School. Why does it have to be school?

Casey has already accepted that he probably isn't going to graduate this year. His grades are crap and he hasn't cared to do what it needs to raise them and, now that reality is rearing its ugly head, he knows that it's far too late into the school year to change anything. Oh, well.

At lunch, he heads to the cafeteria in search of his usual girl gang. Going to their table is muscle memory at this point. He could find his way blindfolded and deaf.

But, when he reaches the table, it's empty. He frowns, shifting the hockey stick on his shoulder as he glances around. He's sure this is the spot. Did the girls decide to sit elsewhere today? April and Annalise have their school newspaper club and photography club, but he was sure they didn't have meetings today. That still doesn't explain Taylor's absence.

Casey sighs, glancing around the cafeteria. He could eat with the hockey team or, at least, some of them. There's this new kid on the team, Brayden, and he rubs Casey in all the wrong ways.

"Jones!"

He whips his head around just as Annalise arrives. She snatches his arm and tugs him with all her strength, which isn't much, but Casey humours her and follows.

"Sup, Blondie?" he asks.

"Well..." Annalise starts to grin, her eyes glittering. "I bought a handheld game console! It's awesome. You can set it up anywhere and play with friends, so April and Taylor are playing a wicked game of Mario Kart in the student lounge right now. Wouldn't be complete without you, though!"

Casey takes a moment to feel touched, then flashes a grin. "Let me guess: Best Buy?" he asks.

"Employee discount, bay-bee!"

She laughs, still jittery with excitement, and Casey keeps following her. They reach the student lounge and head inside. The student lounge at Roosevelt High isn't the best, but it's enough. There are a few couches and armchairs, some tables, and a few old computers, all supervised by the offices of the school guidance counsellors. This is where people go when they have a spare period and just want to hang out, take a nap, or (apparently) play some video games during lunch.

Sure enough, April and Taylor are locked in a head-to-head racing match. The screen they're playing on is no bigger than a tablet and the controllers seem even smaller, but they're smiling and to Casey, that's enough.

"Hola! Bienvenido a la fiesta, amigo," Taylor says, briefly looking up and jerking her head in greeting.

"You're just in time to watch me defeat Taylor," April agrees. She frowns, then grins, and Taylor dissolves into muttering Spanish under her breath.

"Count us in for the next game," Annalise says, hurrying over to the couch and seating herself next to Taylor. She looks up at Casey and winks. "I sprung for the extra controllers."

"Nice," Casey says, taking the remaining spot next to April. It's a little cramped, but no one complains.

When April manages to snag first place, seconds ahead of Taylor, there's a surge of laughter and shouted Spanish that sounds halfway between threats and jokes. Taylor shakes her head, sinking back into the couch with a pout as Casey grins at April.

"That's my Red!" he says.

"Pssh," she mumbles, smiling to herself. "You won't be so happy when I destroy you next round."

"Is that a challenge? Casey Jones doesn't back down from a challenge."

"Ay, amor. Repugnante," Taylor groans.

"I bet you and Raph are mushier," Annalise retorts.

Taylor blinks. "Hey, Spanish is supposed to be my secret language! Don't go learning it!"

"I mean, everyone knows what amor is," Annalise says, leaning forward and donning a grin that is somehow innocent and smug at the same time. "And repugnante? Repugnant is right in the word. It means, like...gross, right?"

"Mierda," Taylor mumbles.

"Shit!" Casey translates with glee.

April cuffs him on the back of the head. "Do you want us to get kicked out?"

"Calm down, April," Taylor says with a chuckle. "It's one swear! We're not—"

The door to the counsellor's office opens, revealing the knowledgeable but stickler-for-the-rules Ms. Somerset. "Language, you four!" she warns.

"Sorry," they chorus.

"Next match?" Annalise asks, tossing Casey an extra controller.

"I'm using a bike this time," Taylor vows.

"Still won't be enough to beat me," April taunts.

"Bite me, rojo!"

They start up the next game and spend the rest of lunch hour racing to their hearts' content.

----------

After school, Casey is left to return home without his friends, as they're all preoccupied with their after-school clubs. Casey would have hockey practice but it was cancelled and, what's more, his coach let him know that if his grades keep slipping, he'd be off the team.

It's the same old song and dance he's seen before. The whole reason he met April was because she tutored him back into his place on the team. He's been better with keeping them up since then only thanks to her help, but science is a bitch and no amount of April's tutoring can perform miracles. He thought biology was the easy one!

He's halfway home when he passes an alleyway with a manhole. He glances around, no one in sight, and changes course. Homework can wait. He'd much rather hang out with Raphael.

But, when he gets to the lair, he finds that it's dead silent. No sparring sounds in the dojo, no video games or Space Heroes on the TV, and no sounds of tinkering from the lab.

He groans as he heads further inside, hands tucked into his pockets. Well, if Raphael isn't around, then maybe he should (groan) do his homework. He knows he won't be able to do that alone, so he heads to the laboratory. The door is ajar and when he peeks inside, he sees Sarina seated at one of the lab tables.

"Yo, Flash!"

The only hint that he startled her is from the spasm of her arm. It disrupts a beaker but she catches it in the next second. She stays still for two seconds before swivelling around, expression calm.

"Casey," she greets. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, I was looking for Raph and the guys," Casey says, shifting to lean against the doorjamb. "Any idea where they're at?"

"One of our scanners picked up on a possible mutagen stash the Kraang left behind," she says. "We need all the mutagen we can get, so you can understand the urgency. Destiny is currently meditating with Splinter. She had a bad night." She brushes her white bangs from her eyes as they flash. "Was that all you wanted to know?

Casey frowns. If they're gone, then...

"Actually," he says. "I've got some bio homework to do. Mind helping me out?"

"Biology?" she repeats. "I do not know if I will be useful. I'm not much of a teacher."

"Sure, you can help! Please?" He bats his eyelashes. She purses her lips. "Have I ever told you that you're my favourite cyborg?"

"I am the only cyborg you know."

"Exactly why you're my favourite."

Her collected expression falters as she smiles. "I cannot argue with that. Come, sit."

He pumps his fist.

----------

"What is this?"

Casey squints at the heart diagram, eyebrows furrowing together. "The...pericardium?" He asks. He looks over at Sarina, eyes wide. "Is that right?"

"Yes," she says, "and tell me, what does the pericardium do?"

"It's the armour of the heart!"

She smirks. "Yes, in a way. Do you remember what protects the chambers of the heart?"

"Something-cardium?"

"You've got half of it."

He thinks hard. "Uh...exocardium? No, endocardium!"

"Correct!"

He grins and writes that down. "Man, you make it sound so simple."

"I am simply putting it in terms that are familiar to you. Now, let's label the heart chambers."

----------

Casey can only take so much homework, so once he's deemed that his work for the day is enough, he thanks Sarina and books it from the lab before she decides that he needs additional lessons.

He hurries out the door, free at last, and runs right into Destiny.

"Wolfie!" he greets.

"Casey!" she returns. "When did you get here? It's been so quiet."

"Flash was helping me with homework," he says.

"Now I've heard everything."

"Shut up." He socks her on the shoulder and she grins at him. "Oh," he adds. "Actually, I was hoping to get some vigilantism done. Want to come along?"

"I'd love to," she says without a second of hesitation. She rolls her shoulders, wings fluttering. "I've been dying to stretch my wings."

"Cool," he says. "All you've gotta do is fly me to my gear."

"I'm not your personal airline."

"You're my favourite—"

"Wolf mutant? Heard it before." She returns the punch he gave her earlier, then ducks away from his responding blow. She laughs. "Let's move."

-----------

What was going to be an evening of vigilante justice swiftly turns into a Destiny vs. Casey free-for-all. It started with Casey betting that he could climb a building faster than Destiny (without using her wings), and then that escalated into more competition.

"Having a hard time keeping up?" Destiny shouts from the sky.

Casey puffs as he skates along the rooftops. "Having the time of my life! No one can beat Casey Jones!"

"Except me!"

They race to the edge of the roof and Casey jumps, landing on the other building just as Destiny drops down in front of him. She straightens, crossing her arms over her chest as she winks.

"I was faster," she says.

"We tied!" he retorts.

"Nah," she says, shaking her head. "I got across the roof first. You touched it first."

"So it's a tie."

"No!"

They stare each other down, and then Casey raises his hands. "Alright, alright," he says. "You won, but only because you can fly." He adds, smirking, "I'm way faster than you on foot."

Her tail lashes. "Is that a challenge?"

He flips his mask down. "Do you accept?"

She flashes a wicked grin, glancing around for a second before pointing to a distant water tower. "Race you to that tower. On foot," she says. "I'll even let you use your skates."

"Oh, you're on!"

"THREE TWO ONE GO!" Destiny hollers and, like a bullet, she's off.

"NO FAIR! YOU GOT A HEADSTART!" he shouts after her, giving chase.

Their laughter rings in the night, mingling with the distant drone of sirens and automobiles.