An: Good lord. I've done it again. I've written fan fiction. I just keep coming back like the masochist I am. Sigh.

It was close, Azula realized.

If she had gotten one more question wrong or if the other girl had gotten one more right... They would've been even. She grimaced at the thought. Azula had topped the testscores as per usual, but usually it was by a margin of twenty or thirty points. This was two.

The princess stared up at the board and traced the score number to its name. Mai Lobsang. Azula blinked. Who in the hell was Mai Lobsang?

She should've known everyone there was to know. If they were important enough they would've met her at some royal feast or another. If they were smart enough they would've introduced themselves at whatever chance they could. But Azula had never heard of this Mai Lobsang.

The gap between Mai and the next student was huge, as it normally was for Azula and the second-best. Where had this girl been all this time? The name Mai hadn't been in the list of the top 15 of the last exam, but there was simply no way she could've shot up that fast from some low rank to nearly matching Azula herself.

Azula glanced behind herself and found a girl with heavy black bangs looking up at the test results as well. "You there," Azula called out, her seven year old voice already iron with command, "Do you know who Mai Lobsang is?"

The girl jumped at being suddenly addressed. She fidgeted and stared a moment at Azula before finally nodding her head.

"Is she a transfer or something?" Azula demanded, "Is that why I haven't seen her before?"

Again, the girl took a second before nodding meekly.

Something clicked inside of Azula's head. Azula looked at the girl more carefully. She was pale and reed-thin, likely having spent most of her time indoors reading a book and sitting about. Her bangs came down so solidly it was a wonder she could see through them, but the faintest gleam made it clear her eyes were there and watching. Still, from the awkward way the girl stood and her slouched posture, it was clear she was just a bookworm. Azula couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"You're Mai Lobsang, right?" Azula asked with a sigh.

The girl's cheeks immediately flushed, "Yes."

Not much of a talker, though Azula couldn't say she was surprised. This Mai was already shaping up to be the typical shy studious type. "Do you know who I am, Mai?"

"Yes." Mai blinked and then quickly added, "Princess Azula."

The girl's first words other than "yes", Azula noted with satisfaction. Still, the girl should have confessed who she was the instant Azula asked about Mai Lobsang. If she had, Azula thought with a tinge of annoyance, this conversation would have been over a whole lot sooner.

Then a splendidly wicked idea came into Azula's head and she could barely contain her smile as she asked, "Were you trying to hide from me, Mai?".

"N-no, Princess!" The girl shook her head and her bangs swung back and forth.

"No," Azula stated flatly, "I think you were."

"What..." Mai's mouth made a small o as she looked helplessly at the princess.

A smirk played on Azula's lips. "Perhaps you were trying to hide from me because of your guilty conscience. Because you cheated on that test. You almost beat the princess too, but even stealing the answers wasn't enough."

The girl jumped at that. "What?"

"You heard me, cheater." Azula said, putting as much contempt as she could in that one word.

"I... I didn't cheat..." Mai's voice had gotten very small and she looked firmly down at the ground.

Azula laughed. "Then how did you do almost as well as me?"

"I... I studied really hard."

"That's a dumb answer, Mai." Azula rolled her eyes, "You'd have to do more than just study to even think of beating me."

"I wasn't thinking of beating you..." The girl was shaking a little. Azula hoped she wasn't crying. She hated when people did that.

"You're gonna have to stop lying all the time, Mai." The princess took a step towards the trembling girl and was delighted to discover she was taller - if only by an inch, "Did you know that lying to the Royal family is a crime? You could get put in prison."

Mai kept her head down as she spoke, "I'm not lying."

Azula blinked at that. The girl had a little more guts than Azula thought she would. "So you're calling me a liar, then. Is that right?" When Mai didn't say anything, Azula pressed harder, "Are you going to keep me waiting for an answer now? Should I add that to your list of crimes?"

"No..." Mai answered finally. "I'm sorry. You're not a liar."

And there it was, the young princess leaned back an easy smile on her face. "So good of you to understand, Mai. I won't have to tell anyone else about how you cheated. It'll be our little secret."

The timid girl didn't say anything, only kept her head down.

It was time to finish the little bookworm's school career once and for all. "Just one thing, Mai. It's hard to keep a secret like that if you stand out so much." Azula leaned forward and whispered, "They'll be posting test scores next week, Mai. Hopefully I won't find you."

Then with one last flash of a smirk, Azula turned away. It was a shame that the girl's hair covered so much of her face, it would have been nice to see her eyes when Azula accused her of cheating. The seven year old princess gave a little giggle and cheerfully walked down the -

A ball of crumpled paper hit the back of Azula's head. It bounced off lightly and landed on the floor with a quiet rustle. It didn't hurt, but it made Azula stop. Slowly she turned.

Mai was trembling and the little bit of the girl's face that Azula could see was completely red. "I... Idiot!" The girl cried out, her voice squeaking in an almost menacing way, "I wasn't thinking of beating you before! But I sure am now!" The girl heaved a few huge breaths and then just as quickly as her rage appeared, it was gone and the girl turned tail and ran away.

Azula should have been mad, furious even. She should've chased the girl down and had her punished. How dare that Mai girl throw something at her? To even think of raising a hand against her royal person was a crime. But Azula couldn't muster up any rage, try as she might. Any inkling of anger was swallowed up by an entirely different emotion. Excitement.

The princess reached down and picked up the crumpled piece of paper. It was the test results. She looked at that name again, just below hers. Mai Lobsang. Her very first rival.

AN: Azula meets Ty Lee, next chapter.