Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fan Fiction ❯ Book of Spells ❯ High School ( Chapter 3 )

Raphael bitterly slammed his locker shut as he listened to the cackling laughter of the jocks behind him. It had been the worst day of his life, by far. His pride was wounded worse on his first day of school far beyond anything during his sixteen years with his family. It hurt like hell.

Raphael had spent two weeks wandering around the surface, moving from taking clothes from Casey back to the forest clearing before he came back from school. He'd been caught by the cops for truancy and sent to a school. It was his first day and he'd been attacked, both verbally and physically, by the most popular people in the school. Instead of them getting in trouble for initiating the fight, the red-haired teen had been the one to get in trouble. Since it was his first day, the vice-principal had gone 'easy' on him by giving him an hour and a half lecture then sending him off to class. Throughout the rest of the day, he'd been teased, taunted, and gossiped about by students and teachers alike. For the first time since he'd left home, Raphael found himself missing the protective presences of his elder brother and his father.

"Hey, freak!" a jock called over to him.

The pale boy recognized the voice of Brad, who had been the one to start the fighting this morning; Raphael kept walking, his cheeks flushing with anger as the names grew worse. His body tensed for the blow a second before it hit.

"Hey faggot, I'm talking to you,"

Raphael turned and slammed his fist into the boy's face, effectively dropping him. He smirked smugly.

"How's that for a faggot and a freak?" he taunted.

"Raphael!" This time it was the boy who smirked, though he was bleeding profusely from a cut in his forehead. "I cannot believe you hit him after our discussion this morning," the principal said.

"It wasn't a discussion," Raphael said, crossing his arms.

"Excuse me?" the principal asked incredulously.

"A discussion involves two or more people talking. You were the only one talking. Therefore, it wasn't a discussion." If he wasn't so mad at his family, he would've had to thank Donatello for that brilliant quip.

"Office. Now," the principal said coldly.

Raphael sighed and wanted to slam his head into a wall. Instead, he walked to the office and suffered through another hour-long lecture and sentenced to three weeks in detention. He walked out to blessed silence and hurried to the forest, which was a shorter distance from the school than from home. He settled in his clearing and sighed softly in relief.

"Now, to relax," he said to himself.

He performed a nature spell, bringing some flowers up in the clearing. When he breathed in the fragrant scent of the roses, he felt his tension and anger dissipate. He was about to put the book up, but he hesitated at the thought of his family. He sighed again and brought up a window spell. He saw his father pacing back and forth, tail flicking irritably.

"Father?" Leo said softly from the doorway.

"Leonardo," Splinter said, stopping and looking at his favorite.

"We couldn't find Raph anywhere. Again."

"Keep searching. We must find him." The old rat turned away from his eldest son.

"Father, please," Michelangelo said, appearing in the doorway with Donatello. "What's wrong?"

"Raphael. He left, and I have the distinct feeling that a good deal of the fault lies with me."

"What makes you say that?" Leonardo asked.

"Oh, please," Michelangelo snorted. "It's your fault, too, Leo. You both yell at him all the time."

"Well he screws up all the time!" the blue masked ninja snapped defensively.

"So do we," Donatello said with a nod. "But neither of you get on to us like you do with Raph. It's really harsh, you know? You," he said, pointing at Splinter. "Are so cold with him that it could be considered winter.…"

"And you," Michelangelo said with a head nod to Leonardo, "are so hot with him that you could be temporarily called Raphael when you two fight."

"I…No, I can't…No!" Leonardo sputtered.

"Yes," Donatello and Michelangelo said together.

"Even as a kid you never saw how hurt he was, Father," Donatello continued. "He never wanted you to see him cry. But Mikey and I heard it. Leo was too busy training."

Splinter sighed and Raphael held his breath, waiting for his father to answer.

"I love him. I do, but I have to be strict with him. It is the only thing that keeps him in line."

That wasn't what the turtle wanted to hear. He shattered the window, and he knew that they would have heard something that violent. He couldn't help but pull up the spell again just to see what his father and brothers were doing. They were looking around the lair, trying to find the shards of glass. Raphael smirked. They wouldn't. The shattering noise was the sound of the spell collapsing in on itself. It could be done quietly, which Raphael proceeded to do. He sat there miserably. He missed his family, yes, but he wouldn't go back. How bad could high school really be?