~Chapter 3~
~Getting to know you… ~
Michelangelo opened one eye when he heard his door open. "It can't be morning yet Leo… I just got to sleep dude." He whined rolling over putting is face down in his pillow.
Silence…
Michelangelo rolled back over too glare at his brother. He was shocked to find that it was not his older brother but his new found friend. "Chloe? Are you lost?" He asked confused.
She was silent. Just standing there a few feet away, staring at him.
"Okay… You're creeping me out dudette." He said getting up. "There's a bathroom downstairs if that's what you're looking for." He said walking up to her.
She just stood there for a couple of seconds still looking at his bed. "Bugs…" She mumbled.
"Bugs?" Michelangelo said looking more closely at her face. Her eyes were slightly open and she was breathing deep and even. "What about bugs?" He asked waving his hand in front of her face a couple of times.
"…in my bed." She whimpered.
And then it clicked, "Dude! She's sleepwalking!" He said slapping his forehead.
"Bugs…" She said again. "Kill them… get 'em out please, please, please!" She said sounding panicked
"It's ok dudette. There aren't really any bugs in your bed. You're having a nightmare." He said soothingly. "Come on, let's get you downstairs." Michelangelo reached for her hand. As soon as he grabbed it she started screaming bloody murder. He let go and yelped in surprise, "Ahhhh!" he put his hand to his chest. "What the shell?"
She was now sitting on her heels, rocking back and forth crying.
"Alright no touching…" He said crouching down in front of her. "Dudette I'm sorry I touched you, don't cry." He said desperately.
Their screaming had attracted two of Michelangelo's older brothers. "Mike what the shell is going on? Why is Chloe in your room?" Leonardo said angrily.
"Why were you guys screaming?" Donatello said confused, and then he noticed what Chloe was doing. "And why is she crying?" he asked bending down next to her.
"Don't touch her!" Michelangelo said pointing at his curious brother just as he was going to put his hand on her shoulder.
"Why?" Donatello asked frozen in his position.
"Because she'll scream! That's why!" Michelangelo explained. "That's why I shouted, I was going to lead her downstairs by her hand, but as soon as I touched it…" He shuttered leading off.
"Why is she in your room?" Leonardo asked getting what was going on, but still wanting it confirmed.
"I think she's sleep walking." Michelangelo said getting up from his crouching position and walking over to his blue banded brother.
"So let's just wake her up." Leonardo suggested.
"No. I read an article that was about sleepwalking and it said that people can become disoriented and violent when woken up. Personally I'd rather not deal with a violent Chloe." Donatello said shaking his head.
"Agreed." Leonardo and Michelangelo said together.
"How did she even get up here?" Donatello said scratching his head, and walking over to his brothers. "She could have taken the elevator, but she doesn't know how to work it yet." He said theorizing.
"And there are no stairs… Maybe she was a ninja in another life?" Michelangelo suggested.
"Donatello shook his head, "Possibly, but altogether pretty much unlikely."
"A better question is how do we get her back into her bed without touching her?" Leonardo said trying to solve the problem as fast as possible so he could get back to bed.
"Oh no," Michelangelo said suddenly panicked, "An even better question is where did she go?"
"She's gone? Where did she go?" Donatello asked surprised looking around Mike's room.
"I don't know. She must've disappeared when we were talking. I thought you were keeping an eye on her, Mike!" Leo said exasperated heading for the door.
"Me? I was talking to you two! Plus what was wrong with both of your eyeballs? I mean why was I the only one that was supposed to be watching her? " Michelangelo said slightly irked.
"Mike! This is so not the time to be pointing fingers!" Donatello said following his brothers into the hallway. They all stopped when they heard Raph yell, "Ahhh! What the shell! Chloe get off a' me!"
They ran to Raph's room to find him right by the door and Chloe snuggling into his bed.
"Will someone please explain what the shell is going on?" Raphael said annoyed.
"Raph calm down, she's just sleep walking." Leonardo said putting a calming hand on his brothers shoulder.
"Sleep walkin'?" Raphael said taken aback.
"Yeah, and now that she has laid down I think we can just pick her up and take her back downstairs." Donatello said.
"No wait!" Michelangelo said with his hand out stretched.
"What?" Donatello said bent over Raphael's bed about to pick Chloe up.
"Well what if she screams again?... I fear the yelling." He said trembling.
"Mike, it will be fine," He picked her up and started heading out the door. "See, no screaming." He said smiling. "You can breath again."
Michelangelo let out his breath that he had been holding in and unplugged his ears.
"What if she does it again? I mean, are we going to just keep waiting for her to lie down so we can put her back in bed?" Leo asked making Don stop.
"Good question," He said. "I'll figure something out." Don smiled.
Leo nodded his head and walked out the door headed to his room. Raph crawled back in his bed as Mike and Don left his room.
They didn't bother taking the stairs and leapt down to the first floor. They walked into her room and placed her on her makeshift hammock.
"So how are we going to keep the magnificent wondering thing in here?" Mikey asked pausing. He then scratched the back of his head as an idea hit him. "And on that note, what if she does it again only makes it outside and doesn't wake up? She could get hit by a car, or kidnapped or, or…" Mikey trailed his eyes getting wide with the realization of what he had just suggested.
"Ummm…" Don rubbed his chin. "Well for the long term I can figure something out. Let's just worry about tonight for now…" He snapped his fingers. "I have an idea."
"Mmmmm…" I moaned, rolling over onto my back. I was curled up dead bug style in the hammock that Donatello had set up for me the night before. It was pitch black and quiet. I yawned and stretched my arms and legs causing my toes to curl. I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the hammock. The suddenness of the action caused me to be dumped on the floor in a heap.
"Mmmuuuuaarrrrpp!" My stomach snarled demanding food. I laughed and patted my stomach getting up to set out on my quest for nourishment. I only got two steps when my foot caught on something and I face planted it into the ground.
"Umf… What the?" I said confused looking back at my left foot. My leg was stretched out with a rope pulling on my ankle. The rope that was tied to me was also tied to my bed, which was pulled tight towards me.
Why am I tied my bed? Untying myself I thought soberly, I really hope this is just a house warming prank, 'cause this could get old, reeeaaally fast.
Walking out of my room I stopped and surveyed the living room part of my "apartment". It was completely empty, but it had potential. It had light river stone colored boulders that made up the four walls, ceiling and floor. Some couches, a rug and a fireplace and it would make a kind of cozy underground cabin.
Heading to my right and through a doorway I walked into the "Kitchen" portion part of my apartment. All it was was two counters lining the walls and a set of cupboards above one of the counters. It had a sink, and a big avocado green fridge that looked like it came out of the 1950's. I walked towards the door that led out into the main part of the lair. Running my hand down the counter as I passed by I found that everything was under a layer of dust.
Not surprising. I thought to myself. And then another thought hit me, I wonder what they have in their drawers… Smirking, I knew I would find out later. Since last night I had been too tired and too drugged (Donnie gave me some pretty potent stuff for my wrist) to really do any major exploring into the place, I would be making it functional and clean today.
I got to the door and opened it, walking out into the lit, open area. In front of me was the indoor pond that had a bridge over it and to my right was Donatello's lab. The whole room was like a big dome with two levels. The guys slept in different rooms on the second level, while only I and Master Splinter slept on the bottom floor on opposite sides of the lair.
The kitchen was conveniently located to the left of my apartment. I walked in and grabbed a banana, wolfing it down. When I opened the fridge, a mix of Chinese food and old pizza assaulted my nose as I pawed through its contents looking for something breakfasty. I found eggs, milk, butter and bread. Standing up I turned around bumped right into, "Leonardo!" I said shocked.
"Er, sorry. Did I scare you?" He said looking uncomfortable.
I smiled, "Not really just surprised me, I don't scare easily." I looked down at his chest. He had ooey gooey egg running down his plastron. Laughing I said, "You hungry for breakfast?"
He looked down to see what I was laughing at, and then he located the egg touching it with his hand. "Actually Chloe, I don't eat before morning training." He said furrowing his eyebrows.
I looked at him putting my hands on my hips. "Leonardo, that's not good for you," I looked at the clock. It was five A.M., "and this early in the morning it can't even be considered breakfast, so nothing to worry about."
He moved around me with his shoulders up by his ears and his elbows out, making him look like an escaped turtle scarecrow. He headed for what I hoped was a wash cloth, towel or anything that he could use to clean up. The egg was now dripping onto the floor, leaving a clear yellowish snot-like trail behind him.
"I don't starve myself until lunch, just for a couple hours while I work out so I don't get cramps or throw up." He said looking over his shoulder at me, rubbing his shell with a wet wash cloth.
Re-thinking the time in my head, it didn't make sense. It was five A.M. in the morning and I felt totally great. How long had I slept? "Hey Leo, how long was I out exactly?" I asked leaning against the table.
"All day yesterday. Don tried to feed you once but that ended badly." He said looking amused.
Poor Don… I did have a tendency for violence when half asleep. I gave a little repentant smile, and then pursued our previous topic.
"So seriously, why do you work out at the butt crack of dawn every day?" I asked curious. "Were you dropped on your head as a child? Or do you have a thing against my-one-and-only-true-love-next-to-food, which is sleep?
He laughed like I was being silly—ME SILLY—for thinking that working out in the wee hours of the morning is just plain wrong. "It's just part of my routine Chloe, it works for me." He said smiling pleasantly, and throwing the wash cloth in the sink.
I looked at him astonished, here was a guy who actually got up early to work out and modified his eatingfor FUN! Something had to be done. To hell with routine; this was an intervention. "Well today Leonardo my friend, I'm making you breakfast."
He opened his mouth to protest but I cut him off raising my hand saying, "There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. Because it's a thank you breakfast for saving me, and giving me a place to stay." I smiled because the look on his face told me I had won.
"Ok, but I'm going to help," He said picking up the milk, butter and bread that were still lying on the floor.
"Oh no, this ones on me, and it's going to be a little something extra because your being reunited with breakfast! This is a celebration of food and my kind of chaos! A disruption of routine." I said taking the food from him, and shoving him out of the kitchen.
"But Chloe you don't know where anything is." He said worried.
Drat… He had me there. "I… I'll figure it out," I said pushing on him again. "Now go sleep or something while I make breakfast."
He looked at me with a 'you sure?' look. I gave him a 'shoo shoo' signal with my hands and smiled confidently. He rubbed his neck and walked towards what Don had told me was the "Dojo". It looked like an overgrown gym to me, but they can call it whatever they want.
"Hey!" I yelled causing him to startle and turn around. I shook my pointer finger from side to side, "No working out. Anarchy remember? Today there is no routine, just good ol' possibility.
He looked at me with disbelieving eyes. "But—"
I cut him off, "No buts'!"
"But what do I do?" He said completely out of his element. The guy looked totally lost, meaning that my "intervention" couldn't have come at a better time.
"I don't know, try something different. Read a book… Watch good morning America… Prank someone… You're a smart guy, I'm sure you can handle this." I said shrugging.
His face got all serious and determined, "You're right. I can handle this…" He said sounding like he was reassuring himself more than talking to me. He wandered off towards the huge wall of T.V.'s.
Chuckling at my sheer genius for mayhem, I walked into the kitchen and went to work. Sure I hadn't cooked in forever, and even when I did I completely sucked at it. That wasn't going to stop me from trying.
I am a Sypher! Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays a Sypher from the swift completion of an appointed task!
You gotta love the mail man motto, works for just about every situation.
"Ok, here we go."
Leonardo had been sitting on the couch for about five minutes when he heard loud crashing and cursing coming from the kitchen. He stood up anxiously and called out, "Chloe? Are you ok?"
"Yea, fine Leo! Just slipped that's all!"She called back, her voice sounded strained.
Not knowing if he should go in and check on her, Leo sat back down on the couch and waited. A minute or so passed and Mikey emerged jumping down from the upper level and walking over to Leonardo.
"What's going on Leo?" He said stretching his arms above his head yawning.
"Chloe's cooking breakfast," Leonardo said looking at his younger brother.
Mikey raised an eyebrow, "She can cook?"
More crashing followed by, "Turn ON, dang it!" Then the sudden sound of a blender coming to life filled the lair, trailed by shrieks of surprise. "Ah! No!—Wait! Not yet! Stop you possessed piece of—" She was drowned out by a loud boom, like something exploding. Everything fell silent again.
Leonardo and Michelangelo looked at each other, and then in unison called out, "Chloe?" Watching the kitchen entrance they saw her poke her head out and smile like nothing had happened. She was dusted in a layer of flour, and had what looked like egg caked on her face, shirt, and arms.
"Oh Mikey! Good morning! I was just making breakfast, do you want some?" She asked.
"Ummm, sure?" Michelangelo said not totally sure if he wanted to eat something that had been wrestled with.
"Great! It'll be ready in a few!" She said. And then she disappeared into the kitchen again.
"Leo?" Mikey said turning to his older brother.
"Yeah Mike?"
"I'm scared…" He said quietly.
"Me too Mikey… Me too…" Leonardo said looking at the kitchen again.
That was close! I thought, sighing.
How hard can it be to make German Pancakes! All they are is eggs, milk, and flour! If the stupid technology would cooperate this would be a cinch! I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand.
Come on Chloe you can do this! Be smarter than the technology!
I slowly stalked towards the innocent looking blender, afraid to make any sudden movements, just in case it decided to start spewing pancake batter at me again. I stopped and watched it for a minute or two standing stock still. And then without warning I pounced on it, slamming my hands down on the lid making it impossible for the lid to pop off like it had before.
So far so good…
I slowly took my hands off of the lid. It just sat there, with a "What the heck are you doing? You're being a moron," kind of air.
"So that's how it's gonna be, huh? Well fine. Just do as you're told and I won't toss you in the garbage, got it?" I waited for a reply… Nothing
I nodded my head, "Good… let's do this." I reached for more ingredients to make up for what I had lost in the last crazed episode the blender had had.
By now all of the turtles had been attracted by the commotion. They were all crouched on the couch. Four sets of eyes peered over it's back at the kitchen.
Red mask.
Blue mask.
Purple mask.
Army helmet.
Mikey claimed it made him feel safer.
"Do you suppose we should offer our help again?" Donatello suggested.
"Go ahead, its yer funeral. I'm stayin' right here." Red said muffled slightly by the couch cushion.
The sound of the blender reverberated through the lair followed by Chloe's maniacal laughing."Yes, yes its working! It's working!" She yelled.
"She's going to destroy the kitchen!" Donatello said matter-of-factly.
"Ok this is what we'll do, wait five more minutes, and then we go in to check on her. Agreed?" Leonardo looked at his brothers on both sides.
"Whoa what! WHOA! Umf!" Chloe yelled from inside the kitchen. She was accompanied by the sound of colliding metal and glass, smashing and bashing together.
"Or we could go in now," Red said jumping over the back of the couch heading towards the sound of destruction. His brothers followed, on his heels the whole way.
"Oww," I put my hand to my head and let go of the blender before it could try to kill me again.
"What the shell did you do? It looks like a friggin' war zone in here, Sparky!" I heard Red grumble.
Seriously?... Sparky?...
Glancing over my shoulder I said, "Shut up. When I succeed in making breakfast you're not getting any." I then looked down at myself. I was now covered in the freshly made batter that I had achieved in producing. The oven door was open all the way like a big gaping fish mouth. And the cast iron pan that I was going to use had been flung about ten feet from me.
I sighed trying to get up. The pancake batter that had spilled everywhere made the smooth rock floor slick. I slipped again, but just before I hit the floor two hands caught me under my arms. I looked up and backwards at my rescuer.
"Thanks Mikey…" I said relieved. Noticing his helmet I asked, "What's with the army helmet?"
He looked up slightly at the hat, and then an expression like chagrin crossed his face. "Never mind," He said hauling me up and towards him.
I tried to stand up but my feet kept sliding out from under me, I reached out for his shoulders trying to steady myself. "Sorry about how long it's taking me to make breakfast. Let me just clean up a little and then I will finish cooking." I said still holding on to Mikey's shoulders, he had one hand on my bicep and the other on my waist.
Sure that I could stand on my own I looked up at his face. "Thanks again…"
"No problem. Turtle Titan is always here to help." He said smiling. He let me go, but kept his arms up in a kind of protective ring just in case I slipped again.
"Mike, I slimed you…" I said giggling. "I'm… sorry…" I sniggered wiping at the batter running down his front.
"Its fine, dudette," He said stopping my hands with his own. "It wouldn't be the first batch of pancake batter I had spilled on me, and it won't be the last." He winked at me.
I nodded my head and smiled."Ok, breakfast." I said turning around facing the kitchen again.
"Actually Chloe. Since you're covered in batter, how about you go take a shower." Don said, rushed.
I blinked and him, "No, I can't let you clean up my mess. Plus it was a celebratory meal for Leo since this would have been his first of many lazy days to come."
"It's fine. We don't mind cleaning up, and cooking breakfast will be snap with the four of us." Leo said very leader like looking at his brothers for support.
"But—" I said wanting to protest, but I was interrupted by Leo.
"No ifs, ands or buts about it." He said using my own lines against me.
"Yeah just go get cleaned up. We can take care of this." Red said agreeing with his older brother.
I stood there shocked; they were ganging up on me. I narrowed my eyes, "Fine, but I'm making lunch! And no one is allowed to help me." I said defiantly.
"Whatever you say," Donatello said holding up his hands in surrender.
I nodded my head, and went to go walk out, but I slipped again. Mikey caught me and picked me up. "How about I escort you to the bathroom milady?" Mike said walking out of the kitchen, carrying me princess style.
"Sure, why not." I said giving up on trying to walk.
After getting all of the pancake batter off of me I got out of the shower and found that yet again, my clothes were missing.
What is it with these people and taking my clothes?
I wrapped the towel that had been set out on the counter around my body. Surprised when I found large black baggy sweat pants, an oversized 'I love New York' shirt, and a large orange thick hoody underneath it.
"Ninja's." I said like it was an explanation, shaking my head. I got dressed quickly and headed for the kitchen. I opened the door and a mouth watering smell hit my nose, pancakes, warm maple syrup and bacon. I took off down the hall running; my stomach urging me on with excited little, "Muarp, Muarp's."
I reached the kitchen out of breath and giddy. I hadn't eaten a real breakfast in… Forever! Everything was sparkling clean and put away, and on the table was a ginormous pile of pancakes that seemed to glitter in the light. And right next to it was an equally large plate of bacon!
I sat down and inhaled the heavenly scent. "Oh my gosh, I missed breakfast sooooo much!" I said out loud to no one in particular.
"Oh you found the clothes, good. They aren't too big are they?" Mikey said turning around from the stove. He had an orange frilly apron on and a spatula in one hand.
"They're great," I said quickly answering his question. "Were you the one who made these heavenly pancakes?" I asked in wonder and awe.
He opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by Red. "Yup, he's a regular ol' seventh wonder." Red put Mikey in a headlock and noogied him.
Donatello came over and put plates and forks on the table. Handing me a glass of orange juice, he asked, "So what's your plan for today?"
Taking a deep draught of my juice I said, "I was thinking about cleaning my apartment and then looking for some new furniture and stuff to make it… homier."
Donatello's eyes lit up, "Great! I wanted to go down to the dump today anyway."
"Whoa whoa whoa." I said, putting up a hand. "The dump?"
"Well yeah, where did you want to go?" Leo asked confused.
"I don't know… Goodwill maybe? Somewhere less smelly than the dump." I said hopeful.
"Don't worry; we won't make you get anything smelly dudette." Mikey said smiling reassuringly.
Why not? I live in a sewer with four mutant turtles and a rat. Smelly, broken, fourth hand furniture can only improve my chances of being America's next Miss Septic Tank from New York. I grimaced at my own sarcasm.
"There is lots of good stuff down there, and really there's no better price than free." Leo said putting a hand on my shoulder.
"Why do I have to help again?" Red said grunting with the effort of lifting the last sofa into the battle shell.
"Because it's the right thing to do. She's just settling, in that's all." Leo said shoving on the end, pushing it all the way into the truck.
"And you have nothing better to do." Donatello said carrying a big round antique mirror, setting it on a blanket and wrapping it up so it wouldn't be damaged.
"I was gonna go smashin' gangsta's with Casey! What could be more important than keepin' the city safe?" Red grumbled.
"You agreed to let her stay with us, plus Casey wouldn't have been able to play today anyway Raphie because April made him come help out." Mikey said laughing and pointing at Casey. He was currently holding two lamps out of the mud so the girls could inspect and choose one.
Red wrinkled his nose, "Ch! Women!"
The girls chose a lamp and Casey brought it over to the battle shell to be loaded with everything else. "Sheesh, we've been here forever! I mean does she really need all of this stuff?" He said clapping his hands together, wiping off any dirt.
"April seems to think so," Leo said leaning against the side of the truck.
"Aw stop complaining! It was fun!" I said smiling; I linked arms with April as we walked up to the group of pouting boys. She wasn't really all that bad once you got past her purple and khaki mommy mode. April had a kind of mischievous pleasantness about her which made her my new partner in crime.
"Yeah, fun… I'd rather be fighten' the Shredder. All of this girly stuff makes me nauseous." Red huffed.
April put her hands on her hips, "Now really, isn't that just a tad dramatic?"
"No, it's exactly the right amount of dramatic. She aint even been here a day an' she's got us packin' furniture like friggin' mules!" He said gesturing towards me with his hand.
"I have you help me move stuff all the time at the shop and you never complain." April said crossing her arms.
"Yeah but we have known you forever
I narrowed my eyes. "Look I didn't ask for you to save me. And I didn't ask for you to take me in like a little lost puppy either. And as I recall you didn't put up too much of a fuss last night when everyone was deciding what to do with me!" I said fighting the huge lump that was forming in my throat.
April put an arm around my shoulder. My eyes were starting to sting but I continued, "You didn't seem to care when I said I was difficult to live with and I attract trouble where ever I go. And you didn't mind this morning when I almost destroyed your kitchen trying to make breakfast. If you want me to leave I'll just say so! It wouldn't be the first time I have had to live on my own…" I was crying pitifully now, and I hated that.
Red rubbed the back of his neck and furrowed his eyebrows, "Hey don' cry. I didn't mean it, I was just… I don't know." He said apologetically.
"You almost destroyed their kitchen this mornin'?" Casey said curious. Leo elbowed him in the ribs.
"Yeah, it was really bad…" I hiccupped-laughed.
"I don't know what Raph's talking about but I had fun this morning. And I don't mind having you around at all, it makes life interesting!" Mikey said piping up.
"I agree with Mike, you're not hard to be around, just technologically challenged. No biggie." Don said smiling.
"And where else do you have to go?" Leo said softly.
"No where." I said scrubbing my eyes with the back of my hand.
Red sighed, "You can stay, I overreact ta things sometimes. Sorry…" He said looking at me.
"You sure?" I asked.
"Positive."
I raised an eyebrow, "Really? Nothing is going to change your mind? Like the next time I blow something up?"
"You blew something up?" Casey asked surprised.
"Casey!" April Chided.
Everyone chuckled, "Sorry." He said smiling awkwardly.
"Na, it's cool with me if ya stay." Red said winking. "We good?" He asked me.
I nodded in the affirmative, and then I got an evil idea.
Not quite yet Red…
Leo shut the truck doors, and everyone moved to leave. I waited until Red's back was facing me, and then I bent down scooping up a handful of mud. I lobbed it into the air, and it landed with a splat on Red head. He stiffened drawing his shoulders up by his ears and turning around slowly. "What the shell…"
"Now we're good." I said matter of factly, smirking as I walked by.
A loud resounding chorus of, "Oooooo!" went through the crowd. I kept walking and was almost to the open battle shell door when I heard Red chuckle darkly,
"Oh I don't think so sparky…" I then felt something cold, thick and wet smack the back of my head. A round of gasps erupted. I stopped and reached up to touch the back of my head. It was mud, he actually threw mud back at me.
This means war…
I flicked off some mud that was on my hands in an irritated motion. "Now that wasn't very smart Red." I said bending down and scooping some more up.
"Don't do it, you won't like what will happen." He said threateningly.
"Don't do what? This?" I said throwing the mud ball at him. It hit him on the right side of his chest and slowly started to slide down. "Or maybe you were talking about this." I said lodging the other half of my mud ball at him.
It hit him on the left side of his chest and slid down to the same level as the other one. I laughed and said, "You know they have bra's that supports sagging, you really need to check that out Red."
He growled, "That's it!" He took off running for me.
I darted around the truck and headed back the other way. Passing April I yelled, "Help! Help! Help!"
She laughed, "Nope, you got yourself into this one, I'm just gonna watch."
So much for partner in crime; she's just been demoted to useless side kick.
I could hear him catching up. Fast. I tried to lose him skidding around a tire pile, spraying a wall of mud on a poor old homeless guy that I passed.
"Whoops! Sorry!" I yelled behind me as I ran. I couldn't hear him anymore.
Not much of ninja is he? I smiled, thinking I was almost home free when out of nowhere I was tackled from the side.
"Ha! I gotcha girly!" Red said pinning both of my hands to the ground straddling me. I could feel the mud start to eek into my shirt and pants. I ground my teeth and in one swift movement kicked his legs and pushed my arms up. This caused him to collapse on me. After that I shoved on the ground rolling us over putting me in his previous position.
"Not quite yet princess," I said dripping mud onto his face. I smiled because I now had the upper hand. And then suddenly I was on my back again staring up at Reds smug face.
"What was that sparky?" He said grinning.
And then he was gone. Leonardo had yanked him off of me.
"Hey let go! I was winning!" He said gruffly.
Leo was still holding him back grunting, "Cool down hot head!"
Mikey had helped me up, I smiled getting an idea. Using the element of surprise I took Mikey by the arm and swung him around. I let him go so he would fly right into his two brothers. I laughed as they all ate mud with a splat.
"Ewww…" Mikey Complained
"Ugh," moaned Leo. He had been the bottom of the pile.
"Great. Just great." Red said irritated.
Don walked up to his mud covered brothers shaking his head.
"Winning were you? I don't think so Red." I gloated.
"Really you shouldn't have gotten involved." Don tisked at his brothers, now slipping and falling on top of each other trying to get purchase on anything stable.
"Aww shut up!" Red said grabbing onto Dons ankle and pulling. This caused him to lose his balance and fall right next to his brothers with a splash.
I walked over to them laughing. "Mmmm! My favorite! Chocolate covered turtles!"
Mikey knocked my legs out from under me with a swift side sweep. I fell landing on all four of them with an, "Ooof!"
He laughed and said, "With chocolate and vanilla swirl on top!"
"Wow, really Mikey?" I said trying to get up but the mud had made the boy's shells really slick. So every time I put my hand down to get up, it would slip. That and they were trying to get up all at the same time. We looked like a big heaving tangle of laughing arms and legs, constantly shifting from people slipping and falling back in the pile.
I stopped trying to get up because I was laughing so hard my sides were aching. I had landed on someone's torso. Rolling over I found that I was laying on Red. He was almost totally black, and grinning like a goob.
"See?" I wheezed. "I'm not so bad after all. Admit it: you kinda like me." I smiled.
He raised an eyebrow at me. I brought up my index finger and thumb signing "a little bit" and smiled, scrunching up my nose.
"Yeah, alright you're not so bad." He admitted.
"I thought so. You're not so much of a tuff guy are ya?" I asked punching his arm lightly.
He chuckled, "Whoa, don't push it kid."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I said rolling my eyes.
Ten minutes later and we had all successfully made it to our feet. Everyone was leaning on someone and holding someone up, so if someone fell we all would. We all looked up when we heard April call, "Hey guys smile!" She was holding a camera and was about to snap a picture. I smiled and put bunny ears on the two guys I could reach, Leo and Don. It seemed like they all had the same idea because I had a pair and so did Red and Mikey. April snapped the picture and then we all started the walk back to the truck.
"Awww man!" I whined.
"Now what?" Red said.
"I'm going to need another shower now…"