Double Bender

Part 8

The next morning, we put away the tent (technically, we just put it back in the ground) and got ready to leave. Zuko walked over to me as I was trying to pack my jacket. "Need any help?" he asked. I kinda hid behind my hair so he wouldn't see me blushing. "No, I'm okay," I said as I jammed my jacket into the bag. "Okay," he muttered. He changed the subject. "So, what was that dream you had last night?" My face fell a little. "It's nothing." "Doesn't seem like nothing." "Well, it is." "You sure you don't want to talk about it? I mean, you seemed pretty upset last night," "I really don't want to talk about it." "This is probably one of those things that you need to talk about..." "No, this is one of those 'Drop it and leave it alone' things. You of all people should know about that." I was really starting to get annoyed. He couldn't just leave it alone? To be fair, he was just worrying about me but I didn't want, or even need, somebody worrying about me, especially when I was trying to hide the fact that I loved him. Yeah he was definitely making that difficult. "You can talk to me." "I said I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!" He backed away. I could feel almost every eye within a ten-yard radius staring at me. I cursed as I flung my bag over my shoulder and headed with the rest of the crowd. "Ba Sing Se!" A person called, signaling everyone leaving for Ba Sing Se to get on board. Geo caught up with me and we followed the crowd. "So, what was that all about?" "Zuko was being difficult." Geo obviously took it the wrong way. "Maybe he likes you," she said waggling her eyebrows at me. I hated it when she did that, it was so creepy. "What? Are you nuts?" "Maybe he wants you to hug him!" "Well I certainly don't want to hug him." "Ooh, touchy." said Geo. I rolled my eyes. "Your brain still-" "Don't even think about it!" "Tsk tsk." Geo said. Uncle and Zuko caught up with us and we boarded. Each of us were given a mat to sleep on. Once we were all situated, the boat got moving. I leaned over the side of the boat to take a look at the vast ocean spread out in front of me. Zuko came up behind me, leaned over the side of the boat and crossed his arms. "Oh, hey," I muttered. "Look," he said, "I know that it wasn't my place to be persistent like that-" I cut him off."That wasn't persistent. Persistent is just being too dumb to quit. That was just plain rude!" "Okay, okay. I get it. It just seemed like you were upset." "Gee, what told you that?!" I said getting a little angry. "Hey, calm down. I just... I kinda know how bad nightmares can get." My expression softened a little. "You don't have to tell me what happened. Just tell me at least how bad it was." I thought for a second, trying to find the right word. Then, I finally came up with, "Horrifically awful," "Wow, that's quite a nightmare." "I saw my parents. They said that they...didn't want me. It was awful." "Gee," he said sarcastically and a little angrily, "I wouldn't know how that would feel." "Oh, sorry." I said looking down at the water. Zuko obviously saw that he was not helping. "I'm sure that your parents don't feel that way." "News flash, they aren't feeling anything right now, they're dead." "Right," Zuko said. He really was not helping. "Well," he said, as a last resort, "I'm sure they'd be proud." "How would they be proud, I haven't done anything?" He looked around awkwardly and said, "You could do something great one day, then they'll be proud." I would have thought myself to be crazy if I thought it was actually true.
Later that afternoon, we were all at the side of the boat. Uncle was obviously feeling sentimental. "Who would have thought that after all these years, I'd return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace...as a TOURIST!" He said as he put on a ridiculous hat. Okay, so maybe he wasn't in such a sentimental mood. We all rolled our eyes at the same time, as if the situation wasn't comical enough. "Look around," said Zuko, "We're not tourists, we're refugees." "What'd you get?" Geo asked me. I looked at the stuff that was supposed to be food that the crew had given me. "To be honest...I have absolutely no clue." "Me neither," said Geo. Zuko took a small bite of his... food and made a face. "I'm sick of eating rotten food, sleeping in the dirt. I'm tired of living like this!" He said angrily. "It's better than nothing, isn't it?" I asked. He glared at me and I stared at the stuff in my bowl. "I'm sick of it too, but-" "Aren't we all," a voice cut me off. We looked over our shoulders to see a young boy with untidy hair, wild eyes, and a thing of wheat sticking out of his mouth. He stepped out of the shadows and introduced himself. "My name is Jet, and these are my freedom fighters, Longshot and Smellerbee." Two other kids stepped out of the shadows too. One wore a straw hat, blue clothes and some kind of red cape. The other had bushy brown hair, a head-band, face paint, and what looked like home-made armor. "Hey," One of them said. The other one nodded. Geo and I introduced ourselves using our fake names. "I'm Naussica, and this is my sister Ying, my brother Lee, and our uncle, Mushie." "Pleasure," said Jet, looking at me and Geo. "So here's the deal," Jet said, "I hear the captain is eating like a king while us refugees eat his scraps. Doesn't seem fair, does it?" "What sort of king is he eating like?" Uncle asked. "The fat, happy kind," Jet answered. Uncle made a hungry face. "Do you want to help me liberate some food?" Jet asked, slyly. Before Zuko even had time to answer, I cut in. "Can I talk to Lee for a second?" I grabbed Zuko's sleeve before Jet could say no. "This is crazy!" I said. "Tati... Naussica," Zuko corrected himself. "You know how unfair this is, we have to do this." "No we don't! I know we have some really crappy food right now but-" "Someone's got to teach that selfish captain a lesson!" Zuko said, obviously not listening. "Maybe, but it doesn't have to be you. I know it's wrong, but getting involved could be even worse! If you're caught, you could get in serious trouble. And you're trying to make a new start." "These people are starving! Do you really want to have it so they don't have food?" Zuko! I know it's unfair, but you don't have to be the one to do it!" "You know what it's like. You of all people. A person like you should jump at the idea." I paused. He really pushed it. I was pretty sure he had just compared the selfish antics of a Captain to my bad life. I sighed and said, "There's no getting through to you, is there? Fine, but I'm coming with you." "No you're not." Zuko commented. "Yes I am. Have you ever stolen something before?" "Once," he answered. "I have too, several times, and it's not easy. One mistake could botch the whole thing. You need someone to make sure that we don't accidentally let someone know that we were there." "Fine," We walked over to Jet and Zuko said, "We're in." With that being said, he tossed his bowl overboard. Jet grinned.
Later that night, Zuko, Jet, Geo, Smellerbee, and I all crept up to the top deck, where the kitchen was, as Longshot stayed on the lower deck. Geo and Smellerbee kept watch as me, Zuko, and Jet snuck into the kitchen. There was so much food it could feed everyone on board (which was why we were there). "Wow, Jet," I whispered. "You weren't kidding. This guy is eating like a king." "Shhh!" Zuko hissed as he wrapped up several bowls of rice. We tossed all the stolen food into our sacks as we heard Smellerbee whisper "Guard's coming!" We tossed the sacks over our shoulders and ran out onto the upper deck. Longshot got ready to shoot an arrow with a rope tied to it so we could all swing down. He shot it with a small pa-king! We all grabbed onto the rope and slid down before the guard could even realize we were there. "Now I see why they call you 'Longshot.'" I joked.
Later, we passed out actual legit food to the other passengers. Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot joined Geo, Zuko, Uncle and I for dinner. "So," Uncle said, "Smellerbee? That's an unusual name for a young man." "Well," said Smellerbee irritably, "maybe it's because I'm not a man. I'm a girl!" Smellerbee got up and stormed away. Longshot followed her. "Oh," Uncle called after her. "Now I see. It's a beautiful name for a lovely girl!" I face palmed. "Fail," I muttered. Longshot went up to Smellerbee and gave her a look. She mumbled something that I couldn't hear and the two of them sat back down. Jet sat with us too. "From what I've heard," he said "people eat like this every night in Ba Sing Se. I can't wait to set my eyes on that wall." "It is a magnificent sight." Uncle chimed. "So you've been there?" Jet asked. Uncle's face fell a little. "Once, when I was...a different man." "I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of. But that's why I'm going to Ba Sing Se, for a new beginning. A second chance." "That's very noble of you, Jet." said Uncle. "I believe that someone can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances." He and Zuko shared a glance.
The next morning, Zuko stood out on the front of the boat. "Hey," I said. "You okay?" "Yeah," he said. "Just thinking." "What about?" I asked. Zuko was silent. "Okay then, don't tell me." he sighed. "It's just...what's our life gonna be like when we get to Ba Sing Se?" "Do I look like someone who can tell the future to you?" I asked sarcastically. He laughed quietly. I put my hand on top of his. "Well, it doesn't really matter as long as we're all together, right?" he smiled a little bit. "Hope I'm not interrupting something." said Jet, coming up from behind. "You know," he said. "As soon as I saw your scar and your oddly colored eyes, I knew who were..." A little chill ran up my spine. He knew us? Did he know that Zuko was Fire-Nation? Judging by the look on Zuko's face, he was a little uneasy too. "You guys are outcasts, like me. And us outcasts have to stick together. Watch each other's backs, 'cause no one else will." "I've realized lately," said Zuko, "that being on your own isn't always the best path." I gave his hand a little squeeze. We looked up and tried to see beyond the fog. There, amidst the foggy mess was the Great Wall of Ba Sing Se.
In no time, we pulled into the harbor and were let off the boat. We were sent to another grumpy desk clerk. This time, it was a fat woman with a huge mole. "So," she said looking at our passports. "Mister Lee, Miss Naussica, Miss Annoying..." Geo let it go, she knew it be pointless to try and correct her. "...and Mister Mushy?" "It's pronounced 'Mooshie.'" "You tellin' me how to do my job?" she asked getting rather annoyed. "Oh no no." said Uncle. "But may I just say you are like a flower in bloom, your beauty is intoxicating." The woman smiled. "Hmm, you're pretty easy on the eyes yourself." She made some sort of cat noise. "Welcome to Ba Sing Se, handsome." she said as she stamped our passports. Uncle picked up our passports and handed them back to us. "I'm gonna barf," I whispered to Zuko. "I think it's kinda sweet," said Geo. "Oh," said Zuko, "I forgot, you're not right in the head." "Got that right!" Geo laughed. Zuko snatched his passport from Uncle. "I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that." Zuko whispered angrily. "Aw, c'mon," said Geo, "it was sweet." Uncle smiled a little and turned around. As soon as we were sure he wasn't looking, we both pretended to hurl.
We made our way through the crowd and finally found a seat while we waited for the train to come. Jet caught up with us and sat down next to Geo. "So, you guys got any plans for once you get into the city?" he asked. "Get your hot tea here!" someone shouted. "Finest tea in Ba Sing Se!" Uncle stood up. "Jasmine tea, please." he asked. The man poured his tea and Uncle took a sip. He instantly spat it back out. "Coldest tea is more like it." He said angrily "What a disgrace!" Zuko and I turned back to Jet. "Hey," he asked. "Can I talk to you guys for a second?" We all got up and followed him, leaving Uncle with his tea. "We'll make it better in the city if we all stick together. What'd you say? You all want to join the freedom fighters?" We all thought for a moment. Then Zuko said, "I don't think you'd want me in your group. I'm not sure what these two think." Geo said, "I'd just cause you all trouble. I'm one of the clumsiest people who ever lived." "Naussica?" he asked. "I can't." I said. "I go where these guys go." "C'mon. You saw how great of a team we were on that ship. Think of all the good we can do for these refugees!" "We said no." Zuko said as we turned and walked back. As we walked back, we saw Uncle drinking happily out of his steaming cup of tea. The key word being "steaming." He was fire-bending his tea.
Zuko angrily knocked the cup of tea out of Uncle's hands. "What are you doing fire-bending your tea?!" Zuko asked through gritted teeth "For a wise old man that was a pretty stupid move." Uncle's answer was rather pointless. "I know it's useless to cry over spilt tea but, it's just so sad." He said. I face palmed. What was with him and tea? I didn't get it. "You could have given us away!" I whispered angrily. Uncle just looked at the ground.
"Ba Sing Se!" One of the staffers called. "Last call for Ba Sing Se!" We boarded the train and sat down next to a man and a woman, who had a baby in her arms. Uncle looked over to the family and said, "What a handsome baby." "Thank you," the lady said with a little laugh. Then the train started to move. Zuko, Geo, and I were all thrown into a pile. "All of you, GET OFF ME!" Zuko said angrily. Geo got off of me and I got off of Zuko. I offered him my hand to help him up. He defiantly got up himself. I sat down and he sat down next to me. I looked out the window and got my first view of the magnificent city.
It was the largest city I'd ever seen and probably ever will see. There were houses everywhere and streets, and shops. And this was only the lower ring! It was the greatest city in the world and it definitely deserved that name.
We finally got into the lower ring of the city. Zuko, Geo, and I were walking along, trying to find our new apartment. Uncle caught up with us with a huge vase with a gorgeous orange flower in it. "I just thought it would make the place look nice," he nudged Zuko, "in case someone brought home a lady friend." "Um, Uncle?" I said. "You already have two girls living with you, isn't that enough?" Zuko decided to go back into his shell of annoyance. "This city is a prison." he whispered only loud enough so we could hear. "I don't want to make a life here." That kinda made me snap. "Why do you always have to say that?!" I whispered angrily. "We get it! You don't like hiding out here and being useless! NEWS FLASH! None of us do! It's not your job to try and make everyone feel worse!". We exchanged angry glances and stared each other down. Uncle felt it was his job to calm us down and help us feel better. "Life happens wherever you are," he said. "whether you make it or not. Now come on. I found us some new jobs and we start this afternoon." I let the air out through my nose. "A job is always nice," I said absentmindedly. "At least we can bring home a little money." I broke my stare with Zuko and looked back at the road ahead, keeping my eyes on the dirt path.
After we got acquainted in our little apartment (and by little, I mean little. There were only two rooms so Geo and I had to share), we started our new job, at a tea hut. It was a tiny wooden building, small, solid, and homey. A good place to have a nice cup of tea after a long day. We greeted our new boss and he gave us our aprons. Our boss was a thin fellow with a thin mustache, about average height, kind face, all around a nice guy. But then again, that's me talking with my terrible judgment of character. "Well," our boss said, "you certainly look like official tea servers. How do you feel?" "Ridiculous," Zuko muttered. Geo, Zuko, and I had all tied our aprons with no problem but Uncle was having a little trouble. "Does this possible come in a larger size?" He asked, rather embarrassed. "Certainly," our boss said. "I have some extra string in the back." He poured four cups of tea. "Have some tea while you wait." Zuko discarded his cup as soon as the shopkeeper left the room. Uncle, Geo, and I started to sip. The tea was okay, a little bland however. Uncle's tea was definitely better. "This is...okay..." I said. "Yeah," said Geo sarcastically, "And Zuko is the handsomest guy I've ever met!" Cue the blush from me. Uncle, obviously didn't approve, seeing as he made a face as soon as he took a sip. "This tea is nothing more than...hot leaf juice!" He said angrily. "Uncle," Zuko said, "that's what all tea is." "How could a member of my own family say something so horrible?!" "Yeah Zuko," Geo said instantly taking Uncle's side. "How could you say something like that?" I joined the fun. "Shame on you, Zuko." I scolded. Uncle, however kind and happy he may be at other times, was not amused with our little joke. Neither was Zuko, but that's expected. Uncle grabbed the pot and said, "We'll have to make some major changes around here!" He said as he poured the potted tea out the window.
That night, we got home rather late. As soon as Uncle closed the door, we all flopped down either on the couch, a mat, or the floor. "Would any of you like a pot of tea?" Uncle asked. "Uncle," said Zuko. "We've been working in a tea shop all day. I'm sick of tea." "Sick of tea?" Uncle asked, rather shocked. "That's like...being sick of breathing!" "Okay," Geo said. She took a deep breath in and held it. "What are you doing?" Zuko asked. "I'm sick of breathing!" she answered. I laughed at her little joke. "I'll have some." I said, humoring Uncle a little bit. "I'm not sick of breathing." Geo giggled and Zuko rolled his eyes. Uncle started looking around for something. "Have you seen our spark rocks to heat up the water?" "Spark rocks?" I asked. "Small, teal rocks that you use to light small fires." Geo answered. "Come to think of it, spark rocks kinda have the same color of your eyes." "Cool," I answered, even thought I really didn't need to know it. Uncle walked out the door for a second and then came back in with some pretty looking, teal rocks in his hand. "I borrowed our neighbor's," he said. "Such kind people." He rubbed the rocks together and the sparks that they gave off made a fire. After the tea was ready, Uncle started to pour the tea. "I got it," I said standing up. "Are you sure?" Uncle asked, putting the pot down. "I insist. Besides, I need to work on my water-bending anyway." Geo looked over at us. "That's tea, honey, not water," she said like I was an idiot. "It's water with stuff in it, honey," I said, equally annoying. "Besides, as long as it's liquid, I'm pretty sure I can bend it." " Well, I'm pretty sure that Uncle wants his tea in his cup, not on the floor." "Haha," I said. "Just you watch." I took a breath and put my hands out in front of me. Zuko and Geo sat up to watch the show. I moved my arms in a swift motion and I pulled my wrists back. To my surprise, the tea actually moved out of the pot. To my even greater surprise, it moved the way my arms did. It took all my energy just to get it to keep moving and it took even more energy to split it to get it into two cups. Uncle stared wide-eyed as I actually succeeded in bending water. Uncle handed me my cup and I flopped down on the couch next to Zuko, exhausted. "That was...pretty neat." Zuko said awkwardly. "Thanks," I said staring at my cup.
The next evening, Geo and I tried our hands at making the tea with Uncle. She succeeded in making a drinkable batch but mine was tossed out the window. Mine wasn't toxic like Zuko's, but it was also bad enough to scare away the customers. So I stuck to serving instead of making. A few soldiers walked in later that evening and Uncle gave them their tea. "This is the best tea in the city." They complimented. "The secret ingredient is love," Uncle said. "Yeah, and me doing all the work, lazy old man," Geo said sarcastically. Uncle, Geo and I laughed and Zuko rolled his eyes. After Uncle had finished pouring the tea, he stood with the manager, waiting for someone else to call on him. "I think you're due for a raise." The manager said to Uncle. After I had put down my tray, I stood by the door, waiting to greet whoever came in. Suddenly, the door slid open and in came a young boy with untidy brown hair and a strand of wheat in his mouth. Jet. "I'm tired of waiting!" He said angrily. He pointed to Uncle and Zuko who looked uneasily at each other "Those two men are fire-benders!" He pulled out his two strange weapons that looked like very large hooks and said, "I know they're fire-benders! I saw the old man heating his tea!" "He works in a tea shop," one of the soldiers said. "They're fire-benders!" Jet protested. "Drop yours swords, boy," said the other soldier. "Nice and easy," Jet came closer to Zuko and Uncle as Geo and I ran next to them. "You'll have to defend yourselves...show them what you can do." One of the soldiers reached for the dual swords in his sheath but Zuko grabbed them first. "You want a show?" he asked as he pulled the two swords apart from each other. "I'll give you a show." They faced each other in the middle of the room. "Lee, no!" I yelled. "Stay out of this, Naussica." Zuko said. Jet came running at him but Zuko had pulled a table in front of him and blocked his blow. Zuko pulled out another table and kicked it towards Jet, who sliced it in half. Zuko hopped up on another table and Jet cut of the legs of that one. Their swords clasped together, each time they hit, a sharp "clank" echoed in the room and made everyone shudder. Zuko kept blocking all of Jet's attacks and he kept pushing him towards the door Suddenly, Zuko tossed another table at Jet, who dodged and watched as the table crashed through the door. Jet jumped outside and Zuko followed. "Lee!" I shouted. Zuko whacked one of Jet's swords so hard that his sword flew out of his hand. Everyone in tea shop had come out to watch the fight and some of the other spectators had even started making bets on who'd win. "Please, son!" Uncle yelled at Jet. "You're confused. You don't know what you're doing." I ran outside with Geo. "Bet you wished you had a little fire blast to help!" Jet said. Clang, clang clang! went the swords. "You're the one that needs help!" Zuko yelled. Then Zuko took a swipe at Jet, who bent backwards, and Zuko cut his thing of wheat in half. That's how close it was. "Stop!" I yelled. It had absolutely no effect on anyone. I angrily stomped my foot, making a splash in a small puddle nearby. And that's when I noticed something; the ground was wet. It had rained earlier that afternoon so I had plenty of water to work with. I focused all my energy on the water and all my concentration on my target; Jet. I took a breath in and started to move my arms, channeling the water. I brought my arms up and a small pyramid of water had formed around Jet's body. I clenched my fists and the water turned to ice. Jet looked puzzled for a second then broke out of his icy prison like it was nothing. Probably should've gone with earth, I thought. Jet looked angrily a me and scowled. Zuko took this opportunity to try and bring Jet down. He swung one of the swords at him and Jet quickly dodged. The fight resumed and Zuko kept swinging at Jet as he hopped up onto a nearby well and yelled. "You see that? The Fire-Nation is trying to silence me!" "And this is the Earth-Kingdom trying to silence you!" Geo shouted. No sooner had she said this, she started bending rocks at him. Jet dodged uneasily, one false moved would send him flying into next week. Suddenly, a rock made a near miss at a villager. Geo stopped hurling rocks when she realized that there were too many people around and someone was going to get hurt. "It'll never happen. I won't be silenced!" He shouted. He grabbed onto a pole and swung down at Zuko. Zuko blocked his attacks again and again. Clang! Clang! CLANG! Went the swords. Two official looking men in green robes and round hats came out from the crowds and said, "Drop your weapons!" "Arrest them! These two men are fire-benders! They've kidnapped this water-bender and this earth-bender." Uncle stepped in before Geo and I could say that we were in fact not kidnapped. "This poor boy is confused." Uncle said calmly. "We're not fire-benders. We're refugees." The shopkeeper, however, was not as understanding. "This boy wrecked my tea shop and assaulted my employees!" "It's true, sir," one of the soldiers said. "We saw the whole thing. This crazy kid threatened one of the finest tea makers in the city." Uncle blushed. "That's very sweet." he said. "Come with us, son." said one of the fancy soldiers. Jet took a swing at the soldier's hand but he caught it firmly in his palm. He obviously had on some sort of special glove that protected his hand. They pulled Jet's arms behind his back and pulled him into a prison wagon. "You don't understand!" Jet yelled. "They're fire-nation! You have to believe me!" Then they threw him in the wagon and drove away.
I walked over to Zuko. Before I could ask if he was alright, he got angry. "What were you thinking?!" he asked angrily. "Pardon me?" I asked. "What part of 'Don't get involved' don't you understand?!" "Excuse me for trying to help." I said putting my hands on my hips. "You could have gotten hurt! You can't just go out and stick your head right in the middle of a fight!" "Geo did the exact same thing! I don't see you yelling at her!" "Hey," said Geo. "Don't bring me into your lover's tif." "IT'S NOT A LOVER'S TIF!" Zuko and I yelled at the same time. "There's a difference between what you did and what Geo did." Zuko continued. "Geo actually knows what she's doing!" That was the last straw. "Excuse me? Excuse me?! Oh, so when I'm in a fight and don't need help, it's alright for you to get involved, but the second you need help, I'm not allowed to step in and save your life?!" Zuko huffed. "Excuse me for trying to fight my own battles and not wanting you to get involved. Excuse me for not wanting anyone else to get hurt!" "I'm pretty sure if I want to help you, I'm well aware of the risks! I don't need you to remind me!" Zuko went back inside, obviously too tired to argue.
The manager gave us the rest of the night off. Zuko and I were still pretty mad at each other. Uncle thought that our argument was silly and that we should drop it. But he was forgetting the fact that I was part earth-bender, which sort of guaranteed that I was as stubborn as a Komodo-mule and Zuko was stubborn enough to begin with. Stubborn plus more stubborn equals death, common knowledge. I decided to go to bed early. After all that happened, I couldn't handle anymore excitement. Just before I fell asleep, I heard the door in the other room slam. "What?" I heard Zuko ask on the other side of the wall. I got up and put my ear to the wall and I heard someone yelling. It had to be Geo. From her tone, she sounded pretty angry. "When are you going to say it?!" she asked angrily. "Say what?" Zuko asked back. "How hard can it be to say the words 'I love you' to someone?!" Zuko was silent for a moment, obviously thinking. Then he broke the silence. "Look, I'm sorry if you're angry..." Geo cut him off. "Don't apologize to me! How long have you been keeping this a secret?!" Zuko sighed. "Since the incident with the rough rhinos. I knew it would be too awkward to say it in person." "Do you know how much keeping silent can hurt someone? It seems like a good idea to keep your big mouth shut at first but then it just eats away at you! And it hurts the other person too! They think that you don't care about them!" "Do you speak from experience?" he asked, getting annoyed as well. "No, but I know someone who has!" They were silent for a while and then Zuko mumbled something I couldn't hear. "Good," Geo replied, her voice a little calmer this time. "It's about time you said something." Hanging my head, I walked back over to my bed. It was absolutely useless that I told Zuko that I loved him now. It didn't matter because he loved someone else.
The next day was Friday but, Uncle didn't wake me up as usual. I woke myself up when I realized that I would be late for work. I quickly pulled on a dark green shirt and a light green dress and ran out to the kitchen. Zuko, Uncle, and Geo were standing by the door, ready to leave. Guess I'll have to skip breakfast, I thought. I grabbed my bag and stood with them by the door. Uncle stopped me. "Uncle," I said, "If we don't leave now, we're going to be late." "You're not coming to work with us today." "Why not?" I asked, a little alarmed. "Was I fired?" "Oh no," Uncle said with a little chuckle. "Today you get a day off." I sighed with relief. I needed a day off. All that I'd been through in the last week alone was enough to stress someone out for an entire lifetime. "Thank you so much." I said as I hugged Uncle. "Woah woah woah." said Geo. "How come Tatiana gets the day off?" She sounded like a little kid. "I forgot to tell you all. I made an agreement with our boss. Tatiana gets the first Friday of the month off, that would be today, Geo, you get the day off on the second-" "Score!" she said excitedly. Uncle continued "and Zuko, the third." "You don't get a day off?" Geo asked sympathetically. "I'm already working the best job I could ask for. I don't need a day off like you kids." I gave Uncle and Geo a hug and shot Zuko a look. Then they left. After I'd brushed my hair, I had breakfast, grabbed some extra coins and decided to take a walk around our sector of the lower ring. I locked the door and left the apartment.
I walked around a lot and stared at all the odd things being sold. "Jewelry!" I heard someone shout. "Gorgeous jewelry!" The vender's cart was covered in priceless gems that looked like they'd come from all over. There was one in particular that was right up front that caught my eye. It was a gorgeous shade of light purple with faint little pink lines in a firework pattern running all around and was tied with a short purple cord. "Excuse me, sir," I said walking up to the jewelry stand. "Can you tell me about this purple gem up front?" "Ah," he said mysteriously. "That one was found in the spirit oasis up in the Norther Water-Tribe. It's pure amethyst. The folks up North call it 'moon's shadow.'" The fact that it was from the Norther Water-Tribe struck my interest. "How much?" I asked. "Too much for a little refugee girl like you." "How much?" I asked again. "It's one gold piece, which is obviously too much for you but you know what, I like you, you're a good kid so I'll lower it to two copper pieces." I reached into my pocket, fished out a gold piece, and dropped it on the counter. He shot me a surprised look as I tied the cord around my neck. "Keep the change," I said cooly as I walked off.
I honestly didn't like the way he thought that I was just some poor simpleton who didn't have enough money for anything. That's what everyone thinks of me I suppose. They think I'm either to weak, poor, young, or fragile to do anything. It's always the same kind of people too; People who have practically the same status as I do, minus a small detail like gender, age, or height and they always treat me like I'm nothing. Either way, I let my temper get in the way like I always did.
The rest of the day was uneventful. It was the end of the day that made the whole thing interesting. I decided to treat myself to dinner. Luckily, the place was cheap so I didn't have to waste the rest of my money. I was halfway through with my meal when I heard several things crash. "What was that?" I asked, turning to the waiter. "One of our customers was trying to juggle," "In a restaurant?" I asked, rather confused. "You should see the other bozos who come in here regularly," he said. "Poor you," I replied. "Are you staying for dessert?" he asked in a proper manner. Before I could answer, I was interrupted by a customer at another table yelling, "She is NOT my girlfriend!" I looked over at the waiter. "I don't want to know, do I?" I said. The waiter shook his head. "I think I'm just gonna go," I said, dropping a few silver pieces on the table. "You don't know how lucky you are," he remarked. I stepped out the door and into the night. I walked back to the apartment, or tried to find my way back. I took a left, then a right but after taking a few more turns, I realized that I had gotten myself lost. In addition to being big, Ba Sing Se was one, very large, very confusing maze. Suddenly, I saw something glowing in the distance. Thinking that someone might be there to give me directions back to the apartment, I walked towards it. As the glow got bigger, I realized that it was a fountain with several glowing lanterns. I also saw two shadows leaning close to each other. The moment became a little more awkward when I realized the two shadows were kissing each other. I smiled to myself and turned to leave when something caught my eye. It was very difficult to see with all the lights around but I could faintly make out some sort of shape on the man's face. It was round and it took up the entire left side of his face. Zuko's scar. Zuko was kissing some other girl. I felt everything inside me crumble. Zuko was kissing some other girl? Was it Geo? No, her hair's too short. I doubt Zuko even knew this girl. I turned away and started to walk slowly back to the apartment. My mind reeled back to the restaurant to the voice that shouted about somebody not being his girlfriend. The voice sounded oddly familiar. It was Zuko's voice. He was probably referring to the girl. He was on a date with another girl. By the time I made it back to the apartment building, I realized that there were tears running down my face. I quickly brushed them away because I didn't want Uncle to see and think that my day off had been horrible, because then he'd feel bad and I didn't want that. I walked into the apartment and saw Uncle putting on a pot of tea (duh). He saw me and smiled. "How was your day off?" he asked. I put on a fake smile. "It was nice," I said as I walked into my room. A little while later, the door opened and closed again. I heard whispers on the other side of the door. Then I heard Geo come out from the little living room and whisper to Zuko. "She's in our room," A split second later, the door to Geo's and my room opened and Zuko came in. "Hey," he said. "Hello," I said absentmindedly. "How was your day off?" he asked. "It was nice." I answered. "How was your date?" "It was okay but...oops," he said once he realized what I was talking about. "Zuko," I said. "can't you just pick a girl and stay with her?" "Wha..?" Zuko looked confused. "What are you talking about?" "First it's Geo and then it's some random girl from the tea shop. Who's next? Some girl you met off the street?" "How did Geo get involved?" He asked, looking even more dumbfounded than before. "I heard that argument you had last night." Zuko face palmed. "Oh my gosh!" he said. "You weren't supposed to find out like that. I am so sorry." "You mean you couldn't just tell me that you two...URGH!" I said, flopping against the wall. "Tatiana," he said, "listen, that argument wasn't about me and Geo-" I cut him off. "No you listen." I said. "I tried keeping my mouth shut for your sake but it just got harder and harder and it was starting to get painful. Then I find out that you two are a couple, out of the blue, I tried to respect that. But then I find you and some random girl? I mean, that's just too much! And think of Geo! What's she gonna think of this?!" Zuko tried telling me again. "Tatiana-" "Can I at least say this, please? I mean, I wanted to tell but I was too scared. Too scared of what you might do or say. I told Uncle and he said that I should tell you but every time I try to say it or even just look at you, I forget everything. And it's really hard to-" Then suddenly, everything stopped. At first, we were apart from each other and we somehow melded together. He pressed his lips to mine and I went blank. I forgot where I was for a minute, I forgot why I was angry and I forgot that I even was angry. Heck, for a second, I forgot my own name. It was just me and him, standing in the middle of the room kissing.