Staying on the honour roll

Hello honour, my old friend.... jk where are you?

I paced around my room, on what had to be my 200th lap that evening. Dinner had been the usual boring gathering, the only exception being Iroh eyeing me over his tea cup the entire time. But now I was alone in my room, no one but me... and my increasingly anxious thoughts.

It is rather embarrassing, after all, when your 14 year old sister is it a higher level than you, and will almost certainly graduate on the honour roll. Probably even 2 years early, at her rate. At the same time as me. With higher grades then me. I'll have to move across the nation.

I let out a long sigh (it's been a while, it felt good), and stopped my nervous pacing. Sitting on my bed, I weighed my options. I needed to do my schoolwork. By this point, there wasn't too much, but the issue was that I didn't understand it at all. The whole point of having a teacher was to have them teach me, and without Katara, I might be able to do the work, but who know what kind of quality would it be?

An idea popped into my head. An idea that was stupid, irrational, and downright horrible, but it was all I had. It would hurt my ego endless amounts, but according to a simple formula I had discovered ( <ego= >honour), it would work... just.

I slowly walked over to my door. Taking deep breaths, I pushed it open and walked to the chambers parallel to my own. Bracing myself, I knocked 3 times.

A voice that would make fingernails scratching on a chalk board sound like angles singing answered. 'Who is it?'

'Me. Zuko. Your brother.' Footsteps came up to the door and I shrank away a bit as she stepped out.
'Agni, I know who you are. Would "Zuko" not be enough of an introduction?'

I groaned. 'Okay. Sorry. Can I come in?'
She looked me up and down. 'What do I get for it?'

I had to stop myself from physically slapping my forehead. 'Just let me in! That's obviously part of the conversation I want to have actually inside your room!' She let out a laugh, and held the door open just wide enough for me to squeeze in.

Once inside, I turned back to her. 'I need my honour. My honour roll spot back. And I think you can help me. Uncle has forbidden me from being tutored, but I think I could get away with it if I never actually left the palace, and if the person tutoring me... lived in the palace.

She stared at me. 'You want one of those dumbass guards to help you? You know they never went to school, right?'

I shook my head fast. 'Aren't you meant to be smart? I want you to tutor me. You're a higher level than me anyway. I'll give you whatever you want. Please.'

She closed her eyes as if savouring my begging, and then opened them with a frosty glare in my direction. 'Okay. But I have a fair share of demands.' I nodded my head, please she had agreed so quickly. She started to list off her demands.

'One: if you are invited to high school parties, I come too. No telling mum and dad, no snitching to anyone.'
'Two: you be my wingman. Talk me up to any decent looking guy in your year. Give me their contact information if they seem interested.'

I quickly interfered. 'You want me to get involved with your love life? That's pretty out of character for you.'

She smiled at me. 'And it's pretty out of character for you to go behind uncles back, but look where we are. Three: you drive me, Mai and Ty Lee Andy where we wish to go. If mum and dad say you have to chaperone us, you just leave. Go do your whole loner thing. Don't stay with us.'

She paused, racking her brain. 'That should be all for now, but I also request that new rules of these tutorials can be added in at any time.'

I gave a soft groan, considering backing out while I still had the chance. But I knew deep down that I couldn't, not when my honour was in the line. I nodded and spoke 'Fine. When can we start?'

She smiled in a way that most would think sweet and charming, but I knew as scheming and manipulative. 'I think tomorrow after school should be very, very nice.'

She flicked her dead straight shiny black hair over her shoulder. 'Out of my room. Now. Go perv on some girl or whatever you do in your spare time.'

I kicked her and walked out of the room. I struggled sleeping that night (again). I knew that uncle would forgive me easily for disobeying him, and would never dream of punishing me, but what about father? He didn't even care if I was tutored or not, but any excuse to punish me, he would take gladly.  After a while, my thoughts turned to Katara. I wouldn't get many chances to see her, let alone talk to her now she wasn't tutoring me. I had no idea how I would ask her out now.

Around 3am, my thoughts calmed enough to allow me to sleep. I dreamed things that made me wake up sweating, but I forgot what they were immediately.

So I said no zutara but uh.