I guess nobody told me that moving to Konoha would be easy.

At least I don't need to worry about a car adding to my worries. That would be murder on my wallet, which isn't very full anyways. But that's not my concern at the moment.

My name is Sakura Haruno, and I'm an incoming junior at my new school, Konoha High. A JUNIOR...and I won't know a single person. And Konoha is a pretty big town, considering all the foot traffic I can see out my new apartment's window. I'm betting that there are some pretty interesting characters living here. I've already seen a guy racing what I assumed was his gigantic mutt around the lobby, and even a goup of three kids that look like foreign exchange students, and appeared to enjoy wearing heavy makeup. But worrying about those sorts of things never got anyone anywhere. As I was walking out to the elevators this morning (the first day of school), some blonde jerk ran into me, practically screaming, "Oh crap, Kakashi's gonna kill me if I'm late to the first day of school AGAIN!" If I had an alter ego, she would have shown that fool where his place is on the food chain...

And that's not the worst part. Obviously, he was trying to eat a cup of instant ramen while sprinting to the slowly opening elevator doors. So much for multitasking.

According to the law of physics, if an idiot and a cup of ramen collide with a door, one or the other is going to bounce back. I guess this time it was the ramen. The noodles and god knows what else flew out of the styrophone cup, straight for where I was standing. But since I pride myself on being pretty quick on my feet, I was saved the humiliation of being late as a new student and stinking of pork. As soon as blondie regained consiousness, he leapt up (yes, LEAPT) and started blubbering apologies while waving his hands.

I noticed that he had a backpack on, and was about my age. The terror hit me like a ninja's punch to the face.

Nervously, I asked, "Say, do you go to Konoha High…uhh..."

"Naruto! My name's Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Oh, nice to meet you Naruto, I'm Sakura Haruno."

"Say, you're new here, aren't you?" He's obviously not the sharpest tool in the drawer…

"I was wondering if I could come with you to school, since I moved here just yesterday, and I don't know anyone yet and haven't had the time to see the school."

I swear, if smiles could blind people, that smile of Naruto's would have gouged my eyes out.

Thankfully, the walk to school was short and I didn't have to spend it alone.

Just as we got outside, another boy (he was almost the exact opposite of Naruto, with dark hair and clothes that would have been inconspicuous had I not seen them in one of my posh fashion magazines) sauntered down the main sidewalk, smirking when Naruto grimaced at his arrival.

"Gonna make it on time for once, loser?" He had a condescending voice, and Naruto was grinding his teeth, but I could tell that neither of them had a serious grudge. Suddenly, he diverted his hate-gaze away from Naruto and began to stare me down. His eyes were so dark, I couldn't tell what color they naturally were. I felt nervous, like bacteria being scanned by some megawatt microscope... This isn't the time to be freaking out! Gotta make as many good impressions on the first day as I can!

"N-nice to meet you! I'm Sakura Haruno, and I just moved here-"

"Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha."

Wow, I could tell he wasn't much for friendly conversation. As soon as Sasuke started walking, Naruto followed, pouting slightly. Despite the imaginary lightening bolts that seemed to incinerate the air between the two boys, I could tell that they were compatible enough to walk together, since I made it to Konoha High's doors without losing any limbs.

-

To put it simply, Konoha High was a hellhole. If anything, I probably would have been safer at the apartments, flying ramen cups and all. A few girls glared at me as I walked by, sandwiched by "friend-enemies" Naruto and Sasuke. There were also a few upperclassmen that wore black hoodies with red clouds that didn't seem too happy that we had walked in. Oh, but it gets even better. When I followed Naruto to the main office, just before I could open the door, some creepy looking dude with long black hair and fake snake eyes was literally slammed through it, leaving a large and splintery opening. On the other side of the door stood the scariest woman I have ever seen in my short life. Wearing pigtails and makeup, this woman had breasts that would make Dolly Parton cry and muscles that even Chuck Norris would fear. Before smoothly turning on her stiletto-clad heels, she barked at a young man with gray hair (how ironic) and glasses while he tried to lift Michael Jackson off the floor. "And I better never see your sorry hides around here again, or I'll rip them off for you!"

Students surrounding the scene mumbled insults, and thats when I noticed that both of the "punks" were wearing letterman jackets that displayed a flashy purple snake as a mascot (tacky much?). Just so you know, our mascot isn't a snake. It's a leaf. Of all the ethnically and politically correct mascots they could have chosen, it had to be a LEAF. I didn't think that these students were supposed to be here. Then again, I couldn't think of any school that would want to educate the likes of them...

As soon as the scene cleared up, I crept into the room where the secretary, Ms. Shizune according to her nameplate, was filing paperwork, oblivious to the chaos. Not only that, but she had a pet pig snoozing on her desk. A real, live freaking PIG on her desk! Bowing slightly, I shakily introduced myself.

"Oh, so you're our new addition! Pleased to meet you, Sakura! Here are your applications, you can turn them in at the end of the day to the principal, Ms. Tsunade. That was her just now, dealing with those two hooligans…"

Note to self: Never become a delinquent.

"-And here's your schedule for the semester. If you hurry, you can make it to homeroom before the bell. Those two can show you the way."

Nodding, I turned to find Naruto and Sasuke waiting for me near the carnage of the office door (the latter seeming dissatisfied with doing something for someone other than himself).

Grinning, Naruto read over my schedule while yammering constantly.

"Oh great! You have homeroom with us! Kakashi can be a jerk, but he's really smart and can do anything! Ha, you have Health with Chiyo. Be careful, there are Akatsuki in that class…"

Nervously I asked "Who are the Akatsuki? Are they supposed to be a gang or something, those seniors with the weird otaku hoodies?"

This time, Sasuke was the one to speak up. "Yeah. Don't ever come in contact with them. They're nothing but trouble, especially my brother, Itachi." He practically spit at the thought of the so-called sibling.

Oblivious to Sasuke's venom, Naruto continued down the hall with his arms above his head, asking everything from my favorite food to if my hair really was naturally pink, while Sasuke pretended not to know us, but keeping in step anyways.

Even before we made it to homeroom, I could already tell it was going to be a very long day. A very long day indeed…