I guess, by this point, I was used to always being the new kid.
I was used to the several introductions I was forced to make through out my first day, and the occasional unrecognising glance from my fellow peers.
I was used to having to make new friends, explain everything about my life over and over, and ultimately say goodbye to them. My dad was stationed in the army; it was unavoidable.

I guess my dad's profession is probably the only thing that could be considered interesting in my life. I'm an only child, with a mom, and a dad, and grandparents and a dog. Typical, boring old life. The boring old life that I would drag around with me from place to place, including my grandparents. They always moved with us and lived with us, taking up the living room, the kitchen... everywhere! The whole house smelled of the sickly sweet perfume that my grandma doused herself in, like a typical old person dipped in honey. You couldn't escape it.

As I said earlier, I was used to starting new schools. It was no longer something that fazed me, except for now. I had just moved to a small town in California in the middle of August, so nearing the end of summer vacation, which meant I had to start at my new school, at the beginning of the year, where everyone would be concentrating on catching up with their friends from the summer absence... Not the new girl that they did not know.

Did I also mention that it's senior year? Which makes it even worse! They've known eachother all through grade school and middle school and high school, and then they throw me into the works. Great. Just great.

I tried explaining this theory on my cellphone on the way to my new school, my phone on my lap as my friend Hinata's voice blared through the speaker.
"You'll be fine, Sakura," came her meek voice, slightly grainy and distorted from the phone connection.
"If I die, you can have my grandma," I said solemnly. She tutted, stating that she herself had to get to school and everyone missed me. I arrived at the school building soon after she hung up.

Okay, so I knew that California was a pretty stylish, up-market place, but upon pulling into the student parking lot, I felt like a reject. Under the yellow California sun were a group of the most tanned and perfect looking teenagers I had ever seen, leaning on the hoods of shiny cars, the sun's reflection bouncing off the polished surfaces and almost blinding me.
The building itself? Extremely modern-looking, almost lacking walls from the amount of windows that I could see. Long windows which revealed the pristine white walls inside.

Walking past the group of chatting teenagers was pretty unnerving. I felt their gaze on me, following me from my car, past their meeting point, all the way to the school.
Was this place really that unfriendly to new-comers? I hadn't even done anything, yet I already felt somewhat ostracised. I took a look down at my clothes; a simple grey hoodie and tight blue jeans. Nothing wrong with clothes, same with shoes, and it was impossible for me to have anything on my face, since I hadn't eaten after the last time I looked in the mirror.

Wait. I know what it is. It's not really that usual to see someone with pink hair now, is it? The curse that burdens my life, earning me names such as 'Bubblegum Head', 'Barbie', 'Pink Prick'... need I go on?

I got the same kind of reception when I entered my first class, after eventually finding it. The gray-haired teacher gave me a disapproving look at my tardiness, before instructing me to sit next to a blond kid with rather unruly hair that kept flopping into his big, blue eyes.

This class was English, and because it was the first day back, we were instructed by the teacher to read or chat quietly amongst ourselves. Of course no one read. They all had stories to tell to their friends about their summers. I took this time to study the classroom further.

White walls and floors, unmarked and gleaming. Heck, even the posters on the walls with different subject topics on matched the colour scheme. Like every typical classroom, there were rows of desks, a teacher's desk and a blackboard. The teacher's desk, like the name suggests, is where one can usually find the teacher stationed. Said teacher had a strange appearence. Although his hair was gray, his face was youthful. The visible part, anyway. Most of it was covered by a strange mask and... an eyepatch? He only had one eye visible, its pupil moving quickly from left to right, then back again, reading a book. Left, right, left, right, left... he turned a page. Left, right, left right, left...
The book in question held an orange cover with a big 'stop' symbol on its back cover. I couldn't see what was on the front, his hand covered it. I wondered if this was strategically placed.

I was pulled away from my thoughts at the tap on my shoulder; it was the blond kid who I had been instructed to sit next to earlier.
"You're new?" he asked me, his voice both masculine and feminine with a slight growl in it. I nodded. "Ah, thought so," he continued, leaning on the desk behind him, "I would have remembered that hair anywhere."

Stupid fucking hair.

It was almost like he had read my thoughts. "I never said it was bad! It's just interesting."

I tutted.

"Uh..."
He looked like he was thinking hard to change the subject now, his blue eyes darting to various points in the room, before closing briefly. "I'm Naruto."

Nice save.

"Sakura," I replied with a nod. I vowed to myself if he said something along the lines of, "it fits," I would kill him.

"Nice, it really suits you."

Close enough, but I resisted the urge; it wouldn't have looked too good. I could imagine the headlines now: 'NEW STUDENT MURDERS INNOCENT BOY IN FIRST DAY TERROR'

So the rest of the day was like that really, introducing myself to a few people and making small talk before one of us drifted away. I was pretty happy to get home, even if the house already reeked of my grandma's perfume. I had tried countless times to get her to change it. I bought her a sixty dollar perfume for her last birthday, a really nice smelling one that I wouldn't mind taking a whiff of frequently, but she hadn't even opened it! She insisted that 'classic was always best'.
Classic what, the smell of embalming fluid mixed with sugar?

As always, Dad wasn't home. He always worked late on his stupid army thing. He really doesn't know how much Mom and I worry about him, even if he is only stationed in a US base. He was sent out to war a couple of years ago and was thankfully okay, but when Mom insisted that he get a new job, he shrugged her off, saying it was for the good of the family and the good of the country. That's the kind of person my dad is. He's strict, but loyal and honourable with a slightly old-fashioned attitude that pisses me off at times, but I wouldn't have him any other way.

My mom is just a different matter altogether. Everytime she sees me, she greets me like a long-lost friend, always fussing around me and making me feel four-years-old again, like she was doing now. Taking my jacket, handing me some juice, asking me about my day. At the end of every sentence, she 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed, making her seem very dim-witted. Truth was, she was an intelligent woman. I just think she babied me because if my dad's life was unfortunately taken from him due to his job, I'd be the only thing she had left of him. If she had her way, she would encase me in bubble-wrap. I know it. Like I said, it pisses me the hell off at times, but I don't blame her.

I don't really see much of Grandpa, just hear. I hear him moaning about everything he can think of...
"This bed is too hard!"
"This pillow is too soft!"
"My head hurts!"
"These pills taste like piss!"
"Sakura, turn your God damn music down!"

Just like every grandpa, he gets off on moaning. I think he secretly just wants attention, which he only gets from my grandma. Maybe he hates the smell of her perfume too.

Author Note:
Another new story, for now, to get my creative juices flowing. I know this seems really cliché right now, but it's not going to be a typical highschool new student girl meets boy scenario. I have some originality! Please review or I'll cry :'(

I know this chapter sucks, it's just to introduce her life and family! And Naruto's only in it because I think he would be the one bold enough to talk about her hair, giving it a clue until I mentioned her identity.

NOTE: I'VE HINTED AT SOME OF THE PLOT. IF YOU CAN GUESS, YOU CAN HAVE A COOKIE.