Chapter 2 – Interview

A cacophony suddenly erupted from one end of the room.

Stunned, Sai and Kiba sat up straight in their beds. Kiba sat up a bit too straight though, as usual, and another bump proceeded to push its way vertically on his throbbing head.

"It worked!" Sai exclaimed ecstatically (although he didn't know he was ecstatic) as he reached for the clock and shut off the alarm. The clock's face read 7:00 am.

Kiba sprang up and jumped onto Sai's bed, poking the sagging mattress above it. "Oi Shikamaru! Wake up!" Neither a sound, nor a single movement ensued from the bed above.

As a general rule, Shikamaru slept on the top bunk, and to the far left facing the wall. You couldn't reach him easily (if you wanted to shake him awake) unless you climbed up and sat on his bed. It was a strategy he had come up with as a means to get the maximum out of a nap.

Kiba climbed up the short ladder and slapped Shikamaru's sleepy pineapple head. "How can you be sleeping at a time like this?" A muffled mrmph from Shikamaru's side followed immediately.

"What time is it?"

"7:10"

"I'm getting up at 8:00."

"No, you have a class at 8:00."

"Tch. Maaan… how troublesome…" The groggy physicist slowly sat up in his bed.

7:20 am.

"SAI! You are not interviewing our potential roommate looking like that!"

Sai looked down at his uncovered abs and wondered what had suddenly come over the Inuzuka. He didn't have a problem with it before… he thought. You got it, you flaunt it; wasn't that the rule? He had great abs, and he was one of the handful of men that could wear a crop top and pull it off just fine (or so he thought). Also, being an artist, he probably felt the need to express himself a little differently from the rest. Well to be honest, Sai didn't really 'feel'; he was an alien to human emotions. And it was for this very reason that his roommates wondered how he had got into the honors class in Psychology, of all subjects. It was all by the book, he told them, smiling.

Shikamaru was looking everywhere for the copy of their tenant's contract. Kiba's things were all over the place, and he felt like he was searching a black hole.

It took them another twenty minutes to finally leave home. Shikamaru found the contract under a pile of Sai's discarded ink bottles. It was stained but legible. Good enough, he figured. Kiba had finally succeeded in forcing an extremely reluctant Sai to wear one of his t-shirts in exchange for the crop top. It was somewhat a little too fitting on Sai than it would have been on Kiba owing to Sai's slightly larger frame. It took a lot of coaxing to get him to wear it. Looking in the mirror, though, Sai decided it wasn't that bad. At least it was five hundred times more appealing than Lee's spandex.

They jogged over to the university, practicing their interview lines on the way. The caller had requested to schedule their meeting during the 11:00-11:30 slot, but all three of them had classes starting at 11:15, so they had to rehearse their questions in such a way that they were able to extract the maximum information in the minimum amount of time. It was definitely a big deal.

11:00 am at Java Dave's Open Café

A solitary Law student sat at a table meant for four, sipping a caramel latte and reading a ginormous red book. He had long hair neatly tied up toward the end and he wore dark shades. He looked at his watch. It's time.

Three noticeably flustered looking young men scrambled through the crowd, arms laden with books and shoulders drooping under the weight of their book bags. They took their seats at the table where our Law student sat.

He nodded in acknowledgment.

The three of them threw quick glances at the young man in front of them, quickly noticing his expensive, well-ironed clothes, also immediately registering into their brains that they've definitely found a rich candidate. Kiba grinned, Sai smiled, and Shikamaru held out his hand in greeting.

But the boy just crossed his arms across his chest and looked at them sullenly through those dark shades. "Let's get started, shall we?"

Shikamaru frowned. I thought I was the one calling the shots here.

Sai cocked an eyebrow, immediately recalling what he had learnt from his books and identifying the boy's response as 'hostile'. He placed the adjective right next to 'rich' somewhere in the ordered categorization log books of his brain.

This one's a regular snob, thought Kiba, fighting the urge to voice his thoughts.

"Alright," began Shikamaru, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed. "I'm Shikamaru, this is Sai, and that's Kiba." He didn't wait for the other to introduce himself before producing the original tenant's contract and somewhat curtly placed it on the table. The interviewee shot a brief look of disgust at the piece of paper and cautiously picked it up with his fingernails. Which were, the boys noted, manicured.

"Each one of us has to pay three hundred per month. We are to share one room and one bathroom. The room's actually big enough for six so you don't really have to worry about space, and there's a separate desk for each. We take turns cleaning the bathroom every week and everybody has to help make dinner." At this the other boy cocked an eyebrow. "It's perfectly alright if you'd rather eat outside, but as a rule, we cook together and eat together."

"What is this, some kind of family bonding procedure or something?"

Shikamaru ignored him.

The candidate read the contract thoroughly before adding: "And are there any other rules I need to know?"

"No."

"Hnn."

After what seemed like an eon to Kiba, the boy pushed the paper away from him and announced: "Deal."

Shikamaru smirked. Sai silently observed him from his chair. Kiba grinned even wider.

"Okay!" Shikamaru brought his chair closer to the table. The others did the same. Placing their arms on the table and clasping their hands, they gave their subject the feeling that this was probably an interrogation rather than an interview. But it was a challenge he was going to get through, he told himself, straightening up and readying himself for the torrent of questions that threatened to spill out from their stern faces – except for the one in the middle, who was smiling.

Shikamaru began. "Before we decide whether or not you – er – pass, there are a few extra questions we need to ask you. And depending on the answer you give, we'll decide whether you pass or not."

"Ask away."

"Alright, first question: why are you looking for a place to stay in the middle of the semester?"

He was tempted to ask Shikamaru 'how is it your business?' but stopped himself. A good question, though, he thought. He bit his lip, thought for a split second about how to categorize his reason, and then slowly answered "Family problems."

Kiba stifled a laugh as he tried to imagine what kind of 'family problems' a rich kid with nothing to ask for could have.

Before Shikamaru spoke again, he received a look that bore a flicker of warning from Sai.

"What kind of family problems?" he pursued.

"Umm?"

"I'm sorry but just making sure, you know."

"Hn. Well okay. I've been living with my uncle's family ever since my father died. Was killed, rather." Obvious signs of interest sparkled on the faces of his audience. "My father died in order to save my uncle's life, and so, even though my uncle isn't exactly cruel or anything, he… well… I always feel as though he looks after me just to repay his debt to his dead brother. And I really don't like all the pity, so I figured I'd find a place of my own and start getting a little independent without having to depend on anyone much."

"Err…" Kiba wasn't sure how this was a family 'problem'. "So does your uncle know about you wanting to live on your own?"

"No. I haven't discussed the matter with him."

"What about a job? Do you have a job?" asked Kiba.

"Not yet. But my uncle will be sending in some money every month. He sends it to my account so I could use it as I see fit."

"Really? That's very nice of him. How much?" Shikamaru asked.

"Not much though, just about five thousand. For personal expenses and such."

Not much my ass! Kiba thought.

"And do you intend to keep that money even after you get a job?" Kiba kicked Sai on the shin and Shikamaru nudged him sharply on the side with his elbow.

The boy looked at them suspiciously before replying "Yes. It'll be going to a charity for the orphaned."

Sai figured it was safe to smile.

"Are you vegetarian?" Shikamaru asked again.

"Umm… no."

"Are you gay?" Sai asked, smiling. He earned two whopping thunks to his head from his friends for that question.

The sunglasses glinted. "NO I am most definitely not," came the reply, with an air of superiority.

"Are you allergic to dogs?" Kiba asked.

"No."

"Great!" said Shikamaru, yawning loudly as he got up. "I think that's it. Just give us a minute." He gestured to his friends. Whispering, they made their decision a few steps away from the table.

Two seconds later Shikamaru turned around.

"Well?"

"Pass."

The ends of the other's lips slightly curled upward.

"You're free to visit the place anytime and see if you'll like it. Just give us a ring at least a day in advance, though, just so we can adjust our schedules to coincide with your visit." What Shikamaru meant to say was: 'Just give us a ring at least a day in advance, though, so we could clean up the place before you get there.'

"I'd like to see the place tomorrow then."

"Ah. Very well." Shikamaru glanced at his watch and commented in mock exclamation: "Wow, 11:15 already. I've got a class. See you tomorrow then?"

"Yes."

Kiba and Sai announced that they had classes to attend to as well, and saying their good-byes, got up and left, leaving the Law student to finish his latte and read the ginormous red book.

It was only after they reached home did they realize they didn't even know his name.

"At least we know he's not gay," Sai offered.

Kiba rolled his eyes as drew a circle around a date on the kitchen calendar and wrote CLEAN HOUSE inside it.