Chapter One
An average kid wakes up when their mom gets them up, and breakfast will be
waiting for them along with a smile or maybe a hug. I wake up early. I get myself ready
and start making breakfast. I make sure Mom is in her bed so I don’t have to worry about waking her. I heat up some oatmeal and fry up some bacon. By the time I get the bacon done, Itsuki has woken up to the smells. Hana can sleep through anything though, so I don’t have to worry about her. I make sure Itsuki eats all of his oatmeal and bacon. I give him the same lecture Father used to give me when I didn’t want to finish my milk.
Me: Itsuki, if you want to be a strong ninja, you have to drink your milk. If you don’t, then your bones will be easier to break if you get in a fight.
Itsuki rolls his eyes and drinks down the rest of the milk. I tell him to go comb his hair and brush his teeth while I take care of the dishes. I left the oatmeal on the stove so it can be heated up easily for Mom and Hana. The extra bacon goes in the microwave. After I brush my hair and teeth, I leave a note for Mom telling her where breakfast is because
Hana is bound to wake up soon and Mom won’t be in any shape to cook. Itsuki is ready to go to school and I am too.
Itsuki and I have a special bond as brother and sister. We’ve grown really close over the last year and a half. As soon as we got the news that Father won’t be coming home ever, Itsuki and I knew we would have to take care of Mom. He knew I would have to be in charge of him and Hana but we didn’t think it would be this long. Mom should be back to normal by now. I still shouldn’t have to be doing the grocery shopping and Itsuki should be more worried about if he will be stronger than his friends someday than worrying about if Mom will come out of her bedroom.
We get to school and I give him a hug before we split off into our different class rooms. He doesn’t hug back because he knows his friends are watching, but I know he wants to.
Class is torture. Not the learning part, I make sure I do well in my studies. I don’t want to make Mom worry about me when she doesn’t have to. It’s the other kids. They know my mom has a problem so they use it against me. They say that I won’t be any good because I’m weak just like my mom. They make stupid mocking impressions of her drinking the bad water and then they act like they’re drunk. Mom won’t tell me what her drinks are called, other than bad water. But I do know the word ‘drunk’ because that’s what the adults in town call my mom as she passes by. The teacher tries to be as defensive as possible with me but sometimes, I act out and I have to be told to sit in the hall for a few minutes. Recess is the best time of day. The kids in my class are too busy playing and practicing their shinobi skills to be bothered with bothering me. So I sit by a tree and I read.
My father loved to read; we have more books than I’m able to count and he read them all. He said he started collecting books when he first learned how to read. So he taught me and I love it. It makes me feel closer to my father with every page.
Today was different though. I was reading and I hear a rustle in the leaves right next to me. And then a crunch. I look over and I see the silver spikey haired kid from my class sitting and reading too.
Me: Why are you mocking me here? No one’s watching you, so you might as well just leave.
Kid: What? Oh, no, I was really just reading here. I see you read here every day and you always look like you’re having fun. But, if you want me to leave, I can. I’m sorry I disturbed you.
He got up and started to walk away. Immediately I felt alone again. I didn’t want to be mean to him. And I didn’t want him to give the other kids another reason to hate me.
Me: No, wait…you can read here with me. I don’t mind.
He turns around and I see his face for the first time. Well, sort of. He’s wearing a mask that covers up to the bridge of his nose. But his eyes are friendly and warm. He comes back and sits by me again, takes out his book and continues reading. We stay like this, reading silently together, for the next ten minutes until the bell rings. We all line up, do a role call and go back in to start class up again. Before we go in, the masked kid turns back to me.
Kid: It was nice reading with you. You’re not a bad person like everyone says. My name’s Kakashi Hatake.
I was left speechless. I didn’t know someone could think differently of me. From what I could see, he smiled at me and then he went into class. It took me a few seconds before I came to and went back inside.
Let me know what you guys think but that's the end of Chapter 1!
An average kid wakes up when their mom gets them up, and breakfast will be
waiting for them along with a smile or maybe a hug. I wake up early. I get myself ready
and start making breakfast. I make sure Mom is in her bed so I don’t have to worry about waking her. I heat up some oatmeal and fry up some bacon. By the time I get the bacon done, Itsuki has woken up to the smells. Hana can sleep through anything though, so I don’t have to worry about her. I make sure Itsuki eats all of his oatmeal and bacon. I give him the same lecture Father used to give me when I didn’t want to finish my milk.
Me: Itsuki, if you want to be a strong ninja, you have to drink your milk. If you don’t, then your bones will be easier to break if you get in a fight.
Itsuki rolls his eyes and drinks down the rest of the milk. I tell him to go comb his hair and brush his teeth while I take care of the dishes. I left the oatmeal on the stove so it can be heated up easily for Mom and Hana. The extra bacon goes in the microwave. After I brush my hair and teeth, I leave a note for Mom telling her where breakfast is because
Hana is bound to wake up soon and Mom won’t be in any shape to cook. Itsuki is ready to go to school and I am too.
Itsuki and I have a special bond as brother and sister. We’ve grown really close over the last year and a half. As soon as we got the news that Father won’t be coming home ever, Itsuki and I knew we would have to take care of Mom. He knew I would have to be in charge of him and Hana but we didn’t think it would be this long. Mom should be back to normal by now. I still shouldn’t have to be doing the grocery shopping and Itsuki should be more worried about if he will be stronger than his friends someday than worrying about if Mom will come out of her bedroom.
We get to school and I give him a hug before we split off into our different class rooms. He doesn’t hug back because he knows his friends are watching, but I know he wants to.
Class is torture. Not the learning part, I make sure I do well in my studies. I don’t want to make Mom worry about me when she doesn’t have to. It’s the other kids. They know my mom has a problem so they use it against me. They say that I won’t be any good because I’m weak just like my mom. They make stupid mocking impressions of her drinking the bad water and then they act like they’re drunk. Mom won’t tell me what her drinks are called, other than bad water. But I do know the word ‘drunk’ because that’s what the adults in town call my mom as she passes by. The teacher tries to be as defensive as possible with me but sometimes, I act out and I have to be told to sit in the hall for a few minutes. Recess is the best time of day. The kids in my class are too busy playing and practicing their shinobi skills to be bothered with bothering me. So I sit by a tree and I read.
My father loved to read; we have more books than I’m able to count and he read them all. He said he started collecting books when he first learned how to read. So he taught me and I love it. It makes me feel closer to my father with every page.
Today was different though. I was reading and I hear a rustle in the leaves right next to me. And then a crunch. I look over and I see the silver spikey haired kid from my class sitting and reading too.
Me: Why are you mocking me here? No one’s watching you, so you might as well just leave.
Kid: What? Oh, no, I was really just reading here. I see you read here every day and you always look like you’re having fun. But, if you want me to leave, I can. I’m sorry I disturbed you.
He got up and started to walk away. Immediately I felt alone again. I didn’t want to be mean to him. And I didn’t want him to give the other kids another reason to hate me.
Me: No, wait…you can read here with me. I don’t mind.
He turns around and I see his face for the first time. Well, sort of. He’s wearing a mask that covers up to the bridge of his nose. But his eyes are friendly and warm. He comes back and sits by me again, takes out his book and continues reading. We stay like this, reading silently together, for the next ten minutes until the bell rings. We all line up, do a role call and go back in to start class up again. Before we go in, the masked kid turns back to me.
Kid: It was nice reading with you. You’re not a bad person like everyone says. My name’s Kakashi Hatake.
I was left speechless. I didn’t know someone could think differently of me. From what I could see, he smiled at me and then he went into class. It took me a few seconds before I came to and went back inside.
Let me know what you guys think but that's the end of Chapter 1!
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