Post by Sokkaroksya on Feb 24, 2007 15:53:45 GMT -5
Chapter One
"Sokka? C'mon, Sokka, you need to get up."
"Wahh? Unh, just five more minutes, Mom…"
"Sokka!"
"Leave me alone! I'm trying to sleep…"
SPLASH!
Sokka sat bolt upright in bed, his hair and face dripping, blinking furiously to try and clear the moisture from his eyes. Gradually, the figure of his sister standing at the foot of the bed came into focus, her right hand upraised, a swirl of water dancing around it.
"What did you do that for?" Sokka snapped, feeling the water begin to drip down his back and shoulders. Katara glared at him.
"Because you weren't getting up when I asked nicely, so I figured something more drastic was called for." She extended her hand, and the water beading on Sokka's form drifted off to join the swirling mass around it. She walked over to the sink in the corner, depositing the water back in it.
"But why did you have to wake me up? It's not even seven yet," Sokka groaned, looking at the clock on his nightstand.
"Because we have school today, moron!"
"Oh…forgot."
"Like I knew you would."
Sokka watched as his sister discarded her nightshirt into the laundry chute, pulling a fresh white t-shirt and a blue long-sleeved tunic from the small closet they shared. Then she dipped her hands in the water-filled sink and began washing her face. As she did so, Sokka glanced around the room, so small that it was almost filled by the two small beds and single chest of drawers in the corner. The furniture was old, but well kept, as was the room itself. But it's age showed in the grayish tinge in the painted cinderblock walls, the nicks and scratches in the floorboards, and the musty smell, which wasn't unpleasant, but seemed to be everywhere.
When Katara finished at the sink, she moved away to the window, so Sokka could dress. He washed himself thoroughly, and grabbed a t-shirt from the closet, but hesitated before putting it on. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Katara wasn't watching before slipping a small object he pulled from the chest of drawers into the waistband of his jeans. Then he put it on.
Grabbing his bag from its place on the floor, he felt a slight breeze, and turned to see that Katara had opened the window, and was staring out of it, braiding her hair in one of her many complicated styles. Sokka came to stand beside her, looking out from their fifth floor apartment at the view over the city.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Katara murmured, and Sokka nodded in agreement. Sunrise over Ba Sing Se was certainly a sight to behold. The sun had yet to show itself over the tops of the skyscrapers to the southeast, but fingers of orange and gold were already spearing the deep blue of the predawn sky, turning the bellies of the clouds purple. The haze over the city made the colors blend together, giving the whole scene an odd, unreal look, as if it was a painting, and not something right outside their window. The cool breeze blowing in felt good for the end of the summer. "I guess this is what Mom and Dad wanted for us…"
"Yeah," Sokka said. After a moment, he turned away from the view. "C'mon, we better get going." Katara fitted an elastic band over the bottom of her braid, then followed him.
They took the elevator down to street level, and started down their street. Katara was walking a few paces behind Sokka, her bag strapped around her waist, her arms clutching a bundle of scrolls. Staring at her brother's back, she suddenly noticed an L-shaped bulge showing under his shirt. With expert hands, she quickly extracted the object from Sokka's clothing.
"Sokka," she scolded, "did you really have to bring this?" She waved the gunmetal blue boomerang around in his face. He made a grab for it, and missed.
"Yes," he snapped, quickly snatching it back and sheathing it under his shirt again, "I did. Someone has to look out for us."
"Sokka, we're not in Dockside anymore. No one's going to jump out and mug us or anything."
"You never know…besides, the first day you go out unprepared is the day something bad happens." He reached an arm around her shoulders. "And I have to look out for my little sister."
Katara gave him a smug grin. "Well, your little sister also happens to be an accomplished waterbender, who is perfectly capable of defending herself." She somewhat disdainfully removed his arm from her shoulders as she said this.
"I guess that would be why you have…this?" It was Sokka's turn to smile smugly, as he dangled Katara's waterskin in front of her, having stolen it out of her bag with his free hand.
Katara blushed. "Okay, you got me…can I have it back?" He tossed it to her, and she tucked it back in her bag.
They turned a corner and began heading north, towards the campus of Ba Sing Se Public Academy, the largest public school in the city. As they walked, drawing closer to the center of the city, traffic began to pick up, the streets filling with cars, most made with the dark metals and red accents of the Fire Nation factories. Sokka moved so he was walking next to Katara, himself between her and the street, his eyes watching for possible dangers. Passersby were thick now, moving along in steady streams. Sokka suddenly noticed that Katara's head was bowed, and closer examination revealed the distant look in her eyes.
"Thinking about Mom and Dad?"
"Yeah…it seems so long ago, even though it was only a few months. I miss them, Sokka."
"Me too. But they wanted us to have a better life here, Katara…away from the gangs and the filth and the danger. We should make the best of it."
Katara managed a small smile. "Yeah, you're right. Hey! I think I see the school!"
Sokka followed her gaze. "Kind of hard to miss, isn't it?"
As they'd been walking the buildings around them had gradually changed, going from small, rather dingy apartment buildings like the one they lived in to larger, nicer ones, which became individual houses, which slowly increased in size as they moved to wealthier and wealthier parts of the city. Now, beyond the estates of the latest sprawling home, came the grounds of Ba Sing Se Public Academy, which didn't just sprawl, they engulfed the surrounding land. The whole campus was enclosed behind a high wall, and the front gates were arched and wood, bearing the symbol of the city: a huge tree sprouting from a grassy plain, with mountain peaks in the background.
As they entered the grounds, Katara felt a little intimidated by the scope of the place. All the buildings on campus were built in the classic Earth Kingdom style; stone walls carved with images of gods and mythological heroes, the Avatars of the ancient legends, sloping green and gold roofs held up by richly carved and decorated pillars, and all of it built with the air of solid stubbornness that pervaded all Earth Kingdom architecture.
But it wasn't just the buildings that held Katara's attention, it was the massive crowd of people that milled around the grassy area crisscrossed with stone paths behind the front gates. Katara drew a little closer behind Sokka, feeling uneasy. She reached forward and grabbed his hand, felt him give a gentle squeeze before letting go. It was a silent reassurance: I'm here, and nothing's going to happen to you.
And that was when a blow from her right sent Katara sprawling.
Her scrolls went flying, along with an assortment of objects that she didn't recognize, including a large wooden staff. Katara looked up to see a boy about her age climbing to his feet.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry…" Katara said, moving quickly to gather the fallen objects. Her face burned with embarrassment. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Don't worry about it…here, I'll get that…" the boy gestured with his hands, and a breeze pulled all the objects back into their respective owner's arms.
Katara stood up, holding her scrolls tightly. "How did you do that? Wait…" She realized the boy's head was shaved, and sported a large, blue tattoo of an arrow on his scalp. "Are you an airbender?"
The boy smiled. "Yup. I'm Aang." He held out his hand. Katara shook. He had arrow tattoos on the backs of his hands, too. "Pleased to meet you…?"
"Katara."
Aang nodded. "You new here? I haven't seen you before."
"Yeah, my brother and I just moved into an apartment on the edge of Uptown. He's around here somewhere…"
"Katara! KATARA!" Sokka came running up, looking worried and out of breath. "I've been looking for you…what happened?"
"It was nothing, Sokka. I just bumped into Aang, here." Sokka looked over the newcomer, dressed in a red sweatshirt and yellow-orange pants. Aang waved a little sheepishly. Sokka nodded.
"I'm Sokka."
Aang stuck out his hand again. "Nice to meet you, Sokka. Hey, since you guys are new, I don't suppose you know how find your homerooms and stuff?"
Katara shook her head. "We just got here."
"Okay. Then I'll help you out. C'mon, you can get your schedule from the booth over here."
Aang led them over to a small kiosk on the edge of the commons area, where kids were lined to receive their schedules. Aang motioned for them to get in line. "I already got mine."
When they got the front of the line, Katara and Sokka gave the man in the kiosk their names, and each received a paper with all their courses outlined on it. Aang came up to them.
"Okay, your homeroom is at the top of the page…Sokka, you're in Kyoshi Hall, in room 304. Katara, you're in the library."
"Cool, a library…hey, Sokka, what do you have for your elective?"
"Conflict and War…why? What do you have?"
"I'm in the level one waterbending class…I was just wondering what you'd have, since, well, you know, you're not a…"
"Not a what? Not a bender? Some of us get by without manipulating the elements, Katara."
"You're a waterbender?" Aang asked. Katara nodded.
"Yeah, my little sister's an accomplished waterbender…" Sokka said in a mocking tone.
"Cool! I've never met a waterbender before! We don't get too many waterbenders at this school…you think you could show me some time?"
Katara smiled. "Sure, Aang. Are there any more airbenders here?"
"No, I'm the only one. Most of the other airbenders would rather study at the temples with the monks, but I wanted to come here. Oh…I think we'd better move…"
He was looking past Katara at the crowd. Katara and Sokka glanced over their shoulders to see the crowd parting for a small group of people moving through it. As the last of the crowd moved out of the way, they saw it was a man and a woman, around middle age, both wearing the green and gold robes that marked them as rich members of Earth Kingdom society. The man had his hand on the shoulder of a girl, presumably their daughter, though Katara had a hard time believing it by the way she was dressed. The girl wore a green t-shirt under a tan vest, and camouflage shorts. Her jet-black hair was done up in a bun, except for her bangs, which hung loose and shaggy over her eyes. In her hair was a green and yellow headband. Her wrists each had a green and brown wristband.
"Alright, now, you know how we expect you to act, dear…we're doing you a big favor by letting you come to school again this year, so we expect you to hold up your end of the bargain—"
The girl shrugged off her father's hand. "I got it, Dad. You've only told me twenty or thirty times today."
The man and woman looked at each other, then bade their daughter a quick farewell. As the moved off, the crowd gradually grew louder again. Aang leaned in so he could speak to Sokka and Katara quietly.
"The Bei Fongs are one of the richest families in the city. Merchant family; shipping, I think." Aang thought it was kind of odd the way Sokka and Katara both tensed up when he mentioned shipping, but he shrugged it off.
The girl had reached the kiosk, and the man inside was only too happy to hand over her schedule. "Here you are, Miss Bei Fong—hope you have a pleasant day!"
As the girl passed them, Aang called out, "Hey, Toph!"
"Buzz off, Twinkletoes, I'm having a bad day."
Katara grimaced as the girl walked off. "Wow, she was nice…"
Aang shrugged. "That's Toph…she's not so bad when you get to know her."
Katara watched as another boy cut Toph off as she walked through the crowd—and was suddenly catapulted through the air by a pillar of rock that shot up from beneath him. Toph smirked as he landed a few feet away. Katara winced again. "I'll bet. She's an earthbender?"
"Yeah, one of the best in school."
"Well, I for one would not like to be pounded by a rock anytime soon, so why don't we put some space between us and Miss Bei Fong, hmm?" Sokka said. "Hey, Aang, why don't you show us where our homerooms are?"
"Oh, sure…this way…"
Aang led them down a path that took them away from the commons area, between more classical Earth Kingdom buildings, along with rows of carefully tended ginkgo and cherry blossom trees.
"Everything's so pretty here…" Katara murmured.
"What do you expect?" Sokka said. "All the rich kids go to this school…they have to do something with all that tuition money."
Aang nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."
They reached a building decorated with images of Kyoshi, the ancient warrior who it was said had been the Avatar.
"This is you, Sokka; Kyoshi Hall," Aang pointed at the glass double doors, inside. "Room 304 should be just inside on the right."
"Okay, thanks, Aang…" Sokka paused on his way to the doors, then turned back to give Katara a hug. "Be careful, okay? We don't really know anybody here yet, and I don't want you getting hurt."
Katara gave her brother a look. "I get it, Dad…now get outta here."
Sokka smiled, and walked through the double doors in to Kyoshi Hall. Aang turned to Katara, "Shall I escort you to the library, miss?" He offered his arm.
Katara laughed. "Of course, good sir." She took his arm, and Aang led her into another entrance to the main school building.
As they walked, Aang said, "Your brother seems nice."
Katara smirked. "He is, when he isn't being all overprotective like that…"
"Why is he like that?"
"Well, ever since we moved from Dockside, he's been looking out for me. See, our parents—" she stopped, her voice choking.
Aang looked at her with concern. "Are you okay?"
Katara nodded, wiping tears she hadn't even realized were there out of her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sorry, it's just…"
Aang cut her off. "Don't worry, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
Katara smiled. "Thanks, Aang."
"No problem…well, here we are, the library."
The library doors were decorated with paintings of the knowledge spirit, Wan Shi Tong. The great black owl's wings were spread across the double doors, creating an imposing figure.
"Thanks for the tour, Aang…I'll see you around, right?"
Aang smiled. "I'm sure we'll see each other again. Later, okay?"
Katara nodded. "Alright, bye!"
Aang headed further down the hall, while Katara entered through the doors. The library was a huge room, with a vaulted ceiling, and high shelves of books and scrolls, the highest of which had to be reached with ladders attached to the shelves. Katara found an area at the back of the library with tables and chairs, where a bored looking man was holding a clipboard, apparently taking attendance. Katara gave him her name, then decided to explore a bit before her first class. Wandering, she found an area with books on ancient history. In particular, there was a book on Water Tribe culture. Grinning, Katara pulled it off the shelf, but, misjudging its weight, she fell back—right into a person standing behind her. The book fell to the floor, along with another book the other person had been carrying. "Katara felt her face grow red again as she crouched to retrieve the books.
Great job, Katara, she thought. Keep this up and you're going to have a reputation as the clumsiest girl in school before the first day is out…
She stood up, holding out the other person's book. "I'm sorry I fell into you, I didn't mean…to…" her voice died in her throat when she saw who it was she had bumped into.
It was a boy, perhaps a year older, tall, broad-shouldered and strong. His hair was brown and shaggy, his eyes dark. There was a piece of straw floating between his lips, and Katara couldn't help but notice how the shirt he wore showed off his muscles. He took the book from her. "Thanks. It's no problem. Say…I don't think I've seen you before. You new?"
Katara realized her mouth was half open and snapped it shut. "Yeah…um…I'm new. I'm Katara."
"Jet," the boy said, holding out his hand, which Katara shook. She felt the heat rising in her cheeks; he felt so strong…"Where you from?"
"Um, Dockside," Katara stammered. "Me and my brother just moved to this part of town."
"Dockside, huh? So you guys are Water Tribe?"
"Yeah. I'm a waterbender."
"Cool. Never met a waterbender before." A tone sounded through the library. "Crap, that's the first period bell…So, I'll see you around?" His smile almost made Katara's knees buckle.
"S-Sure…" she whispered.
"Great! Later!" Jet turned and walked down the row, disappearing around the corner at the end. Katara stood there, rooted to the floor.
Well, Katara, I guess that's what it's like to fall in love at first sight…
Well, there ya go...wadja think?
"Sokka? C'mon, Sokka, you need to get up."
"Wahh? Unh, just five more minutes, Mom…"
"Sokka!"
"Leave me alone! I'm trying to sleep…"
SPLASH!
Sokka sat bolt upright in bed, his hair and face dripping, blinking furiously to try and clear the moisture from his eyes. Gradually, the figure of his sister standing at the foot of the bed came into focus, her right hand upraised, a swirl of water dancing around it.
"What did you do that for?" Sokka snapped, feeling the water begin to drip down his back and shoulders. Katara glared at him.
"Because you weren't getting up when I asked nicely, so I figured something more drastic was called for." She extended her hand, and the water beading on Sokka's form drifted off to join the swirling mass around it. She walked over to the sink in the corner, depositing the water back in it.
"But why did you have to wake me up? It's not even seven yet," Sokka groaned, looking at the clock on his nightstand.
"Because we have school today, moron!"
"Oh…forgot."
"Like I knew you would."
Sokka watched as his sister discarded her nightshirt into the laundry chute, pulling a fresh white t-shirt and a blue long-sleeved tunic from the small closet they shared. Then she dipped her hands in the water-filled sink and began washing her face. As she did so, Sokka glanced around the room, so small that it was almost filled by the two small beds and single chest of drawers in the corner. The furniture was old, but well kept, as was the room itself. But it's age showed in the grayish tinge in the painted cinderblock walls, the nicks and scratches in the floorboards, and the musty smell, which wasn't unpleasant, but seemed to be everywhere.
When Katara finished at the sink, she moved away to the window, so Sokka could dress. He washed himself thoroughly, and grabbed a t-shirt from the closet, but hesitated before putting it on. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Katara wasn't watching before slipping a small object he pulled from the chest of drawers into the waistband of his jeans. Then he put it on.
Grabbing his bag from its place on the floor, he felt a slight breeze, and turned to see that Katara had opened the window, and was staring out of it, braiding her hair in one of her many complicated styles. Sokka came to stand beside her, looking out from their fifth floor apartment at the view over the city.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Katara murmured, and Sokka nodded in agreement. Sunrise over Ba Sing Se was certainly a sight to behold. The sun had yet to show itself over the tops of the skyscrapers to the southeast, but fingers of orange and gold were already spearing the deep blue of the predawn sky, turning the bellies of the clouds purple. The haze over the city made the colors blend together, giving the whole scene an odd, unreal look, as if it was a painting, and not something right outside their window. The cool breeze blowing in felt good for the end of the summer. "I guess this is what Mom and Dad wanted for us…"
"Yeah," Sokka said. After a moment, he turned away from the view. "C'mon, we better get going." Katara fitted an elastic band over the bottom of her braid, then followed him.
They took the elevator down to street level, and started down their street. Katara was walking a few paces behind Sokka, her bag strapped around her waist, her arms clutching a bundle of scrolls. Staring at her brother's back, she suddenly noticed an L-shaped bulge showing under his shirt. With expert hands, she quickly extracted the object from Sokka's clothing.
"Sokka," she scolded, "did you really have to bring this?" She waved the gunmetal blue boomerang around in his face. He made a grab for it, and missed.
"Yes," he snapped, quickly snatching it back and sheathing it under his shirt again, "I did. Someone has to look out for us."
"Sokka, we're not in Dockside anymore. No one's going to jump out and mug us or anything."
"You never know…besides, the first day you go out unprepared is the day something bad happens." He reached an arm around her shoulders. "And I have to look out for my little sister."
Katara gave him a smug grin. "Well, your little sister also happens to be an accomplished waterbender, who is perfectly capable of defending herself." She somewhat disdainfully removed his arm from her shoulders as she said this.
"I guess that would be why you have…this?" It was Sokka's turn to smile smugly, as he dangled Katara's waterskin in front of her, having stolen it out of her bag with his free hand.
Katara blushed. "Okay, you got me…can I have it back?" He tossed it to her, and she tucked it back in her bag.
They turned a corner and began heading north, towards the campus of Ba Sing Se Public Academy, the largest public school in the city. As they walked, drawing closer to the center of the city, traffic began to pick up, the streets filling with cars, most made with the dark metals and red accents of the Fire Nation factories. Sokka moved so he was walking next to Katara, himself between her and the street, his eyes watching for possible dangers. Passersby were thick now, moving along in steady streams. Sokka suddenly noticed that Katara's head was bowed, and closer examination revealed the distant look in her eyes.
"Thinking about Mom and Dad?"
"Yeah…it seems so long ago, even though it was only a few months. I miss them, Sokka."
"Me too. But they wanted us to have a better life here, Katara…away from the gangs and the filth and the danger. We should make the best of it."
Katara managed a small smile. "Yeah, you're right. Hey! I think I see the school!"
Sokka followed her gaze. "Kind of hard to miss, isn't it?"
As they'd been walking the buildings around them had gradually changed, going from small, rather dingy apartment buildings like the one they lived in to larger, nicer ones, which became individual houses, which slowly increased in size as they moved to wealthier and wealthier parts of the city. Now, beyond the estates of the latest sprawling home, came the grounds of Ba Sing Se Public Academy, which didn't just sprawl, they engulfed the surrounding land. The whole campus was enclosed behind a high wall, and the front gates were arched and wood, bearing the symbol of the city: a huge tree sprouting from a grassy plain, with mountain peaks in the background.
As they entered the grounds, Katara felt a little intimidated by the scope of the place. All the buildings on campus were built in the classic Earth Kingdom style; stone walls carved with images of gods and mythological heroes, the Avatars of the ancient legends, sloping green and gold roofs held up by richly carved and decorated pillars, and all of it built with the air of solid stubbornness that pervaded all Earth Kingdom architecture.
But it wasn't just the buildings that held Katara's attention, it was the massive crowd of people that milled around the grassy area crisscrossed with stone paths behind the front gates. Katara drew a little closer behind Sokka, feeling uneasy. She reached forward and grabbed his hand, felt him give a gentle squeeze before letting go. It was a silent reassurance: I'm here, and nothing's going to happen to you.
And that was when a blow from her right sent Katara sprawling.
Her scrolls went flying, along with an assortment of objects that she didn't recognize, including a large wooden staff. Katara looked up to see a boy about her age climbing to his feet.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry…" Katara said, moving quickly to gather the fallen objects. Her face burned with embarrassment. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Don't worry about it…here, I'll get that…" the boy gestured with his hands, and a breeze pulled all the objects back into their respective owner's arms.
Katara stood up, holding her scrolls tightly. "How did you do that? Wait…" She realized the boy's head was shaved, and sported a large, blue tattoo of an arrow on his scalp. "Are you an airbender?"
The boy smiled. "Yup. I'm Aang." He held out his hand. Katara shook. He had arrow tattoos on the backs of his hands, too. "Pleased to meet you…?"
"Katara."
Aang nodded. "You new here? I haven't seen you before."
"Yeah, my brother and I just moved into an apartment on the edge of Uptown. He's around here somewhere…"
"Katara! KATARA!" Sokka came running up, looking worried and out of breath. "I've been looking for you…what happened?"
"It was nothing, Sokka. I just bumped into Aang, here." Sokka looked over the newcomer, dressed in a red sweatshirt and yellow-orange pants. Aang waved a little sheepishly. Sokka nodded.
"I'm Sokka."
Aang stuck out his hand again. "Nice to meet you, Sokka. Hey, since you guys are new, I don't suppose you know how find your homerooms and stuff?"
Katara shook her head. "We just got here."
"Okay. Then I'll help you out. C'mon, you can get your schedule from the booth over here."
Aang led them over to a small kiosk on the edge of the commons area, where kids were lined to receive their schedules. Aang motioned for them to get in line. "I already got mine."
When they got the front of the line, Katara and Sokka gave the man in the kiosk their names, and each received a paper with all their courses outlined on it. Aang came up to them.
"Okay, your homeroom is at the top of the page…Sokka, you're in Kyoshi Hall, in room 304. Katara, you're in the library."
"Cool, a library…hey, Sokka, what do you have for your elective?"
"Conflict and War…why? What do you have?"
"I'm in the level one waterbending class…I was just wondering what you'd have, since, well, you know, you're not a…"
"Not a what? Not a bender? Some of us get by without manipulating the elements, Katara."
"You're a waterbender?" Aang asked. Katara nodded.
"Yeah, my little sister's an accomplished waterbender…" Sokka said in a mocking tone.
"Cool! I've never met a waterbender before! We don't get too many waterbenders at this school…you think you could show me some time?"
Katara smiled. "Sure, Aang. Are there any more airbenders here?"
"No, I'm the only one. Most of the other airbenders would rather study at the temples with the monks, but I wanted to come here. Oh…I think we'd better move…"
He was looking past Katara at the crowd. Katara and Sokka glanced over their shoulders to see the crowd parting for a small group of people moving through it. As the last of the crowd moved out of the way, they saw it was a man and a woman, around middle age, both wearing the green and gold robes that marked them as rich members of Earth Kingdom society. The man had his hand on the shoulder of a girl, presumably their daughter, though Katara had a hard time believing it by the way she was dressed. The girl wore a green t-shirt under a tan vest, and camouflage shorts. Her jet-black hair was done up in a bun, except for her bangs, which hung loose and shaggy over her eyes. In her hair was a green and yellow headband. Her wrists each had a green and brown wristband.
"Alright, now, you know how we expect you to act, dear…we're doing you a big favor by letting you come to school again this year, so we expect you to hold up your end of the bargain—"
The girl shrugged off her father's hand. "I got it, Dad. You've only told me twenty or thirty times today."
The man and woman looked at each other, then bade their daughter a quick farewell. As the moved off, the crowd gradually grew louder again. Aang leaned in so he could speak to Sokka and Katara quietly.
"The Bei Fongs are one of the richest families in the city. Merchant family; shipping, I think." Aang thought it was kind of odd the way Sokka and Katara both tensed up when he mentioned shipping, but he shrugged it off.
The girl had reached the kiosk, and the man inside was only too happy to hand over her schedule. "Here you are, Miss Bei Fong—hope you have a pleasant day!"
As the girl passed them, Aang called out, "Hey, Toph!"
"Buzz off, Twinkletoes, I'm having a bad day."
Katara grimaced as the girl walked off. "Wow, she was nice…"
Aang shrugged. "That's Toph…she's not so bad when you get to know her."
Katara watched as another boy cut Toph off as she walked through the crowd—and was suddenly catapulted through the air by a pillar of rock that shot up from beneath him. Toph smirked as he landed a few feet away. Katara winced again. "I'll bet. She's an earthbender?"
"Yeah, one of the best in school."
"Well, I for one would not like to be pounded by a rock anytime soon, so why don't we put some space between us and Miss Bei Fong, hmm?" Sokka said. "Hey, Aang, why don't you show us where our homerooms are?"
"Oh, sure…this way…"
Aang led them down a path that took them away from the commons area, between more classical Earth Kingdom buildings, along with rows of carefully tended ginkgo and cherry blossom trees.
"Everything's so pretty here…" Katara murmured.
"What do you expect?" Sokka said. "All the rich kids go to this school…they have to do something with all that tuition money."
Aang nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."
They reached a building decorated with images of Kyoshi, the ancient warrior who it was said had been the Avatar.
"This is you, Sokka; Kyoshi Hall," Aang pointed at the glass double doors, inside. "Room 304 should be just inside on the right."
"Okay, thanks, Aang…" Sokka paused on his way to the doors, then turned back to give Katara a hug. "Be careful, okay? We don't really know anybody here yet, and I don't want you getting hurt."
Katara gave her brother a look. "I get it, Dad…now get outta here."
Sokka smiled, and walked through the double doors in to Kyoshi Hall. Aang turned to Katara, "Shall I escort you to the library, miss?" He offered his arm.
Katara laughed. "Of course, good sir." She took his arm, and Aang led her into another entrance to the main school building.
As they walked, Aang said, "Your brother seems nice."
Katara smirked. "He is, when he isn't being all overprotective like that…"
"Why is he like that?"
"Well, ever since we moved from Dockside, he's been looking out for me. See, our parents—" she stopped, her voice choking.
Aang looked at her with concern. "Are you okay?"
Katara nodded, wiping tears she hadn't even realized were there out of her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sorry, it's just…"
Aang cut her off. "Don't worry, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
Katara smiled. "Thanks, Aang."
"No problem…well, here we are, the library."
The library doors were decorated with paintings of the knowledge spirit, Wan Shi Tong. The great black owl's wings were spread across the double doors, creating an imposing figure.
"Thanks for the tour, Aang…I'll see you around, right?"
Aang smiled. "I'm sure we'll see each other again. Later, okay?"
Katara nodded. "Alright, bye!"
Aang headed further down the hall, while Katara entered through the doors. The library was a huge room, with a vaulted ceiling, and high shelves of books and scrolls, the highest of which had to be reached with ladders attached to the shelves. Katara found an area at the back of the library with tables and chairs, where a bored looking man was holding a clipboard, apparently taking attendance. Katara gave him her name, then decided to explore a bit before her first class. Wandering, she found an area with books on ancient history. In particular, there was a book on Water Tribe culture. Grinning, Katara pulled it off the shelf, but, misjudging its weight, she fell back—right into a person standing behind her. The book fell to the floor, along with another book the other person had been carrying. "Katara felt her face grow red again as she crouched to retrieve the books.
Great job, Katara, she thought. Keep this up and you're going to have a reputation as the clumsiest girl in school before the first day is out…
She stood up, holding out the other person's book. "I'm sorry I fell into you, I didn't mean…to…" her voice died in her throat when she saw who it was she had bumped into.
It was a boy, perhaps a year older, tall, broad-shouldered and strong. His hair was brown and shaggy, his eyes dark. There was a piece of straw floating between his lips, and Katara couldn't help but notice how the shirt he wore showed off his muscles. He took the book from her. "Thanks. It's no problem. Say…I don't think I've seen you before. You new?"
Katara realized her mouth was half open and snapped it shut. "Yeah…um…I'm new. I'm Katara."
"Jet," the boy said, holding out his hand, which Katara shook. She felt the heat rising in her cheeks; he felt so strong…"Where you from?"
"Um, Dockside," Katara stammered. "Me and my brother just moved to this part of town."
"Dockside, huh? So you guys are Water Tribe?"
"Yeah. I'm a waterbender."
"Cool. Never met a waterbender before." A tone sounded through the library. "Crap, that's the first period bell…So, I'll see you around?" His smile almost made Katara's knees buckle.
"S-Sure…" she whispered.
"Great! Later!" Jet turned and walked down the row, disappearing around the corner at the end. Katara stood there, rooted to the floor.
Well, Katara, I guess that's what it's like to fall in love at first sight…
Well, there ya go...wadja think?
You're keeping in tact with the character's personalities thus making the story run smoothly. I liked it. *karmas*
