Double Bender

Part 6

We walked for quite some time and we eventually were waved into a flower shop. The gamer, who had traveled with us, closed the door behind us. Once we were in, the gamer bowed to Uncle. "It is an honor," he said, "to welcome such a high-ranking official of the order of the white lotus. Being a grand master, you must know so many secrets." Zuko was still a little annoyed. "Now that you've played Pai Sho, are you gonna arrange some flowers or is someone in this club going to offer some REAL HELP?!" "Zuko," I said, "calm down. They're old people. I'm pretty sure they know what they're doing."

"Um,thank you, you two." said Uncle said sounding a little confused. Then he turned back to the gamer. "You must forgive my nephew. He is not an initiative." Then he knocked on the back door. A man behind the door opened a slot so we could only see his eyes. "Who goes there?" he asked. "One who has eaten the fruit and tasted it's mysteries." Uncle answered. I have to say it was the oddest greeting ever. The man opened the door and Uncle and the gamer stepped inside. Zuko was about to step inside too but the door slammed in his face. "Ha, ha," I taunted. He gave me a dirty look and I gave him a sarcastic smile. Uncle pulled back the "eye slot" thingy. "Members only," he whispered. "This won't take long." We all sat down and waited. Zuko sniffed a suspicious looking plant and backed away.

"So," I asked, "what do you think is going on in there?" "Who cares," said Zuko. "I bet there talking about tea or Pai Sho or... whatever old people talk about." "Boy, you just LOOOOVE being negative, don't you, Zuzu?" I asked. "DON"T CALL ME ZUZU!!" he shouted. "And you tell me not to bite your head off... What do you think is goin' on in there, Geo?" "Do I look like an old guy expert to you?" she asked. I changed the subject. "So where do we go after this?" I asked. "Ba Sing Se?" Geo suggested. I thought for a moment. "How about Omashu? I've never been there." "You've never been anywhere." Zuko reminded. "That's also true," I joked. "So, I hear you've been all over the world, Zuko. Tell me, where was your favorite place?" "Away from you idiots," was his answer. "Ouch," I said jokingly. "Wow, Zuko," said Geo, "that was almost an insult." I leaned back and put my arms behind my head. "So, if you could go anywhere, where would it be?" Geo answered first. "The western air temple. I've never been there. Zuko took me to the others when he was looking for the Avatar-" "Aang," I corrected. "Huh? How did you know-" "Wanted poster," I answered without even opening my eyes. "Okay...well Zuko took me to the other temples but I don't think I've been to the western one. I think he went there before he found me. How 'bout you, Tatiana? Where would you go?" I thought for a moment before saying, "I'd go all over!" "Thank you so very much for being SO SPECIFIC!"Geo joked. "Well, first, I'd go to the North Pole." "Why?" Geo asked. "It's just a barren frozen wasteland." "It's the place where my mom was born. She was actually a Water-Tribe princess." "Cool!" said Geo. "That means you're technically royalty. Hey maybe you could have an arranged marriage to Zuko." she joked. "Hey," I said, "Maybe I could slap you in the face. Anyway, my mom gave up all that royalty junk when she met my dad on a trip to Ba Sing Se. Then my uncle became first in line for the throne. He had a daughter and named her Yue. Anyway, my mom said one look at Dad and she knew they belonged together. That's why she left. Love can make you do silly things." I twisted the ring on the chain around my neck. "But I always thought that her story of meeting Dad was much more romantic than all the love stories I've ever read in my life." "That's really sweet," said Geo. "How about you, Zuko?" I asked. "Where would you go if you could go anywhere in the world?" "Away from you two morons." "First idiots, now morons, someone must be very touchy today." I said. "Oh, he's not touchy, today," Geo chimed, "he's touchy all the time!" We started to laugh like idiots. "Ha ha ha. Very funny," said Zuko tonelessly. "Aw, c'mon, Zuzu. We're just having a little fun," I said. "I give up," Zuko sighed. "And don't call me Zuzu. " "WAHOOO!" shouted Geo. "VICTORY!" I joined in the fun as well. "Will that be a verbal or a written surrender?" I asked. "It's a very special kind of surrender." he said, getting very annoyed. "It's the kind of surrender where I clonk you both on the head." "Ooh," I said. "Minus five points for violence." "What, so now this is a game?" Zuko groaned. "It's always been a game, Zuko. You're just too dumb to notice." Geo chided. I giggled. Zuko rolled his eyes.