Summer Camp

Chapter Sixteen - Cabin 13

The Gaang left the green before Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee walked across the lawn and to Zuko and Sokka's cabin. So they didn't see Azula try the door and, finding it locked, order Mai to open it. Needless to say, she did. Tai Lee stood back and proudly watched her girlfriend kick in the 2 and a half inch thick door.

Cabin 13 was small and clean, the walls made of grey-brown oak, the floor made of wide planks of the same color and wood and covered by a black and white woven rug. There were two small beds neatly made up with quilt comforters, one red and black, and one blue and white-ish grey. The white and black quilted curtains hung to the floor. In fact, for a camp, it was pretty nice.

Light streamed in through the open window and a gentle breeze shifted the curtains. Azula smirked, "Well well. Brother's been living in style..." Her condescending tone shifted to cold and sharp in an instant. "Search it."

Mai sighed and knelt to pull the suitcases out from under the beds while Ty Lee walked over to the window on her hands before flipping right side up and throwing the curtains to the side before closing the window all in one smooth motion.

Mai pulled the zipper of a small black suitcase open. "Azula, what exactly are we looking for?"

Azula glanced over her shoulder from the bookshelf, where she was examining the titles. "Just after Zuko left, Father and I discovered a very special heirloom was missing. We have reason to suspect that he took it."

"Well what is it?" Mai was getting impatient and frustrated.

"Nothing that concerns you, Mai. Just keep looking." Azula turned her back on Mai and resumed scanning the shelves.

Mai stood angrily, holding something small and gold, "How am I supposed to find it if I don't know what it-"

Azula swiftly plucked the bit of metal out of Mai's hands before she could see what it was and tucked it into a hidden pocket of her skirt. "Excellent work, Mai. You will be rewarded for this." Mai blinked, taken aback at Azula's quick movement, then looked down and stepped away from the other girl. "Of course..."

"Ty Lee, fix the room." Azula strode out of the cabin and back to Mr Zhao's office.

///

About 20 minutes later the Maserati screeched out of camp, and heavy clouds started rolling in. Jet stood alone in the woods as the first drops of rain began to fall.

It wasn't fair. Katara had hung out with him the whole first week! There was no way she was just being friendly. She liked him and Jet had to have her.

Now what to do about it... Sokka would never let anything happen to his sister. But Jet grinned - he had leverage over Sokka now. If Zhao found out about the two boys in Cabin 13 there would be hell to pay.

But in the meantime, he could have a little fun with his plan.

///

Thunder cracked over the camp and the rain poured down in torrents. The green was deserted and the dining hall was dark. Everyone had sought the warmth and safety of their cabins.

In Cabin 1 Aang meditated cross legged on his cabin's rug, a single stick of incense burning in front of him. His eyes were closed and he focused on the sound of the rain outside, emptying his mind.

In Cabin 8 Katara sat quietly in her bunk, flipping through a little photo album of pictures of her and Aang. Toph's snores from the other bed were drowned out by the comforting sound of rain.

And in Cabin 13 Sokka held Zuko close on his bunk and watched the heavy rain streak down the windows, his left hand playing absentmindedly in Zuko's hair.

///

Mr Zhao was reorganizing his file cabinets. The run in with Azula had left him shaken and angry, and the tedious act was familiar - comfortable. He whispered small plans under his breath, the words escape and money appearing frequently. He began to calm down.

That is, until Jet slammed open the door, water dripping from his clothes and hair. Zhao turned in fury, "What do you want?! Didn't your mother ever teach you to knock?"

Jet stalked up to his desk and leaned across it, sprinkling drops of water all over Zhao's papers. Zhao grit his teeth. "What?"

Jet spit out the piece of grass he held in his mouth. "I wanna switch cabins."

Zhao slammed his fist on the desk. "No! You've done nothing to ask for favors."

Jet snarled, "In exchange for being your little spy among the campers, I just want to switch cabins. Not too much to ask, is it?"

Zhao glared at him for a moment in silence before sighing, "Fine. Where do you want to be?"

Jet smiled in a way that unsettled Zhao. "Cabin 13."