On the first day of the next school year, I woke up early. This wasn't a mandatory response to those annoying early bus rides throughout middle school. In fact, the school I would be going to was easily within walking distance- only a few blocks away.
So normally, on a day like today, I would be taking advantage of the new situation. In other words, I would still be in bed for another two hours before waking up to greet the day with several yawns and a bad mood that would probably continue until several hours past lunch time.
Unfortunately, today this was impossible, as my grandmother was currently waking me up with a hurried air, practically shooing me out of bed and telling me to get dressed. Apparently, I was going to be "late". How, I have no idea.
"Come ON, Sasori, we haven't got all day!" Grandma Chiyo said, bustling about like her life depended on it. "Get UP."
"Mmmmph," I complained in a muffled voice, burying my face further into the pillowcase.
"UP!" she exclaimed loudly, yanking the mattress out from under me before I had a chance to protest.
Falling to the floor with a thump, I groaned as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, rising slowly from the floor before making my way over to the closet. Chiyo gave me an approving nod as I began to rustle through my clothes before making her way downstairs, humming cheerfully. It really ought to be a crime to hum that cheerfully, especially in the morning.
About half an hour later, I stumbled down the stairs, still half asleep, but presentable.
Chiyo took one look at me and immediately abandoned the pancakes she was cooking in favor of squeezing me to death. "Oh, don't you look handsome?!" she cooed. Apparently, I was more than just "presentable". Then again, family doesn't really count.
And then, like a freight train crashing into an iceberg at 100 mph, it dawned on me.(God only knows what that freight train was doing near that iceberg... And the answer is apparent... God was drunk, and he was driving that freight train.)
It had happen in elementary school, and it had happened in middle school. And now, horror upon horrors, it was happening again.
She wanted to send me off on my first day.
It turned out that I was wrong about that last part. Well, partly. Of course, having my idiot of a so-called friend walking to school with me was probably just as bad. Almost.
Let me elaborate. Chiyo, as it turned out, hadn't been talking about being late to school. Apparently some people with a son around my age had moved into the neighborhood, and just to be annoying, Chiyo had decided to go over, welcome them, do a little socializing, blah blah blah. I wouldn't have had such a problem with it if it wasn't FIVE IN THE FREAKING MORNING.
Actually, I would still have had a problem with it, because I didn't expect who their son was.
It was Deidara.
Who was currently hanging off my arm.
That's right, as soon as Chiyo rang that doorbell, it burst open and a blonde blur sped out and GLOMPED me.
He. GLOMPED. Me.
And he hasn't let go since.
Clearly, SOMEBODY needs to be told the difference between a friend and a psychotic stalker. Though, I doubt the idiot would understand anyway.
The school grounds had become quite crowded by this point. Never underestimate the time-wasting power of older women and coffee. I don't think I've ever seen anyone talk more in one sitting in my entire life. Well, except for maybe Deidara, but there are exceptions to every rule.
When we reached the school gates, Deidara finally let go of my arm. I let the abused limb go completely limp, feeling little hot pinpricks spread across it as the blood that had been cut off by the blonde's too-strong grip was finally allowed to continue its normal circuit.
"Come on, let's go meet my friends, un! I met them over the summer, and I've been waiting to introduce you ever since!"
Just to introduce ME? No one else? Geez, is that guy obsessed, or what?
Deidara grabbed my wrist and dragged me across towards a large group of people on the other side of the courtyard at a full sprint. After taking a second or two to recover my footing from the sudden action on Deidara's part, I started to run on my own. Unfortunately, Deidara decided to stop moving at around the same time. The result being that we both toppled over each other, falling flat on our faces with a dull thud and all the grace of a ballerina that had just downed an entire bottle of hard liquor.
Why is it that whenever I meet someone new I end up getting knocked down? I thought with amazement. Really, though, it shouldn't have been possible. Could it be some sort of curse? I toyed with the idea for a few minutes concluding that I would confront Grandma Chiyo about it the next time I saw her. Come to think of it, her chocolate chip brownies always DID taste a little strange...
"...sori...Sasori...SaSORIIIIII..." I looked around, noting that I was still just outside the school building. I also noted that, after several, minutes, I was still...on...the...ground.
Well, shit.
Not that I particularly cared about what Deidara's friends thought of me, but...this was school property. Hence, the ground was probably covered with a wide array of disgusting things.
I screamed a little and jumped up to my feet as quickly as humanly possible. Just like that time when I first met Deidara and found out about his extra mouths, I once again frantically used the first thing I could find to wipe my hands on. Last time, it was a wall.
This time it was someone's clothes.