#in other news if i disappear just assume im ice skating or working

[krvla]

I,,,once again,,,was not here all weekend bc ,,,once again......spent all weekend at the ice rink......,,,,,

[cryptidwizard]

A Good Kid.

@yarrayora requested a Casey Jones fic from the point of view of his fellow students and his teachers, I hope you enjoy! Contains some spoilers from tmnt 2012 season 2 and 3

“He’s a good kid!” His parents said with a sheepish smile when Casey was in preschool. The smell of rain still fresh in the air though the showers had stopped. Casey took the opportunity to play in the mud and stomp in puddles, tracking mud inside and dripping wet. The teacher rolled his eyes, “Something like that. That little Arnold Jr. of yours must be a handful.” He commented as Casey now toweled dry barreled into his parents giving them a hug. His parents laughed, and agreed. “He takes after me.” They both say in unison.

In kindergarten during Show and Tell one day, Casey stood up as straight as possible and said in a loud voice he had a big announcement. “Go on Arnold, please tell the class.” His teacher smiled warmly already learning there was no way to control Casey’s excited volume. Casey took a deep breath as if he couldn’t wait to get it out, “I’MGONNABEABIGBROTHER!” he shouted quickly and stumbling over his words. “Can you repeat that hun?” The teacher asked not quite understanding what he said. “I’M GONNA BE A BIG BROTHER! MY MOM SAYS SO, HER TUMMY IS HUGE! ITS GOT A BABY IN IT!! THEY THINK IT’S A GIRL AND SHES GONNA LOOK LIKE ME AND IM GONNA TEACH HER TO ICE SKATE!! WE’RE GONNA PLAY HOCKEY TOGETHER!!! IM GONNA BE THE BEST BIG BROTHER EVER!!!!” Casey exclaimed, practically vibrating in excitement. His teacher gave him a grin, “We are all very happy for you Arnold. I’m sure you’ll be a very good brother, though you might have to wait a few years to teach your little brother or sister how to ice skate.” Casey wilted at the news of waiting for ice skating but brightened once again at the prospect of having a little brother or sister to call his own.

Casey is a good kid and a good older brother. His mom and dad both work so he takes care of his little sister when they have to do “grownup stuff” Casey proudly shares to his classmates. “He’s a responsible kid,” Says one teacher to another during their lunch break gossip time, usually talking about students and things they tell teachers. “If a little excitable.” Another adds.  “Did you hear how his mom is sick a lot? Arnold says that’s because she “helps sick people” but I’m not sure.” The gym teacher reveals. “Well nursing job or not that sounds a lot like an autoimmune disease.” The science teacher mentions. The language arts instructor looks up, “Oh my father had that, it was absolutely awful. He passed a few weeks ago.” The thought of Arnold Casey Jones Jr. disappeared from their thoughts as they offered their condolences.

“Hey Case’ what’s up?” Asked a classmate as Casey concentrated on coloring a Get Well Soon Card in second grade. “Hmm?” He asked as he looked up, “Oh hey, I’m making a card for my mom. She’s not feeling well. It’s just taking a little longer than usual to feel good again.” Casey explained somewhat glumly. “I’m sorry about that. I hope she feels better!” Says the classmate. “Thanks!” Says Casey before adding a quiet “Me too.” A teacher then notices the card and tells Casey she hopes his mom gets well soon. She doesn’t.

The condition of Mrs. Jones hasn’t improved the teachers learn. When Arnold Jr. misses two weeks of school in third grade, everyone knows what happened. The Monday after the second week, Casey enters class, eyes red and glassy and wearing an oversized jacket that teachers can only assume belonged to his mother. He doesn’t speak, he ignores words spoken to him and only pretends to do his work. This continues for a while. At first teachers are able to ignore it and place it on him grieving, but it continues still. When they regretfully have to ask his father to come in to talk about Casey’s grades his father blankly replies, “He’s a good kid.”

In fourth grade, Casey gets into his first fight. Kids can be cruel. They joke and say terrible things, they can’t comprehend the consequences. That is until someone teaches them. Casey taught them. From what the teachers gathered, two kids have been making fun of Casey for a while now. For the longest he hadn’t let it bother him, but they allegedly brought up his mother. Casey had apparently just snapped. Both kids were sporting bruises and Casey had a large scrape on his cheek. He hadn’t spoken since the fight ended aside from the words, “They said mean stuff about my mom…” Casey has sat in infuriated science. “He’s a good kid!” His father pressed, looking disheveled, his shirt incorrectly buttoned up. Arnold Sr. let out a deep sigh, “He hasn’t been handling his mother’s death well, no kid should have to go through this. He hates not being around his sister and I, like he’s scared we’re gonna leave him too. Those kids shouldn’t have been saying that stuff, Arnold shouldn’t have retaliated. Can you please let him off the hook just this once?” Casey’s father pleaded, looking desperate. The teachers pitied what was left of the Jones family, and decided if Casey apologized to the two boys, he’s be off the hook. Casey manages a muttered apology, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes. He stays silent on the way home.

Casey manages to stay out of trouble for the most part in fifth grade. Aside from minor arguments and a generally rambunctious behavior he is fine. He angers easier and is more protective of his friends. Especially his sister. When she started kindergarten, he would walk her to all her classes, usually causing him to be late for his own. When he found out she was being messed with by some older students, Casey was infuriated to stay the least. He threw the first punch and got the shit beaten out of him, but it guaranteed his sister wouldn’t be messed with again. Arnold Sr. shows up fifteen minutes late to the meeting, he smells of alcohol. He doesn’t try to defend Casey’s case, he doesn’t call him a good kid. Just asks “How much trouble is he in?” and is informed Casey has a week’s detention. His father vows Casey will be punished accordingly for his actions, the teacher doesn’t notice Casey’s fearful expression as he leaves with his sister and father.

On the first day of sixth grade, Casey shows up with a black eye. The teacher calls his father, he doesn’t answer. Casey says his dad is busy. He doesn’t say that his father is passed out drunk, he doesn’t say that his father is the one who punched him last night. So the teacher never knows. Casey says he was fixing the lock on his doorknob when his sister had opened the door. “Oh, Arnold I’m so sorry that happened. You should see the nurse and get some ice for that.” His teacher says with sympathy. Casey mumbles something, the teacher frowns “I’m sorry I didn’t hear that dear.” The boy looks down, “I don’t wanna go by Arnold. I wanna be called Casey.” She looks surprised, he hadn’t had a problem with that name during roll call. “Alright, Casey. Let’s get you down to the nurse.” The teacher says with a shrug. She’ll never know the Casey doesn’t want to be constantly reminded of his dad every time he’s referred to. She doesn’t know Casey learns to use his mom’s old makeup to hide bruises.

Casey gets into fights; his father was called in so much they just stop bothering to call. When they do call him, Arnold Sr. doesn’t bother to defend Casey’s actions. He just says “He’s a bad kid, he isn’t going to change. He’ll be punished accordingly.” Always smelling of alcohol and cigarette smoke. Teachers had begun to dread getting Casey in their classes. The plethora of friends Casey used to have had vanished, he scares people. Casey decides to quit on regular old ice skating. He tries out for hockey. He’s a bad kid.

Casey makes friends with people on his hockey team, some still keep their distance. Though Casey’s a natural player and a fun guy to be around. He’s still competitive, still has an anger that can’t be extinguished. To his team, he’s a fun-loving knucklehead that’s got a real angry streak on an off the ice. To teachers he’s a slacker, who only applies himself in hockey, a bad kid with bad anger issues. The only thing that seems to engage him is hockey and fighting, everything else makes him feel stupid or inadequate. So he doesn’t try, so it doesn’t hurt when he fails. Casey is told he’ll be kicked off the hockey team if he doesn’t bring up his grades. He starts to look for a tutor, but who would tutor a notoriously bad kid? Casey tells teachers that no one’s going to want to tutor him, a student craving extra credit for mysteriously missing days disagrees.

Casey hits it off with his tutor, so he says to a nosy teacher. He brags that April O’Neil is “So into him.” April rolls her eyes and laughs, Casey has a friend he finally close to. April first saw Casey as a bad kid, a no brained thug who just wants to fight. When he discovered the criminal underworld and the threat of the Kraang and dons a vigilante costume with a hockey stick; April thinks maybe he’s an okay kid who just wants to fix the city and bust a few heads. Then she truly gets to know him, sees him interacting with the turtles, protecting people he cares about and realizes he’s a good kid, a good person, a good friend who’s been dealt shitty cards in life. She just wishes other people would see the real him under his façade.

When the Kraang invade, many are unaccounted for when humans are enslaved and mutated. Casey Jones, April O’Neil, and Irma Langinstein are three of the many. Teachers and students alike can only hope the three are alive, and pray for their own safety as the mutagen splashes down upon them. The pain and feeling of bones shifting and skin morphing is unlike anything other experienced. The feeling is traumatizing and agonizing but they will forget it all soon enough. There is only serving the Kraang. There is only Kraang.

Casey and April’s trigonometry teacher’s vision clears, everything aches and smells heavily of something alien burning her nose. Above her stands Arnold Casey Jones, his expression concerned and his hand outstretched ready to pull her up. Her memories feel disjointed but they come back slowly. “Casey….Casey Jones..? Where am I? What happened?” She asks woozily and is supported by Casey before she falls. “Don’t worry about that Ma’am. I’m going to get you home safe.” Casey says in calm reassuring tone, there is a flash of light and suddenly they are standing at the entrance of her house. Her memory clears and she gasps, “You’re alive! H-how am I alive?” His teacher asks in confused panic. “The military came through, I’m just doing my part volunteering to help people get home safe.” He soothes. His trigonometry teacher nods half dazed and is helped into her home by Casey. He gives her a hug, tells her to stay safe and is out the door, gently closing it shut behind him. His trigonometry teacher seems stunned, Casey was failing her class in the months before the invasion. She always thought of him as a delinquent, yet here he is volunteering and doing his part in the efforts to help things get back to normal. What a good kid.

A student being harassed by Purple Dragons for his wallet is saved by a hockey mask wearing vigilante clutching a baseball bat. “Casey Jones?!” The teenager asks in surprise. “-Huh?” Says the vigilante before trying to deepen his voice, “Uh no, who’s that?” At the classmate’s look clearly saying he wasn’t buying it, Casey sighed and used his regular voice, “How’d you know it was me?” Casey asked. “Dude you literally shouted, NO ONE MESSES WITH CASEY JONES! While you were beating up those guys.” Casey looked a sheepish as he could while still wearing a hockey mask. “Oh, uh right.” The classmate looked around awkwardly, “Um listen Case’ I just wanted to say thanks dude. You’re actually pretty cool.” The mask wearing boy seems stunned “Yeah no problem, get home safe man.” Casey said before pulling himself up to the nearby fire escape and seemingly vanishing. “Cool.” Whispered the teenager.

Everyone in school has heard stories of students or teachers being saved by April O’Neil or Casey Jones. Sometimes in strange costumes or armor, other times in just everyday clothing. Nobody confronts them on it, or says anything to the police. They feel honor bound, grateful for what Casey and April have done for them. No one thinks of April as a weak and nerdy girl anymore, she’s strong and powerful and a force of nature all her own. No one thinks of Casey as a stupid student and angry thug, he’s protective and crafty and a good kid. He’s always been a good kid.