turtle tot stories | tmnt 2012

A Lesson In Anger-Management

It was a regular afternoon in New York City, and beneath the streets and sidewalks, the sewers were calm and quiet.

In the lair, Splinter was in his room, meditating and resting. In the main room, his four little sons were doing the two things they did best.

Playing.

And getting on each other's nerves.

Leo, Donnie, and Mikey sat in a little circle on the floor of the lair, playing an old Japanese board game of Splinter's with each other.

"Hey! It's my turn to roll the dice, Mikey!"

"Oops. Sorry, Leo."

"I rolled a six! Haha, passed you, Leo!"

The three little turtles laughed happily as they played with each other, moving along the board of the game and rolling the dice.

The three little turtles.

Raphael sat alone in the far corner of the room, dejectedly playing with his precious swath of red silk he'd gotten for his first mutation day. He absolutely loved that beautiful red silk; he never let anyone touch it, or even go near it. He ran his little green fingers over the smooth material, relishing in its absolute softness.

"Hey, Raph!" Little Leo called from a few feet away. "Wanna play with us?"

"No," Raph snapped back at him.

"Aww, come on," Leo said, standing up. "How come you never wanna play with us?"

"Because I don't, that's why."

Leonardo scurried over to his red-clad younger brother and stood over him. He placed a hand comfortingly on his brother's shoulder, but Raphael roughly shook it off.

"C'mon, Raph," Leo pleaded. "Please play with us. Just for one time."

"No. Go away."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaassse?"

"No!"

"C'mon, Leo, it's your turn," Donnie spoke up from the board game. "Leave big fat baby Raph alone."

He snorted, then started laughing at his joke. Mikey joined in, and in seconds the two young turtles were rolling on their shells laughing. Raph tensed with anger when he heard Leonardo give a tiny snicker.

"Raph," he started.

But Raphael didn't hear him. His vision was turning red and fuzzy. All he heard was his own heavy breathing, the laughing and snickers of his brothers, mocking him. Making fun of him. Laughing at him.

And it was too much for him to take.

"I said GO AWAY!" he shouted.

And before he even knew what he was doing, he stood up, whipped around, and struck his brother across the face.

Little Leo stumbled back, holding his face. He stared at Raphael with shock in his blue eyes. Then he began to cry, tears running down his face, his sibs echoing throughout the lair. Mikey stared at them in horror, while Donnie ran off toward Splinter's room, screaming, "Daddy! Daaaaaaadddyyy!"

Stupid little tattletale, Raph thought angrily.

Within seconds, Splinter was out in the room with them. He strode over to Leonardo and bent down next to his little son, murmuring to him gently and stroking his shell reassuringly.

"What happened, Leonardo?" he asked gently.

"Raph hit him!" Donnie said out loud.

"That question was meant for your brother, Donatello," Splinter told the little gap-toothed turtle. "It is rude to jump in like so. Understood?"