Shattered Glass
"Shikamaru!"
He didn't answer.
His mother stormed into the room where he was calmly reading his physics textbook and crossed her arms.
"You have to stop this."
"Studying?"
She sighed and glared at him.
"You know what I'm talking about. You can't keep living like this!" She raised her arms as though the answers to all life's questions were written in the air. "Get a job at least! All you do is stay cooped up and sulk. It isn't healthy!"
Shikamaru turned his attention back to his textbook, reading about Snell's law and the refractive index of a diamond.
His mother sighed and left the room.
He refused to speak.
O
They were passing again.
The group.
The same girl led them, a good bit ahead of the rest.
Head held high, back straight.
He couldn't deny it was impressive.
Those at the end stared longingly at her back out of admiration - or maybe envy - as she ran, paced and steady.
He stared at her with both emotions whirling inside him.
If only...
O
They didn't pass on Sundays, but a few of them still trained in the park, individually.
The girl from the front always passed twice, a few of the others appeared every once in a while.
Guess working hard pays off.
He sighed and ignored the longing feeling in the pit of his stomach.
O
"Talk to him, Shikaku, he's not okay."
"It's understandable that he feels down, Yoshino."
"That doesn't mean he should coop himself up in his room all day and not leave the house unless it's to look at the clouds. That kind of life style isn't healthy!"
A sigh sounded from the other side of the door, which Shikamaru hastily moved away from, taking out a textbook and looking at it intensely.
The door opened and his father walked in.
"Shikamaru..."
"That would be me."
"You're mother is worried."
"So I've noticed."
His father gave him a hard look before exhaling deeply and sinking down onto his son's bed.
"She isn't wrong, try to see things from her point of view. You're her only son and you're failing as a member of a social species. You aren't some fox, you're a deer. Deer move as a herd. You have a grand total of two real friends, which you only know thanks to me, and you hardly leave the house. They're the ones who visit you."
Shikamaru looked at his father, unsure of what to say.
"I know it's hard for you son, I really do, and I'm sorry that you have to live this way, but you need to realise that there's more to you then your disease. Your mother and I see that, Chouji and Ino see it. You need to too. You have to talk to people about things other than homework assignments and cloud formations."
When Shikamaru stayed silent, he sighed again.
"Get a job. It'll make you feel better."
"Troublesome..."
O
He had an address. An address for where he was to work.
His dad had given him the address along with an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry, they were the only local place that took part time work. You'll be doing administration as far as I'm aware."
Why would he apologise?
Shikamaru ran through the possibilities in his head and couldn't quite understand why.
Who was he going to work for?
He saw it. A little up ahead, a gate that opened into a long path with a small house at the end of it, surrounded by a vast expanse of lush grass.
He walked to the house and saw a small notice board outside it.
"Welcome To The Konoha Athletics Club Grounds"
The words struck him like broken glass.
He pushed his emotions aside and walked into the clubhouse.
O
"I got the job."
His mother beamed at him.
"Isn't that wonderful!"
A grunt sounded from Shikaku who was reading the newspaper in the sitting room.
"When do you start?"
"Tomorrow, half twelve. I'm in on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school and Saturday and Sunday from half twelve to three."
"It's good that you're going to go out. It'll do you the world of good."
"Sure."
Why was the world against him?
A/N: Any thoughts?
I haven't revealed Shikamaru's condition yet, but if you have any guesses, I'd love to hear them. It will become more evident in the next chapter.
I know that the chapters are fairly short at the moment, but they do get longer, I swear!
fanofthisfiction : Thanks so much for your review, I'm glad I portrayed what I was hoping to show, and I hope you'll like how the story continues.
ohud63: Thankyooooo :3 I hope you like the chapter, bean!
ayingChan: Continue indeed, thanks for the review! I hope I don't disappoint o.O
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~Lee