Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.


Chapter Two: Punctuality and Orange Juice


She stood fuming as she faced the mahogany door. All she could remember were his words as they got out of the car. Don't be late.

How could he have known? She thought, angrily, turning the knob.

"Ah! Tenten, dear flower!" a booming voice met her as soon as she had stepped into the classroom.

"I'm sorry, Gai-sensei," she bowed apologetically; all the while cringing at the nickname he had called her.

"You do not have to apologize for the radiance you have brought into the room dominates all thoughts of your tardiness," he continued, and she strained to smile back. "Take a seat," he gestured at the class.

"Thank you, Gai-sensei," she gave another bow, before giving the room a quick scan. There were a few empty seats at the back of the room, but she had no intention of going there, seeing as the seats were flanked by the glaring females of her year. She sighed as she propped down to her only option left, and of course, it was beside a certain fair-eyed Hyuga.

She could see that face of his again, I told you.

"How did you know?" she hissed as she lowered her back pack under her chair.

He smirked, but kept his eyes on the board. "You're Tenten. You're always late."

She rolled her eyes but dropped the issue, all the same aware of the intensity of the glares from behind her. She shook her head in amusement; it was the same thing every year. She would have thought they had gotten used to it.

It was a challenge, but she had made it through the whole morning of continuous introductions without once falling asleep. She wished schools would start with the lessons right away, she didn't see the point of having to introduce herself to pretty much the same classmates she had had since she started her schooling. Besides, they didn't even bother to act pleased to see her. Well, at least most of them.

"Tenten-san!" his voice dominated the halls, despite the ever growing chattering and laughing of people getting ready for lunch.

She closed her locker just in time to smile at the green clad, bowl haired boy walking towards her. "How have you been Lee?" she gave him a quick hug. He had been gone the whole summer, weirdly, with Gai-sensei. The two had grown inseparable since Gai-sensei rescued Lee from bullying a few years back.

"Wonderful, Tenten-chan!" he spread his arms, hitting a blonde haired, good looking boy passing by the hall. The boy stopped, but looked amused by what had happened.

"Sorry," Tenten apologized for Lee, aware of the heat in her face, but hoping it didn't show as badly as it felt.

He laughed, before waving it away. "No worries," he smiled at her as he continued walking on.

"Oops," Lee breathed, and she laughed at him. He murmured an apology before grinning back at her. "The beach has rejuvenated my tired soul," he frowned, passing a hand through his forehead.

Tenten noted the tan he was currently sporting. "I can see that," it took all her effort not to laugh.

"And Neji-san?" he asked, peering behind her. "He is not with you?"

"He went looking for Hinata, he needed to get the keys or something," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "He told us to meet him at the cafeteria instead."

He nodded enthusiastically, his large eyes widening even more. "I have almost forgotten. Hinata and her friends are now a part of this school! Do you think they will be having lunch with us?" he asked as they started their way towards the dining hall.

She shrugged, trying to hide the uneasiness she felt. She didn't like meeting new people, or, maybe people didn't like meeting her. It was one of the reasons she had grown so close with Neji and Lee, they were the best friends she had growing up.

It was not easy spotting Neji among the throng of students who had infiltrated the cafeteria, but a certain voice brought Tenten and Lee to their table. When she spotted them, Tenten's nervousness wavered a little. There were a lot of unfamiliar faces in the table, that was true, but at the same time, she was simply reuniting with old friends. Whenever she visited the Hyuga's estate, she would often come across a few of Neji and Lee's friends, and they had even come to a point where they would meet at the park to skateboard every weekend.

"Tenten! Lee!" Naruto shouted standing up, as soon as he had seen them.

They both waved back in reply, as all the heads in the table turned to look at them. Tenten spotted Neji beside one of the empty seats, looking impassive and bored. She settled beside him, while Lee took the seat beside a pink haired girl she hadn't met yet. Tenten hoped she was only imagining the pink spots that had found their way to his cheeks.

"What took you so long?" Kiba asked, smiling his wolfish grin.

"We had some catching up to do," she answered, gesturing to Lee.

"You didn't do it earlier in class?" asked the usually quiet Shino.

"I didn't have any classes with Tenten-chan and Neji-san this morning," Lee frowned to his food. "But I'll see you at music class later, Tenten-chan! Isn't that right?"

Tenten nodded, but frowned. She wasn't looking forward to that class, and she preferred not to think about how she was sure to mess it up. Instead, she turned her attention to the other people she did not recognize in the table. She smiled at Hinata before gazing at the other two girls beside her. It was hard not to stare at the pink haired one, seating beside Lee. She had always been against hair dyeing.

Instead, the girl smiled widely at her. "Since it seems they have no plans of introducing us..." she held out her hand across Lee, and Tenten shook it warmly. "My name's Sakura," she said, turning to shake Lee's hand.

"L-Lee," he answered, and Tenten tried not to stare at his red ears. It felt so uncommon to see Lee flustering.

"I'm Tenten," she smiled at the table, and looked to the blonde beside Sakura. Her hair was long, and Tenten wouldn't wonder if it touched the chair she was sitting on.

"Call me Ino," she grinned, pushing away the bangs that covered her blue eyes.

Before Lee or Tenten could reply, Kiba spoke up, showering some of the rice he had been chewing. "You already know Shino and I, right?" he grinned, to which she merely nodded back. "Well then, this is Shikamaru, and Sasuke," he gestured to the two boys sitted at his left. Shikamaru merely stared at them, and Tenten almost thought he would end up dozing at the table. Sasuke meanwhile, ignored them completely. Tenten felt the heat creeping up the back of her neck. This was not the first time she had seen him, he would occasionally visit Neji's house, she remembered. But not as often as Naruto, Kiba and Shino. She did not miss, however, the way Ino and Sakura grinned at him.

"I'm Naruto!" Naruto positively shouted next, garnering their—and almost the whole cafeteria's—attention.

"They know, Naruto," Sakura scolded him.

"Oh. Then... this is Choji," he pointed his thumb, instead, to the round faced boy sitting beside him and Neji. The boy waved his hand, while slurping more noodles.

"Great!" Lee stood and raised his cup of orange juice. "It is such a pleasure to meet everyone in this table; I hope the year would be filled with memories of laughter and friendship!"

She laughed as she raised the cup of orange juice in her hand, nudging Neji to do the same. He frowned, but followed suit, and so did everyone else in the table.

"Cheers."

END OF CHAPTER


A/N: I know. I know. I know. And I'm so so so sorry. If you know what I mean by these words, then these apologies are for you. I promise the next one won't take so long. Pinky promise. I already have it ready, so no worries. Plus it's longer than this chapter.

Please review? It makes me update faster. Wink.

Hugs

Vee