Searching for April O'Neal

Chapter 3: Jamie

Jamie

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven.

Silently, in her head, April counted the steps it took her to get from one wall to the other in the small room that Tang Shen was keeping her in.

Seven steps there and back.

Again and again and again she paced the black tiled floor, staring at her brown uggs. She couldn't think about what she was supposed to do. There was nothing she could do and she knew it. She was completely trapped here, with no hope of escape.

With a sigh, April finally stopped pacing and sat down on the cot that was on the other side of the square-shaped room. The redhead stared at the black and white checker design wall, still absentmindedly counting to seven and repeating in her head.

She bit her lip and forced her brain to stop counting. There had to be something she could do. It was obvious where she was..Shredder's old lair. April could never forget this place. But how could she contact Donnie or Casey or someone to tell them where she was?

She didn't have her phone, obviously. That thing had been destroyed. April wondered if maybe somehow she could send some sort of telepathic signal..or a dream or something to someone.

Can I even do that? April thought. She buried her head in her hands. Most likely not. She was trapped here unless someone somehow figured out a way to get her out.

Which she doubted. Who would think to look in Shredder's old lair? The place had been abandoned for 2 years. Not a soul had entered. And even if Donnie figured out where she was, how would he save her?

But the biggest question that was nagging on April's mind was: What was Tang Shen going to do to her? Obviously, April was bait. But how was she going to use April as bait? Threaten Splinter and tell him that she'll die if he doesn't meet her somewhere? Torture her until Splinter finally figures out where she is? Kill her and lead Splinter on a path of revenge?

April didn't know Tang Shen. She had no clue what the woman would do, which totally sucked.

She just hoped that Donnie would figure out her location soon. Dying was not on her bucket list.

...

"JAMIE CAROL HOUSTON!" Jamie's mother yelled from the shotgun seat in their car. Jamie groaned. What did her mom want now?

She took an ear bud out of her left ear, and the sound of her Imagine Dragons music became quieter. "What, mom?!"

"First of all, Jamie, you shouldn't have your music on that loud. It damages your ears, and I shouldn't have to yell at you more than once to get your attention, anyway. Also, you shouldn't be wearing ear buds at all. They increase the bacteria in your ears almost 700 times!"

Jamie wanted to roll her eyes, but thought better of it when she saw that her mother was looking at her through the rear-view mirror.

"Second of all, you need to know that we're almost there. Maybe 15 minutes," Jamie's mom continued. She started talking about something else, and Jamie tuned out. She loved her mom, really, but she talked way too much and lectured her even more. Jamie liked her father better. He didn't like talking much, and he never criticized Jamie about her music, which was one thing she couldn't stand about her mom.

It was always Turn that music down, Jamie and That music isn't very appropriate for a teenage girl to be listening to. But most of all, WHEN  YOU ARE PLAYING YOUR MUSIC IN THE BASEMENT, JAMIE CAROL, YOU NEED TO TURN. THE. VOLUME. DOWN. I CANNOT HEAR MYSELF THINK.

Jamie felt a small smile creep onto her lips before it disappeared. Those 'playing her guitar with her band in the basement' days were over. She was moving from her small town in Minnesota to the Big Apple: New York City.

And that would be exciting, but Jamie had one more year of high school left. All her friends were back in Minnesota. Her band was back there. Her whole life was back there.

Her parents couldn't have waited another year. They had to move now. Just Jamie's luck.

So now she was cramped in the back seat of their stupid yellow car with all their boxes full of junk and clothes. The moving van was in front of them full of their furniture, and Jamie hoped that her guitar was still in tact in there. If it broke, she was sure her parents would buy her a new one. They surely had enough money. But it was signed by all the members of Fall Out Boy, and she swore she would die before seeing it destroyed.

"...coffee shops are here in New York," her mom was saying. Jamie snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the back of her mom's head as she continued to blabber on. "There weren't many little coffee places back in Minnesota. I bet there's a ton here. Ooh, that's going to be fun, trying all the new restaurants here."

"Yeah," Jamie said under her breath. "Fun."

"I wonder who our neighbors will be," Jamie's mom said. "Maybe they'll have a child Jamie's age, Iain!"

Jamie's dad nodded, looking bored out of his mind. Jamie grinned. She knew that her dad hated long trips, especially with mom talking the whole time.

She put her left ear bud back in, and music filled her ears once again, blocking out all other sounds. She always had an urge to sing when she heard music, but mostly kept it inside. She was super shy unless she was around her best friends, so singing was out of the option, even when she was just in the car. Sometimes she would hum, but never sing. Unless she was alone or during band practice. Then she would scream the lyrics as if there was no tomorrow.

Her song ended, and a new one started as her father turned a corner, and their GPS announced that they were there. She took a deep breath and removed one of her ear buds again, knowing that her mother would start talking to her now that they were there.

"Are you ready to see our new house, Jamie?" her mom inquired excitedly.

"If I get to pick where my room is," Jamie begged for what felt like the millionth time.

Her mom sighed, and was about to tell Jamie no when her dad interrupted, "It won't kill anyone. Go for it. But you better pick an actual bedroom."

Jamie grinned and stepped out of the car, stretching her legs. She could always count on Dad to bail her out of a situation.

"You have to carry some boxes in!" her mom instructed as she got out of their car. Jamie nodded, and put her phone in her jeans back pocket.

As she picked up a box from the back seat and started walking towards her new house, she hoped that she'd find friends, or someone, to hang out with this year before she went off to college.

But she wouldn't worry about that now. Now, she needed to worry about how many boxes and suitcases she could carry in before her mom found her a new job to do.

Moving sucked.