She's read the pamphlet thirty-seven times. Thirty-eight now. It's a nervous reflex at this point and she can't stop.
The role of ninja in the medical system has grown and become much more complex in a short amount of time. We have introduced the Junior Medic program in response to this.
The Junior Medic program is a one year extracurricular program designed to give students the opportunity to develop a set of knowledge and skills that will benefit them if they enter the medical field later on. Applicants must be enrolled in the Konoha Academy and have at the minimum entered their fourth year of instruction.
As demand exceeds the limitations of our yearly quota, applicants are screened primarily based on overall class ranking, as well as academic subject rankings. The most qualified applicants are then selected for an interview to assess their suitability for the program. The final decision for entrance is based on the applicant's performance during the interview as well as their academic performance.
"-are due tomorrow at the beginning of class. Have a good day and remember to bring in your forms before next week."
Her muscles along the curve of her spine spasm as her head jerks up at the sudden sound of the bell. Four notes, repeated at the beginning and end of every school day.
Sakura folds the pamphlet back into a neat triangular prism, once-crisp edges worn from the repetitive motion carried out over and over again. With pure rote muscle-memory she packs up for the day, putting every notebook and worksheet into its place, packing up her stationary into its case. A stray glance of her eyes sees that familiar blonde ponytail. Something claws at her, from the base of her stomach, up her throat. She cannot name it.
It's your fault.
Sakura looks away.
Before she knows it, she's ready to leave. Face neutral, she feigns an ease she doesn't feel as she walks towards the far door away from her, the one beside the other board. The one beside the class standings.
Why do you care? Why does she care? Why pretend not to care?
She pretends anyways. Leisurely pace, one foot before the other, arms swinging slightly in natural motion, not too much, just a little. A spare glance at the sheet, white with black typography. Casual. Perfectly casual, just a throwaway glance, nothing more.
Just slightly above eye-level is her name. Below Aburame Shino, below Hyuuga Hinata, and certainly below Uchiha Sasuke. The "eleven" next to her name is a now-familiar stab of pain.
Applicants are screened primarily based on overall class rankings. The scabs on her knee have already turned deep brown, almost-black. Despite having rinsed her mouth out repeatedly that day, the grit of dust and dirt in her mouth is a familiar ghost that haunts her. There's another sheet near the overall class rankings. It says Taijutsu Rankings. Her name isn't even on the first sheet.
It wasn't fair. She'd been paired against Kiba, she'd studied so hard the night before for their test that day while Kiba hadn't even tried, he was just as bad as Chouji, Shikamaru, and Naruto. They never did the worksheets, half the time, never handed in homework. Never studied.
It wasn't fair.