Ba Sing Se Boarding High

Guilt

*Zuko POV*

I walk out of the washroom and hear Aang whine. I look over and see Sokka climb up the bunk bed. The two of them talk for a moment before Sokka climbs back down. He walks over to his bed looking defeated. I look up to the top bunk. Aang is hunched over and looks exhausted for a moment. Then he leans back and lies back down. I feel horrible. After the Air Temples had been evacuated and everyone who was left was dead, my father took me to see the handiwork of the Fire Nation. Thousands of dead bodies, burnt to ash. It was a horrible sight, but I had ignored my sick stomach so that my father wouldn't be disappointed in me. It ended up being fruitless because I got outed two days later. My father had seemed so proud of himself for destroying these people and their homes. I know their nomads, but it still hurt. My teachers had made a point to teach me about the other nations, despite my father's plan to destroy them. And I knew that the Air Nomads didn't truly start being nomadic until they turned twenty. The youngest and oldest of their people got destroyed if they didn't find a way out. It was horrible, but I didn't dare speak up, knowing the consequences if I did. 

Aang must have been one of the refugees. And if I thought what I saw and smelled in the aftermath was bad, than it must have been horrible when it happened. Just the thought of it. Trying to run around the flames, smelling the cooking bodies. The Air Nation was already vegetarians, but if any of them thought of eating meat before, they wouldn't touch the stuff now. And too think the amount of smoke there. He must have inhaled a lot of it. I'm surprised that he doesn't have lung problem. And now he's coughing like crazy. Not surprised. I feel super bad now.  I know I wasn't the one to do anything, but I didn't try to stop it. I climb into my bed. I manage to fall asleep, but I have guilt nightmares. 

My alarm is glaringly loud. Right, first day of classes. I sit up and see Aang walking out of the washroom. His hair is wet. He smiles at me. Right, I should shower. When I'm finished, Aang has left and Sokka is staring at me. 
"You know, I think both you and I know that those fires were not an accident. I saw you walk out of the washroom. You heard what I said. You're a horrible person, you know that?" (AHHH! I figured out how to fix that. YAY!) He looked pissed. I felt even worse.
"You know what? It's not like my father actually cares what I do. He already disowned me. Yeah, the Fire Nation started those fires. And yeah, it was horrible. I feel like crap for not doing anything. You happy now," He stared at me.
"Your father disowned you? Geez dude, I'm sorry. I didn't realize. Did that happen when the... you know," He pointed to his face. (What? It's a Zukka story still, it's just a kinda sidish plot. Don't judge) I nodded. What else could I say. "Uhh, damn dude. I-I didn't know. I guess I shouldn't have been so rude. You've only had it for about 6 months. Why were you here before than?" I have to laugh. He looks at me like I'm insane.
"He thought by mingling among the students, I could somehow get enough intel to find a way to take Ba Sing Se. Or even gain the trust of the Earth King. He was starting to get impatient, so he torched the Air Nomads. I'm still a teenager. I couldn't do jack shit," I sighed. He stared at me. I was about to walk away when he pulled me into a hug.
"Listen, I'm really sorry I've been a little bitch since I found out we were roommates. I should've realized that you had your reasons behind doing what you did. What you went through was wrong," What? What? How am I supposed to respond to this? Newsflash, I haven't been hugged since my mom left. I just start crying. Great, now I look fucking weak. At least Aang isn't here. I have no clue what he would do. I've only known the guy for a day, but I can tell that he would have jumped on us. 

We stayed like that for a few minutes before we realized we had to get to class. Crap. I grab an energy bar and we start running. We have our first class together, history, because I failed it last year. We're talking about the Four Nations review for the first week. Great. 
"Alright class. For the first day we're going to focus on the history of the Air Nomads. As many of you know, this past year, a great tragedy befell..." Blah blah blah. Professer Zei talks way too much. I know this stuff already. But something sticks out to me. "Our great spiritual leaders are under the impression that the Avatar was present at these fires, and that they escaped," Oh no. My father attacked the Nomads because of the Avatar. He won't stop. I should warn them. But what do I say? Don't all stay in one place and trust no one? And who's gonna listen to the disowned son of the Fire Lord anyways? I should come up with a plan to let them know, anonomously.