4:00AM Midtown in fifteen minutes…..Sure that’s possible from ninth street not at all a problem…. Who am I kidding I will never be there on time!! These were the times when Leonardo wished that he could run openly in the street without causing a spectacle of himself and making himself the center of attention, but for him that was impossible. Even at 4:00 AM the lights that illuminated the city made it clear that Leo had to try to be as invisible as possible to the morning “crowd”. But being at Chu Hsi’s midtown apartment on 42nd was still pretty far away and he had to get to work. Literally. If his brothers knew about this, he would never know the end of it. Or Splinter, that would be even worse. So when Chu said he was opening a restaurant, and asked if he could have some help in the back kitchen before the opening of the oriental restaurant, Leonardo agreed. It was a chance for him to feel as if he was helping to support his “family”. April had done much more than she should have had to, as had many of their human friends. They did have a little stash of cash hidden away in a bank account under April’s name. Don repairing items left for trash that he later had sold to the pawnshop not to mention the cash from the citizens of the city of NYC itself. After a dirt-bag talk show host had pushed them into the main stream of the Saturday Evening News for almost a week with the “Are there really Mutant turtles, or was that a publicity stunt to get ratings?” situation, there were all sorts of letters with five dollars here or ten there for “those nice turtles that Miss O’neal knows”. At least April managed to pull off a stunt that proved their real nature, not the brutal one that the host was trying to push for ratings.* Leo walked into the alley fifteen minutes late and climbed the fire escape. Chu was making breakfast for himself in his kitchen of the small flat. Once a firefighter, he had to retire because of having a beam fall on him a few years back. Even though he had another form, one which left him almost invincible.* Now using his cooking skills that he learned from his family’s restaurant when he was a child and the money he had been saving, Chu was able to open a restaurant up on 57th which turned out to be great business. Needing help before the store actually opened for the day, Chu decided to ask his friends that would prefer not to be seen to the public for help……and that leads up to why Leo was at Chu’s at 4:00AM. Chu laughed. “You’re late.” “Yeah, slept in…..I’ll be out of your shower in five minutes.” That was one of the perks… a nice hot shower every morning without having to fight the others for the bathroom. It was one of Chu’s Rules. If you are going to be in the sewer, take a shower before going to work. Even if that means you have to use mine. Leonardo laughed at that the first time he heard that. “Gee…what a good idea!” was the sarcastic reply. 4:15 Ready to go to work the two walk out Chu through the building and Leonardo through the fire escape and begin their “back road” way to 57th. ____________________________________________________________ 4:15 AM About 20 blocks south… “When?” It was a simple question. One that Mike thought he deserved an answer to. “Late August…..when normal kids go to school.” “Oh, sorry that I did no know that, sometimes I actually forget that I am not normal.” The last comment made his eyes gaze back over the skyline, avoiding hers. “You know that’s not what I meant….I mean I’ve been in this country for five years. Sometimes I still feel like an outsider….I was talking about myself, Mike not you………..And Boston isn’t that far. I need the chance to go to school. I can’t be April’s Camera Girl forever, no matter how much fun we manage to get into….” Oyuki Mamisha walked over to Mike and put her hand on his shoulder, trying to figure out his thoughts. “Yeah, O, I know that it’s just that we’ve been so…. I don’t know….so close…lately. You know what I mean?” She lit her cigarette. Bad habit…yeah she knew, but it was so very addicting. That wasn’t the worst part. Last year she got him smoking with her… “Can I get a hit?” “Sure…” “So what are we going to do?” “Well I told you about this because I have a question….no a favor to ask of you” He turned around confused. “This place….its outside the actual city.. . I can rent in the country, or close to it. I know you are getting sick of the city Mike, so why don’t you come with me?” “To Boston??!!” “Yeah Boston.” “Humph….I don’t know let me think about it. I’m going to bed it must be almost four….” ____________________________________________________________ 7:00AM Raph got up just as Leo got in. “Where have you been?” He didn’t make eye contact. “Morning Run.” “Yeah, sure” Trying to change the subject, Leo looked up. “Where’s Mikey.” “Spent the night at April and O’s.” “Oh…So I guess he won’t be back in time for practice.” “No, probably stayed up half the night” Leo snorted a laugh. “Yeah, probably.” Don walked in, obviously fresh out of bed. Not bothering with any morning conversation, he went straight for the cereal. 7:30 As Splinter, watched his students practice he felt that there was a change in the wind….. *These things happened in the Archie Comic :) -kb
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