Two

Kushina Hall was utter chaos. Boys and girls everywhere were yelling, running, and pulling their suitcases to their new rooms. My family and I dragged my small, red suitcase to a large desk in the middle of the foyer, running over a couple toes on the way. The lady at the desk gave us a lipstick smeared smile and beckoned us closer.

"Name?"

"Tenten Sujihiro, piano."

She scanned the space in front of her and found a key, lanyard, card, a sheet of paper, and a music book.

"This is the key to your dorm, room 224, and your meal card. You will be rooming with Temari no Sabaku. I also gave you the chamber assignment sheet and music. Have a nice day." And with that, she shooed us away.

We walked up to the dorms, and outside the room marked 224, my parents gave me a small smile.

"Tenten, honey, this is where we take our leave."

"Call us every night, okay?"

"Don't forget your retainer."

"And practice hard!"

"And don't forget to have fun!"

And, with many kisses and hugs, my mother and father left. I was on my own for the next month.

I took a deep breath, wiped my mother's lipstick off of my cheek and forehead, turned the key, and entered my home for the next few weeks. And straight into utter chaos. One half of the room seemed fine. Clean, neat, and pretty. However, other half would put a tornado wreaked village to shame. Clothes were scattered all over the floor, the sheets were completely tangled, and sheet music was everywhere. And in the middle of it all was a girl, bent over her trunk, throwing even more things into the mess.

"Um, hi; I'm Tenten. I guess we'll be roommates for the month."

The girl started and turned around to face me. She smiled and extended a long fingered hand.

"Hi, Tente. I'm Temari, violinist. What do you play?"

"Piano." I said as I shook her hand. "Are you looking for something?"

She chuckled and nodded her head. "Yeah, they assigned everyone into a chamber orchestra, but I lost the sheet."

I smiled at her and dug through my bag for my sheet. "You mean this one?"

She grabbed it out of my hand and squealed. "Thank you! Hey, we're in the same quintet!"

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah; the Schumann Piano Quintet. There is you, me, another violinist named Shikamaru, a violist, Kiba, and the cellist, Naruto."

I smiled a bit larger; it would be nice to know someone in the group.

"Well, we should probably get going to dinner. You want to come with?"

I shook my head. "No thanks, I'm meeting with a couple friends."

She nodded and left the room. I dropped my suitcase off in the closet, grabbed my meal card and key, and left the room, taking a deep breath as I stepped into my independent life.

Running straight into Lee.

"Tenten! I was just looking for you! Do you know where Hinata and Sakura are?"

"N-no. I was j-just looking for them." I couldn't help but notice his arms around me, keeping me from falling. I lightly pushed them off, a blush tinting my face, and gave Lee a small smile. "We should probably find them."

He nodded and we went off to find the two girls.

Not two minutes later, I heard a shrill shout, "Tenten! Tenten! Over here!"

I turned around to find both Sakura and Hinata waiting by the doors, waving us over.

We walked over to the two girls, and, slipping her arm through mine, Sakura pulled me away from wandering ears.

"Tenten," She said, her voice playful, "You were blushing."

"N-no I wasn't!" My face grew red.

"You like Lee, don't you? You like him~!" She taunted.

I nervously shook my head at the pinkette. "Sakura, I have known the boy for three hours. How can I like him in that short amount of time?"

"I don't know." She pouted, "You think he's cute, you think he's funny, you think~"

"Alright. I 'like' him then. But tell anyone, and I will slaughter you, understand?"

Sakura nodded and made a zipping motion over her lips. "You got it. My lips are sealed."

I rolled my eyes at her and we ran to catch up with Hinata and Lee.

We walked the rest of the distance in a comfortable silence, finding our way to the dining hall, and settling into the surprisingly short line for the food. As we reached the front, I dug out my meal card, and the other three followed the suit. I handed the card to a tattooed woman, who gave me a glare as she swiped it, and walked into the kitchen. Inside, there were a number of choices, none of which looked healthy. There was a greasy slice of pizza, looking lonely amongst all the oily hamburgers and fries. I skipped over it, choosing to grab some pasta and cheese sauce instead. On my way out to the hall, I passed the pianist from the audition room yet again. My breath stopped as I watched him grab a Coke and walk out of the kitchen. I shook my head and continued on my way, taking a can of lemonade as I passed by the drink stand. I walked out into the large hall and slowly looked around for an empty table to sit at.

"Tenten! Tenten! Over here!"

I heard my name being called, and I whirled around to the direction of the voice, finding Lee and Hinata already sitting at a small table in a corner of the room. I glided over to them, careful not to spill my tray of food, and sat down next to Lee, who, I saw, had taken about half the food in the kitchen. His tray was piled over with hamburgers, pasta, sandwiches, cookies, and that lone pizza.

"Hungry much?" I looked up to see Sakura occupying the only empty seat at the small, four person table. Hinata let out a tinkling laugh and shook her head while Lee sputtered, and blushing, tried to defend his eating habits. I shook my head at the three. A few hours, and we were already acting like the best of friends. I turned to Hinata.

"So, how long have you been playing violin?" I asked.

She smiled, "Nine years."

"Really? Wow, I bet you're really good, huh?"

"I'm okay." She said, blushing.

"Oh, I bet you are great. I mean, you got in here, didn't you?"

She nodded, and took a bite of her food, only to spit it out a second later.

"Hinata! Are you okay?" Sakura and Lee stopped their debate, Lee still blushing at Sakura, to stare at the Violinist, who stared at her food in disgust.

"This food is absolutely the worst I have ever eaten!" She exclaimed.

"Oh, I'll bet it's not that bad," Sakura said, taking a bite out of her sandwich. She chewed, looking sick, and swallowed. "See?" She asked, her voice hoarse, "It's edible."

Curious, I sampled a bit of my pasta, regretting it almost immediately. The noodles were way undercooked, and the sauce tasted more like plastic than cheese.

"Yuck." I said, pushing the plate away from me, "That is gross."

The three of us turned to see Lee's reaction only to see him stuffing his face. He saw our disgusted faces, and shrugged.

"I'm hungry." Was all he said, spewing pieces everywhere.

Sakura gave me a disapproving look, as if to say, "Him? Really?"

I shrugged at her shrewdly, "Can't help it…"

Hinata just looked at us questioningly, and Sakura smiled at her. She would know before the night was over.

4