The Shadow's Secret│TMNT

11 || Getting to Know Each Other

"Why are you so tired?" Olivia asked after I yawned yet again.

I shrugged as I sipped my coffee. "I have no idea."

"You woke up two hours ago, how can you possibly be tired?" She repeated, a hint of frustration detectable in her voice.

"Hey. We stayed up late last night," I said in a poor attempt to defend myself.

"Eleven o'clock is not late." 

"Eleven!?" I sputtered, "more like midnight!" She grumbled something unintelligible before changing the subject.

"Did you get any replies for jobs?" She asked hopefully.

I shrugged. "Haven't checked."

"Raiya! Check right now!"

"Fine," I sighed and took the phone from my ear. I switched Liv to speaker before clicking out, a red 1  in the corner of my messages app caught my eye and I tapped on it curiously.

"Well?" She prompted.

"Hang on," I mumbled.

A new message sat unread from another number I'd never seen before. I knew it was from Leonardo right away, he'd sent me a different address with a different time around two hours ago. I deleted the conversation and opened my mail app, refreshing it for any new emails. One popped up, causing my phone to vibrate.

"Who is it?" Olivia asked impatiently.

"Central Park Zoo," I announced and quickly scanned over the email. "They have an opening for a part-time trash collector, ticket booth girl, and educator in the Tropic Zone. They said to send a copy of my resume and the position I'd like and they'll consider me."

"That's awesome!" She squealed. I winced at the volume of her voice through the phone's speaker.

"Liv, chill out, you're gonna blow my phone's speaker."

"Oh, sorry. I'm just so excited!" 

I snorted. "Yeah, more excited than I am."

"Unless something is movie or pizza-related I'm always more excited than you. So what are you going to say?" 

I drank from my mug of warm coffee. "Well I'd love to say I can't accept but you would murder me, so I guess I have to tell them I want the education-person-job.

She sighed in exasperation. "Educator." 

"That. Thank you," I said as I typed out a response.

"I have to go, my lunch break is over. I'll see you tonight, and please try to send a polite response to the zoo." 

"Don't worry, I got this." I tapped send with a flourish.

••• 影の秘密 •••

That night, I snuck out again to meet Leo. Thankfully, he'd chosen a rendezvous relatively close to the apartment. This time I decided to climb out the window in my room and onto the roof where I quietly descended the fire escape. I pulled my hood up before turning onto the sidewalk.

At my phone's vibration, I immediately darted down the alleyway I was closest to and climbed a fire escape to the roof. I was right on time.

"Leo?" I called hesitantly, squinting through the darkness in an attempt to spot the turtle.

"Hey."

I jumped at his voice, but not nearly as much as last night.

"Okay, you need a bell," I laughed, brushing strands of hair out of my face.