Hey, I'm back! Sorry this has taken so long, but I lost the inspiration. Sorry to make you wait.
I own nothing, including the Some Kind of Wonderful ideas.
-
-
-
Recap:
Neji is walking down the hallway. Tenten pushes her way through the crowd to Neji.
"Neji!"
Neji stops, she's flustered and nervous.
"Are you sitting down?" Tenten asks
"No. I'm standing in the hall way." Neji says
"Right, I have some bad news." Said Tenten
"What?"
"This is unconfirmed but I have it from a reliable source." Tenten answers
"What?" Neji asks again
"I think your Uncle's at school."
"How do you know it's my uncle?" Neji asks
"I know the hats he wears." Tenten replies.
-
-
-
A straw panama is sitting on the desk. Hiashi has taken the day off to talk to Neji's counselor, a gaunt man in his fifties, Mr. Jiraiya.
"So there nothing special we need to know about filling out the applications?" Hiashi asked
"Just what we covered," Jiraiya replies
"I don't mean to be any trouble, I just want to double-check. You know kids; they wait until the last minute on everything."
"You have plenty of time. Has Neji decided on a school yet?" Jiraiya asks
"We're zeroing in on a few."
"He's indicated to me that he is interested in a few art schools."
"I don't think that's going to happen," Hiashi said shaking his head "He comes out of an art school, what's he qualified to do? I'm looking for a good business program. I think he has a good head for business."
"The indications I've gotten are that he is more creatively inclined." Jiraiya says.
"Fine. We're looking for a business school. He can be creative in his spare time." Hiashi said moving to the next subject. "How is he doing other wise?"
"Fine."
"Grades holding up?" Hiashi asked
"Very well."
Hiashi picks up his hat and offers his hand to Mr. Jiraiya. "Good. Thanks for the time."
"If you have any other questions don't hesitate to call." Jiraiya says.
"I appreciate it." Hiashi says as he leaves the room.
Hiashi heads down an empty hallway. Skinhead stands at a locker, prying it open with a large screw driver. He hears Hiashi coming and stuffs the screw driver down the front of his jacket. To avoid a problem, like the one he had with Neji and Tenten earlier, Skinhead takes the immediate offensive position. He turns to Hiashi as he comes down the hall.
"Excuse me sir. Can I see your hall pass?"
Hiashi is surprised at the request. "I don't have a pass. I'm a parent, I was seeing Mr. Jiraiya. I'm on my way out."
"Please don't think me rude, sir, but we have limited access to these hallways to students and authorized persons only. You have no idea how many unsavory types try to gain entry to the school to prey on the youngsters. They bring in contraband, controlled substances, obscene rock 'n roll lyrics. I'm telling you sir; it's like wolves running free in a hen house." Skinhead says.
"I'm heading right out." Hiashi says
"I'm sure you are sir. You have an honest face and an overall honorable body shape. I'm just alerting you to the rules. From a concerned student to a concerned parent."
"Boy, I got two kids at home who I wish had your attitude." Hiashi says
"It's refreshing isn't it?" Skinhead says
"Very, thanks" Hiashi nodes and continues on his way. Skinhead waits a beat and returns to the locker.
-
-
-
Neji's wearing paint-splattered jeans and a T-shirt. He's sitting on the back of a chair, studying the canvas he's working on. He's holding a paint brush in his teeth; it's after school, very late. He hears talking in the hallway. He looks out the door.
Sasuke and a sophomore girl, Ino, are talking in the hallway. Neji studies the situation, and listens carefully.
Ino's back is to the lockers. Sasuke is standing in front o her, leaning forward, resting his elbow on the locker. Engulfing her. She's completely under his spell. He's older, he's richer, he's handsome, he's popular, and he's dangerous.
"I want you to stay close but not too close. You back off when I say, okay?" Sasuke says
She nods, yes.
"It'll get good." Sasuke continues
Ino nods again, he gives her a gentle kiss.
"Both your parents' wok?" he asks
She nodes
"Good, maybe I'll come over after school on day this week."
Sakura walks down the hall, and catches the tail end of Ino and Sasuke's kiss. Sasuke pulls back from her; he looks down the hall to see Sakura looking at him. He looks at her. She runs back down the hall. Sasuke smiles. He starts towards Sakura with his arms outspread.
She turns to her locker and opens it. She's angry and hurt. Sasuke approaches her, acting as if he's done nothing wrong.
"You wanna go to your place later?" he asks
Sakura glares at him, throws her books into her locker and grabs her coat.
"What's wrong?" he asks
Sakura tries to get away, but he blocks her way "Do you mind?" she says
"Yes I do. I want to know what's wrong?" he says
Sakura doesn't respond.
"Ino?" Sasuke say
"I' impress, you asked her name." Sakura spits.
"She's a friend of my little sister. Her brother was in a pretty serious car accident, she's a little upset."
Sakura glares at him. She's never been good at holding up her side of an argument with Sasuke. But she didn't remember him saying anything about a little sister…
"I'm waiting for you. I know your coming, why would I be trying to date another girl? It makes no sense at all." He says
Sakura backs down a bit. His charming good logic leaves her without an immediate counter.
"How can you be so beautiful and so insecure at the same time?
In lieu of something to say, she holds her look on him.
"Trust is the basis of any relationship. I trust you." He says and kisses her on the forehead. "I'll drive you home."
He point to the ring on his finger. He points to her, takes it off, takes her hand, and slips it onto her finger. He kisses her again. She doesn't say yes, but she doesn't say no. Sasuke takes the answer as yes.
"I'll get the car and meet you in the front."
He heads down the hallway. In the direction Ino went. Sakura looks at the floor and sighs angrily. She's upset with herself. She wants to bust him in the act, but she can't. She senses she's being watched, and turns.
Neji is standing in an open doorway looking at her. She feels uncomfortable, and wonders if he over heard the conversation. She'd rather keep her acquiescence to Sasuke a secret. She leaves quickly.
He watches the empty doorway for a long time. He picks up his brush, dips it in a jar of turpentine and cleans it on his work shirt. Neji is done for the day. He lays the brush out, peels off the shirt and looks at the canvas. An under-painting. A sketchy, incomplete, but very good.
-
-
-
A clean, modern local service station, in the good part of town. The lights are on in the office and repair bay. Neji is in the repair bay working on a Jaguar. Tenten is sitting on a work bench, playing with a kunai.
"How's it feel to stand under an old Jaguar?" Tenten asks
"About the same as standing under an old Ford. Dirty and hot." He says as he works
As Tenten taps her kunai around the work bench, she hits Neji's sketch book. She throws him a look and opens the book.
"You wanna stand under it?" Neji asks
She leafs through the book and the sketches of Sakura. She finds the tattered photo. She looks at Neji; he flips a tool into the box, still not noticing yet. She puts the photo back and closes the book.
"Are you calling out for food?" she asks
"No." he answers, and he looks into the tool box. "You can call if you want."
"You have any money?" she asks
"Yeah,"
"If I get hungry, I'll call." She says.
"Don't you ever eat at home?" he asks
"I don't like to eat alone." She says as she looks into the tool box.
"Where's your mom?" Neji asks
"Which way is the wind blowing?" Tenten leans back and abruptly changes the subject. "If you wanted to, you could blow every guy in this feeble town out of the water. From a female popularity, sexual relationship standpoint."
Neji looks at her; he doesn't understand what she means. "I'm not interested in blowing anyone out of the water."
"Yeah?" she says
"Yeah,"
"So what's the deal with Sakura Haruno?"
Neji pauses from his work. She's hit something. He continues.
"I know your thinking about her." Tenten says as she looks down.
"Wrong." Says Neji
"We've been friend for too long to bullshit each other. I know when something is going one inside of you. And I know Sakura Haruno is on your mind." She looks up "You've always been n your own. I like you because you don't follow everybody. You're not sheep. You don't sell your soul to belong. And it's scary to me that you might change that."
"Nothing is changing," Neji says
"Look at me in the eye and tell me you don't think about Sakura Haruno."
Neji turns to her. "So what if I do? What do you care?"
"Oh, come on. Your better then her." Tenten scoffs "She's a major part of everything you don't believe in."
"She's not that much different." Neji says
"Yeah? Who's been lying to you? She's worse then different. She crossed town to belong to the lowest of the low. If that's the kind of person who inspires you, you've got a problem!" Tenten says
"You sound a little jealous." Neji says
Exactly. Tenten is stunned that he nailed her feelings and is obliged to deny. "Of what? Her? Yeah right."
"You're afraid that if I went out with Sakura, we couldn't be friends." Neji says
"That would be entirely my choice and I'm not worried about it because, regardless of what I say, you're too internal to open up and ask her out, so why don't we changed the subject?" she says
A bell rings in the station. Neji flips his wrench into the tool box. "You brought it up."
"Yeah, and I brought it up because I care about you. She doesn't. She has one thing on her mind and you don't make enough of it to matter to her. I rest my case." Tenten says
Neji wipes his hands on his jeans and leaves the station.
"Speak of the she-devil," Tenten says, as the tow go out to the gas pumps.
-
-
-
I hope you like it, I'll try and update soon. I'm really sorry that I haven't been so good with this story, but maybe if you review then I'll make my update quick.
Please review!