Song: Someday - Disciple

The next twenty-four hours are spent in confused rage. I can't decide if I am angry or puzzled at Evelyn's behavior. She is so vicious, yet so delicate at the same time. I'm not sure if I should be offended or not. Or if I should even care.

    Evelyn acted as if me fighting off Tiger Claw was the end of the world. So what if he knocked me out? It wasn't the first time I had been mowed down. It happens more often then she realizes. Why does she think she has the right to tell me how to live my life?

    I angrily shove another cookie into my mouth as I let my feet dangle off the counter. Deep down, I am more mystified by her attitude than anything. I want to know why she cares so much, why she went out of her way to lecture me about it. She's just my tutor. She has no real reason to be worried about me.

    She is the most confusing robot I've ever met. And that's coming from a guy who has been around the Kraang.

    The worst part of it all is that Tiger Claw got away. I was so caught up in the argument that they slipped right out of my view. By the time I escaped the mansion, they were gone. I had failed to stop them once again.

    Suddenly, there is a knock at the front door. I have half a mind to ignore it, since I'm too busy drowning in my thoughts. The visitor is persistent, however, because the knocking continues. The noise drills into my brain and makes my train of thought crash.

    Resigned, I walk over to the door and open it. My redheaded best friend stands there with a joyful greeting on her face, her baby blue eyes sparkling.

    "Good to see that you still exist, Jones," she teases me as I allow her to step inside.

    "Ha, ha," I reply in a monotone voice. I'm not in the mood for jokes.

    April picks up on this immediately. She sets a plate of pumpkin bread into the kitchen table and raises her eyebrows. "Alright, what's wrong? You look like you just lost your ability to rollerblade."

    I hadn't planned on telling anyone about what happened. But with April offering her consent, I find myself giving in.

    So, I tell her everything. About how close I've gotten with Evelyn and how she invited to her house to study. I inform her about how well we were getting along, and how I was beginning to consider her a friend. I explain to her the fight that Evelyn and I had about the Halloween party. I even mention that she lost her mind when she saw me fighting against Tiger Claw and his mutant friends.

    There is a long pause after I finish my rant. April weighs my words with a frown on her face. "I think you need to let her cool off," she finally advises. "Give her some time to think about what happened."

    "There nothing to think about!" I protest. "She just completely overreacted."

    "She found out that you're the guy she's been thinking about since Halloween night," April points out. "That's huge, especially since she happens to be your tutor. Of course she would freak out over that. Girls don't take things like that lightly, Casey."

    "I didn't wig out when I found out she was the girl from the party," I retort irritably. By not siding with me, she is making things worse. "I was totally cool about it. She should have done the same."

    "Maybe she's got a lot on her mind right now," April suggests. "She does seem like a busy person, after all."

    There's something like a hint of dislike in her voice, but I don't care enough to ask. The platter of pumpkin bread on the table catches my eye and I change the subject. "What's that for?" I ask as I scrutinize it.

    April blinks as if I asked an idiotic question. "Thanksgiving dinner with the turtles, remember?" she answers when she realizes I'm serious.

    "Oh, right," I grumble uninterestedly. I had totally forgotten about that.

    "You said you'd go," April reminds me. Her body language is practically daring me to back out.

    I sigh loudly. "I know. But I really don't wanna go," I complain.

    "Well, you have to," April insists briskly. She grabs her platter in one hand and my wrist in the other. "It'll take your mind off of things."

    "Being near friends isn't going to help," I sniff as she drags me towards the door. I could easily yank away from her, but I allow myself to be carried wherever. I don't have the will to stop her.

    "It might help you calm down," April says stubbornly. "Besides, the turtles are still a little bummed out over the failed serum. The least you can do is try to cheer them up."

    "Yeah, yeah," I mumble as the cold air from outside blasts in my face. I can only hope she's right.

    Once we are walking down the sidewalk, she finally releases my arm. I have half a mind to run back inside my house and lock the door. But if I do that, then I will have to spend the holiday alone. Even with all my big talk, I'm not sure I can handle that.

    So even though spending Thanksgiving in Lucy's house is going to be super uncomfortable, I know it's a better idea than sitting at home. Besides, April has pumpkin bread. She's practically baiting me to follow her.

    I arrive at Lucy's place with all my misgivings in my stomach. The whole walk there, I couldn't take my mind off Evelyn. Now my stomach feels so sick that I don't know if I'll be able to eat... as much as I normally do.

    It's silly to avoid Lucy, I know that. It's not that I hate her; I just can't make myself appreciate her. She's too soft, and she doesn't offer anything to the team except a shoulder to cry on. How can Raphael be interested in someone like her?

    Another problem with Lucy is her connections. Or the connections she used to have, at least. Every time I look at her, all I see is Charlotte. Their friendship was so strong that my twin sister seems to live on in Lucy's gray eyes.

    Now I feel extremely ill.

    Leonardo is the first one to greet April and I. "Happy Thanksgiving!" he says happily, though I don't miss the faint flash of lingering grief in his eyes. He is still concerned about Elizabetta.

    "Happy Thanksgiving!" April replies joyfully as she pushes her pumpkin bread platter into his hands. "That's homemade. Hopefully it tastes alright. I haven't used this recipe before," she adds with a smile.

    Leonardo smiles in return as he takes it from her. "It can't be worse than Mikey's experiment. Don't eat the pudding," he warns us quietly, before leading us into the kitchen.

    The table, which is normally short, had increased in length. It's covered in many dishes such as stuffing, turkey, ham, rolls, macaroni and cheese, potatoes, and too many desserts to name. My favorite part is the pizza sitting in the middle of the table, however. Of course they would have that at Thanksgiving.

    "Hi, dude and dudette!" Michelangelo greets us half-heartedly. He is slaving over a hot stove. He has flour across one cheek and a lump of butter on his elbow. Realizing he has no idea, I point at his arm.

    "I think you got a friend," I comment with a tiny smirk.

    Michelangelo's blue eyes flicker down to his elbow. Any normal day, he would have tried to lick his elbow, running around the kitchen in the process. But this time, he merely shrugs and blandly says, "I'm savin' it for later."

    I glance at April, who is already frowning at the situation. Her eyes seem to say, "I told you that the turtles are still upset."

    Suddenly, Donatello appears in the room. He has dark green bags under his eyes and his posture mimics exhaustion. "Hello," he greets us, followed by a violent yawn.

    A familiar red-clad turtle brushes by him, followed closely by a short, bleached-blonde girl. Raphael looks more content than anyone in the room, though he isn't particularly happy. As he takes a seat at the table, I catch a glimpse of Lucy's expression. She looks troubled, though her constant smile almost completely disguises her misgivings.

    Karai arrives a few moments later in her mutant snake form, a tongue slithering between her lips. She makes her way over to the table and rests beside Leonardo, gazing at the food hungrily.

    Michelangelo's motions for all of us to take a seat at the table. "My super special surprise is done," he announces with an attempt at a smile as he sets a covered dish on the table.

   "What's that?" I question as I obey.

    "It's my new recipe: pizza pie!" Michelangelo rips the cover off to reveal the most revolting dessert I have ever seen. It's cheesy and crusty, and tomato sauce leaks out of it. I have to cover my mouth to stop from vomiting.

    "It looks, uh... Lovely, Mikey," April praises him, though she doesn't sound certain at all. Her face is turning greener than turtle skin.

    Michelangelo's smile increases a tiny bit as he wraps a huge bib around his neck

    "Will your mother be joining us?" Leonardo asks Lucy with a tilt of his head.

    Lucy gives a slightly disappointed smile. "She said she wasn't feeling well enough today," she explains.

    I have to stop myself from snorting in disbelief. While being sick is a possibility, it's more likely that Lucy's mother is just trying to avoid being around mutants. She's way too prejudice for her own good. Still, at least I won't have to listen to a nagging adult.

    Leonardo sets a portrait at the head of the table, right in front of an empty chair. It's a picture of Splinter in his human form, along with his wife and daughter.

    "Now it's like he's here with us," Leonardo murmurs, which is followed by a moment of silence.

    Though I was never close to the rat mutant, it's still strange not having him around barking random orders. I kind of miss him.

    There have been too many lives lost in both our families.

    "Dig in," Donatello says as he grabs his fork and knife.

    Lucy stops him, however. "Don't you guys play a game before you eat?" she asks in her usually-soft voice.

    The turtles, April, Karai and I all exchanged puzzled glances. "What game?" Leonardo finally questions.

    Lucy sits up a little straighter, her gray eyes twinkling with anxiety. She must find it hard talking to so many people at once. "Well, it's not too much of a game. Basically, we go around the table and each of us say one thing that we're thankful for." She pauses, as if she isn't sure we like the idea.

    "Sounds fun," Raphael finally admits, to which the rest of us nod in interest.

    "I'll go first," Lucy decides, looking a bit more confident. "As you know, each of us have lost someone special to us in one way or another." Her gaze shyly flickers to me, but then she averts it quickly. "But with loss comes a new gain, something that is just as precious. You all are that gain to me, and I am thankful for that." She turns her gaze on Raphael for a second, before looking back at the rest of us.

    "Aww!" Michelangelo coos as he throws an arm around her. The rest of us smile, while Raphael's cheeks turns from green to pink.

   "I guess I'll go next," Leonardo speaks up after a moment. "I'm thankful for three disobedient brothers and three annoying friends." He flashes the table a winning white smile, and chuckling breaks out.

    Leonardo glances at the empty chair as the noise dies down. "And I think if Master Splinter was here, he would say he's thankful that we survived Shredder's dictatorship."

    The table falls into a silence with downcast gazes. Then, one by one, we all lift our heads again to continue the game.

    Leonardo glances at Karai. "What are you thankful for?" he asks curiously.

    Karai's jade green eyes flicker with a faint emotion. She seems to struggle with forming syllables at first, but she eventually gets out the word, "Second chances."

    Leonardo grins while his brothers nod in agreement, all of their eyes sparkling joyfully.

    It's Donatello's turn. He seems to consider his potential answers before settling on it. "I'm thankful that the Kraang are gone," he decides, earning a few nods of agreement.

    Michelangelo fiddles with his fingers before answering. "Even if the serum stuff didn't work, I'm grateful to have a brother smart enough to fix every problem that smacks him in the face. I know he will help Lizzy one day."

    Michelangelo seems to be daring Donatello to fail again. The purple-clad turtle suddenly looks pressured, but he nods anyway.

    As the awkwardness settles, everyone looks expectantly at April. She taps her chin before saying, "I'm thankful that this team is still going strong. We've had a lot of hardships internally as well as externally, but we still make it through."

    As everyone turn their attention to me, I shift uncomfortably in my seat. "I, um," I look around, undecided on what to say. I'm not good at sentimental stuff. "I'm thankful for some butts to kick," I finally announce.

    April rolls her eyes, while the turtles and Karai start laughing in obnoxious agreement. Lucy frowns slightly, clearly unsatisfied with my violent response, but she doesn't speak up.

    Raphael smirks as he speaks his mind. "I'm thankful that my butt isn't one of Casey's targets."

    The hoots and hollers increase in volume as we double over in amusement. From then on, the jokes and mocking continue with full force. Between mouthfuls of homemade delicacies and sweet compliments, the day turns out a lot better than I expected. I even start to feel myself forgetting about my earlier problems.

   April was right: Sometimes, friends really can make you feel better.