Set My Heart On Fire (UPDATED AND CONTINUING!)

13. And All Your Little Things

Zuko stared at his rough fingers as he played with one of his Post-It notes. He folded up the cherry red square of paper in half then half again, feeling the sharp corners then creating methodical creases.

 

It was the middle of the school day, 5 period English class. The teacher went on a tangent about how Shakespeare did not exist while Zuko’s attention span seemed to be the only thing extinct. He just wanted the day to end so he could go see Katara and work on their piece. He still had to finish their conversation about how silly the British names of food were. He could still recall their humorous exchange.

 

"A biscuit is sweet, Zuko, not salty. And definitely not made of bread." Katara argued.

 

"Oh come on, they should just let the breakfast bread be called a biscuit, and a cookie should just be called a cookie. Its not that hard."

 

"The name 'cookie' makes zero sense. And so do you." Katara retorted. Katara's eyes widened slightly, emphasizing her insult. Her little round nose wrinkled in subtle distaste, while her familiar rosy lips pouted.

 

Zuko, now sitting amidst his fellow classmates, smiled. He involuntarily picked up on all the little things Katara always did, from wrinkling her nose when she disliked something, to the little almost-unseen dimple on her right cheek when she laughed. Zuko grinned as he stared at the little paper dragon he folded now sitting on his desk, his hand playing with one of the delicate paper wings.

 

“And why don’t we let Zuko take this one.” Professor Roku said aloud, turning the class’s attention toward Zuko. Zuko’s eyes flew open in surprise, his thoughts evaporated.

 

“Crap.” Zuko thought. Professor Roku stood straight, staring daggers at the young man and twirling his fingers in his long white beard. “What was it he asked?”Zuko thought frantically. “Something about Shakespeare’s poetic style?” Zuko guessed.

 

“We are waiting, Mr. Zuko.” Roku stated in mock anticipation. Zuko sighed.

 

“Yeah, well.” Zuko began, the class leaning more in to hear. “Shakespeare typically follows iambic pentameter in his plays, but he often avoided that structure when writing the dialogue for minor characters, letting them speak in prose instead...”Zuko answered to the best of his ability, his eyes boring into the teachers. Roku remained standing quietly, while the rest of the class wore looks of bewilderment at Zuko’s profound answer.

 

“Incorrect, Mr. Zuko.” Roku answered suddenly. Zuko’s eyes squinted in confusion, he was sure his answer had to at least be partially right. “Shakespeare, as I said before, is nothing but a constructed name labeled among the works of genuine author, Edward De Vere.” Roku continued.

 

“Therefore, it was Edward De Vere that typically followed iambic pentameter in the writing of his plays, but often avoided that structure when writing the dialogue for minor characters.” Roku said, turning away from the class and raising his hand in an emphasizing gesture. Zuko rolled his eyes, realizing how he was actually right. Roku turned abruptly toward Zuko again.