Another Avatar University Story

Chapter Sixteen

Two weeks had passed since the Ba Sing Se Exhibition and since then Yue was hard at work with extending her ties beyond her posse that would always follow her. With every passing day, she reported that she had confidently gained three or four more pro-Arnook voters to our side. By the end of the semester, if she kept this pace up, according to Sokka, we would've reached out to everyone on campus that was a part of the Water Borough.

However, while she worked tirelessly, the rest of our small band..

We didn't accomplish much of anything.

I mean, it wasn't our fault that we didn't have the clout she did or the 'Arnook name' as Sokka put it, but maybe that was because none of us ever tried to make connections. Yes, it was probably that. Ever since the exhibition ended, we've grown lax and lazy in regard to assuring Arnook's victory. Katara and I spent much of our time studying for the upcoming midterm exams, either in class, at the two siblings' flat or, over FaceTime calls extending late into the night; The exams were scheduled to start the second week into October so at least you could argue we were being productive. Sokka on the other hand spent his time playing the new Cold War installment for the Call of Duty: Black Ops series, which if you asked me didn't really satisfy me or amount to any enjoyment after completing its campaigns. So, on the first Monday of October, I decided we would make some moves finally. Our cause was a team effort, and knowing that Yue was doing all the heavy lifting made me feel like a deadweight. I wanted to change that.

So, before the first lecture began on Monday, I struck up a conversation with Sokka and Katara in my English hall. "Guys, don't you two feel bad that Yue's doing all the work here?"

Katara was the first to reply. "I didn't really notice that. But, now that you bring it up, I kind of do feel bad." She dropped her head down and adjusted the folding desk out of the chair it was attached to, folding it open and laying her laptop on top of it, ready for today's lecture.

"I mean, I thought of the plan.. I did some work too, you know" Sokka added on. He shrugged his shoulders and adjusted himself to be more comfortable in the cushiony seats.

Before I fired back, saying that it was I who first thought of the new plan, Katara answered for me, sounding just as annoyed as I would've been if I had answered. "Sokka, you asshat. First off, it was Aang that got this ball rolling; you only fleshed out his plan. Second off, how the fuck could you say that? She's your girlfriend at this point and you're literally throwing her under the bus."

In the time between the part and now, Sokka and Yue finally mustered up the courage and confidence to bring their relationship to the next level, officially recognizing each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. Since then, the two would often set aside time to hangout and go on dates to places like the Ember Island Amusement Park, which sat a couple minutes, if you rode the metro lines, outside of Ba Sing Se on a narrow strip of land, and to restaurants like the Jasmine Dragon, which Katara and I suggested they should go to.

Katara punched her brother in the arm, eliciting a slight groan from him. He rubbed his arm, wincing a little. "Alright, alright.. I guess you're right."

"You guess? You know I'm right" Katara crossed her arms, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, you're right."

"We're off track here now from what I wanted to bring up. Maybe we could... do our part in our little operation here. We've yet to talk to actual people from the Earthen portion of the city you know" I put out, reminding them of our slight amendments to our plan.

"Okay.. do you know who we should talk to first then?" Katara questioned, sounding much more calm compared to a few seconds earlier.

"I don't know. But.. maybe we can start over there" I replied, pointing up to the upper echelons of the lecture hall. All the way, seated at the top row, were a bunch of guys wearing green, which probably meant they were from the Earth Borough and our targeted demographic. The green shades of hoodies and shirts and sweats that these guys wore was intimidating enough, but the size of them only made them more scary to approach; however these guys were the kind of people we needed to vote for Arnook because even if we lost... well, just don't imagine a reality where angry buff people realize Arnook lost.