Return of the dreaded warm up exercise:
Their: Pertaining to; designating ownership. It's their cd player.
There: General direction. The cd player is over there.
They're: They are. They're going to play a new cd for us.
They're going to listen to their cd player over there.
YAAAAWN... me tired. Me no talk too long.
Refer to first chapter for standard diclaimer/rant. The feeling is still there, I'm just too lazy to go into it.
"Uchiha...Uchiha... Oo-chee-ha...Sa-soo-kay, right? No? Oh, it's pronounced Sah-skay? Really? I guess you have to slur the s..." The nameless guidance counselor made small talk more to himself than anything, but his choice of discussing Sasuke's name really irritated the boy. What was so hard about saying his name? When he was a kid he'd pretend he was a snake and spend hours in front of the bathroom mirror hissing "Sssaassskay" and making faces. That was before his brother started teasing him about being vain.
Ssssaaassssssssskay- His mind wandered.
"Oh! Bingo!" The man exclaimed, flourishing a file adorned with the Uchiha name and a coffee ring. He thumbed through it, scanning old records before moving to the next page. Overcome with interest, Sasuke leaned over and managed to briefly glimpse "Does not work well with others" before the page was turned.
"Mmhmm, mmhmm, mmhhmmmmmm..." Mister Guidance Counselor mumbled, nodding as he read through a seemingly important page.
"Well, Sah-skay, I bet you're wondering why I called you in here." He smiled, waggling his eyebrows like he was going to reveal the meaning of life. Sasuke knew exactly why he was called in, but decided that if telling him why he was in the dingy little office was the highlight of this guy's day, who was he to ruin it?
So he settled on shrugging in confusion.
"Well, part of this school's motto is 'Excellence in academics, athletics, and community spirit'. So much so that our students are required to fill one hundred hours of community service before they can graduate." Guidance Counselor Man busied himself looking through a stuffed Rolodex. "Unfortunately, you are the only student we had trouble placing." A card was removed, looking fresh and new compared its battered and dog-eared brothers.
"As luck would have it, just yesterday someone called for a volunteer, and the job is perfect for you." Sasuke translated that to: Like it or leave it, chump. It's all we've got left.
He grunted by way of saying yes, and the man began prattling off the seriousness of responsibility and growing up, and he should be proud of taking another step into the world and blah blah blah.
Eventually he discussed Sasuke's new duties, the gist of it taking care of some old dude and doing light housework.
Finally he was done, and the Uchiha rushed to sign some forms before he decided to yak some more. The card was transferred from the adult's sweaty hand into his own, and he grabbed his bag and ran for it.
Geez! He'd been called into the office shortly after lunch, and when he was finally released, school was already over.
"Talk, talk, talk..." He muttered to himself. Glancing at his watch, he figured he had time for a quick trip to introduce himself to his new charge. The address listed wasn't too far from the school.
It may not have been out of his way, Sasuke decided when he reached the right address, but it was somewhat on the 'lower' end of town. Not that it was in the worst part, but if the scale was from Sasuke's decidedly 'nice' area to the seediest neighborhoods, the house was somewhere in the middle.
He stood rooted on the sidewalk, unsure of what to do. Should he, y'know... knock? But the town was primarily Japanese American, and old country custom dictates one should introduce themselves inside the entryway. Then again, he wasn't even sure the family was Asian. There was no name on the card, just an address and brief description of his duties.
Man, what if it's a gang of thieves? I could be walking into a den of kidnappers or something...
As some nameless genius once said: "All questions answer themselves."
"Hey, kid. Are you gonna come in or should I call you my new lawn ornament?"
Preview for the next chapter:
"JUST YOU WAIT, UCHIHA SASUKE!" He bellowed, blonde hair whipping around as he shook his head in fury. "I'LL MAKE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH ME YET!" Determination flared in his eyes, making his glower radiate.
Naruto didn't have to try so hard.
His heart was thumping.
Sasuke already had it bad.
Yeah right! Since when have I included previews?
