Tmnt An Agonizing Secret

Chapter 3. The Disappearing Act

The three older turtles hurried in and quickly gathered around the kitchen table, brought in by the tantalizing smell of cheese pizza. Mikey smiled at the look of their hungry faces. Can't resist a slice or two of Mikey's homemade pizza, now can you? He took two pizza slices and then slowly, carefully seated himself on a kitchen chair, now aware that he had to start being cautious with what he did as his side was still healing.

I'm not even sure what it's healing from at this point, Mikey thought miserably. And I know it can't just be a bruise. But I won't tell anyone if I can help it, not yet. Mikey looked up from his pizza to find Don, Leo, and Raph staring at him. Uh oh...

"Mikey, you were making a weird face," Don said. "Is something wrong?"

Raph chuckled, turning Don's attention away from Mikey. "Nah that was prob'ly Mike's thinkin' face, right?" He slapped Mikey's shoulder playfully. "Jus' don't think too hard, bro. We can't have ya bustin' what few brain cells ya have left." He started to laugh and Leo and Don giggled along.

"Hey..." Mikey whined, a bit offended.

Leo quieted down and asked, "So what were you thinking about?"

Shell, gotta think fast, gotta think—what I was supposed to be thinking about? "Uh, I..." Mikey faltered, looking across the table for a sign. Bingo! "...I was thinking that this pizza needs a little something—like some pepper!"

Raph laughed even harder as Don said sarcastically, "Wow, what clever insight."

Leo handed over the pepper shaker with an amused grin. "Thanks," Mikey said and half-heartedly shook pepper onto his pizza. But before he could put it back up the table, Raph decided to reach over and swat his hand at the shaker, making Mikey accidentally shake pepper into his face. Mikey yelped and Raph went back to laughing.

"Revenge!" Mikey yelled as he shook some pepper into Raph's face. Some of it got onto Don, who in protest took up the salt shaker and sprayed both Raph and Leo with its contents. Soon, a wave of salt and pepper filled the air above the table. The four turtles fought with the condiments they had, shouting and laughing at each other. That is, until someone sneezed.

"A-ACHOO!" Mikey bellowed. Surprised at the loud disturbance, Leo, Raph, and Don stopped their fight, hands frozen in midair.

"None 'a that betta' not have gotten on my slice, Mikey," Raph warned, eyeing his pizza with a grimace. Don and Leo immediately looked down at their own pizza slices to confirm the same. By the time the three turtles looked up, Mikey was gone.

"What the...?" Don said in a bewildered tone. He swivelled his head around the room as Leo did the same. "Where'd Mikey go?"

"Up ta his room, prob'ly." Raph pitched, clearly unsurprised. "He's always forgettin' ta feed that cat."

"He could have waited until dinner finished," Leo muttered, a bit irritated that the youngest was able to slip past him so easily.

Don chuckled at Leo's obvious frustration. "Well, I guess that means he doesn't need that extra training you suggested earlier."

"Maybe," replied Leo, a smile starting to show on his face. "But don't let it go to his head."

"Extra trainin'?" Raph repeated, curious. "What's that about?"

Don turned to Raph. "Did you notice that bandage on Mikey's side?"

Raph nodded sheepishly. "Yeah. In fact...I think I kinda bumped it or somethin'. He looked like he was in pain fer a second."

"Wait, what?" Don exclaimed. "When did—"

"—Doesn't matta', he's fine," Raph cut his brother off gruffly. "Whazzit have ta do with trainin'?"

Don closed his hung-open mouth and sighed. "He said he got it from falling down in the sewers or something. Sounds a bit clumsy, right?"

"Huh," Raph answered, having understood what Leo was thinking. The table became quiet as the turtles continued to eat their pizza.

"Mikey said it was just a scratch though," Don piped up, continuing the conversation.

"Nothing that will keep him from morning practice, I'm sure," Leo added.

The three brothers looked at Mikey's untouched pizza slices, silently reassuring themselves.
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Up in his room, Mikey wondered if he would ever be able to go back downstairs that night. Everything's fine for a while and then WHAM! Somehow my own body is trying to kill me or something. All I did was sneeze and then that searing pain came back, more excruciating than ever. Mikey struggled to catch his breath as he forced himself to relax. He kneeled over beside his bed with tightly closed eyes, waiting for the pain to pass. I am so glad I could disappear before my brothers saw me. I would sooooo be in trouble by now. Ninja skills to the rescue! Take that, Leo. I just bested the best of the best. Mikey would've smiled if he wasn't clenching his teeth so hard.

Finally, only a dull pain remained and Mikey straightened up, exhaling slowly. Ouch...man this bites. At least it's bearable now, but now I'm sorta feeling...tight. Like someone's giving me a hug, just the not-so-friendly kind. I'm pretty sure Raph has given me a couple of those. Mikey peered at his bandaged side with a worried frown. But I won't let anyone worry about this but me.

Mikey shuffled across his messy room and went back to the kitchen. He wore a bright smile as he faced his brothers but still felt miserable inside. Somehow I don't feel that hungry anymore...

"Did'ja feed yer cat or somethin'?" Raph said as he saw Mikey enter the kitchen.

"Huh?" Mikey took a second to process what his brother had said to him. "Oh, um, yeah. I went to feed Klunk." Note to self: Feed Klunk after dinner.

"I must say, Mikey, that was a nice disappearing act you pulled there," Don said.

Mikey flashed a smug grin, unable to resist saying, "Of course, I'm the Battle Nexus Champion after all!"

Raph groaned as Leo shook his head. "Well, maybe you can put it to good use in morning practice tomorrow," Leo said.

Mikey's smile dropped. Shell! I totally forgot about that...what am I gonna do? Ninja practice is brutal, and the worst part is I'm gonna be with my bros the entire time. What if they notice something's off? Or worse...what if I sneeze? Wow, I sure didn't see this coming. I'm afraid of my own sneezes.

Mikey shoved half a pizza slice in his mouth as an excuse to not answer Leo. Keeping secrets is so overrated.