First a Crack Now a Crevice

by Anne Callendar

He seemed to be alright - a normal teenager going about his monotonous life. Nobody saw it coming though, as it was a tiny crack, which rarely showed. Because of this, the teens' lives are suddenly thrown out of balance and in order to save face, they must cover up the abnormality in their friend's life. Very OOC. *On hiatus.

1. The Setting

First a Crack, Now a Crevice

The Setting

*Some surnames may be changed. I know nothing about any of the Japanese places mentioned, and I do NOT own Naruto or anything associated with it.

A huge boarding house in the suburbs of Ebisu in Meguro-ku… Across the road from Hatake Boarding was Yurihama Orphanage. Hatake-san normally went out to meetings for the BHMA (Boarding House Masters' Association), leaving the eldest and most responsible teen in charge.

Inside…

There's a long hallway, decorated with healthy potted plants. Pictures and laminated sayings were hung on the pastel coloured walls. There were ceramic vases with dyed pebbles in them. A large aquarium containing catfish, goldfish, etc, was installed in one of the walls.

The hallway ended into a sort of crossroads with wide passageways. To the left was the den. Comfy sofas lined the walls on both sides of the spacious room. Mounted on one of the latte coloured walls was a 56" plasma flat screen television, complete with component and surround sound sets. In the centre of the room was a coffee table with a wooden frame.

In another passageway was the huge kitchen. There was two of every appliance inside, in some cases, even three: two refrigerators, two stoves, two ovens, three blenders, three food processors, two microwaves, etc. There was a large island smack in the middle of everything, on which lay an assortment of knives one of the three food processors, a built in cutting board, etc. The walk in pantry beside one of the two refrigerators was fully always fully stocked. The sweet smell of the flowers that were placed in the windowsill above the industrial sink filled the kitchen with a sweet scent.

In the last passageway on the ground floor was the oh-so-grand dining room. In the centre was a huge mahogany wood table which was more than capable of comfortably seating more than twenty hungry persons. Heavy matching mahogany chairs were neatly arranged at the table. Above the dustless table was a beautiful, golden chandelier which reflected the light rays. A deep, royal blue carpet covered the hardwood floors. Portraits of jolly adults and children stared unseeingly into the semi-filled space of the room. A breakfront filled with shiny spotless china stood at one end of the room while tables with decorative figurines were neatly arranged around a built in fireplace.

On the second floor were the rooms. All of the girls' rooms were on the left wing of the house; the boys' were to the right. The rooms were relatively spacious and very comfortable. Each one had a chest, drawer or closet which was used to store personal possessions. A few bathrooms were on that floor too.

On the third floor was a variety of recreational rooms. There was an enormous library which had a marvellous view of the backyard gardens. Shelves and shelves of books stretched across the width of the library. There were books on History, Science, Medicine, Adventure, Magic, Romance, Plays, Drama Pieces and Poetry. Study desks were put up with some wooden and plush chairs. Each desk had two lamps and a pencil holder on it.

Next was the Training room. It had punching bags, gym mats, and all other sorts of things that you'd find in a regular gym. The only thing different is there was a storage room at the back containing kunai, senbon, katanas, nun chucks, and poison darts. These were kept in stock for training and just in case they had to defend themselves. The boys, especially Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Neji, went there to train often.

There was also a music room which Alice visited frequently. Inside were a piano, a few guitars, violins, a keyboard, a xylophone, some recorders and a tuba. A game/movie room was right across from it. The last thing on that floor was the foyer. Sliding glass windows separated it from the long hallway (curtains were drawn down at night). On the foyer was a wooden table which was painted white. A few chairs were placed around it. A high railing was put up at the edge and beyond that was a view of the well kept gardens in the backyard and another boarding facility beyond the yard's border.

That was a little touch of the surroundings for you guys. Again, I'm new to writing for large audiences, so I will need your guidance.

~Anne Callendar