The Academy hallway smelled like chalk dust, floor wax, and the frantic energy of thirty kids who had been forced to sit still for six hours.
I stood by the sliding door, trying to perform a linguistic miracle.
"It's Sylvie," I insisted, tapping my chest with my index finger.
Shikamaru was leaning against the wall, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. He looked like he wanted to be a cloud, or at least somewhere where people weren't shouting.
"He isn't gonna get it," Shikamaru sighed, staring at the ceiling. "He can barely spell his own name. Give it up."
"I am not giving up," I said stubbornly. I turned back to the blonde boy in the orange goggles. "Syl-vie. With a V."
Naruto squinted at me. His face was scrunching up, looking like his brain was overheating inside his skull.
"Shi..." Naruto started, tilting his head. "Shi-ru..."
Ino, who was waiting for Choji to retrieve a bag of chips he'd 'accidentally' left under his desk, covered her mouth. "You're breaking him!" she giggled.
"Shi-ru... bii?" Naruto tried, looking hopeful.
"No," I groaned. "Not 'Bii'. 'Vvvv'. You have to bite your lip. Like a bee buzzing. Vvvvvvie."
I demonstrated, exaggerating the movement. Top teeth on bottom lip. Vibration. It was a sound that didn't naturally exist in this language, a relic of a place I didn't want to go back to but whose alphabet I apparently refused to let go of.
Naruto leaned in. He tried to mimic me. He bit his lip way too hard, puffed out his cheeks, and turned a alarming shade of pink.
He looked like a constipated pufferfish.
"Pfft," Shikamaru snorted.
Naruto exhaled, giving up.
"Shirubii," he decided firmly. "That's too hard. It makes my mouth feel weird. It's too long."
He paused. He looked at me, tapping his chin in a pantomime of deep thought.
Then, a wicked, fox-like grin split his face.
"I'm gonna call you... Shiri."
I froze.
The hallway noise seemed to drop away.
Ino's face turned bright red. Her shoulders started shaking.
Shikamaru didn't even say anything. He just pushed off the wall, put his hands behind his head, and started walking away.
Nope, his body language screamed. Not touching this.
I stared at Naruto. I knew enough of the local language by now. I knew exactly what he had just said.
"Did you..." My eye twitched. "Did you just call me 'Butt'?"
Ino broke.
"PWAHAHAHA!" She doubled over, clutching her stomach. "Shiri-chan! Oh my god!"
Shikamaru stopped walking for a fraction of a second. "Keh."
"Hey! Shiri-chan! Wait up!" Naruto yelled, clearly delighted by the reaction, even if he didn't quite get why Ino was crying with laughter.
"MY NAME IS NOT BUTT, YOU WHISKERED MENACE!" I screamed.
Naruto cackled, realizing he had struck gold. He took off running down the hall, dodging a first-year student.
I chased him. I was going to strangle the protagonist. It was going to be a short series.
Iruka-sensei stuck his head out of the classroom door, looking exhausted. The scar across his nose crinkled in confusion.
"What just happened?"
Behind him, the classroom was quiet.
Sasuke Uchiha walked out. He moved slowly, his hands buried in his pockets, his gaze fixed on the floorboards.
He looked up for a second. He watched Naruto running, watched me chasing him, watched Ino wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.
The late afternoon sun caught the Uchiha crest on his back. It looked heavy.
Sasuke didn't smile. He didn't roll his eyes. He just balled his hands into fists inside his pockets, turned his back on the noise, and walked the other way into the shadows.