Walk The Path

Chapter Five

The bell rang signifying the conclusion of another Thursday at Kyoshi High School. Students bursted from their classrooms, flooding the hallway with chatter. Azula was also very happy as she sauntered down the school hallway with a smirk on her face. She was expecting her usual large allowance from her father and couldn't wait to participate in retail therapy after school. As she approached the office of her father, the sound of whispering froze her. Two hushed voices talking set off alarm bells in her mind. "Maybe this is information I could use for blackmail later," she thought. Pressing her ear gently against the door, her mouth opened at what she was hearing.

"How are the plans coming along with the Avatar, Principal Hitori?", an unidentified deep voice asked. "Well, unfortunately, he wasn't in the car at the time of the accident so that threw a wrench in our plans for a few months. But, his guardian's insistence on moving here has been a success since I have found out the boy is an emotional mess. I heard from my little birds that he had a panic attack at my son's party over some dumb comment. Even with all of that power, he's still weak," Ozai chuckled. The stranger responded, "That's excellent news. The revolution continues." Azula heard shuffling from inside of the room and instinctively jumped back several feet to pretend like she was just walking up to the door now. The two men walked out of the office and Azula recognized the stranger immediately. This was one of the United Forces' admirals...or commanders..she couldn't remember which. She thought back to seeing him at the school last year trying to recruit poor students and kids with no academic future into the military. "What is he plotting with my father?", she wondered.

"Ah, enjoy the rest of your day, Admiral Zhao. Oh, and this is my pride and joy, Azula. The best firebender I have ever seen," Ozai said turning towards his daughter, "Say 'hello' to Admiral Zhao." At that moment, Azula's face became paler than normal. Her hands trembled lightly as she bowed to Admiral Zhao. She steadied herself and forced a friendly smile. While he bowed in kind, she couldn't help but notice a sinking feeling in her gut. She was unsure of what exactly her father was doing, but she knew he had a part in killing the Avatar's parents. Azula couldn't place what emotion was swirling around inside her. Was she angry? Sad? She didn't know, but she sensed she wasn't happy to find out this information and that is what scared her the most.

Down the hall from the Principal's office, Sokka was at Toph's locker cackling at a meme Suki texted him. His smile faltered at realizing his friend's disability, "Oh, sorry, Toph. I can read it to you if you like?" The earthbender frowned and answered, "Wow, Snoozles, you really are behind the times! I get image descriptions on my phone, but uh, thanks for the, apology." He flinched at the immediate punch from his short friend. "You're welcome," he stated, rubbing his arm with a smile at his understanding of her "affection". Zuko had his arm around Mai's waist as they walked over to Sokka and Toph. "So, Sokka, how are you feeling about saturday night? If I had a normal sister I cared about, I'd be going a little crazy right now," Zuko asked. "Man, I didn't understand any of that. What's saturday?", Sokka questioned with a raised eyebrow. Toph, Zuko, and Mai all exchanged looks of worry. Knowing the emo couple most likely didn't have the guts, Toph made it her priority to rip the proverbial band aid off.

"Only that it's Katara and Aang's first date! Wow, Snoozles you are two for zero right now. Ouch," she winced mockingly. Suddenly Sokka's face turned red as his eyes furrowed. Mai and Zuko quietly took a step away from the explosion about to happen. "I can't believe they didn't tell me! That goofy asshole is dead!" he yelled. Mai finally chimed in with a flat tone in her voice, "Come on, Sokka. Anyone around the two of them for more than a minute can see they like each other. I think it's kind of...cute." Sokka turned to Mai, not losing the anger in his voice, "I don't care that they're dating! I honestly expected it. But, for Aang to not tell me is pretty messed up." Toph scoffed, "Seriously, Sokka? You think this was Twinkle Toe's doing? He would've told you in a minute. Sweetness on the other hand, this feels like one of her deals."