Raph keeps in his locker . . . those weapons could kill, especially if they were in the hand that uses them expertly . . ." Tooks looked at the floor and muttered the next part to himself, "though I'm not sure he's skilled enough to use 'em . . ." He looked back at her. "He stole them, and he willingly kicked my dads head in - you saw it on the news, din't ya? Four identical boys - my dad saw them right before they knocked him out . . ."
Prida stared into his eyes, and she knew that last part was true, somehow she knew that it had been Raph and his brothers that had knocked Tooks' dad out . . . but why? Raph was not the sort to just do that . . . was he? His brothers said he WAS the aggressive one . . . No! He wouldn't do that, there had to be a reason.
"I'm telling you all what I know about them," Tooks went on, taking advantage of her silence. "That's the big thing about them, they're criminals - they're THE criminals my dad and the whole police force have been looking for . . . I know . . ." He slowly let go of her hand and backed away, slowly. "I'm worried for you Prida," he said, with what looked like a concerned frown. "I love you, and I'm worried . . ." He turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Prida shocked.
She stood there; staring at the place Tooks had vanished. She was mostly shocked because Tooks knew all this . . . and so did she. But she had dismissed it until now, not believing it. But if two had already figured that her friends were the criminals, then it couldn't just be her wild imagination. Tooks knew they were the criminals, and he had the power to put her friends behind bars if he told his dad. Why hadn't he already? Tooks was smart, Prida gave him that credit, but he was evil, and something popped into her head. Something Tooks would do, he loved Prida, and he was jealous about her hanging around with the guys. He would do something to get rid of them, or throw them out of the picture. Prida couldn't belie he had figured this all out . . .
And yet, Prida had the feeling that there was something else to her friends. Something Tooks didn't know about, but she did . . . it was ludicrous, but it fit. She had a feeling they were . . . no, she wasn't ready to put those difficult clues together. She needed time to think about it. In the meantime, she could confront Raph and his brothers, for now she knew why they had been shifty around her, and why they hesitated to say a simple 'hi' this morning when she met them. She could tell something was wrong - and now she remembered that day last week when Raph came in late for English, and she had seen Tooks walking away outside the door. She knew, it just clicked: Tooks had obviously been too jealous and had probably threatened Raph he would spill the beans on him - if he stayed away from Prida . . .
Realising she had that folded up paper in her hand, Prida jerked herself from her thoughts and slowly unfolded the paper. Inside it was a folded up photo. Her mouth opened as she looked at it. It was a picture of that sewer den that the police thought these criminals had been using; the sewer her friends had seemed to worried about that first day they had come here and they had stole out of school to look at one of the TVs in the shop window. But what the main object of this photo was what was on the wall: a rack, and on this rack were weapons; long, sharp swords; long, thick sticks; two twin, thick sticks held together by a chain - and two twin three- pronged weapons . . . exactly like Raph's. Prida realised this was one of the photos Tooks' dad must have taken for evidence.
But Prida didn't believe that Raph and his brothers were criminals. Even though she had only know them just over two weeks, she just KNEW they weren't what Tooks though they were.
Prida held up the photo with the other hand, and underneath another lay It fell to the floor and Prida picked it up and looked at it. It was a picture of a drawing someone had done. But the picture was familiar . . . it was a cartoon character, and she had seen it somewhere. Then it hit her . . . this character was Rayman . . . the game Mikey was playing in R.E one class . . . Prida glanced at the bottom of the photo. At the bottom of the drawing was a name . . . Michelangelo . . .
To be continued.. (spooky music). lol, hope you enjoyed. The rest of the day will be continued, and I have a feeling I have left something out so this chapter maybe replaced, and if it is, vital information will be added... just warning you, lol. Again I am soooooooo sorry for the lateness! (looks at watch, hey, its late here!). Thanks for the reviews... (looks around) Do I even have readers? Okay, can you read this? This here, right here can you read it? Ask yourself. 'can I read this?'... (wipes brow) Thank God I still have readers! Lol, okay, mure coming. the reason this is so late os coz of exams.lol... phew, okay, night all, luv ya ;)
I am soooooooooooooo sorry this hasn't been updated in a long time. I had exams so I couldn't stay on the comp much, and that's why it took me three days to read Felicia Mcfurry's Swat Kats crossover! Sorry about that, heh. Well, won't keep ya, read on!
Monday morning's sun peeked above the tall buildings, sending its bright, warming rays to heat up the cool night air and to shine into the homes and awaken people. It had that affect of getting people out of bed, and arriving nice and early for their jobs. However, the sun seemed to have failed with one particular home of teenagers, who didn't even roll away from the bright rays of light that shone onto their closed eyelids. Even when the sun had reached a point in the sky where it was unmistakably late in the morning, the four guys did not bother to arouse themselves. It was only until April's voice shouted up from downstairs (for the fifth time, the other times had been muffled with sleep and were not so loud) that Donnie on the couch suddenly jerked from a pleasant dream and snapped his neck round to look at the clock. It was eight twenty-five. They had to be at school in five minutes - and they had only just got up!
"Donnie I've been shouting for five minutes," April said, wearily. "You guys are late."
"I know!" Donnie gasped, and threw himself out of bed on the couch, only to collapse as soon as he supported his weight on his legs. "Ouch! Gotta remember that side still hurts . . ."
"Donnie, you okay?" April helped him stand up, while he massaged his side.
Just then, loud scuttling could be heard from upstairs, and then a bang. Mikey's moan floated downstairs, and Raph saying "Mikey, gerroff me!" Leo could be heard saying "Raph, get off me."
"I can't 'cause Mikey's on me!"
"Shift him out the way, my legs are numbing."
"Have you ever tried to shift Mikey?"
They broke into a morning argument, while Mikey came downstairs giggling. Now the scuffling started again and Leo and Raph were both throwing insults at each other at the same time.
"Mikey, get dressed," April said hurriedly. "You only have five minutes till school starts."
Mikey's grin dropped and he looked at the clock.
"Holy green!" He said, and dashed back upstairs. There was another bang, thud and another "Ow Mikey get - off - me!"
"Sorry Raph - we're la -"
"Raph, you're crushing my arm!"
"Well he's crushing my legs!"
"Guys we're late f -"
"Mikey get off, you're crushing us."
"We're late for school!" Mikey yelled.
April and Donnie, who had stood quite still, listening, heard silence, then a second later it sound like Leo had thrown both Raph and Mikey off him and dashed about trying to get ready while his two brothers were littering the floor. April turned to Donnie.
"I think you should get ready too," she said, smiling. The guys' antics always made her smile.
Donnie nodded, and went upstairs to retrieve his clothes. He still had his bandanna on, which he hadn't realised he slept in, as did Mikey when he came down, so Leo and Raph obviously hadn't taken their off. They fit quite comfortably around their forehead, Donnie thought as he dug under the sheets on the floor for his purple shirt and blue jeans. It was good for when they were in their night clothes (shorts and grey T-shirt) because April would be able to tell who was who, though she could already figure out by their slight differences. Raph's bandanna was mostly covered by his untamed, scruffy hair. But they al had scruffy hair, but it suited them, and it was a nice scruffy, as unusual as that sounds.
A few minutes later, three boys galloped down the stairs, bags slung over two of their shoulders, Raph had no bag but shared with Mikey, who was still upstairs, searching desperately for his game boy.
"Mikey, c'mon!" Leo yelled, glancing at the clock on the wall that said they had two and a half minutes to get to school, for registration. The bell for the start of school had probably already gone.
After giving up searching, Mikey leaped down the stairs, missing the last three; grabbed his bag from Donnie, and they all hurried out the door, April close behind, shouting good byes to Splinter, who had only just emerged from his room to see what the loud noises were about.
"Um, kids," he muttered, smiling to himself, then went about to make his usual cup of tea.
//
"Um, April?" Leo said gingerly, gripping the side of his seat. "Aren't you speeding?"
April, who was at the steering wheel, shook her head.
"No, this is the speed limit round here, and besides, it not that fast."
She broke hard as they sped up to a set of traffic lights, and Leo and Raph's faces hit the front seat head cushions, while Mikey, who was in the middle on the back seat, went straight through the middle and saved himself from a painful experience by stopping his fall with his hands, where he would have landed on the gear stick had he not stopped himself. Donnie, who was in the front, and had smartly put on his safety belt, gripped the seat, pushing his back into the chair, keeping his head straight, but looking at Mikey, who glanced at him.
"Seat belts," April chuckled nervously.
A minute later they arrived at school, unscathed, but not surprisingly car sick. Mikey practically jumped out of the car.
"Hey, I didn't want you guys to be late," April said, smiling.
"I think I'll walk next time," Raph said, holding his head and walking in a very wobbly line.
They rushed into school, and into their form rooms, where, even with April's fast and furious driving, they received late marks. The tutor group was now used to the quadruplets and most didn't look up. Some girls, which they had now believed to be their fan club (or just fans of cute guys in the school) giggled and stared.
"Hate school, hate school, hate school," Raph chanted as they sat down, after having to listen to the teacher talk.
"Hey, now you're sounding more like your normal teenager," Mikey pointed out with a grin.
Raph stopped chanting at stared at him slowly.
The bell signalled for first class a minute later, and everyone moved out the room. The guys made their way to their first and, to Raph and Mikey, most hated class: Maths.
"Ut oh, Maths with . . ." Leo said to Donnie, glancing at Raph, who was disappearing into his and Mikey's room. " . . . Prida."
Mikey poked his head out the room as the passed.
"Actually dude, she said Friday lunch she would be at the dentist for first class," he said, smiling. His dimples stood out, and he looked positively cute. He was pulled back in the room by Mr Reily and the door slammed after him. The teacher's shouts could be heard.
"I don't know what to say about this whole break-up-with- Prida thing," Donnie said, cutting Leo off as he took a breath to speak. "I know one thing; I don't like it . . ." Donnie walked into his room, leaving Leo to stare after him, then walk into his own Maths room.
It seemed timed sped up for the sole purpose of Prida returning to school, and Maths class was soon over; well, to Leo and Donnie it sped by. To Raph and Mikey, who suffered torture every time they had a Maths class, it was slow.
The bell rang for Biology to start, and the guys trudged (in two cases) and walked (for the other two) lightly out of their rooms, making their way together for their next class. Half way there, someone who made them wince with guilt called their names, and they turned around slowly to see Prida smiling, walking towards them. She was wearing blue pedal pushers and a baggy, Navy T-shirt. Her long, red hair was tied back in two loose, pigtails.
"Hi guys," she said, sounding tired. "Man, dentists are nightmares." She looked up at them, and her smiled faded. She could tell by their faces that something was up.
Mikey, forgetting everything his brother discussed and saving them from her question (which was bound to pop up any second), grinned merrily to her and said, "Yo Pri, how's it goin'?"
Prida gave the smallest frown at the others before smiling back at Mikey.
"Great Mikey, thanks."
Encouraged, and greatly thankful of what Mikey did, Raph gave Prida a rare, genuine smile and greeted her.
Leo and Donnie glanced at each other, remembering what they said Saturday. Raph and Mikey had not joined in, and after a split second of coming to the same decision at once, they both decided that since their two other brothers are going to forget it, there was no point in them keeping it up. They both smiled sweetly.
Still giving them a questioning glance, Prida seemed satisfied and her smiled widened. They looked so cute when they smiled.
"Bio next," Mikey said, starting to walk, the others automatically following. "How'd the dentist go?"
"Scary," Prida admitted with a sheepish smile. "They have all this weird equipment that they lay out when you go in, I think they do it deliberately, 'cause they don't use them."
They all chuckled as they entered their Biology room, and it seemed that these five smiles spread rapidly as everyone else seemed to be smiling when they entered. The teacher smiled at their teenage happiness.
The class settled down a minute later as everyone took their seats, and the teacher called for silence. Donnie was sat with Leo as they always do, and Prida was sat in-between Raph and Mikey, as Mikey wanted to sit with Matt.
The teacher spoke: "Right, as you know, your exams will be starting next week, and I think this class would be best as a revision session . . ."
Her voice continued, but all four brothers turned to frown in startled horror at each other. Exams?
A few minutes after the teacher explained and suggested things that might be in the exams, she handed out text books, wrote down the page and question numbers for them to do, and left them to it while she sat down at started some of her own paperwork at her desk.
"Oh God, exams," Prida moaned, dropping her head on her hand. "I am NOT looking forward to these."
The guys glanced nervously at each other. Donnie shrugged, and got down to some work. His brothers stared at him, knowing why he wasn't as worried as they were. Donnie was born a brain and would most likely pass this exam. They all just hoped that they would have changed back before that week . . . at least, some part of them wanted to change back.
The class ended half an hour later, after Donnie had managed to write four pages and still had time to explain to a confused Mikey the difference to Mitosis and Meiosis.
"Whoa, I've never seen someone as smart as you," Prida said quietly in awe as they walked out.
Donnie blushed and shrugged, muttering that it's easy if you know how you absorb information and use it. His brothers shot a look at Prida, as in saying 'we're used to this'. Prida smiled.
Since it was break, the guys headed to their lockers, the usual meeting place, where they hung out or met Mikey or Donnie's friends. Sure enough, a few seconds after they had stopped and lent against the metal lockers, Tyson Zera and Amba Jasins, chatting together, walked up to them from down the corridor.
"Hey Donnie," Tyson greeted. He held his hand up for a high- five and Donnie slapped it, grinning. Leo rolled his eyes. That's just what Donnie's needs; a boost of happiness from his friend, and he won't want to leave.
Someone who they hadn't seen in a while popped up suddenly, smiling.
"Hey TJ," Mikey said, sounding surprised. "Where ya bin?"
"I had my tonsils out," TJ said, sounding a little hoarse. "My throat's still sore, but I'm fine now."
"Yowch," Mikey winced. "Never had my tonsils out, so please don't share detail."
TJ laughed, but as he did, he was making motions with his hands that his throat was hurting, but he continued to laugh.
Meanwhile Donnie was in deep conversation with Amba. She was a pretty blond haired girl, with blue eyes. They were talking about this contest that had happened a few months before Donnie and his brothers started Vinilla High. It raised a few laughs.
Leo glanced to his other side, surprised to see Raph, leaning against his locker, talking animatedly to Prida, who was laughing at something he said. Leo smiled, amazed. He had never seen his brother talk like that to someone, not even to Mikey . . . well, maybe once with Mikey, as he demanded a smile.
In no time the bell to end break rang, echoing through the corridors, and already the people were thinning out. The guys and their friends dispersed to their next class, Chemistry.
It wasn't a fun class. Mr Hodcroft gave them, like in Biology, a list of questions to do from a Chemistry textbook, and they weren't easy. Of course Donnie was the only one who actually got more than two pages done. This seemed to make the teacher angry. His face showed it, but unlike Mr Reily, he did not punish Donnie or his brothers for doing too much good work.
"Man, I think Chemistry is my second worst class," Mikey moaned as he ran his hand in his sandy hair, making it stand on end.
"What's your worst?" Leo asked, then immediately knew what.
"Maths," Mikey said with a groan. Raph, next to him, nodded once.
After the long, hard questions, all of the class looked up, relieved, when the bell went. Everyone gathered their stuff and left rather quickly.
"Wass next?" Mikey asked, massaging his temple.
"P.E Theory," Prida muttered, referring to her own class.
"Well, I have Geography," Donnie said, smiling happily. It was apparent that he enjoyed the class. He glanced behind him and saw Amba Jasins walking on her own, head down.
His brothers turned to look. Then Donnie turned back to them and said, "See ya at lunch," and he jogged up to Amba, who looked up and smiled. They walked into their geography together, talking about something that seemed to spark Donnie's interest.
"Well, looks like he's making friends rather well," Raph said, smiling, with a glance at Leo, who was scowling softly. As happy as he was for his brother to be fitting in (Donnie was usually too shy), he was wincing inside. His brother would get way too attached, just as Raph already had to Prida, and as Mikey had with Matt and TJ. Leo didn't want any more pain for his brothers. Unfortunately they didn't see it how Leo did. He could see the pain it would cause, added on to the pain right now. He didn't want that for his brothers.
Mikey disappeared into his Art class as they passed it, saying he'll meet them at lunch, where Prida suggested, the canteen.
The three left, Leo Raph and Prida, continued on to the Sports Hall for their P.E class.
()()()()
"Lunch! Man, am I hungry!" Mikey exclaimed as he bounced out of his art class, which hadn't been as fun as it usually was. He wasn't talking to no one but himself, and a few people stared at him, and smiled as he grinned to himself and set off for the canteen. He had that effect on people. He smiles, the whole school smiles. He grinned to himself. The school loves me, he joked to himself in his head. He saw the building that he smiled at, and headed towards it.
//
At the same time Leo, Raph and Prida were walking down from the Sports Hall, having had a writing period, they didn't have to waste five minutes of their dinnertime getting changed. Just as they rounded the first corridor corner, they bumped into Donnie, who announced his starvation, and they set off for the canteen, catching a glimpse of an orange shirt before it disappeared inside. They hurried to catch up, not wanting to have Mikey lose control and eat all the pizza, for his sake as well as theirs.
Just as they got to the door, Tyson appeared through the crowd, not noticing them at first. Until Donnie tapped him on the shoulder and loomed in his face did he nearly have a heart attack.
"God, you scared me!" He said, clutching his chest, and grinning. Donnie grinned and shrugged.
As that had happened, Roxanne had appeared behind Prida, asking if she could join them.
Leo leaned over to Raph as they joined the stream of kids going in the canteen.
"In just three weeks, we sure have made a crowd," he said quietly to his brother, smiling. Raph nodded, smiling at the group.
Prida heard that and smiled. Yes, it was true, they had made quite a good bunch of friends. But Prida noticed that these were the true friends, not ones that hang around for popularity. True friends . . .
Suddenly someone grabbed her arm tightly and yanked her out of the line of kids entering the canteen. She was dragged backwards, and watched as Leo and Raph walked in the building without realising she was being carried away.
"Ow - what the - Tooks?" Prida was spun around, and now faced the handsome but unwelcome face that was smirking at her.
"Hey babe," he said casually, his eyes glinting as they looked her up and down, scanning her as they always did, and making her shudder.
She wrenched her arm out of his grasp; her face now set angry.
"What do you want?" She demanded.
"Oh, I just wanna know that my baby's okay with her dangerous friends," Tooks said.
"What are you talking about -?" Prida asked, but he grabbed her hand and pressed something into it. It was a folded up piece of paper. She looked down at it, then looked back up at his face, his eyes burning into hers. He did not let go of her hand.
"I think there's something you should know about your friends," he replied, his voice a little low. "You see, they're not normal teenagers . . . they're crooks - criminals . . . I know, and I know that you're a smart girl and you'll know - you'll see that I'm the one to hang with, not those. You've seen what that Raph keeps in his locker . . . those weapons could kill, especially if they were in the hand that uses them expertly . . ." Tooks looked at the floor and muttered the next part to himself, "though I'm not sure he's skilled enough to use 'em . . ." He looked back at her. "He stole them, and he willingly kicked my dads head in - you saw it on the news, din't ya? Four identical boys - my dad saw them right before they knocked him out . . ."
Prida stared into his eyes, and she knew that last part was true, somehow she knew that it had been Raph and his brothers that had knocked Tooks' dad out . . . but why? Raph was not the sort to just do that . . . was he? His brothers said he WAS the aggressive one . . . No! He wouldn't do that, there had to be a reason.
"I'm telling you all what I know about them," Tooks went on, taking advantage of her silence. "That's the big thing about them, they're criminals - they're THE criminals my dad and the whole police force have been looking for . . . I know . . ." He slowly let go of her hand and backed away, slowly. "I'm worried for you Prida," he said, with what looked like a concerned frown. "I love you, and I'm worried . . ." He turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Prida shocked.
She stood there; staring at the place Tooks had vanished. She was mostly shocked because Tooks knew all this . . . and so did she. But she had dismissed it until now, not believing it. But if two had already figured that her friends were the criminals, then it couldn't just be her wild imagination. Tooks knew they were the criminals, and he had the power to put her friends behind bars if he told his dad. Why hadn't he already? Tooks was smart, Prida gave him that credit, but he was evil, and something popped into her head. Something Tooks would do, he loved Prida, and he was jealous about her hanging around with the guys. He would do something to get rid of them, or throw them out of the picture. Prida couldn't belie he had figured this all out . . .
And yet, Prida had the feeling that there was something else to her friends. Something Tooks didn't know about, but she did . . . it was ludicrous, but it fit. She had a feeling they were . . . no, she wasn't ready to put those difficult clues together. She needed time to think about it. In the meantime, she could confront Raph and his brothers, for now she knew why they had been shifty around her, and why they hesitated to say a simple 'hi' this morning when she met them. She could tell something was wrong - and now she remembered that day last week when Raph came in late for English, and she had seen Tooks walking away outside the door. She knew, it just clicked: Tooks had obviously been too jealous and had probably threatened Raph he would spill the beans on him - if he stayed away from Prida . . .
Realising she had that folded up paper in her hand, Prida jerked herself from her thoughts and slowly unfolded the paper. Inside it was a folded up photo. Her mouth opened as she looked at it. It was a picture of that sewer den that the police thought these criminals had been using; the sewer her friends had seemed to worried about that first day they had come here and they had stole out of school to look at one of the TVs in the shop window. But what the main object of this photo was what was on the wall: a rack, and on this rack were weapons; long, sharp swords; long, thick sticks; two twin, thick sticks held together by a chain - and two twin three- pronged weapons . . . exactly like Raph's. Prida realised this was one of the photos Tooks' dad must have taken for evidence.
But Prida didn't believe that Raph and his brothers were criminals. Even though she had only know them just over two weeks, she just KNEW they weren't what Tooks though they were.
Prida held up the photo with the other hand, and underneath another lay It fell to the floor and Prida picked it up and looked at it. It was a picture of a drawing someone had done. But the picture was familiar . . . it was a cartoon character, and she had seen it somewhere. Then it hit her . . . this character was Rayman . . . the game Mikey was playing in R.E one class . . . Prida glanced at the bottom of the photo. At the bottom of the drawing was a name . . . Michelangelo . . .
To be continued.. (spooky music). lol, hope you enjoyed. The rest of the day will be continued, and I have a feeling I have left something out so this chapter maybe replaced, and if it is, vital information will be added... just warning you, lol. Again I am soooooooo sorry for the lateness! (looks at watch, hey, its late here!). Thanks for the reviews... (looks around) Do I even have readers? Okay, can you read this? This here, right here can you read it? Ask yourself. 'can I read this?'... (wipes brow) Thank God I still have readers! Lol, okay, mure coming. the reason this is so late os coz of exams.lol... phew, okay, night all, luv ya ;)