Chapitre Deux:

Narrateur - Monsieur Shikamaru

Honestly, I had mixed feelings while driving to the airport. I was frightened by the unknown, and stressed to death about what work I would have to do... it was the most troublesome thing I had ever been through. I was already thinking about Chouji, Ino, and my stupid parents. I felt like I wouldn't ever see them again. I wonder how Paris actually is? What pain will I have to endure? Or... what if it actually won't be so bad? Oddly enough, according to my parents, I was supposed to meet somebody who was going to tell me where to go, what to do, when to do it... I shook my head then looked around. All these nightmarish thoughts were distracting me. I didn't even realize that I was already pulling into the Leaf City Airline parking lot. I sighed and took a space close to the building before walking sluggishly to the door and entering.

I went through all kinds of tedious, dragging processes before I was actually allowed to go get my ticket. It wasn't like it was my first time flying or anything. I still hated it, though. My baggage felt heavy all of a sudden. I leaned against the desk on my elbows and waited not-so-patiently before I got my pass. I walked to the waiting room. So far, so bad. I sat down in one of the few empty seats that I spotted. Then I waited, waited, waited... It seemed like a long time before I heard my flight mentioned. Apprehensively, I stood up and walked to the door. There was a tunnel-like room, and it had cheesy French paintings all along it. More reminders. It was a little while before I was at the end, and men were taking my luggage to storage. I ran my fingers through my hair and walked on board, hands in pockets. I walked to the back. The plane its self was actually pretty nice. I took a seat and rested my head on the window.

"Alright, uhh... we're gonna depart to Paris, France real soon folks, so, uhh... let's get ready to fly, and fasten your seat belts and uhh... take note of oxygen masks, so, uhh... don't forget to always attach yours before doing it for someone else, and even if the bag doesn't inflate theres still air flowing through it, so uhh... have a good flight," the pilot said in his upbeat voice that was also somehow sleepy. He was earning annoyed glares from the passengers. I pursed my lips and laid back more comfortably. The plane came to life with a shudder soon enough, and it rolled down the lane before taking off into the air. I looked uneasily at the ground below me, then closed my eyes and muttered. I found myself drifting off to sleep. Mid-flight, I was awakened by an announcement.

"Uhh... we're experiencing a little turbulence, so uhh..." I didn't hear the rest of it. I tried to continue my nap, but somehow, I couldn't. And now, I was bored like hell. I looked up at the people riding with me. Some boy was playing an acoustic guitar rather badly. A lady nearby him was reading a newspaper upside down. There was a man wearing one of those coke-bottle glasses, big nose, mustache combos and humping a pillow screaming "Daddy, daddy, daddy!" My eyes shifted back and forth. What kind of an airplane was this? The oddness made me want to go back to sleep. I turned over and shut my eyes, thinking about nothing.

If it weren't for that stupid snail dream, I would have been asleep for the remainder of the flight. Instead, I woke up and couldn't return to sleep. The man with the mask stood up and came over to my seat. I scooted over uncomfortably.

"Hi."

I seriously considered jumping out the window. "...Hi..."

"My name's Ted." He smiled in a deranged manner.

"Nice." I scooted farther. He pulled a sandwich out of... nowhere... and began munching disgustingly on it. He smiled at me. I considered jumping off more powerfully this time.

"Uhh... we're gonna be landing in a few moments so sit tight." The pilot announced. The creepy guy stood up and moonwalked over to his seat. I rubbed my arms nervously as my eyes shot to my watch. "4:00."

And so, I went through several of the processes from before until I arrived at the lobby. I walked aimlessly through it. It was minutes before I was bored and exhausted. I stood against the wall. I felt terrible. I waited.

"Shikamaru! Monsieur Nara? Is that you?" Came a deep voice. The words were said with a heavy, heavy accent. It was French, and the person actually wasn't particularly loud. I perked up at this sudden calling and looked off in the direction of the sound. It was a boy, either my age or a little older, and he was a few yards away. From the bottom-up, he was wearing navy-blue sneakers and baggy brown shorts that were past his knees. He had a silvery-blue shirt on that was short sleeved and had a hood on it. He was wearing dark sunglasses which concealed his eyes, and his hair was a deep brown that spiked up messily. My eyes were wide, my mouth low and threatening to hang open. He approached me and looked down (he's that much taller than me), then smiled slightly.

"Besides, you might meet a cute French boy there." My mothers words echoed in my head. She was completely right... but already? I hadn't even been in Paris for five minutes, and I had found myself swooning over this guy... I'm pathetic.

"Ready to go?" he asked me.

I could barely even form the words in my mind. "Yeah."

And so we walked throughout the city as he pointed out areas of interest. Unfortunately included was the school I was going to be attending. I noticed that a lot of the people here were pedestrians, which is a big change from the America I'm used to... Our last stop was the apartment building I was going to be residing.

"And I just so happen to live here too." he said with a gentle smirk. It was almost creepy. Everything since the day began had seemed to have been predetermined. All planned out... I tried not to look too much into it. We slowed to a stop. I was kind of shaken by the gorgeous boy beside me, and not only him, but the whole trip. We walked with each other inside and went to the desk. He said something that I obviously didn't understand due to it being in French, and he got a key which he handed to me. I blinked and accepted it, shoving it into my pocket and following him up the stairs.

"And this happens to be your room." he sighed after leading me to the door. "Adieu." He walked ahead down the hallway.

I felt like an idiot, but I had to ask it. "What's your name?" I already regretted it.

Without looking back at me, he replied, "Shino." before entering his own apartment and shutting the door.

I sighed and did the same. I leaned my back against the door and looked up at the ceiling.

"Maybe Paris won't be so bad."