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From my seat in the back of the classroom, I saw Naruto rush in, his arms waving wildly as he skidded to a stop right in front of the teacher. "I apologize sensei for being late," here he bowed low, "but I was doing important stuff on the way here!"

Sensei stopped him there. "Naruto, please take the empty seat in the back," he said, pointing to the seat next to me. He watched disapprovingly until Naruto had finished jumping up the steps to plop heavily down in the chair. I groaned in my mind, knowing today was going to be a long, loooooong day. Naruto was grinning from ear to ear, leaning over towards me to whisper, "Hey! What page are we on?"

I turned my book to him without speaking so he could see the number of the page, and he nodded enthusiastically. "Thanks! And thanks for letting me sit next to you!" he whispered loudly.

I smiled at him. "You're most welcome," I said. But Naruto was staring at me so intently that my smile faltered. He seemed in a trance. "Are you ok?" I asked uncertainly. He nodded but didn't speak, only burying his nose in the textbook so that his face was hidden from me. That was strange. He never even opened his book once that whole year, let alone read it. Shaking my head, I turned back to my own textbook and focused on what sensei was teaching.

After classes, I packed my things into my small shoulder bag. Naruto piled his books and set them in his lap. Instead of rising to leave, he stared at his desk, fidgeting in his seat. I glanced at him curiously before standing and proceeding to the lower level to the classroom. He followed me down, not in his usual jumpy, wild manner, but step by step, one at a time. Sensei waited at the door for me, a smirk on his face.

"Sensei?" I asked nervously. That smirk always meant he was up to something.

"You and Naruto are now study partners," he said. He continued quickly before my brain could register what he'd said. "Since Naruto seems to work excellently when partnered with you, you two will work together during and after classes to help him keep up." And with that he rushed out of the room, leaving my mouth hanging open.

Naruto giggled behind me and put a strong, muscular arm around my shoulder. "You hear that?" he said, still smiling like a jack-o-lantern. "We're gonna be study buddies! You excited?"

I forced myself to smile at Naruto, thinking that it couldn't possibly be that bad. But Naruto did that... THING again. The staring-at-my-face thing again. I stared back, wondering what to do, when suddenly I was being engulfed by his hug, staring over his shoulder. "I'm glad we're gonna study together!" he said, his words muffled slightly. I slowly hugged him back, smiling for real at his innocence and excitement.

"Yeah," I said, giggling. "Me too."