CHAPTER TWO
Hinata stood quietly by the front door of the school. The lunch bell rang just over five minutes ago, and there was still no sign of Sakura. Glancing around to make sure there weren't any teachers nearby, Hinata pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. No new messages. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed as concern and anxiety slowly overcame her.
"What if she got in trouble with Kakashi-sensei? What if she's sitting in the principal's office all alone? Her parents will come and make her feel even worse! What id she fell? She went to the bathroom and slipped on some water. The toilets in this school are always leaking. She could be on the floor right row, bleeding and…"
"Hinata-chan!"
"Gahhhhh!" Hinata let out a yelp as someone shouted her name and grabbed her from behind. The strong arms around her waist loosened, and she whirled around. Her surprised lavender met laughing clear blue ones.
"Naruto-kun!" she gasped.
"Hehe! The one and only! Sorry for sorry you like that." Naruto smiled cheerfully at her, and gently kissed her cheek. Resting his forehead against hers, he stared intently into her eyes. "What's wrong Hinata-chan?"
"Its Sakura chan. She's missing!"
"Sakura-chan? Didn't you say she hasn't been doing well in math lately? Kaka-sensei probably kept her after class to talk about it She's probably just moving slow today because of it. That's not exactly the best way to start your day."
"Mmmm… maybe your right. I guess I'm just being paranoid. Arigato Naruto-kun!" Hinata forced her tense muscles to loosen. Naruto eyed her critically, seeing she didn't really believe him. Feeling a surge of love and concern for Hinata, he gently cupped her cheek and lowered his lips to hers.
"Ehem."
"Sakura-chan!" Hinata cried out, breaking away from Naruto quickly.
"Hey Hinata. Sorry I'm late, I couldn't get my locker open." Sakura shifted her weight for one foot to another and hesitantly meet Hinata's eyes.
"I'll see you later Naruto-kun. Don't forget to hand in your History report." Hinata said quickly, seeing a sense of urgency in Sakura's eyes. Naruto looked at his girlfriend, surprised at the sudden dismissal, then at Sakura. Realizing that there was some sort of supper secret girl ESP at hand, he quickly nodded and jogged off muttering about having to speak to "Teme."
Silently the girls made their way into the courtyard to "their oak." Hinata eyed Sakura critically as they took out their bentos and began to eat. The silence stretched for a few minutes, Hinata knew Sakura would tell her what happened when she was ready.
"Kakashi-sensei called me up to his desk this morning before class started." Sakura began, chewing thoughtfully. "He said he noticed that my grades are dropping, and wants e to start seeing a tutor."
"Oh? Would you like me to tutor you Sakura-chan?"
"Yes, but you can't. He assigned me a tutor already. We have to work for an hour a day everyday. Even on weekends." Sakura's voice was flat.
"Who did Kakashi-sensei assign to you?"
"Sasuke Uchiha."
Sakura stared at her reflection on her large, full-body mirror. There was a bright look on her face, and her eyes held an intelligent gleam to them. It was 7 o'clock. He had just finished dinner and showered. Sakura was the kind of person who felt more awake and in the zone later in the evening. This was her time of day.
Her back was back in a smooth ponytail. She was wearing jeans and a large sweatshirt. Her glasses were once again perched on her nose. It was the same thing she wore to school every day, but she felt better. She felt more put together, neater looking.
"Perfect! I may not ne pretty, but at least I don't look like a mess. " She thought. Feeling nervous, she ran downstairs and turned on the television in the family room. Sasuke was due to arrive in a half an hour.
Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. Surprised, Sakura turned off the television and ran to the front door. Her surprise and nervousness increased when she saw just who was standing on her porch. Sasuke had just arrived, 20 minutes early, for their first tutoring session.