On the morning of the third day, chairs became the most troublesome things.
Desks would not walk off on their own, blackboards would not tilt by themselves, and the papers on the windowsill generally behaved as long as little stones held them down. Chairs were different. When someone sat down, a chair slid back; when someone stood up, it blocked the aisle. Kiyo said chairs were like wood with minds of their own. Naruto said chairs just wanted to move around a little. After hearing them out, Iruka-sensei made the whole class stand.
"Today, we're practicing putting chairs back in place," he said.
Naruto looked down at his chair. "Isn't it already right here?"
"Being here doesn't mean being in its place."
Naruto was not entirely convinced. He pushed his chair in, and its back struck the edge of the desk with a clack.
Iruka-sensei looked at him.
Naruto immediately pulled the chair out a little.
Now he had pulled it out too far.
Beside him, Kiyo held back his laughter until his shoulders shook. Naruto glared at him. "You do it."
Kiyo immediately took half a step back. "I'm on the observation team."
"Didn't you know all about it a second ago?"
"Knowing and doing are two different things."
Iruka-sensei had them practice in groups. Che and Sasuke were still paired together, responsible for the chairs in the two rows by the windows. When Sasuke stood, his chair barely made a sound. He reached out and pushed its back inward, stopping half an inch beneath the edge of the desk. That half inch was just right: it neither blocked the aisle nor let the chair back hit the desk.
Che glanced at it.
"Have you practiced this?"
Sasuke did not look at him. "We have to put chairs back