Before: A TMNT Fan-Fiction (Part One- Edited Edition)

Chapter One

Life has a funny way of collapsing around you at the least convenient moments.

Right when you think something good is about to happen or an amazing opportunity comes your way, the universe has a habit of ripping that all away when you least expect it. At this particular time in history, the beginning of the downfall started when someone forgot to get Cheetos for the most important weekend of their lives...

"April, you had one job!" The high schooler spun the dial on her locker and the blue metal door swung open. "I can't believe you forgot them!"

"Don't panic, Echo," The red-headed girl attempted to soothe her friend as she opened the locker next to hers and stuffed her books inside. "I can hit the store after school and pick the food up then. We've got the whole weekend to do whatever we want; its not like we're under a time crunch."

'Echo' wasn't written on her birth certificate. April's best friend had an actual name, though they rarely ever used it anymore. She earned it after a mishap in their chemistry class that nearly blew up the school, creating an enormous BOOM! sound that people say echoed down the nearby streets.

They were lucky to still have their hearing after that and the incident almost got both girls expelled, despite everything being an honest accident. It wasn't like she'd tried to knock the alcohol burner over, and if anything, it was their teacher's fault for letting them use highly explosive chemicals in the lab unsupervised. Mr.Delver had been sleeping in the teacher's lounge during the whole event.

Echo placed her geometry book in her locker, next to her history book and Spanish homework.

"You're right," She pushed her glasses up and ran a hand over her long blonde braid before shutting her locker and taking another deep breath. "You're right, I'm sorry. I just..." A moment of silence passed between the two, both knowing exactly what she meant. April placed her hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile, the kind that looked like a normal grin to everyone else but her best friend could tell she was trying not to cry.

This was going to be their last weekend together, the weekend they'd been planning for over the past two months.

Ever since Echo's mother dropped the 'We're moving' bomb several weeks prior, the two teenage girls had saved up every allowance, every paycheck, all the loose change they could find, and put the cash in their 'End of An Era' fund. So far, they'd managed to collect nearly four-hundred dollars and they were prepared to spend it all in the short time-span of forty-eight hours. With Echo's mother being out of town, looking for a place to live where ever the hell she was dragging them to, that left the two best friends (under the watch of April's father) to do whatever they pleased.

Their 'End of An Era' schedule started with going to April's apartment after school and building the biggest pillow-fort they'd ever created, ordering pizza and stuffing themselves full, then making their way to the theater with April's father to catch the newest Space Heroes movie. April wasn't as much of a crazy fan of the franchise as Echo was, but the redhead still looked forward to one last excitement-filled hurrah. From then on, they'd play games, tell scary stories, and do whatever they could not to think about their time running out.

"This'll be great, I promise," April attempted to smile reassuringly, despite the fact that Echo had been able to tell the difference between a real smile and a 'I'm doing my best not to burst into tears right on the spot' smile since they were ten years old. Regardless, Echo just nodded her head in reply and the two made their way towards the cafeteria.

"Are you sure you can't hang around here 'til the year is over?" The red-head questioned after the two got their trays of pizza from the lunch-lady and found seats at their usual spot- a table in the farthest corner of the room where they could talk in peace and quiet. "It's not like you don't practically live with me already," April took a bite from her slice of food. "You own half my closet."