Michelangelo had never really had a bad day as far as he could remember. Were some days not as awesome? Sure. Did he sometimes have a moody spell? Of course, he was only human after all, and sometimes living with three older brothers-as cool as they were- did that to a kid. But a truly awful, incredibly sucky, super hella bummer of a day? Mikey didn't think it was possible.

But oh, how the universe loved proving him wrong.

And if the universe ever hated Mikey so much as to make him completely miserable for an entire day, it didn't show it until that morning.

Mikey rolled around in his bed, only slightly registering a ringing sound through his pillow as he struggled out of his doziness.

He halfheartedly swatted for his turtle shaped alarm clock, swinging his arm lazily for what seemed like a million times- almost, once more, so close- until his hand slammed on the off button. There. Nailed it. First try. He lifted his heavy, seriously bad, bed head, and peered at the culprit of his wakening.

Oh, it's only 7:43. Mikey thought, slamming his head back into his pillow.

Only to bring it right back up a second later as he grabbed at the clock. "7:43! WHY IS IT 7:43? WHO THE HECK SET YOU TO 7:43?"

Without waiting for a response that the little alarm clock would never give, Mikey darted out of bed and reached for the closest sweatshirt and clean pair of jeans he could find before grabbing his backpack and, stuffing what he hoped was loose pieces of his homework and a math book into it, ran out of his bedroom.

How could this have happened? This never happens. It wasn't like Mikey to wake up late. Ever. Raph or Donnie, maybe. But NOT Mikey. He always woke up early. And when he didn't, which wasn't often, he always made sure to set his alarm clock for 6:30 just in case. It was early enough so that he wouldn't have to wait in line for the bathroom, he could make breakfast and prepare his lunch, and even squeeze in some morning training. But today, all of that would have to be thrown out the window.

Mikey haphazardly threw on his sweatshirt and somehow managed to pull up his pants without falling- thank you eight years of ninja training- as he made a mad dash towards the kitchen.

Of course, seeing Donnie's handwritten note on the counter brought some answers to his attention of why no one had bothered to wake him up for school.

-Mikey, left early to walk April to school and to look over her English paper. Sensei is out running errands before the dojo opens, so morning training is canceled. Can you pick up milk and 3 packs of triple A batteries on your way home? Need it for a project. The batteries, not the milk. Thanks. D.

It was only then that Mikey remembered his conversation with Leo the night before. Leo had an early student council meeting at his high school and Raph was going to spend the night as Casey's to work on a history project together so he wouldn't have anyone to drive him to school. Mikey groaned loudly.

Perfect. Mikey thought. The one day he wakes up late is the one day no one is home. Just perfect.

He looked at the timer on the microwave. 7:46. Not enough time to make something to eat on the go. But maybe a quick swig of, "Ahh right, no milk."

Mikey opened the fridge door and shook the empty milk carton. need milk was written on a postage note in sloppy handwriting that Mikey knew all too well belonged to his hot headed older brother.

"Really? Two of you saw that we needed milk and still didn't take the carton out of the fridge?" Mikey huffed as he slammed the fridge door with the empty milk carton in hand. "Well, at least you live up to the expectation of teenage boys."

Whatever. There's no time to act like a Leo. I'll dump it in the trash outside. Mikey swung his backpack over his shoulder and headed for the backdoor. He slipped on his sneakers, grabbed his custom made skateboard (courtesy of Raph. It had green flames and space ninjas kicking alien butt while eating pizza. Seriously how cool) and shut the back door behind him.

It was only until he reached the bottom of the steps that he felt the downpour of rain that had lingered nearly all week. He did an immediate 180 turn on his heel and bounded back up the stairs to get his umbrella, only to realize that the door had locked behind him. Mikey searched for his keys frantically, but slumped his forehead on the door when he remembered his key's were hanging on the opposite side of the wall.

Ok, it's cool. No worries. Skateboarding with an umbrella is too much work anyway. Think of it as a replacement shower. A really cold and uncomfortable shower. Mikey sighed as he bolted once more down the stairs, this time taking two at a time, and hopped on his skateboard.

The March air was crisp and cold against his skin as he sped down the dim street, his eyes stinging from the wind and the rain that whipped against his face. Mikey pulled up his hoodie and tightened the strings.

Ok. School starts at 8. If it takes me 15 minutes to get to school by car, and that's when the speed demon Raphie is driving, then it will probably take 30 minutes to reach it by an awesome dude like me on an equally awesome skateboard. Mikey frowned as he passed a building with an electric changing sign that had the time on it. Lets hope I can make it in 10.

Since Mikey was 14 and still in middle school, it was usually either Leo or Raph that drove him on their way to the high school. On days like today, where everyone was too busy to take him, Mikey would simply skateboard there. Which was no problem. Any skating time was a good time. But that was only if he had woken up at the correct time and headed out early enough before the first bell rang.

Right now, however, he knew that wasn't going to happen unless physics broke and gave him an extra 15 minutes. Maybe Father Time could do him a solid and slow down the clock? How about an alien invasion? Zombie apocalypse? Anything? Mikey could always go for a giant monster attacking the city and hope that it could stall for time.

Oh, that'd be cool. Maybe a giant sqid/lobster Godzilla hybrid. That may even cancel school if I'm lucky.

Mikey was too lost in his day dream of fighting monsters to notice the cross sign turn red. And it wasn't until the horn blared loudly beside him that he even noticed the 16 wheeler charge towards him as he skated across the the crosswalk. His ninja instincts were knocked into autopilot as he tried to dodge it, flipping his board as well as himself clear across the other end of the walk way.

He probably would have looked cool, if he hadn't screamed the entire time doing somersaults until his back end collided hard against the traffic light on the opposite side of the street. A skilled "oof" escaped his lungs as he stared unsteadily upside down, only then noticing the semi screech by him so quickly he almost didn't see it go by.

If I had been one second late, if I had noticed any later than I did-

"Are you alright?" A woman yelped, holding a shaky umbrella over him. Her eyes wide with horror of what she had just witnessed. Mikey couldn't spare a second thought to what had just happened.

"What time is it?" Mikey gasped as he rolled onto all fours and scrabbled to gather his backpack and board, which had skidded away from him.

"Um," the woman paused, caught off guard by his urgency before bringing out her phone. "It's about five till 8 o'clock. But are you al-."

"Sewer rats," Mikey cursed loudly as he shouldered his backpack and took off once again down the street, yelling a quick thank you to the lady with the umbrella before turning down a street.

Crudcrudcrudcrudcrudcrudohhacatcrudcrudcrud. He only had five minuets left and he wasn't even half way to the school. His heart beat thumped against his chest as he breathed rapidly, pushing with all his might against the pavement as he swerved and jumped around the few people who dared to walk around in the rainy morning.

He felt like a rocket, speeding down the sidewalk and street. Hoping against all odds that a miracle would happen and luck would be on his side. And maybe, just maybe, he'd make it on time.

He didn't. And Mikey blamed it on the mutant monster that never showed up to destroy the city.

He made it to school all right, but not before walking into his math class 18 minutes late, out of breath, completely soaked to the skin with rain and dirty street water, and holding a muddy skateboard in one hand and an empty milk carton in the other.

Why Mikey still had the milk carton was a question lost on him. He had no idea how he had managed to hang on to it without thinking, but there was no going back now as he entered the classroom on shaky legs.

He could only imagine what he looked like, and judging by the class' surprised stares, he probably looked like he did get run over by a semi truck. If his teacher was shocked by his unusual entrance, however, he did a pretty darn good job at hiding it.

"Sorry Mr. Gibson. I'm, um," Mikey paused to catch his breath. Racking his brain around a good and short excuse. "Running a bit late."

A few snickers echoed throughout the classroom as Mr. Gibson raised a bushy eyebrow. "It would appear so. Have a seat Mr. Hamato. We'll talk after class."

Mikey nodded humbly and, ignoring the stares of his classmates and a few of their comments, found his seat next a girl with curly blond hair.

"Mikey! What happened to you?" The blond hissed in a whisper once she was sure Mr. Gibson's attention was back to writing equations on the white board. "You look awful!"

Mikey slumped further into his seat, setting the skateboard and milk carton under him as he dug out his math book and a notebook. Both of which were damp. "Thanks Renet. It really cheers a guy up when the first thing a girl says to him is, 'you look awful'."

He gave a weak attempt at a smile but his friend was not impressed. She raised a worried brow and stared at him with her wide round eyes, as if that would help her see him better. "Seriously Mikey, your rocking the worst bed head I've seen yet, and that's saying something cause I've seen what your hair looks like blow dried. What happened?"

Mikey allowed himself a small chuckle as he flipped over the wet pages to find the spot the rest of the class was on. " I'll take that as a compliment. And let's just say, I've had a rough morning. But I'm ok, so no worries."

He ignored her quizzical look as he rummaged through his bag to find his math homework, which he realized wasn't on the marked page of his math book where he thought he had left it.

"Ok, well at least tell me what happened to your leg, cause it's starting to bleed pretty badly."

That caught Mikey's attention as he shot a glance at both of his legs, only now noticing the sizable rip in his jeans. A large, bloody gash on his right knee was clearly on display as the blood soaked through the already wet pant leg.

Mikey wrapped his brain on how on earth he had gotten such a cut without even feeling it.

It must have been when I dodged becoming a ninja pancake. He had been to busy worrying about being late that he didn't even notice it, but since that didn't end well for him, his full attention was on his leg. Which probably wasn't the best idea, because now it was starting to sting really badly. And he was pretty sure that Mr. Gibson wasn't about to let him interrupt class again to be excused to the bathroom so he could clean it up.

And what was worse, these were his good jeans. The last pair of jeans that didn't have a rip in them. The pair of jeans Leo had gotten him and told him that if so much as a hem was loose, he was gonna kill Mikey.

"I'm so dead," Mikey moaned quietly.

Renet frowned with worry. He hated that look. Sometimes his brothers would give him that look and it always made him feel dumb for getting into a situation worth worrying about. "Um, never mind. I'm fine. Promise. I'll tell you everything at lunch."

Mikey didn't think she believed him that easily, but she turned her attention back to the board, content with the promise of a lunch time story that would probably knock her socks off.

Mikey relaxed a bit, and was about start paying attention as well, when he realized that his math home work wasn't in his bag. He cursed silently in Japanese as he rummaged more fiercely through his bag and then back to his book. No luck in either.

Great. First I'm late and now my homework decides to play hooky and the only thing I have to show for it is a bloody knee and a freaking milk jug. Way to stay classy, Mikey. The freckled face Hamato thought bitterly as he ran a hand through his already messy mass of golden, wet curls. He glared at the milk carton by his feet like it was it's fault he was having all these problem. You're lucky I care about the Earth or I would have dropped kicked you like a purple dragon ages ago.

He sat like that throughout the rest of the class, silently dreading the bell that would signal the end of the first period. When it came, like everyone around him, Mikey gathered his things and tried to walk out of the class as soon as possible without getting noticed by the teacher. He stopped, however, when a throat cleared and called his name.

"Hamato. A moment if you would."

Some ninja. You can't even sneak out of a classroom full of other kids without getting caught. Weak. Minus 50 awesome ninja points.

He noticed Renet stop when his name was called and give him a look, but he shook it off. "Go ahead," he told her, "Tell Ms. Myers that I'm gonna be a bit late to history. I'll catch up with you."

He gave her one of his reassuring smiles, but it must have been a testament to how bad he was feeling because she lingered a bit at the door unsure. After a moment or two, though, she smiled back and left the room. Leaving him all alone to his doom.

Here goes nothing.

Mikey turned and gave Mr. Gibson a grin as he took a seat. "Sure teach. What's up?"

"I should be asking you that. Mind telling me why you were late this morning?" Mr. Gibson leaned against his desk and folded his arms over his chest before looking Mikey up and down. "And why your appearance is as it is?"

Mikey played with the milk carton in his hand. "Yeah, I mean, sure. I'd love to. But see the thing is, it's not exactly the most believable story. It's a bit, um, far fetched."

Mr. Gibson blinked. "Michelangelo. I've taught all three of your brothers," he paused to adjust his glasses. "Try me."

Mikey thought for a moment. Surely Mr. Gibson would believe him right? And it wasn't like he hadn't tried to get to school on time. Maybe if Mikey played some major puppy eyes while telling the story, he may even get out of not doing the assignment he'd lost. Just as Mikey had opened his mouth to let the story come tumbling out, another teacher burst into the room, looking exasperated.

"Freddy, you have to,-" the teacher nearly shouted before stopping and resting his eyes on Mikey. "Oh sorry. I didn't know you were with a student. Sorry but we need your help in the staff room."

Mr. Gibson didn't even bat an eye. "Can it wait? I'm in the middle of something."

"Sorry but it's urgent. Someone hacked into the school website again."

"Is it bad?"

"Remember the Jones case?"

"I try not to," Mr. Gibson practically groaned. Mikey couldn't help but wonder if it was his Jones that they were talking about. He wouldn't be surprised if it was.

"Yeah well, you're good at math. Take that and times it by ten."

For a split second, Mr. Gibson raised his eyes in alarm, but quickly hid it as he sat up and steadied his glasses. "Fine, I'll be there in a moment. Tell Dorothy not to touch anything until I get there."

The other teacher nodded solemnly before closing the door, making Mr. Gibson turn his attention back on him. Mikey subconsciously straightened his back the same way he did when his father was about to scold him. "Alright, we'll shelf this discussion for another time. But I expect it not to happen again. Understood?"

Mikey nodded quickly.

"Good. Now head to the nurse's office and get that knee checked. I'll let Ms. Myers know where you are so she won't mark you tardy."

"Thanks sir," Mikey nodded again and sighed with relief as he grabbed his backpack and stood up. Well, that was easy. 10 awesome ninja points to whoever hacked the school's website and saved his damp butt. He felt like he had dodged a bullet and that a weight had been somewhat lifted as he walked towards the door. But once again, however, Mr. Gibson called back to him making him stop at the entrance.

"Oh, and before I forget," Mikey turned to face him as the teacher took a stack of papers off his desk and shuffled them neatly in a pile. "You weren't able to hand in homework at the beginning of the class. I'll take it now and I won't mark it down for being late."

Mikey swallowed. Of course it wasn't going to be that easy. It never was. And once again that heavy weight was thrown onto his shoulders as the bullet rebounded and drove itself deep into his already aching knee.

"Ahh, yeah my homework," Mikey ruffled the hair on the back of his head and chuckled nervously. "See, here's the thing."