April dug deeper into her locker, desperate to find her homework.
"Looking for something?"
April jumped and hit her head against the hard metal frame of the locker. She gasped and blinked blearily to see who scared her.
"Oh, sorry," said her friend Irma apologetically. She reached out her hands cautiously in case April dropped her books. "Didn't mean to scare you."
"It's okay, Irma. I just lost my homework is all."
"Again? April, that's the third—"
"Yeah, the third time this week. I know."
April slammed her locker door in frustration. Not a moment later, a loud ringing noise filled the hallway. Not only had she forgotten her homework, she was also close to being late for class. She groaned and said, "I'm going to be late for chemistry. I'll see you at lunch."
"Uh, bye I guess." Irma watched April leave sadly but eventually went to her own class. April raced into the classroom as the teacher took roll. "Ms. O'Neil," her elderly teacher mumbled in a disapproving tone. "Good morning, Mrs. Strenold," April said out-of-breath. She sat down at her table, slouching into the uncomfortable metal chair.
A girl with pale skin, even paler than April's, sat at the same table. Dark circles rested beneath her eyes. Her pale skin only made them stick out more. She wore a cropped beige hoodie, layered on top of a black turtleneck.
"Hey, April," she mumbled with an awkward smile and waved with a gloved hand. "Hey, Cori," April responded back. "How's your day been?" Cori stroked her fingers through her long dark brown hair. Her hair had an unkempt look to it, as if she just woke up and could not be bothered to brush it. "Oh, you know…had math, and hated it. Then, I had English, and hated it. And now I'm here."
"Hating it?"
"Pretty much."
"Yeah, I'm not exactly thrilled either."
April tapped her pencil on the table for a minute and then asked, "Hey, did you do the homework?" Cori was just about to answer as Mrs. Strenold loomed over their table. Her wrinkles became more prominent as she frowned at the red-head. "I'm guessing no homework today either, Ms. O'Neil?"
"I had it," April pleaded, "I just don't have it now." She smiled a big smile, hoping to sway the stubborn teacher. It did not work. Strenold looked over to Cori and asked, "And you, Ms. Ishida?" Cori gazed down avoiding her sharp gaze and shrugged. Mrs. Strenold sighed. "I just hope your presentation next week will be especially...educational." She turned and left to check the other students' homework.
"We should probably work on that," Cori said quietly to April.
"Yeah, I kinda forgot. Maybe, we should meet up later tonight. There's a nice park nearby we can work at."
Cori nodded. The two sat in silence, unsure what to say to the other. It did not matter much as Mrs. Strenold started the lesson. April could not wait to get out of this place. Out of her rigid metal seat that prodded her back. Out of the stuffy classroom that always had a faint nauseating odor. Out of this high school already. Class after class slowly went by until lunch came. Even in the cafeteria with Irma, she still struggled to pay attention to her friend's words. All she could think of was seeing the guys that night. Mikey had teased that they met some sort of new vigilante last night, and she wanted to know more. Although, it did not make much sense when he explained it over text. It did not help either that Mikey had terrible grammar and rarely ever made much sense. With the final bell, April practically sprinted out of the building. She jumped down the steps at the front of the school. The cold outdoor air prickled her skin, but it felt refreshing.
"Where you going, Red?" Casey walked up to her from behind nonchalantly. His black hair was a mess and his clothes were always stained or ripped. But somehow, he made it work.
"Didn't the guys tell you what happened last night? I want to talk to them already."
"Yeah, I heard. Some punk trying to take my job as New York's vigilante. I bet they're a push-over."
"Well, Mikey said they gave them a real run for their money. And he had a cooler mask than you."
"What?" Casey gasped in offense. He wildy gestured about as April riled him up. "My mask is way cooler! I made it myself. I bet they bought theirs at some lame party store."
"Casey relax," April chuckled, "Mikey never said that."
"Oh." Casey blushed mildly, embarrassed about blowing up like that. "Well, still...I definitely have a cooler mask."
"Whatever you say," April said with a smile. She turned her back on him and made her way towards the lair. The two teens finally arrived at the turtles' secret hideout after a couple minutes of trudging in the sewers.
"Hey, April," Donnie greeted shyly as the red-head walked into the lair. He was standing behind the other turtles as they sat and watched "Super Robo Mecha Force Five!" (or SRMFF for short). His smile faded as he watched Casey come in after her. The jealous pair made faces at each other until Casey sat down next to his brothers. Donatello sulked back to his lab, muttering something under his breath. He passed by Splinter, who looked at April expectantly.
"April, I hope you came today ready for some training."
"Actually Splinter," April started saying, "I've got a lot of homework to do. And, I'm pretty sure my English teacher is evil for assigning a packet."
In classic Splinter fashion, the old rat stroked his beard and finally said, "I suppose. But, it would please me greatly if you could join me in the dojo after you finish your work."
"Of course, Sensei," April said with a subtle bow. Splinter bowed back and looked over to where Casey sat. "Casey," he acknowledged. Casey seemed startled and mumbled a quick hello before sinking down back into the bean bag. Even after all this time, he was still intimidated by Splinter. April leaned against a cushion as Splinter left.
"So, tell me about last night. Who was that person Mikey mentioned? You think they're working for the Foot or something."
"I doubt it," Leonardo answered without looking away from the TV.
"Yeah, usually they look more ninja-like. Not like some weird masked vigilante," Raphael commented. He turned over to Casey and added, "No offense."
"I would love to meet this guy. I totally could take him on in a fight," the human teen bragged.
"Well, what do you think they wanted?" April asked. "Hard to tell. Something in D's bag apparently," said Raph.
"You think they're after the mutagen?"
"I hope not," Leo interjected. "We already have enough mutants in New York as it is."
"I think they're cool," said Mikey. He laid on the floor upon his stomach as he watched the anime. He swung his legs back and forth as he continued. "I mean, did you see their mask? So cool. You think they got a superhero name?"
"Yeah, it was real cool when he attacked Donnie," Raph scolded. Mikey was about to retort back when there was a loud crashing sound coming from Donatello's lab. Raph sighed as Donnie stormed out of his lab. "Where ya going?" Donnie did not answer and continued to stomp out of the lair. While working on the retro-mutagen, it was not uncommon for Donatello to retreat to the surface in frustration. It seemed like these days he was making no progress at all.
Leonardo sighed and turned off the TV. "I guess we should follow him."
"Awww, but we were getting to the good part," Mikey complained. Raphael feigned a punch towards his little brother. Mikey recoiled back and yelled, "Alright alright, I'm going!"
Casey rolled his head back to watch them leave and said, "Hey, you're going to leave after we just got here?" "I'd think it would be better if you stayed," Raph explained. "Donnie gets all weird when he acts like this. Also, he doesn't like you." Casey tilted his head away and in a mocking voice said, "Yeah, well maybe I don't like him either…"
The turtles left April and Casey to pursue Donnie. It did not take them long to catch up to their furious brother. He had a habit of pacing back and forth when angry, never letting him stray too far. Leo placed a hand gently on his shoulder and said, "C'mon, let's go on patrol." Donatello jumped at his touch but nodded silently, still seething under the surface. The others followed Leonardo on their almost daily routine.