Day 11 - Graduate
The day of Sarada's graduation dawned bright and clear. The sun shine cut through the cloudless sky unimpeded. The heat was almost stifling as Sarada sat down with the rest of her class in front of the stage set up for graduation. Everything else was done. The exams were over, the team assignments had been given out (she was with Mitzuki and Boruto. Sigh...) and all the lockers and desks had been cleaned. All that was left was the graduation, and the announcements of class placements. Sarada would be shaking in her seat, except she was an Uchiha, and she couldn't show that kind of weakness. She sat shock still in her seat as, one by one, her classmates were called up to the stage to receive their headbands.
They were seated in alphabetical order by last name, but they were called up by placement in the class as determined by both practical and written exams. Chocho was called up around the top third of the class, and smiled widly was she did, please with herself. Sarada laughed under her breath and shook her head. She was going to miss Chocho the most.
Regaining her stillness, she sat there was the number of empty chairs around her grew and grew. Finally, there were only four students left: Boruto, Mitzuki, Shikadai, and herself. (At this point, she was wondering what they had been thinking when they made her team.) Mitzuki was called up first, but fourth was still impressive for someone who had only been in the village for a matter of months. Borute went up next, grinning wryly. She knew that didn't matter if he cames in third or thirtieth; he was the hokage's son, the golden boy, and he always would be, whatever his test scores looked like.
Now it was just down to her and Shikadai. Sarada tensed in her seat. Shikadai had his father's lazy brilliance, but from his mother he had a pride that wouldn't let him throw the exam out of apathy. Of everyone in the class, she was most worried about Shikadai.
She was practically on the edge of her chair as she anxiously awaited Shino-sensei's announcement about who got second in the class.
His voice rang out over the crowd. "Second in the class, Shikadai Nara!"
Sarada almost collapsed into her seat. She had done it. Seconds later, she climbed the stairs to the stage, the crowd roaring into her ears almost as loud as her heartbeat.
As she stood on the platform with her brand new Leaf headband, she received one more surprise: her father was in the crowd next to her mother (who was making an obscene amount of noise). He was smiling and, more than that, he looked so, so proud.
On the day of Sarada's graduated, the sun was bright, but her smile was brighter.