The Library (A Kainora/ Legend of Korra fanfic)

Ch. 7 - "Understanding"

Jinora glanced down at her intertwined fingers, her thumbs fidgeting nervously against each other. Her nerves were on edge and she had a constant pit in her stomach. She had been like this ever since her father yelled at her last Friday night.

She could very vividly remember his face red with anger and the vein protruding out of his forehead as he raised his voice. Tenzin's words still rang clear in her mind.

"Jinora, how could you be so irresponsible?" he scolded. "I expect more than this from you."

"Dad it isn't really a big dea-"

"It is a big deal!" Tenzin cut her off. "Not only did you go on a date, which you know I do not approve of, you went on a date with a boy who is clearly nothing but trouble!"

"You don't understand," Jinora protested. "He's not trouble! How can you judge him without taking time to get to know him?"

Jinora had been sitting at the kitchen table while her father paced back and forth across the room, the rage radiating off of him.

"I don't need to get to know him!" Tenzin burst. "He almost got himself and you arrested! You don't need to be talking to boys like him."

Jinora furrowed her eyebrows. "What is that supposed to mean?" She yelled. "You've taught me my whole life to love others and never judge people. Yet here you are condemning someone you don't even know!"

"Jinora it's not that simple."

She shook her head. "Yes it is! You heard what the officer said, nothing happened!"

Tenzin stopped pacing and looked her in the eye. "I do not care. You are not allowed to see him or talk to him ever again. End of discussion. Go to bed."

"It's not even ten!"

"Go to bed now, Jinora."

Jinora shuddered as she recalled last night's events. She hated getting yelled at by her father, but she hated it a lot more when she knew she had done nothing wrong. Tenzin didn't approve of boys, but that didn't make it illegal for her to go on dates.

She glanced around the library, which was completely empty. Jinora came in here at the beginning of her lunch period, not to do homework, but to wait for Kai. She only hoped that he came in here alone and left his gang of friends behind, though that was unlikely. They followed him everywhere.

The door to the library swung open and Jinora quickly grabbed a book from her backpack and attempted to look like she was reading. Unfortunately, she grabbed her school planner that was filled with nothing but a calender and to-do lists.

Someone approached her table, but she kept her eyes down.

"Watcha reading there?"

Jinora looked up and saw someone she was not expecting.

"Oh hey Shelby."

Shelby took a seat at the table.

"I just thought I would return your notes to you," Shelby said. "I came in to return a book but I just saw you sitting there." She pulled out the notes from her bag and handed them to Jinora.

"Thank you."

"No problem," Shelby smiled. "So did you do anything fun last night?"

Jinora's heart stopped at the mention of last night. "No not really."

"Ugh, me either," she sighed. "I haven't done anything lately. My life is so boring. And you know that boy Kai? We went on a date and he hasn't called or texted me one time since then!"