Monday dawned with Kakashi arriving early and making a beeline past his room and to the office. From there he went to the faculty room, to the mailroom, and finally to the storeroom in the back of Ibiki's office. No doubt the scarred man's intimidating presence, in combination with his hidden office deterred any students from ever thinking of going into that back storeroom.

Back there was a small mountain of storage bins, each filled with the necessary materials for the state tests. Today was the first sessions of Math and Reading. Two math, two reading comprehension, vocabulary, social studies, science, and a make up across four days. The first four periods of the day were devoted to the state tests, and the last three periods were business as usual. The Team and all agreed that trying to cover material was ridiculous, and so they decided to make the week about nice, boring, humdrum documentaries and videos paired with worksheets. If the students fell asleep, well, nobody was collecting the worksheets.

Kakashi thrummed through the bins, their large sizes precluding the really tiny labels that had the teacher names on them. Finally finding it, he grabbed his bin and carried it off to his room. Popping the lid open, he filtered through the materials: two boxes of number two pencils, small plastic protractors and rulers, the test booklets, and the answer booklets, and note cards of handy formulae.

The state, well, the nation, was paranoid about cheating. Not that anyone could blame them, the occasional selling of answers online had popped up from time to time. There was also the issue of "fairness." Each student got exactly the same issue rulers, factory designed, same rulers, etc. There were exactly enough tests for the assigned room and no more. As Kakashi flipped through the material, he also found the teacher booklet, providing the instruction for what was expected of him, the dialog he was supposed to recite, etc.

State tests held a mixed opinion for Kakashi. Assess a student? Sure, there was even some benefit to standardized tests because they were, point of fact, standardized. To quote an old college friend, it was a tool, a hammer. You could use it to build a house, or you could use it to smash somebody's head in.

Obviously, politicians preferred the latter.

For one, there was how the data was compared, Asuma's complaint. The seventh grade scores might improve this year, but it had nothing to do with the teachers or the curriculum, it was because a different sampling of students was taking the test; no statistician in their right mind would do something so stupid. Far better to compare this year's eighth grade to last years seventh grade and see if there was improvement. But no, that made too much friggin' sense, Sudoku-sama would say.

There was also the accountability; this was Gai's complaint. If the students failed, then naturally it was because the teachers had failed, say politicians. A kid just getting off the boat from Mexico and not knowing a lick of English being asked to take the test three days later, or a kid who didn't sleep the previous night because s/he was packing and unpacking their bags depending on which parent was screaming at them as the adults argued, kids who were suffering from the flue, all those bad grades were of course the teacher's fault for not teaching the kid properly.

Then there was Adequately Yearly Progress, Kurenai's bone of contention, the combination of Asuma's and Gai's complaints. Comparing the data wrong and not taking into account extenuating circumstances, schools were naturally expected to get better and better every year, eventually reaching 100% - meaning every single student would pass and No Child would be Left Behind. It was nice in principle, idyllic even, but just not realistic.

There was also the not-quite recent special-education quirk, i.e. Iruka's complaint. The whole purpose of special education was to modify material to be appropriate for their intellectual or physical or emotional ability. But no, that's not fair, of course, they should get the same test as everyone else and lower the school grade and make things harder for the schools that are struggling to do what they're told.

There was also the "reward" system, meaning many high school students absolutely had to pass the state tests in order to graduate. Schools that failed to conform to the ever increasing AYP would be put on notice, and parents could bus their kids to another school; it was all one big complicated excuse to put smart kids, wealthy (and probably white) kids in one school to ensure they kept their accreditation, while the rest were shuffled around the schools that were closing left and right because of poorer performance. To add insult to injury, a rumor that had started flittering around since January was that some schools and districts had taken to paying a teacher according to how well their students passed the state tests. Half the grade failed last year? Well, you can expect a pay cut now. Everybody got proficient? Bonus for you!

While Kakashi doubted that actually happened, he knew damn well that's where the country was headed. He resolved to go to Canada when that happened.

Having everything he needed, he pulled out his teacher's book and put the lid back on. He was now officially banned from leaving the room without locking his door, so he did so and wandered across the hall to Iruka.

"Another fun week of testing the hell out of students," he said lightly.

"Don't even get me started," Iruka said. "I want to sue it all like Connecticut did, but heaven forbid I should go against the government, we'd all be deemed anti-American or some other load of crap. Remind me again why politics has anything to do with education?"

"Because they want the youth of their nation properly brainwashed instead of free thinking and capable of expressing themselves in all forms!" Gai had entered the room.

"They do say most teachers are democrats," Kakashi added mildly.

There wasn't really much to say, however, because the students were beginning to arrive.

This year, the school was giving the tests by homeroom. Last year they had tried doing it by one class, but certain teachers complained that they got very sick of their A period classes after seeing their faces for six out of eight hours a day.

The kids piled into their homerooms, Kakashi steadfastly if not seriously guarding the bin while checking off names as he went. He had a checklist of the preparation of the students. Friday their team was going to take the kids to a movie, as a reward for their four days of hell, but they did have to earn the right. For every test Kakashi called the kids one by one and asked if they had two number two pencils, scratch paper, something to read, etc; he also checked off if they arrived on time and other behavioral measures, such as listening quietly (like they were supposed to) while he read directions, etc. If they had enough checks, they could go, if not, they stayed in school Friday.

The bell rang, and Shizune came on the speakers, reminding students of the altered schedule, what exams were today, etc.

Because of a recent law passed that students absolutely must have breakfast to boost their brains and get better grades on state tests, the grades were called down one by one for a twenty-minute soirée in the cafeteria. Seventh grade was third on the list, so Kakashi had a half hour with the students as the milled about the room, gossiping and wishing one another luck, etc. Kiba only had one pencil, and Gaara had brought nothing. Several other students were equally unprepared, so Kakashi decided to address the issue.

"I just wanted to remind everyone," he said, calling everyone's attention, "of a few things. For one, you're going to be spending a lot of time together, so you might want to get used to each other. Second, if you don't have seventy-five checks, you're not going to see the movie. That means you'd need twenty checks a day, and some of you are already below quota."

Kiba and Hiroyuki paled considerably when they realized they might not make it to the movie.

"If there are any last minute panic attacks you want to have, now would be the time to have them," he added.

Several students, with over-exaggeration befitting their age, rolled their eyes and groaned pitifully. "Oooh! The pain! How am I going to survive all these tests! The horror!"

Not long after that the seventh grade was called down to breakfast, and Kakashi watched them trail out one after another before closing and locking his room and the bin with the tests in it and trailing after them.

The cafeteria was abuzz with activity as the students got in line, got their excuse of French toast, and piled to the tables to eat and drink orange juice or milk. Kakashi noted that Teams 7 and 10 were sitting together; last time he'd seen the two there'd been a fight, but it was good to know that they got along now. Three tables down Shikamaru and Ino were next to each other, huddled over what looked suspiciously like something electronic. Curious, the Scarecrow got close to see that Shikamaru was showing the blond digital photos of himself and Chouji. Smiling, Kakashi leaned down and said softly, "I'd recommend putting that away before an adult takes it."

Later, he found Iruka and Gai leaning against a wall, talking quietly. He wandered over.

"I thought you should know," the Green Beast was saying, "because I don't know how this will play out. I will be keeping my keen eye on him throughout the tests, but I don't know if I am reading too much into things."

"You? Read too much into something? Really, Gai," Kakashi said lightly before adding, "What's up?"

"Kankuro," Iruka said. "Before everyone split off into their homerooms, he was in tense conversation with our troubled Gaara. Gai says he heard the phrase, 'I'll get you the answers,' from Kankuro, and--"

"And I fear our manipulative youth may try to cheat on the exams, taking answers and giving them or selling them to our dear gothic youth."

Kakashi blinked. "An entrepreneur," he said. "Anybody want to place a bet on how much he'll charge?"

"I don't know," Iruka said, "but he's talking to poor Hinata right now."

The other two teachers turned around to see Hinata by one of the cafeteria windows with Gaara and Kankuro. Kakashi had noted earlier that the girl was distinctly pale, almost as grey as her eyes, and that her hands shook occasionally; the tests really bothered her. She was like that now, only with a slightly desperate look on her face, as if hope was being offered to her at the cost of her right arm. Kankuro was looking particularly smug, and Gaara was as impassive as ever. Behind them, he could see Naruto and Kiba both eyeing the conversation wearily.

Gai walked over and quickly split the trio up, but not before taking Hinata aside to a corner and speaking with her quietly. Kakashi and Iruka watched discretely, but the girl merely shook her head vigorously and went back to her seat. Gai returned and shrugged his shoulders. "She admitted nothing, but I get the impression our timid Hyuga youth is afraid of something; well, more than usual."

"I'll keep an eye on her and Gaara during the tests," Kakashi said.

"I'll see if I can talk to him later," Iruka added, "see if I can get him to open up. Such as it is."

The three nodded and, suddenly very concerned about the tests in their rooms, disappeared from the cafeteria to check. Everything was in order, however, and Kakashi simply waited for the students to arrive. The filtered in about five minutes later, and once everyone was sitting in their assigned seats - the desks noticeably spread out - Kakashi opened up his teacher's book and began reading the directions. Math was first, so he handed out the answer booklets, the rulers and protractors, and the cardboard formulae sheets and the test booklets. At certain points he had to pause and read a piece of dialogue out loud, as every single teacher in the building had to do. Kakashi always had fun with this, putting on a theatrical voice and making expansive gestures to keep the kids remotely attentive. During the many times he came across the phrase "not" in capital letters and underlined, he would deliberately pause before drawing out the word to a ridiculous length. After his first paragraph was read, he told the kids that the game was to catch when he was about to do that and then shout out "not" with him.

Finally, everything was handed out, everything was read, the obligatory examples were droned about, and no one had any questions. Kakashi told them to begin and looked at the clock. It had taken exactly seven minutes. Not bad.

Silence was golden, as the saying went, and it was the only week in the year where Kakashi could hear it in such loud quantities. He sat at his front desk, his beloved book open, and proceeded to catch up on his reading - but not without glancing up and Hinata and Gaara every thirty seconds. They worked diligently; as did everyone else, and the English teacher saw no signs of cheating. That didn't stop him from checking though, sometimes it only took a few seconds for something catastrophic to happen, and he didn't particularly relish the idea of his beautiful silence being ruined for it.

Sakura finished first, the brightest mind in his homeroom, and stretched her arms over her head before pulling out a romance novel and flipping it open. Twenty minutes later another student finished, and one by one the students put down their pencils and pulled out a book, or pulled out a sketchbook to doodle, or just put their head down on the desk, like Gaara did.

Hinata was the last to finish, and her lips were nearly as pale as her skin when she finally did.

With everyone done, Kakashi picked his three students, Sakura, Kiba, and Hiroyuki, to go down to the cafeteria to get the snacks. They returned with a trey of more orange juice and oatmeal cookies. The Scarecrow grabbed himself a cookie and watched as the students talked quietly (or not so quietly) amongst themselves. Some of the girls had started a game of hangman on the board while the boys - with Kakashi halting permission and constant watching, lightly jogged around the room to expend the pent up energy they had from the test. Afterward, he had his homeroom get up and guided them through some simple stretches. Some didn't participate, but those that did looked better for it.

When the clock hit eleven, he started the second exam, and again he watched as the students took the test. Half an hour in, he blinked when he realized that Hinata was wiping her eyes, rubbing her sleeve vigorously over them before releasing a quiet sniffle.

Shocked, he got up quietly and walked over to her. Several students watched him, but he paid no mind as he crouched down and looked up to the grey eyes girl. She shrank back when she saw him, wiping her eyes even more furiously and hiding her face in her sleeves.

"Do you need to go to the nurse?" he asked in a tightly controlled voice, reaching only her ears.

She shook her head almost violently, frowning and struggling to control herself. "I need to finish the test," she said, determination peaking through her voice. It was the first time he'd ever heard it from her, and he suddenly smiled very warmly before standing back up and going back to his desk.

The halls were almost explosive as the students piled out after the exams, shouting and screaming and bumping and blindly running over each other as they ran full tilt to the next class. Kakashi nimbly navigated his way through it, around the corner and into Asuma's room. Kurenai was nowhere to be seen, off to buy lunch since they wouldn't get the chance Friday. "How was it?" he asked, sitting at his usual place.

"I watched Kankuro the entire time," Gai replied, giving a victorious grin. "And I will continue to do so as the week progresses!" Sobering, he continued. "He was very thorough in doing his work out on scratch paper in the math section, but at the end of the test I told them all to throw the papers away. Kankuro tried to pocket it, and I happily informed him that pockets were no place for garbage and he was forced to properly throw it away. After that I put the can behind my desk, and he had no access to it."

"So he might have been trying to do something," Iruka said, writing it all down as always.

"We don't know for sure, though," Asuma added. "We'd have to see him give the answers to someone, or something along those lines."

"Does he know you're watching him?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, most definitely," Gai said. "But I care not! I will do my duty as a brave teacher of these youth, regardless of their opinion of me I will guard their futures and ensure they are washed behind their ears!!"

Everyone stared at Gai as he began to laugh, very close to maniacally.

Shrugging, Kakashi shared his observations. "Gaara didn't really do much, but that's to be expected of him. Hinata, though started crying during the second exam."

"Poor girl," Iruka said with great empathy. "She must be stressed out of her mind over these tests."

"She's determined to see them through though," Kakashi said. "I think the idea of cheating, if that's what they were talking about this morning, got her ire up. I didn't even know that she had ire until now. She was steadfastly determined to see the tests through." He grinned. "I was proud of her."

"Good," Asuma said. "We need some good news."

Iruka sighed. "I'm still worried about her, though. The seed's been planted now."

"Please," the math teacher said, wincing, "Don't be a killjoy."

The next three days followed the same formula: extended homeroom, breakfast, test, snack, test, and off to class. During Team Thursday they tallied up the checklists to see who could and couldn't go, and compared them to the list (that everyone was surprised to get) of students that weren't allowed at the theatre for any reason.

"What the hell did these kids do to get themselves banned from a theatre?" Iruka exclaimed.

"I know I certainly don't want to know," Asuma relied.

So when Friday dawned, the students again reported to homeroom, waited for a bit, and again assembled at the cafeteria, not for breakfast, however, but to line up for the buses, hand in last minute permission slips, make sure they had money for popcorn and soda, and finally file through the double doors outside and into the crisp morning air and, after a headcount, onto the buses.

Riding the bus, as an adult, was always a nightmare. Kakashi half stood in his seat up front and glared out over the two rows of students as they shouted at each other over the roar of the engine, ran up and down the aisle, changed seats, and in some cases tried to kiss. He had a headache by the time they got onto the highway and it was splitting when the finally reached the theatre. Iruka and Kurenai, he noted, were also holding their heads in agony.

Asuma lead the way, making the students all line up by the concession stand before giving the okay to start making orders. The movie theatre, having prepared for the field trip, already had a stack of snacks and foodstuffs lined up so all a child had to do was pick what they wanted and then pay at the register. Despite this, with over two hundred students to buy snacks, it took almost forty-five minutes before everyone had what they wanted. Kakashi, with his bar of chocolate and his bottle of water, was one of the last to go into the theatre.

The teachers all gathered together for one last huddle. "Just remember," he said to Kurenai, "to keep an eye out for the couples. More than one or two of them may try to make out in a nice dark cavern like this."

She made a face. "Ew."

"And there's also the cell phones; they're still under school rules, so if you see a dull glow, take it without argument. Afterward, we want to make sure that they clean up after themselves."

They all nodded and disappeared amongst the seats. There were barely any left now, and Kakashi finally found a spare chair, coincidentally (or not, as he liked to think) next to his beloved Team 7.

The lights dimmed, the movie started, and he was almost immediately out of his seat and grabbing a cell-phone, three rows down. After grabbing his third on that first tour, the word passed quickly to hide the little devices, and Kakashi was able to sit down and ask Sasuke what he'd missed. Sitting on the edge of the row as he was, he frequently got up and made a tour of the cavernous room. The movie was bright and cheery enough that he could make out what he needed to, and he was generally pleased that the kids were behaving themselves.

After forty-five minutes or so, he settled down and enjoyed himself, feeling his body finally relax. Next week was back to normal, but for now he just reveled in the giant faces on the screen.

And yes, we've come across students who were banned from movie theaters before. And yes, Connecticut sued to get the funding Bush promised for NCLB and was called unpatriotic for it.

Next chapter's going to be another true story nightmare, and hopefully won't be too painful to write. Hope you enjoyed.