PART I — Class Struggle
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Chapter 1: Monday, Week 1
Everyone under the pavilion went silent as a bright red SUV pulled into view. The driver threw the car into park; the rumbling motor died, leaving a tense silence. The driver got out of the car, then retrieved her lunchbox from the passenger's seat before shutting the door. Curious eyes watched her as she walked towards them. The girl was nervous, being the single subject of the group's scrutiny. She ducked under the shade of the pavilion and quickly glanced at her surroundings. She spotted a free seat at the end of a picnic table, deserted by the others, and claimed it.
Conversation resumed after she sat down, much to her relief. She checked her watch. Ten more minutes until the start of the shift. She gave her surroundings a better look, now that the others had forgotten her. Four college-aged people stood at one end of the pavilion. Four people sat with her at two rows of picnic tables; they all looked like high school students. She glimpsed at what lay outside the pavilion: dirt beds infested with sprawling weeds, bushes which had grown wild by neglect, some haphazardly placed sunflower stalks...
The approaching sound of a choked motor drew her attention. She watched as a rusty car turned into the street and pulled up beside her SUV. She faintly registered the sound of music playing through the car's rolled down windows, but the noise of the motor easily overpowered it. Good thing, she thought wryly. It sounds like bad music.
The driver mercifully cut the engine and got out of the car. He was a lanky boy with uncooperative, blond hair. He twirled the keys in his hand, waiting for his passengers to get out. A very bored looking boy got out from the passenger's side. After closing the door, he yawned, then stuck his hands in his pockets and slouched forward. A girl with a sleek, blonde ponytail got out from the back.
They made their way over to the pavilion and were warmly received by the others. The blond boy sat in front of the silent girl with his back turned to her. She felt strangely drawn to him. His laughter sounded warm and genuine, his speech free and easy. He was charismatic and confident, full of life and enthusiasm. She leaned forward to catch his words...
"Yo!" The girl snapped back, away from the blond stranger. A college-aged figure stepped forward to address the sitting group. He had spiky, silver hair which looked odd above his young face. Hair gel and dye, the girl mused to herself. Though I'm not one to judge, with pink hair and all...
"So welcome to the Clifton Park community garden." The guy scratched his chin and turned to his three companions. "Uh, I'm not really good with this cutesy intro stuff."
A girl with curly black hair and amber eyes stepped forward. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Cutesy?" she queried. She turned to face the picnic tables. "It's great to have you all here. All of us," she gestured at herself and her companions, "are really excited to work with you this summer. I'm Kurenai."
"Kakashi," the silver-haired boy offered.
"I'm Iruka," said the boy beside him. He had a wide scar spanning the bridge of his nose.
"I'm Gai! Pleased to meet you all!" said the last member of the four, flashing his audience a blinding smile and a thumbs-up.
Kurenai sent around a clipboard with a sign-in sheet and passed out some paperwork. She and Iruka then stayed under the pavilion to organize the completed paperwork, while Kakashi and Gai gave the group a tour of the garden. They stopped by the tool shed and listened to Gai explain how to properly store each tool. Then, they visited the compost pile and Kakashi unwillingly described what should and shouldn't go into the pile. Finally, they perused the garden beds, pointing out which crop would grow in each. "These are going to take years to weed," Kakashi muttered under his breath.
Gai perked up. "Kakashi, I challenge you to a weed-removal competition! Whoever weeds the most beds—"
"Idiots!" Kurenai interrupted Gai, as the group returned to the pavilion. "That work is for the high schoolers to do!" She put a hand to her face. "It's going to be a long summer with you two..."
Iruka lead the 'high schoolers' to a flat, grassy area and told them to form a circle. "We're going to start introductions now. You'll each say your names, your favorite vegetable, and an interesting fact about yourself. I'll start. My name is Iruka, I like radishes, and I once got into a really bad bike accident." He pointed to the scar on his nose, and then to the person on his left. "You're next."
"Troublesome..." the bored boy muttered before speaking up, "I'm Shikamaru. I like celery, and there's nothing interesting about me."
Iruka scowled. "That's not an acceptable answer."
Shikamaru glanced at him with a bored expression, then at the sky in hopelessness. "I play chess."
The girl with the long, blonde ponytail was next. "I'm Ino. I guess I like carrots the best. Something interesting about me? There are lots of things..." The bored boy beside her rolled his eyes. "I know a lot about flowers. I can identify hundreds of them."
"I'm Neji." The boy had light eyes and a dark ponytail. "I like...kale, I guess. I practice martial arts in my free time."
"I'm Kiba," said the next boy. "Do tomatoes count as a vegetable?" he asked. The four older members held a non-verbal conference with each other, then nodded in unison. "Cool, so tomatoes are my favorite vegetable. And I've got a second job at the Clifton animal shelter."
"I'm Gai! I love all vegetables with a passion, since they are healthy and help me maintain my youth!" Kakashi, Iruka, and Kurenai all looked extremely embarrassed for their teammate. "I love competing with others so don't be shy with me!"
The boy with messy, blond hair was next. "I'm Naruto," he said confidently. "I—ramen is a vegetable, right?"
The four leaders looked at him dumbly, before realizing his question was serious. "No," was the unanimous answer.
Naruto looked a little defeated. "Well, I hate all vegetables then."
"Not acceptable," Iruka warned.
Naruto scowled, then screwed up his eyes in thought. After a moment, he brightened. "Potatoes are okay. And," he finished, suddenly disinterested, "I like hanging out with my friends."
The pink-haired girl listened to his introduction carefully. His final statement, though nonchalantly spoken, made an impression on her.
"I'm Kakashi," said the next-in-line. "I like eggplant. I like doing nothing." A dangerous look from Iruka. Kakashi coughed. "I read sometimes."
All eyes fell on her. She gulped. "I'm Sakura," she managed. "I like cucumbers and..." Sudden inspiration hit her. "My hair is naturally this color." She held out a pink strand to the group.
Kakashi quirked an eyebrow. "Oh really?" he asked doubtfully.
She looked at Kakashi, then noticed Naruto watching her from Kakashi's side. His eyes were blue and intense. His scrutiny made Sakura nervous, and she defensively averted her gaze.
"I'm Tenten," said the girl beside her. "Cucumbers are also my favorite vegetable. I'm on four varsity sports teams."
"Oooh!" Gai shot her a burning look. "Which sports?"
Her eye twitched. "Soccer, swimming, track, and basketball."
"Right! Prepare yourself, young one! You will soon be challenged to an olympic-style competition by yours truly!" He pointed a thumb at himself, then held it out to her with a smile.
She watched helplessly. "Looking forward to it."
"I'm Kurenai. I like asparagus. My eyes look pretty cool up close." She shrugged. "You can come see them later, if you want." Sakura squinted at Kurenai; her eyes sparkled red in the sunlight.
"I'm Chouji," said the last to go. His round face seemed friendly and kind. "I like carrots, and I like to cook for my friends."
Iruka clapped his hands together. "Alright, great job everyone. Now that you know each other, we're going to split you up into pairs. The pairs have been decided beforehand, so don't beg me to put you with your best friend. I won't listen to you. Each pair will also be joined by one of us four, making three-man teams." He drew a piece of paper from his pocket. "Team One: Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kakashi," he announced. "Team Two: Ino, Kiba, and Kurenai. Team Three: Neji, Tenten, and Gai." Tenten's face fell considerably. "And Team Four: Naruto, Sakura, and," he shot both of them a quick smile, "myself."
They split up into their teams. Iruka motioned for Naruto and Sakura to follow him. They stopped under the shade of a large pine tree.
"Alright Team Four, Naruto and Sakura was it? Take an index card. Write down three goals you want to achieve this summer, and if you have any allergies." Iruka met their questioning gazes with a sheepish grin. "We like to bring in food sometimes."
They wrote in silence. "Do either of you want to share?" he asked after they finished.
Sakura made no move to volunteer so Naruto cleared his throat. "I am allergic to vegetables," he read.
"Not that, you idiot!" Iruka exclaimed, snatching the card out of Naruto's hand. "And no, I don't think you are!" He scribbled over Naruto's answer with his own pencil. "I'm talking about your goals." He gave Naruto his card back.
The blond boy tried again: "I want to make money so I can travel around the country, I want to enjoy the outdoors, and I'd like to make some new friends." Sakura glanced at him; he coolly met her gaze.
"Sakura?" Iruka prompted.
She sighed. "I want to become a better gardener, I want to have a little financial independence from my parents, and I want to...broaden my perspective," she ended vaguely.
"Say, I've never seen you around the high school," Naruto said to her, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "I recognize almost everyone else here."
"I'm from Altamont," she told him.
He cringed, then his eyes darkened. Sakura had expected a reaction like this, knowing her town's reputation in Clifton. "So you think you're better than all of us," he snarled at her.
"Naruto," Iruka warned.
"No. In fact, I used to live in Clifton," Sakura told him steadily. His unfair judgement angered her and gave her the strength to confront him. "I moved to Altamont before I started middle school. But I remember Clifton and..." She paused. "I miss it."
Naruto bitterly turned away from her. "You don't understand anything."
Iruka ushered his sulking team under the pavilion to join the others. "Looks like a we ran a little overtime today," Kurenai said apologetically.
"No lunch break," Chouji complained.
"We'll give you guys a longer lunch tomorrow."
The eight workers signed off their shift, then left for home.
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Chapter 2: Tuesday, Week 1
"Weeding is boring," Naruto complained. "Look at those guys over there." He pointed to the members of Team Three—Gai, Neji, and Tenten. "They look like they're having fun. Why can't we work with them?"
"This was our assignment," Iruka told him patiently. "We'll get to woodchip eventually."
Sakura continued to pull weeds without complaint. She liked the tedious task. It calmed her.
"So what grade are you guys in?" asked Iruka, trying to make polite conversation.
Naruto and Sakura would be seniors in the fall.
"Plans after high school?"
Both were reluctant to answer. Sakura said finally, "I'll go to college, then to medical school. I'm going to become a doctor." The statement sounded robotic—rehearsed without much conviction behind it. The emptiness of her own tone surprised her.
Naruto threw a handful of weeds into his basket, then followed up, "I'm going to roadtrip across the country once I graduate."
"You're not going to college?" Sakura asked, her tone slightly accusing.
Naruto sneered at her, "I hate school. First chance I get, I'm ditching this shithole and taking control of my own life."
A pause. Then: "Are you out of your mind? You need a college degree to do practically anything in today's world."
"Thanks, nerd. I'm aware."
Sakura seethed at his irresponsible, short-sighted mentality. But his words resonated with some small part of her, a part which she tirelessly tried to bury and ignore...
She laughed the feeling away. "Your car won't even make it to the state border."
He glared at her. "One, it's not my car. It's Shikamaru's, he's just too lazy to drive it when someone else will. Two," anger seeped into his voice, "not all of us are rich enough to afford a shiny, new SUV."
She said nothing, focusing all her attention on ripping out the purslane before her. Damn that Naruto, she thought to herself. I am not a stuck-up, rich kid! ...Am I?
"Iruka, what year are you in college?" Naruto asked, his tone becoming civil again.
"I'm a sophomore, double majoring in history and education. I want to become a teacher, maybe at the elementary or middle school level."
"Yeah, you'd make a great teacher," Naruto said encouragingly.
Sakura ignored Naruto's attempt to isolate her. She dumped her basketful of weeds onto the compost pile, then went to the pavilion for a swig of water. Kurenai called for lunch before Sakura could return to her team.
Chouji and Kiba set out for the nearest convenience store. Shikamaru and Ino headed for the rusty death machine. Sakura was surprised when Naruto didn't join his two friends for lunch. Instead he walked down the street, turned onto the main road, and disappeared from view. Tenten, Neji, and the four team leaders sat together beneath the pavilion. Sakura hesitated, unsure if she should sit with her six coworkers or by herself. She didn't know if they wanted a stranger to join them...
"Sakura, come sit down," Kakashi called to her. The others looked at her with mixed expressions. Some were welcoming and friendly, others were more apprehensive. She took a deep breath. Overcoming one obstacle at a time...
She nodded gratefully. "Thanks," she said and joined them.
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So she learned that everyone but her and Gai were from Clifton. She was from Altamont, of course, and Gai was from Irving. Neji's father was the mayor of Clifton—he did seem a bit different from the others. Tenten had committed herself to swimming for the best university in the state. She would go there after completing her final year of high school. Kakashi and Gai were college seniors, Kurenai was a junior, and Iruka was a sophomore.
Chouji and Kiba returned from their outing, each with a greasy paper bag in their hands. Tenten gestured to their possessions. "What's in the bag?"
"Beef patty," Kiba said happily.
Sakura looked at them, confused. "Just a beef patty by itself?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah?" Kiba answered, equally as confused as she felt.
"Does that taste good?"
Chouji blanched. "Of course it does!"
"But it's just a hamburger without the bun." Blank stares enveloped her. "Right?"
Everyone around her roared with laughter. Some dashed tears from their eyes, many doubled over from hysterics. Sakura's face burned like the sun. "What are you laughing about?" she demanded.
Chouji recovered enough to reach into his bag and draw something from it. He held the object out to her. "This...hehe...HAHA...this is a-a-a beef...HAHAHA a beef patty!" he choked out.
"What?" She looked at the taco-like thing before her. "Oh, I didn't know."
The titters gradually died down. "Oh man, Sakura, I haven't laughed like that for a while!" Kiba chuckled, patting her shoulder.
"We'll go get a beef patty together some time, okay?" Tenten nudged her arm.
She hid her face in her hands, then smiled. "Okay, I'm so embarrassed," she mumbled.
"Typical rich kid from Altamont," muttered a voice from behind her. Sakura swiveled around to see Naruto watching her, leaning against a wooden support. "Doesn't know anything about how normal people live."
She faced him angrily. "What's your problem?" she fired back.
Ino and Shikamaru had returned with their own greasy paper bags. "Hey, what's going on?" Ino asked worriedly.
"Lay off," Naruto growled at Sakura.
"You started it."
Shikamaru went over to Naruto, put a hand on his shoulder, then shook his head. Ino went to Sakura and said quietly, "Forgive Naruto." She bit her lip. "He's...been through a lot."
Sakura swallowed, then nodded. She turned away from her blond antagonist. Despite being on the same team, they didn't exchange a single word for the rest of the week.
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Chapter 3: Monday, Week 2
Five more weeks. Sakura parked her SUV, cut the engine, and slumped in her seat. Classical music continued to waft through her car's speakers. She didn't want to deal with Naruto today, or tomorrow, or ever again for that matter...
He'd seemed so friendly on the first day of work. "He still is friendly, I suppose," she said aloud. "To everyone but me." Sakura got along well with her other coworkers. She'd even made some friends: Ino, Tenten, Chouji, and Kiba. Neji and Shikamaru would take some more work, but at least they were polite to her. All four team leaders treated her well. For once, she felt like part of a group. Her peers seemed to genuinely enjoy her company, and they did their best to include her in everything they did. Her heart warmed at the thought.
The only thing bringing her down was Naruto. She angled the rearview mirror to look at herself. "Just ignore him, Sakura. He's not worth your time. Don't give him the satisfaction of seeing how pissed—"
A knock on her windowpane. She jerked her head to the left and blue eyes met hers. Mockery danced in their depths. "Talking to yourself?"
She shot him the darkest scowl she could muster. The door flew open and Naruto jumped away, narrowly avoiding the hit. "Yeesh, someone needs their pacifier this morning."
She snatched her lunchbox, slammed the door shut, and stomped off towards the pavilion. He hesitated as she passed him, like he wanted to say something more. She pretended not to notice.
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"Sakura."
"What?" she snapped, dropping a handful of ground cherries into her basket. She didn't look up at her blond teammate.
Silence ensued. She braced herself for an insult.
"...I'm sorry."
Now she did look at him. "Excuse me?" she squeaked.
"I'm sorry," Naruto repeated. He scratched his head in embarrassment. "We got off to a bad start."
She leveled him with a stare. "And whose fault is that?" she asked, still incredulous.
"Yours—" She glowered at him. He sighed. "Okay, mine."
Her indignant expression faltered slightly. "Well," she cleared her throat, "I guess...I could've been a little nicer to you."
His lips curved up a fraction. "Truce?" he offered.
"...Truce."
Sakura turned away from him, amazed at his change of heart. Maybe Naruto does have a brain after all.
Iruka observed them contentedly. It's about time they got along, he thought to himself.
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"Damn it," Kakashi swore as Shikamaru reached over the chessboard between them, and knocked a black piece aside with his white one.
The two had utterly abandoned their lunches for a game of chess. The leader of Team One remembered Shikamaru's 'interesting fact' from the first day, and had asked the younger man if he owned a chess set. Shikamaru said yes, did he want to play? Kakashi shrugged, pretending not to care. Inwardly, he wanted to try his hand at the game. People told him he was fairly smart after all...
"Check," said a lazy voice. Even on the brink of victory, Shikamaru looked bored.
Ino, Tenten, Chouji, and Kiba set out for the convenience store. "Do you want us to bring you a beef patty?" Ino called to Sakura before leaving, a trace of humor in her voice.
Sakura thought back to last week, when her peers had dragged her off to the small, dingy convenience store they now frequented. Much to her peers' delight, she'd given the item a try. She half-cringed, half-smiled at the memory. In all honesty, the beef patty hadn't really agreed with her stomach.
"No thanks, you guys enjoy," she called back.
Naruto was conspicuously absent from lunch, as usual. "Hey," she said to her tablemates—Neji, Kurenai, Iruka, and Gai. "What's down that way?" She pointed down the main road, away from the convenience store.
Iruka knew why she asked. He'd also noticed the blond boy's absence. "There's a cemetery across the street, about a five minute walk from here," he told her.
"Oh." Sakura's brow furrowed. "Okay, thanks."