Chapter 1
SHIKAMARU
Shikamaru pushed past the doors and sauntered into the room.
"Well isn't it Mr VP himself," Ino announced sarcastically. "Nice for you to finally join us."
He coolly ignored the shouts and hollers from the other members and made his way across the room to his favourite corner. Leaning against the window, he gestured silently with his hand for the briefing to continue.
Ino rolled her eyes and continued to speak, "As I was saying, the transfers are coming today and we need to be on our best behaviour! This is a big deal for our school…"
He had skimmed the brief on his way here. There were 3 kids coming over from some preppy boarding school out in the middle of nowhere. A jock, an artist and a musician - each of them were academic superstars. And it was up to the student council to show them a good time while they stayed in the college dorms for a semester.
This was a big deal for the college because it would hopefully be the first of many future transfer programmes. Transfer students would get to enjoy the world-class facilities that Konoha College had to offer. In turn, the college could add to their repertoire more opportunities for their students, which of course, translated into higher school fees. All in all a great deal for everyone, except the Student Council which had to take on more work.
And if it was one thing that Shikamaru did not enjoy, was more work.
"You could even say we need to impress our Suna-stars…" Ino said, sporting a comical smile.
As Shikamaru expected, her terrible pun was met with collective groans and boos. As Ino furiously defended the joke that she'd spent all night on, Shikamaru could only smile as he looked over the Council members. Having grown up with them, he knew each one of them inside out.
Sitting in the back row were Kiba and Shino, the Clubs & Societies Officers, laughing at some dirty picture on Kiba's phone. At least, Kiba was laughing. Shino appeared embarrassed and was shaking his head in disappointment at his friend. The two were opposites in appearance and personality, but they complemented each other perfectly. Also - the only way they could get any work done was when they were paired together. The two of them shared one brain cell and fortunately, that brain cell got along with the student club leaders.
Next to them was Sasuke. It didn't concern Shikamaru that Sasuke also came from a family of hugely controversial politicians nor did Shikamaru care that Sasuke was the other genius on campus. Despite his popularity stemming from his good-looks, Sasuke was cold, reserved and kind of a grouch. Shikamaru only cared that he was a competent Public Relations Officer and he helped the Council when needed.
Behind Sasuke was the Secretary, Sakura. To call her a powerhouse would be an understatement. She was the top medical student in her cohort and handpicked protege of world-renown Dr. Tsunade. Unforunately, she was what Ino described as "unlucky and pathetic in romance". Right now, as the first council meeting was running, Sakura was writing Sasuke's name all over her notepad with hearts. Shikamaru couldn't help but scoff, reiterating to himself that romance was a troublesome and debilitating burden. It got in the way of an easy life.
Speaking of romance, across from Sakura was Hinata. Hinata would've made a great fit for Public Relations, better than Sasuke even. She was beautiful, kind and also came from an obscenely rich and successful family dynasty. But she was painfully shy. If she didn't have the biggest, most insane all-consuming unrequited crush on a certain blonde in the room, she might not have even applied for the role. Luckily she did because Shikamaru didn't know who else he'd trust with the Council's finances. Her trustworthiness made her the perfect Council Treasurer.
Which brings us to the aforementioned blonde who led the Konoha College Student Council: Naruto Uzumaki. He was the biggest name on campus and one of the best football captains their College had ever seen. Despite his phenomenal stamina, the poor kid couldn't sit in a classroom for 5 minutes without dozing off. He was most likely asleep at the front of the classroom right now. Shikamaru had been covering for him ever since they were kids, and judging from the way Naruto's head dropped to the table, Shikamaru would have to brief him on what happened in today's meeting... as usual...
Flaws and all, Shikamaru's friends were perfect to him because they hadn't changed much from when they were kids.
If only things could just stay like this, he thought to himself. Simple. Predictable. Easy.
Nothing lasts forever, Shikamaru.
Ignoring the voice at the back of his mind, his eyes moved to look out the window. There were barely any clouds in the sky. Grey and dull, the sky looked empty.
You could do so much more, Shikamaru. You need to ask yourself: what do you want from life?
He shook his head, trying to get that voice out of his head.
What did he want from life? He hated that question. Questions like that required a lot of hard work because it led to a lot more questions. And if he started questioning everything now, he might lose track of the moment and wake up stuck behind some desk job until the end - like his dad…
Ino's voice pulled him back to reality, "Shikamaru, thanks so much for volunteering!"
"What?" He asked aloud.
"Okay, bye everyone! Next meeting we'll discuss the Fall Festival so be ready for that."
"Ino, hold on, what did you volunteer me for?" He pressed again. Everyone else in the room began packing up their stuff to leave among the bustle, he pressed again, "Ino? This meeting hasn't concluded yet."
Without even looking his way, Ino elbowed Naruto," Meeting's over. Right, Pres?"
Naruto woke up with a snore. "Oh yeah, great meeting. Thanks for leading, Ino. Everyone just listen to Ino, alright?" Naruto got up to leave, but Ino pushed him back into his seat. "Actually, there was some issue with the Fall Festival budget. You'll need to go over some things with Hinata."
Naruto sat up with a yawn, stretching his arms over his head as he nodded. Ino moved out the way and Hinata appeared from behind her. The dark-haired heiress sat beside Naruto.
"Hello, Naruto," Hinata said in her usual whisper.
Naruto flashed his million-dollar grin at her, "Hey, Hinata. You look nice today."
Disgusting, Shikamaru thought to himself as he glimpsed the pair fawn over each other.
Shikamaru raced out the room before he could hear more of their conversation. He chased after Ino and again questioned her, "Ino, you got to be joking about volunteering right?"
Shikamaru hated the idea of working for free. Ino knew this. Ino knew everything about him. Since they were kids, she was one of the few who could read him like a book. There was no hiding from Ino Yamanaka, that woman could read minds.
"It'll be good for you, Shikamaru," Ino told him plainly, not stopping in her pace, "Show your pretty face around campus, let the College know it's Vice-President cares enough to do his damn job and he's not some lazy guy who just smokes behind buildings."
Shikamaru opened his mouth in a playful gasp, "Ouch. C'mon, Ino be serious."
Ino stopped walking and stood firmly in her place. Her face was certainly serious as she told him,"It'll be good for you, Shikamaru. Do something more than the bare minimum for once, you just might enjoy it!"
With a sigh, Shikamaru reluctantly nodded. "Fine."
Ino's face broke out in joy. "Perfect!" she exclaimed. She pushed a file into his arms, "Just give them a simple tour of the facilities and put on your best smile!" Ino poked his cheeks. Then in a low and deadly tone she spoke, "And don't ruin this, Shikamaru. Don't lose them. Don't kill them. Just a tour and give them their keys."
Shikamaru gulped.
Then she turned and skipped away.
Shikamaru could only look dumbly at the file Ino had jammed into his hand. It felt thicker than it needed to be. Three kids from the desert - how tough could it be? It's not like he needed to read through it again. Then he heard some chatter and giggles from the room. He imagined Naruto and Hinata fawning over each other in the Student Council meeting room.
Troublesome…