When Shadows Rise | I

Ch. 24 | My gut

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Raph's POV

In Raph's world, waking up was not the second hardest thing in the morning— that was the first. The second was actually getting out of bed and starting his morning routine for school. To be frank, Raph had no energy to get up; all he wanted to do was lock the door so nobody could disturb him and take a long nap. However, in a world where you had to go to school so you could be successful and not turn out like a loser, one had to suck it up and kiss capitalism's ass.

"Morning, Spike," Raph yawned to his pet turtle, who was wide awake as a daisy. Spike, who was a red-eared slider, was gifted to him on his eighth birthday from Leo. It was one of the most thoughtful gifts Raph had ever received from anyone in his life. If Raph had to vent, Spike was there to listen; Spike was not just a pet, but a friend.

Raph trudged to the bathroom to wash his face. Everyone always talked about how Asians have clear skin, so he was grateful for his genes. April got triggered that one time she asked what his secret was for having baby-butt skin, and Raph answered water and lotion.

The cold water seemed to do the trick in making him feel less groggy. After that, he fed Spike and changed into his uniform, still feeling annoyed that part of the uniform meant wearing the tie— another reason why he was less than thrilled when his father enrolled him to Roosevelt Prep High.

When he left his room to go the kitchen, he could smell the heavenly scent of pancakes and hear the ruckus from pots and pans being moved around. Raph knew that could only mean one thing, so he rushed downstairs and sure enough when he approached the kitchen, saw Mikey in full swing: flipping pancakes, mixing eggs, and frying bacon.

"Uh. . . Mikey?" Raph tried to get his brother's attention.

Mikey turned away from the stove for a split second to smile at Raph. "Morning, Raph!" He chirped.

"You're up early," Raph remarked.

"I wanted to make us something! You need to eat something different other than cereal."

Raph frowned. It wasn't like he didn't know how to cook; he was more than capable of cooking himself breakfast, but it was only thanks to his complete lack of motivation to turn on the stove and take out the ingredients from the fridge that hindered his ability to change his daily dose of milk and cereal. To him it felt too exhausting.

"There's nothing wrong with my Cheerios," Raph defended, sitting at the kitchen island.

"And I'm telling you that you need to eat a real breakfast." Mikey stacked a couple of fluffy pancakes on a plate, accompanied with eggs and bacon and slid it over to Raph.

Raph planned to eat Cheerios this morning, but he wasn't going to tell that to Mikey— not when he went out of his way to make breakfast for them both. He savored a piece of the pancake; the taste was nutty and a bit on the tangy side— something he considered a weird combination, but his taste buds seemed to oddly like it.

"Wow! Uh. . . the flavor is something else," Raph said after swallowing.

"Let me guess: out of this world?" Mikey grinned.

"I mean, it's weird, but it's the good kind of weird, you know what I mean? It's actually good. What did you put in this?"

"They're banana pancakes, but I added Greek yogurt and sliced walnuts. I wanted to try something new."