/ ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER / 6
The day started out like any other day, Naruto woke up and stretched slowly enjoying the pull on his muscles, before sitting up and throwing his legs over the side of the bed. Pushing himself to his feet, Naruto ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair and sighed. He hated having to get up and get ready for school. Some days were harder than others, but every day sucked when you were getting picked on.
Reaching over to the bedside table, he grabbed his phone and sent a quick text to his best friend, Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke had been his best friend for years, but recently due to the loss of Sasuke's parents by some insane nut job, Sasuke had started to distance himself from Naruto and everyone else he was friends with. Naruto wasn't going to lie and say he wasn't worried about his friend, he'd never seen Sasuke so depressed in his life, and he hoped that once Sasuke got through this, he wouldn't ever have to see it again. He wanted everything to go back to normal for Sasuke, but how was that going to happen when your world came crashing down and there was no way to fix it?
Naruto
Just checking in on you, are you going to be at school today?
Sasuke
Probably not. I'm not feeling well this morning.
Naruto
I'm sorry. Did you want me to get your school work for you? I'll drop it off after school.
Sasuke's older brother Itachi Uchiha, who was now Sasuke's guardian hated Naruto's guts and Naruto didn't know why. Naruto had always tried to stay out of Itachi's way, but that wasn't always easy.
Sasuke
If you don't mind. Itachi will probably be at work.
Naruto
Your brother hates me but I don't mind dealing with him to help you out.
Sasuke
Don't worry about him. He's as harmless as they come unless you have committed a crime. I'm with you too much for that to ever happen.
Naruto
You're more my concern than Itachi is. He can figure his own shit out.
Sasuke
I wish he would. Cause sometimes having him breath down my neck is driving me crazy.
Naruto
Not to sound like the devil's advocate, but he only wants what's best for you.
Sasuke
I know but sometimes I just want some space. I need to be able to figure some things out for myself.
Naruto
Itachi will figure that out sooner or later. Hopefully sooner, but I do believe that he wants what is best for you.
Sasuke
Sometimes I wonder. We haven't been getting along that well lately. Maybe it's because of all the stress he's under at work trying to find who had our parents killed and then trying to deal with his own grief. I don't know, I hate that we're in this situation to begin with.
Naruto
If there is anything that I can do for you. Just let me know, I would be glad to help out in any way that I can.
Sasuke
I appreciate it, but you might want to focus on your grades for a little bit. I know you and I know you are having some trouble in your classes.
Naruto
I can't help it. I have trouble reading sometimes, the letters get all mixed up and it gives me a headache to look at it.
Sasuke
Have you tried talking to your parents about it?
Naruto
Yes, but they are both so busy and by the time they get home they are too tired to have much of a conversation.
His parents were doctors, his mother was a brain tumor specialist and his father was a trauma doctor and worked in the emergency room. When they were home together it was pretty rare, so his parents liked to spend as much time as possible together even though they both worked at the same hospital. Most people would think that they were neglectful of Naruto, but he didn't think so. His parents worked hard and deserved whatever time off together that they could get.
Sasuke
They should still make time for you. You are a part of the family too.
Naruto
I know. I just don't want to bother them, when they already have so much on their plate.
Sasuke
What if there is something seriously wrong with you? You could be dyslexic or something. I've heard of that.
Naruto
I guess it's possible, but I'll do what I always do and try to survive.
He tried to stay out of trouble at school, he didn't need the principle to call either of his parents at work. These days though it took all of his focus to not get into trouble, kids liked to make fun of him and call him illiterate when he had trouble reading out loud in class. Not a single person stopped to think that perhaps there was a reason that Naruto had trouble reading so he was left struggling.
Sasuke
You should be able to do more than just survive. Have you talked to Mr. Umino, I'm sure if you explained that you were having trouble with reading he would do something to help you out. There has to be some sort of test or something to figure out what's going on.
Naruto
It's kind of embarrassing to admit at thirteen years of age that I can barely read. That tells me I've only passed because no one wants to deal with me.
That hurt Naruto deep down, that no one cared to see that he was struggling physically and emotionally. It made him wonder sometimes if anyone would care if he even lived or died. He hated to admit it, but more people showed that they cared about what Sasuke was dealing with than what Naruto had to live with everyday.
Sasuke
It might be but sometimes you need to admit that you need a little help. You can't keep going through this on your own. The teachers might just be passing you to get rid of you, but those teachers need to get in trouble because it's their job to teach every student not just those that are easier to teach.
Naruto
You might have a point. But I don't see anything changing. Not unless you can magically convince people to give a damn. I guess I should probably get ready to go to that hellhole they call Konoha Middle School.
Sasuke
Keep in mind what I said. There has to be someone in that school that wants to see you succeed.
Naruto
Not so sure about that, but I'll try to keep that in mind.
Naruto wasn't sure that there was anyone in that school that would want to help him. Even Mr. Umino who seemed to notice that Naruto struggled more than most, didn't seem interested in helping keep Naruto out of embarrassing situations. Shaking his head, Naruto dropped his phone to the bed, before walking over to this closest and grabbing an orange shirt and a pair of black shorts. He didn't care how bad he stuck out, he just wanted someone to care more than they did and to notice that Naruto had a hard time with certain things.
One day, Naruto wasn't going to have to struggle, one day things would be alright with the world. Naruto just wasn't sure when that day would be, he wanted things to be okay now. He didn't want to have to struggle every single moment for a piece of what other kids didn't have to struggle for. Naruto didn't care for school, but that didn't mean he wanted to look like an idiot and fail every single class he was taking. Which he currently was, and it was all because he had trouble reading. He wished someone would open their eyes before he opened his mouth and screamed. One day, everyone would realize that Naruto had some real problems, and those problems couldn't actually be blamed on him. It wasn't his fault that he struggled with reading and seeing letters in the correct order.
#
At school, Naruto shifted his backpack onto his shoulder and shoved his hand into his pockets. He didn't know what today would hold, but he was certain that it was bound to be as miserable as every other day.
Entering the school building, Naruto walked past the main office and headed down the hall to his first class of the dsay, which just happened to be Iruka Umino's class, reading. Naruto hated it, but he tried his best to make sense of the words that appeared on a page, but it wasn't always easy.
Entering the classroom, Naruto found a desk close to the front of the room and sat down, he wasn't surprised to see Mr. Umino was already there and working on something on the computer. Naruto sighed and stared down at his desk, he should probably send a text to his parents to let them know that he'd made it to school alright. But sending a text was just as challenging as reading a book and Naruto tried to avoid that as much as tried to avoid reading after school. Talking to Sasuke was the only exception to the rule, he knew that Sasuke wouldn't make fun of him for the many spelling mistakes that would be found in the text messages.
"Mr. Umino, can I talk to you for a second?" Naruto asked quietly looking up. It would be best for Naruto to ask his teacher about his reading issues before the classroom filled with students.
"Yes?" The brown haired teacher with a scar across his nose replied, turning away from the computer to look at him.
"I think you know that I struggle with reading." Naruto said quietly. "I have a hard time seeing letters in the order that they should appear. I was wondering if it would be possible if there was some sort of testing that could be done to figure out why I have so much trouble. I don't want to end up failing 7th grade because I have trouble reading."
"What do you think is going on?" The teacher asked. "And why do you think you need testing?"
"I don't see letters in the order they are supposed to be in, or at least I'm pretty sure they aren't supposed to be in that order. Nothing ever looks right." Naruto told him. "It's one of the reasons I don't like reading out loud in class, because everyone thinks that I don't know how to read. Sasuke mentioned that it's possible that I'm dyslexic, I just want to know if that's what's going on or not. I feel like there is something wrong with me, and I hate that feeling."
"It does sound like you might have dyslexia." Iruka said quietly. "Have you brought this up to your parents?"
"You know who my parents are right?" Naruto asked. "They aren't home very much because they are almost always working."
"I can talk to someone about your situation." Iruka replied. "But I can't do much without your parents permission." Naruto nodded, he figured that would be the case as much as he hated to admit it.
"I can try to talk to them and see if they can't give you or the school a call." Naruto murmured. "But I wouldn't hold much hope of that being anytime soon."
"You know it's not so much as a simple test, but a group of tests performed by different people. You'll need cognitive testing, reading and a few others." Iruka told him.
"I would think that you've already witnessed the reading part, I can barely get the words out." Naruto muttered, frowning as students started filling the desks beside him. He heaved a sigh, he wasn't going to discuss this case in front of them, he didn't need to give them any more reason to bully him.
"I'll see what I can do to help you, but without your parents permission it might not be too much." Iruka replied. Naruto nodded, he supposed that was all he could hope for it might take a little while, but maybe he would finally have some answers as to why he struggled so much more than his classmates.
"Hey, Naruto." A pink-haired teenager called out as she sat in the desk next to him. "How are you?"
"I'm alright." Naruto answered with a small smile. He liked Sakura, he used to think that he had a crush on her, but she had a crush on Sasuke so he backed off.
"Have you heard from Sasuke?" Sakura asked and Naruto nodded. "When is he going to be coming back to school?" Sasuke had been out of school since his parents had been found murdered in their home, after Sasuke had returned home from spending the weekend at his brother's house.
"Soon, I think." Naruto told her. "I talked to him this morning. He wasn't feeling very well."
"He's probably stressed, I can't imagine what a nightmare that must have been for him, finding his parents like that." Sakura said shaking her head. "My heart goes out to him. He's got a lot to deal with."
"Yeah, he does, but he always seems to do well under pressure." Naruto pointed out. "Much better than either of us."
"You do have a point. I don't think I could accomplish half the things that he's accomplished and not be stressed by what everyone else expects of me." Sakura said, frowning at Naruto. Something was bothering her friend, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"Are you okay?" Sakura asked. "You seem kind of quiet today, which isn't like you. You're always loud and obnoxious."
"I don't try to be." Naruto told her. "Sometimes I have a lot of energy today is not that day."
"I get that." Sakura replied. "Is there something on your mind."
"I think I have something wrong with me." Naruto admitted. "You know I have a hard time reading, but it's not because I don't know how to read."
"I know, you struggle with reading a lot." Sakura said. "That's okay though because no one is perfect."
"I think I might have something called dyslexia." Naruto told her. "Sasuke was telling me about it this morning, and I think he's right. It's a miracle he can even read my text messages, I'm sure they look strange sometimes."
"Even if you are, that doesn't mean that you are any less of a person." Sakura pointed out. "You are an amazing person, one of the kindest and sweetest people I know, who would do anything for anyone. Don't let anyone make you feel like you are less of a person because you have a learning disability or might have a learning disability. That doesn't change who you are on the inside."
"I'm glad you think so, but we both know this school doesn't care." Naruto told her. "I'm just another student, one that no one actually cares if they pass or not."
"That's pretty sad. Teachers are paid to care about all their students not just certain ones." Sakura shook her head. "I don't think I'll ever understand people."
"Me neither. I just want to be like everyone else." Naruto murmured. "I don't want to have to struggle so much just to do what someone else can do easily."
"I can understand that." Sakura said. "I don't know what I can do, but I can try to help you out as much as possible."
"I would appreciate it." Naruto murmured. "I'm tired of looking like an idiot."
"It's not your fault." Sakura told him. "And if anyone keeps making fun of you. I'll introduce them to my fist. You don't deserve to be made fun of for something that's out of your control."
Naruto swallowed hard, he was glad that he had made the friends that he had. He didn't know what he would do without Sakura and Sasuke in his life. Probably be as miserable and more depressed than ever. Suicide would probably be an option, but he wasn't going to worry about that, he had Sakura and Sasuke to deal with whatever was going to happen.
"I miss Sasuke." Naruto admitted to Sakura. "I can't imagine what he must be feeling right now."
"I do too." Sakura said. "His life won't ever be the same again, but we can always be there for him."
"I have every intention of doing so even if Itachi doesn't like it." Naruto told her.
"Itachi doesn't like anyone so I wouldn't worry about him too much." Sakura replied. "I think as a police officer he sees too much bad in people cause he has to see the kind of things that people are capable of and he takes it out on everyone around him."
"That's as reasonable an excuse as any." Naruto told her. "I wouldn't have thought of that."
"I don't think people consider how difficult being a cop can be." Sakura replied. "It doesn't excuse his behavior towards you but it does make it make more sense."
"It doesn't matter his reasoning. He's not keeping me from being friends with Sasuke, we've been best friends since we were toddlers, he's not going to change that now."
"Yeah, I wouldn't want to give up that many years of friendship either, but sometimes you need to make things easier on yourself." Sakura pointed out.
Naruto nodded and sighed, he would be there for Sasuke as much as Sasuke would allow him too, Sasuke had enough pride to choke a horse, but Naruto refused to let him go through this hell by himself.
"I just want things to settle down for him." Naruto confessed. "I want him to be able to find some peace with what happened, I know that might take him a long time, but I'm willing to be there for him if he'll let me."
"It's going to take a long time for him to even come to terms with finding his parents dead." Sakura said. "I don't think he'll ever be the same as he was before."
"I'll accept what I can get." Naruto replied. "I'm not willing to walk away just because he's going through a difficult time."
"That's probably why you've stayed friends for so long." Sakura said. "You've always been a strong support system for him."
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Naruto replied, shutting up as Iruka stood up and walked in front of his desk and leaned back against it.
As he sat there, struggling to pay attention to what the teacher was saying, Naruto got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, something was going to happen, something bad but he didn't know how to put his finger on it.