Third Person's POV
Everyone in the principal's office sits anxiously. The principal, , leans towards his desk with his elbows on it and his fingers folded together, giving his face a place to rest on them. "I want to thank you guys for being able to make time for this meeting. I understand how busy people can be. Why not we start by hearing Sarada's side first." As talks, he moves to one the drawers in his desk and pulls out a pad and pen. "Sarada, would you like to talk?"
Sarada feels herself sink in her chair a bit after being asked to speak. The silence and having everyone staring at her, some violently, makes her discomfort rise. In order to calm his nervous daughter, Sasuke places his hand over Sarada's, and gives her a look saying that everything will be fine. Sarada turns her hand so her fingers are able to intertwine with her fathers, and she takes a deep breath before starting.
She tells them everything. Starting with Cho Cho getting bullied, to Aimi making fun of the fact that Sarada doesn't have a mom, and finally to her drawing journal getting ripped and flushed in a toilet. During her story, refuses to stay quiet, and interrupts her multiple times to yell about how insane her story is while Aimi glances away from everyone, looking almost bored. stops her every time, claiming that she will get a chance to talk, giving Sarada the chance to finish.
"Thank you Sarada," the principal says before turning his attention to Aimi and her mother. "Now Aimi, what do you have to say about that?"
once again speaks instead of Aimi herself. "It's obviously untrue! Aimi is a good and obedient kid. You should be ashamed of yourself for raising such a liar!" The last sentence is directed to Sasuke and not the whole room.
Sarada can feel Sasuke's grip on her hand unintentionally tighten as he glares at the vulgar presence in the room. "What did you just say?" Sasuke says while biting his inner cheek to avoid shouting. The veins in his head pop out along with wrinkles on his forehead from glaring so hardly to the mother.
Before the two parents can wrestle, stops them by saying, "I asked Aimi, not you!" lets out a hostile grunt and leans back into her chair with her arms crossed. Her attention also goes to her daughter, who is still slouching in her seat, looking unbothered.
"I have no idea what she is talking about," Aimi starts. "I never talk to Sarada. She was just a kid in my old class. Also, I had no idea that she had some diary that she drew in." Once Aimi ends, her mother doesn't attempt to hide a smug expression since it seems to her that she has won.
"See, I told you that her story was false." The principal puts his hand up to single her to stop talking.
"Aimi, I'm not entirely sure I believe you. You see, as I said before out in the hall, Sarada isn't the only kid who has told someone that you have been bullying them. What do you have to say about that?"
Aimi's position moves before answering. "They are probably just kids who are jealous of me and trying to get me in trouble. Just like the four eyes over there," she says while signaling towards Sarada with her head.
"Don't call Sarada that!" Sasuke says sternly.
" , please don't." holds his hand up the same way he did to Aimi's mom, but more calmly, then looks back to Aimi. "So you're saying that all the kids who have some to the teachers are lying, even the ones who were crying?"
"...Yes."
"And you also claimed that you had no idea that Sarada kept a journal in her bag, right?"
"...Yes."
After Aimi answers the second time, turns to Sarada to ask her a question. "Sarada, you said that the journal was in your bag before lunch and break, and when you were back in class, the journal was gone, yes?"
Sarada only nods. "So that means whoever took it, took it during that break time." turns back to Aimi. "After speaking with about the bullying and the destroyed journal, I went to speak with your teachers, and one of them told me that they remember you claiming that you felt sick and needed to go to the nurse during recess. So then I went to the nurse, and according to the sign in sheet, you never went to the nurse." The principle adjusts his position in his seat, making everyone wait impatiently for him to continue. He then leans in more on the desk. "I dug even further with the security tapes of that day, and I found you, Aimi, running through the hallways to Sarada's classroom, and opening the door. When you came out, you were holding something. I followed you through other tapes, and found you opening the bathroom Sarada claims to have found the journal, along with the thing in your hand. You then exited the bathroom, empty handed."
The room is silent for a moment. Everyone but the principal is in shock. Sasuke, Sarada, and Aimi in shock by how he was able to figure out so much information, and in shock by the fact that she is wrong, and that Aimi has been bullying kids, and has been lying. "Is there anything you would like to say, Aimi?"
Once again, Aimi turns her head away to avoid any eye contact. "Aimi?" says in a dead and serious tone. The said girl slowly turns her head back to him, and is caught like a deer in headlights because of his wide-eyed creepy stare. She feels herself wanting to look away, but isn't able to.
Aimi bits her bottom lip to avoid crying, and in order to try and save herself, she starts making up an excuse. "I was just trying to help that fat girl! But goody two shoes over there stepped in and made me look like a bad guy and ruined me! What was I supposed to do?!"
"I wasn't trying to ruin you!" Sarada shouts. "I was trying to get Cho Cho away from you and your mean friends. You were being cruel to her! I was trying to do the right thing!" Sasuke feels himself smirk a little from seeing his brave girl standing up for herself.
Aimi is about to respond back to her, but speaks first. "Everyone please calm down. and Sarada, you guys are all set to leave now. I want to talk to Aimi and her mother alone. I will call you later to tell you what her consequences will be."
Sasuke rises off the chair and shakes . "Thank you for attending to this." Once he lets go, Sarada is already by the door waiting for her father. Sasuke walks to the door and opens it, letting Sarada out first, then closing it behind him, leaving the nervous child and irked mother.
While Sasuke and Sarada are in the office for the meeting, Sakura waits impatiently outside in the same bench she was sitting on before with Sarada. In order to distract herself, she scrolls through multiple pictures on her social media. When going through she discovers another picture of her former boyfriend, and his new girlfriend along with Lee and another guy she went to college with, but can't seem to remember. It seems that they went canoeing earlier this week, and he posted it now.
Sakura feels herself questioning whether to like the photo or not. Not that there are any lingering feelings, but she does know that his girlfriend might be concerned as to why Sakura, the ex-girlfriend, is liking a photo of his. After all, most people would block or unfollow their ex, but there wasn't any bad blood between Sakura and Gaara, so neither of them felt like they needed to.
'I'm sure Gaara has mentioned me to her, so it shouldn't be a big deal,' Sakura thinks. Despite what might happen if she does like the photo, she double taps on it, and turns off her phone, finding nothing to do on it now.
More time passes causing Sakura to get up a couple of times. As she moves around the walls, she admires some of the things hanging on it. None of it would have caught her attention if she wasn't so anxious and bored. Since there aren't a lot of things hanging on the wall, and Sakura doesn't think roaming the school is a good idea, she finds herself sitting lazily back in the same seat she had been sitting in for an hour.
'Wonder how it's going in there. Can't be very good since that vulgar woman is in there.' As Sakura ponders, the words that the vulgar woman said come back into her mind. 'Why couldn't I just stand up for myself? What about Sarada? She was probably scared by her too. Am I really still that insecure child who couldn't speak up? That principle was able to do it. Then again, he has probably dealt with multiple parents like her.'
A sudden gust of energy flows through the pink haired female, making her sit up. 'I'm not going to sit here and pity myself. Not anymore. Once Sarada and Sasuke come out, I will apologize to Sarada for not helping her," she says passionately. 'Then, I won't ever let anyone walk over me like she did. Not on me or the people I love.'
As the pumped up Sakura continues to vow, the office door opens calmly beside her, showing a short Sarada, and then her tall boyfriend. Sakura rises and goes to them anxiously again, waiting for an answer to what happened in the meeting. "Well? How did it go?"
Sarada looks up to the concerned woman. "It went great!" she says with a big smile. Sakura's shoulders rise down and she lets out a relieved sigh as the girl continues to talk. " is talking to Aimi and her mother about her punishment. He said he would call us later to tell us what will happen."
With a proud smile, Sasuke says, "You were very brave through the whole thing," and puts a hand on top of Sarada's head.
"I really was," she recuperates while giggling at her father.
"That's my girl."
The office door that was opened a minute ago opens again, but more harshly. All three of them jump up in surprise and look to find the cruel mother dragging her daughter to the exit by her wrist, while Aimi fights back with tears in her eyes. "I can not believe what you have been doing! You made me look like a fool today!"
"Let go Mama!" Aimi tries to release the grip that her mother has on her wrist, but that causes it to tighten harder and for her mother to pull her more harshly.
"Shut up you brat! You have ruined my reputation and your father's!" finally makes it to the door. As she opens it, she pulls her daughter one more time, out the door and into the parking lot. "Move it you germ!" Aimi no longer fights her mother and walks out without a fuss.
No one talks for a moment, until Sarada speaks. "That woman is mean."
"Yeah," Sasuke agrees. "I can see where her child gets that bad attitude." Both Sasuke and Sarada talk a little more about it to each other, but Sakura keeps looking at the exit they left out of. Instead of joining in with them, Sakura seems more concerned about that girl and what goes on in her home.
"Anyway, Sakura." Hearing her name brings her to their conversation. "Do you want to come over tonight? Sarada and I are going to have frozen pizza and play board games."
"...Sounds like fun!"
Mom: Are you going to spend the night there?
Sakura: No, I will come home tonight.
Mom: Okay. Are you having dinner there too?
Sakura: Yeah. You and dad have dinner without me.
Mom: Alright. See you tonight.
The oven beeper starts to go off, making Sakura along with Sarada and Sasuke's attention move to the kitchen. "The pizza is done." After speaking Sasuke puts down his fake money from the game Monopoly that they are playing and walks towards the kitchen to get their dinner.
"Who are you texting, Sakura?" A small, slightly squeaky voice asks.
"My mom," Sakura responds. "She's asking me if I'm going to be home tonight." Sasuke then comes back out holding a plate with the frozen pizza and a couple of smaller plates for each of them. "I will probably head out after dinner. It's getting late," she says to Sasuke.
"Okay." Sasuke hands the two of them a plate and sits down with his own. "Who's turn is it?"
"Mine," Sarada claims. As she then picks up the two dice and shakes them in her hands, Sasuke's phone rings, making him stop grabbing a slice of pizza and answer it.
"Hello." Sasuke listens intently while Sakura grabs a slice of frozen pizza and Sarada moves her pawn the amount of spaces the dice say to. "Okay... Thank you." After speaking on the phone, Sasuke hangs it up and puts his phone in his back pocket. "That was the principal . He says that Aimi will be suspended from school for a week and then will receive detention after school. Also, her mother will be paying for a new drawing journal for you so when you go back to school will you tell what kind it was?"
"Okay."
"Oh and he wants you to tell him who the other girls that were part of Aimi's group are. The other ones that were involved in the bullying."
"I'll do that tomorrow Papa. Can we play the game now?" Sarada asks pleadingly. "Sakura will have to leave soon and I want to beat her."
Saying that makes Sasuke chuckle and turn to me. "Sure." Sakura smiles as well and puts her phone away too so they can continue. For another hour the three of them enjoy the food and company they share. However, in between the laughter and talk, Sakura can't stop thinking about Aimi and her mother.