Konoha High
2 - Good Luck…
Amaya Shimizu
"Welcome to Konoha High." I shook Sakura-chan's hand. She points at the boy. "That's Kiba."
"Yeah. Kiba. That's me," he says, then smiles and shakes my hand, too.
"I'm Amaya."
They're both giving me that questionable expression again, but they're trying to hide it. "Sorry," Sakura says, "but umm… What are you wearing?" I look down at the random outfit I put together. "Well we just moved, so I just pulled out random clothes from the box and-" Sakura puts her finger to my lips to shut me up, then gestures for me to look around the classroom. Everyone else is wearing a uniform, and they're all staring at me. The only girl not wearing the red blazer and gray skirt and pants of this school's uniform.
"Oh…" I realize how much I must stand out from everyone else. I should have thought about that.
"Amaya, you're uniform is gonna come a little later. Sorry, but try to blend in with the red-and-gray atmosphere for a while, k?" Aiko warned me about it, yet ironically, she's the one who added to my blue-gray-black outfit.
"Since I just transferred… M-My uniform is going to come kind of late…"
"Ohh…" Kiba pats my back, "You'll be fine. Hey, class is gonna start soon, but come and hang out with some of my friends later, k? I'll introduce you to some new people."
I nodded, "Sure…" Sakura takes my arm in her hand. "And sit next to me during class." She sits down at a desk in the front and gestures to the one next to her. Uhh, no thanks. I take the seat behind her.
The teacher, Kakashi, comes into the room and takes a seat at his desk facing us. "Good morning. Sorry I'm late. I got lost on the path of life and… Well, never mind that. I see we have a new student today." He smiles at me, "Stand up and introduce yourself."
Uh oh… I stand. "I-I'm…"
"You're…?"
"-Sitting in my desk!" The boy Naruto appears in the doorway. He stomps over to me and slams his hand onto my desk. "I dunno who you are, but get out of my desk, or else…!" His serious expression starts to fade, and he bursts out laughing. "Sorry! Haha, sorry! I'm just kidding. But I kinda need my desk back."
"Sorry…" I walk to the one Sakura wanted me to sit in, since that's the only one actually empty. Naruto sits down, "Go on… You're…?"
"Amaya."
"Welcome, Amaya-san. Well excuse Naruto-kun's foolishness, let's start class," Kakashi-sensei begins reading something from a notebook which I assume has his lesson plans. Then he looks at me again. "Amaya, do you have your textbooks yet?"
I shake my head.
"Go to the office and get them, then. Here, take this," he stands from his desk and sets the note on mine. Hall Pass: New student; needs textbooks.
"Do you know where the office is?"
I shake my head.
"Well then! Umm…," he looks around the room, "Sasuke-kun! Go with her." A boy with black hair, spiked in the back, stands up. The girls are whispering to each other as he walks up the row of desks to the door. "Let's go."
I walk, quickly but awkwardly, to catch up to him. I hold the note in my right hand, and hold onto my right arm with my left. Sasuke is wearing a white t-shirt under the uniform's blazer. The design on the front is a red and white emblem outlined in black… Why does it look so familiar?
"Sasuke-san… Right?" Here we go…, I'm trying to make a friend. I'm trying to socialize.
He nods. "Uchiha. Sasuke Uchiha." No wonder the emblem looks familiar. It's the Uchiha clan's.
We walk down the stairs to the third floor.
Then the second.
Then the first.
All in complete silence. Is he always this quiet?
"Go." I almost jump when I hear his voice again. He's pointing at a door with a sign above labeled Office. I turn the knob and walk inside. "Hello," a woman with short black hair greets me. "Are you Amaya? Sorry. Your sister was in here earlier asking for the schedules. I'm Shizune."
"Yeah, I'm Amaya. I just, um…" I hand her the note. "Textbooks… Okay, give me a second," she runs into a room further into the office and comes back with a pile of at least ten books. Four books are stacked and bundled together with some rope. Junior Math, Junior Literature, Junior History & Social Studies, Junior Science. "These ones are essential," she hands me the bundle. "Now the rest of the books are just guides; extra information about Konoha High School. You can go ahead and take them, too. You should probably go to class now, so you don't miss anything important."
I try to carry all the books, but the pile is too heavy. I walk slowly to the door, trying to balance the pile. My feet hit a bump in the carpet, and as I'd expected, I'm dropping the books and outstretching my arms to avoid falling on them. But something catches me. Someone.
Sasuke is looking down at me now, but his face doesn't show even the smallest trace of concern. "Be more careful," he says sternly, then sets me on my feet. "O-Okay…" I pick up all the books, but before I can start walking again, he takes half of them.
"Why don't you put them in your bag?"
"O-Oh… Right." I look down and realize my bag isn't here. I'm such an idiot. "I-"
"-forgot it in the classroom. Whatever, come on. I don't wanna miss too much of the class." Sheesh. Sasuke is kinda harsh…
When we finally get back to the classroom, everyone stares at us, which I really hate. They're making me feel like I just killed five people and walked back like it was nothing.
"Got your books?" Kakashi-sensei asks. I hold up the bundle I have and set it on my desk. Sasuke sets the rest onto the desk as he walks back to his own.
"Okay! Well sorry, Amaya-san, but you transferred at a weird time. You'll need to do some catching up over break." Right. It's December and today's the Friday before winter break starts. "Don't worry, you didn't miss out on anything, I'm pretty sure your previous school covered all the stuff you need to know, so all you need to do over break-and this goes for all of you- is study for some exams that are coming up after break." Everyone groaned.
"Sorry guys, but it's required."
The day's going by pretty quickly. Kakashi is just finishing a quick lesson in shinobi tactics before we leave. "I know we're all at peace right now, but we need to be prepared… Just in case," he tells us. The bell rings. "K, have a nice break guys. And don't forget to study!"
"Hey Amaya!" Kiba's calling from the back of the room. "Come on. Let's go get something to eat." He walks to the door and waits for me. I put the textbooks in my bag and walk outside. "Isn't Sakura coming with us?"
He shakes his head, "Nahh."
"Why? I thought we were going with all your friends."
"She's not really a friend, I'd say more of like… Just a classmate or acquaintance."
"Oh." We're walking outside of the school now, past buildings that are all so unfamiliar to me. Kiba stops in front of a small red building with a banner in the front reading Ichiraku. "This is it," Kiba tells me.
"It's a ramen place," he says, "I decided to come here because there's one person I invited who's guaranteed to actually come." I lift the banner, which serves as a door in some way, and walk inside with Kiba.
"Yo!" Naruto turns around in his seat. "There you go," Kiba laughs and sits next to Naruto, "I told you he'd be here."
"H-Hello, Naruto-san."
"Hey. Umm…" Kiba nudges him. "Amaya-san."
"Amaya-san! Right, hey Amaya-san. What're you doing here?"
"I invited. Since she's new, I decided to help out with the introductions."
"Ahh," Naruto nods and shakes my hand. "Sorry your first impression of me isn't exactly as it awesome as it should've been, but hey, I'm Naruto Namikaze!" He seems so full of energy. He turns back around to face the man behind the counter. "Teuchi! Can you get me the usual ramen please?" The man smiles, "I know Naruto-kun, now what about you, Kiba?"
Kiba studies the menu. "Hmm… I'll take the barbeque pork ramen. Oh, Teuchi, this is Amaya. She just moved here."
"Hello," his smile is warm and welcoming. "What can I get for you today?"
"Um…"
"She'll take what I'm having," Naruto answers for me. "First time here, so make it awesome!" Teuchi nods and heads straight to the kitchen.
"Hey guys," a boy with his hair tied up in a spiky ponytail walks inside. "Am I late?"
"Nahh," Kiba said, "You're fine."
He had pierced ears, a beige-green colored shirt, and the gray uniform pants. "I brought Choji with me," he says, and as soon as he does, another boy, slightly chubbier than the others, walks in behind him. They sit next to each other on the end of the counter with Kiba.
"Again, sorry if I'm late. But being early is-"
"-such a drag," the four of them said in unison, then they all laughed.
"Signature catchphrase," the boy says, then smirks. "Oh hey," he finally notices me. "You're the new kid."
Kiba nods. "Yeah. Amaya, this is Shikamaru, and next to him is Choji."
"Hey," I say quietly.
Teuchi comes out of the kitchen balancing three bowls on a tray, then places them in front of Naruto, Kiba, and me. A younger girl with long brown hair and a white apron comes out and places two more bowls in front of Shikamaru and Choji. "I told you they'd end up being here, too," she tells Teuchi.
"Guess you're right," he laughs.
We're all eating now, Naruto eating at a faster pace than the rest of us, with Choji close behind. Now I could see why he was "guaranteed" to come. They're all talking and laughing and eating, it's making me feel a bit uncomfortable to be here; the only girl, and the only quiet one.
"I can't believe you picked another fight with him," Shikamaru mumbles over the noodles. Naruto suddenly goes silent. Is he talking about how Naruto looked beat up earlier?
"…I swear, one day…," Naruto grins. "…I'll kick Sasuke's ass for sure."
"Umm…" I'm beginning to say. Everyone's looking at me.
"Not that it's any of my business, but… Why do you hate Sasuke so much?"
Naruto looks like he's thinking about how to answer. "Well… Do you think Sasuke is…hot?"
Maybe a little… "Nope."
"Ha! Then there you go. All the girls at Konoha High are falling for that jerk, even though he doesn't care at all. I feel bad for them, but I think Sasuke needs to learn his place. Be more considerate, or something."
"Oh…" I stare into my empty bowl of ramen. Kiba stands up and walks toward me. He tugs on my wrist gently as he passes me on his way outside Ichiraku. I think I should follow him…
"Oh, um, thanks, Teuchi," I put some money on the counter and start getting up, "I'm gonna go now, it was nice meeting you all. Bye."
"Kiba, what is it?" I'm just walking under the banner and toward Kiba, who's standing outside with his arms crossed. "Well, Naruto has this rivalry with Sasuke, and he told you the truth, but there's a bit more to it that I think you should know, but he's not gonna talk about it with the other guys there."
"Yeah…?"
"So… He said something about other girls really liking Sasuke, right?" I nod. "Well, he does hate Sasuke's cockiness, but aside from that, he's just… jealous." Jealous? "You know that girl Sakura you were talking to before class?"
"Yeah."
"She likes Sasuke."
"And…?"
"Well Naruto, he likes Sakura." I see now. Naruto just wishes Sakura would notice him.
"Okay, well, I'ma go now… Parents probably don't want me to be home too late, and Akamaru probably needs me home."
"Akamaru?"
"Yeah… he's my dog. Or you could say best friend, too. I left him home for the first time today… I usually sneak him into school with me, but I almost go caught yesterday and didn't wanna risk it."
"Ahh… Okay, well bye." He starts walking away. I can hear Naruto and the others coming out of Ichiraku.
"Amaya? I thought you left," Shikamaru sounds like he doesn't care though.
"Yeah," Naruto agrees, and Choji nods. "Well we're going. So… See you tomorrow." They wave at me, and I wave back to say good-bye.
The sun is just setting, and I'm walking home alone. I hope Aiko isn't worrying about where I am.
When I finally catch sight of my house, I start running to the door. Inside, Aiko is setting up the television by the wall. She looks up from what she's doing, "Hey. Where were you?"
"Oh, out with some people."
"Friends?"
"Classmates."
"…Okay, well then, mind helping me set up the television?" I walk to where she is and hold the end opposite of where Aiko is. "Just center it on the stand… One, two, three!" We lift the TV onto its stand and for a while, we just stare at it. "Okay! Now we're one step closer to making this place our new home," she smiles.
I smile back at her, then walk to my room. On my bed, there's a blue bag on my bed with a hanger sticking through the top. I lift the bag off. The contents held within the bag are a medium-length gray skirt, a red blazer, a pair of black stockings, and black shoes. My uniform.
"Oh, yeah. Just arrived," Aiko's looking at me from my doorway. "Now you'll fit in just fine."
"Yeah…"
"Hey, help me set up the rest of the living room," she walks away, and I follow her.
We go into the garage and lift a beige couch into the living room, along with two coffee tables, two lamps, and another table to place in front of the couch.
[…]
We finally finished arranging all the stuff in the living room. Aiko's laying on the floor now, panting because of all the lifting we had to do, even though it wasn't that heavy.
"What time is it?" She asks me. I look at the clock on the wall. "About… 9:50."
"What do you want for dinner?"
"I'm actually still full… I went to eat at Ichiraku earlier."
"Okay. Well you should go sleep then so you'll wake up earlier for school."
I take the advice. I turned off the lights and lay in my bed, just now noticing how tired I am…
[…]
"Amaya!" Aiko's shouting again. "Amaya! Wake up!" I'm sitting up in bed, seemingly repeating yesterday morning.
"I'm up!" I yell back at her.
I get out of the bed and walk to the closet where I hung my uniform. I decide to wear a plain white long-sleeved button- up shirt to wear underneath the blazer, then put on the gray skirt with the black stockings and shoes.
I brush my hair, look at myself in the mirror, and try to convince myself: It's not gonna be that bad.
"Come on, Amaya!" Aiko's calling me from the front door again. I walk out of the bathroom to meet her, and we leave the house to start walking to school.
It's not gonna be that bad…