"Something's triggered
when I look at you"

Prologue
Welcome to London

-June has the most defined ass of all Europe. - The red graffiti highlights with all his audacity over London's avenue bridge.
Not too far away, an eagle, sculpted long ago, has undoubtedly seen the guilty but will never talk. Above the sculpture, like a little eagle being protected by the raptor claws of marble, a young man not much older than twenty-one, was seated there in all halcyon.
His bald head, his neck lifted and a cigarette in his mouth, the sunglasses in his eyes. A beautiful smile, although not many had had the luck to appreciate it.
In front of him, he saw how the cars stopped in a threatening way before the traffic lights. Aligned like in a race. A New Beetle, a Micra, an american car not much identifiable, an old Punto. In the inside of a Mercedes 200, a thin finger of small nails gives a little push to a CD. From the lateral speakers a song with a delicate tone suddenly comes alive. The car starts moving again, and she was wondering -Where is the freedom?- But does it even exist? At least she knows one thing for sure: she would like to get rid of her cousin Meng, that from the back seat, she repeated over and over again "No, not that song! Change the tune, I'm falling asleep here!"
Unlike her, Meng has lived her whole life in London. Her childish attitude made her look younger than she was. She was a year and a half years older than her, of tan skin and dark brown eyes. Her curly hair made her braids look messy with a big amount of hair, and bangs covering her eyebrows.
The Mercedes stops just in the moment the bald man throws the cigarette away. He made his way down the marble stairs, fixes his jacket and then climbs up to them blue motorcycle. As if by magic, he found himself between the cars. His right Adidas changes the way.
The sun has ascended in the sky, is a beautiful morning. She was going straight to the school, he hasn't gone to sleep yet. A regular day. But they were both before the traffic lights. And that is why this day will not be like any other day.
Red.
He looks at her. The window is open, and she takes her head out. A dark bun reveals in parts her soft pale neck. A delicate but decided side face, light green, tender, serene eyes, as she rested her chin in her arms. Such calm in her captivates him.
"Hey!" She turns to him, surprised. He smiles, standing next to her, over the motorcycle, his broad shoulders, hands of paler color for the summer time. "Won't you like to give a ride with me?"
"No, I'm going to school." she replied in a dry tone, turning her head back to the front with the intention to ignore him.
"Then don't go, conceal a little no? I pick you up in front."
Her face remained serious, but did not bother to give him a quick fake smile. "Sorry, but I have given you the wrong answer. I do not want to go with you." After that, she turned back, ignoring he was there, or at least she tried to ignore it.
"Come on, we'll have fun." He insisted, and it was getting on her nerves. Though she had to admit, that his voice, being all flirty, was giving her the chills.
She scoffed, and made a light shake of head "I doubt that."
From the inside of the car, she heard a long low sigh, probably he was giving up, and she wanted that. "Who knows." But his tone remained cheerful "I could solve your problems."
She scoffed once again, trying her hardest not to look at him. She needed to remain uninterested if she wanted him to go away. "I don't have any problems."
He smirked a little, taking his sight to the front. "I doubt that."
Green.
The Mercedes 200 accelerates forward, leaving the man with smirk fading away in the distance.
"But who was that? Is he a friend of yours?" her father turns to his niece from the driving seat, but waiting for no reply from her, he turned to his side where his daughter was "Did he bother you?"
"No Dad." she replied after giving a long sigh of relief that it was over, but smiled when she turned to her father "He was just a dolt."
Her father, Lao Beifong, was the owner of an important international company of metals in America. Because of an opportunity to make business in Europe was presented to him, he decided to move to London taking his wife and daughter with him. He was of medium height, tan and eyes of a dark green color, the appearance of one of the richest men in America – probably from the whole world. Because of the high class of society she lived in America, she has had the obligation to behave like a girl from her class – a well mannered young lady – living the opportunities many people yearn to have, money, jewels, power, a life of big salon parties and private schools. Coming to London did not mean a change to that life, but she has yearn for another type of life.

The Mercedes 200 stopped at the entrance of the new place she will spend her last year of high school. An old but renewed beige building with a giant clock hanging in the middle tower, long stairs in the middle – enough number of stairs to make exercise in the morning – and big trees around the building. A building big enough to hold a moderate number of female students, but not as big as the school she used to go back in America.
"Goodbye Uncle Lao." Meng's cheerful tone sounded like an echo to her ears, internally grunting as she grabbed her books and bag to open the door of the car, a little slower than Meng – who had closed the door of the car. She opened the door of the Mercedes 200, taking a foot out ready to leave, until a strong tanned hand holding her arm called her attention. "You know that your mother and I want what's best for you." Her father told her in order to show his support to his daughter, the words that came out in his calm and low tone were tagged as an -I want to support you-, but she would add another tag next to it saying -In our way.-

A well-faking smile and a "Bye Dad" was enough to satisfy the Metal Industries owner, as he took his hand back in the wheel leaving his daughter standing at the entrance of the institute. With a book in her left arm –pressing it with her chest to keep it from falling– and her bag hanging in her right shoulder she looked up at the building rethinking about her freedom, and where did the wind take it as she first stepped out of the airport. The wind blew on her as she walked up to the stairs, heading up to her first class –Architecture– that would be at least something she would like. Her passion has always been drawing, architecture was her first option for college, however her parents had other plans for her future, way different than hers. Her own future meant independence for her, for their parents it meant otherwise.

She made her way into the classroom 215, the way the classrooms were placed by number was the first thing she noticed in her first day in the institution – the number one's were down, and the number two were up – luckily for her she would not have to make long walks, from down to up and viceversa in each two or three classes. Walking upstairs inside and outside of the building to reach the room 215 made the pale girl sweat more than she expected, the cool breeze and the heat of the sun were like a to-sweat machine for her. Her uniform was of a poor color –grey– her skirt up above the knee no more than three inches, a white long sleeve shirt with a black tie, and a darker grey – almost black– blazer with two small buttons that kept her from showing her white shirt. She put her books and bag in her desk to fix her bun and to take her blazer off as she started to feel the heat of as more of her now female classmates made their way inside the classroom.

"You might want to put your blazer back." Behind her, a girl a little taller than her with the same tan skin as her cousin, a single braid that did not miss the loopies from both sides, smiled to her as she began to put her books in her own desk. She seemed as a person to trust, with her blue eyes that radiated innocence, like a girl that has never done any mischievous act in her life, the type people would point at to describe as a perfect girl.
She stayed in silence, no word nor sound came our from her. Just wondering in her mind -Who is this girl that is telling me what or what not to do- but the tanned girl only giggled at her suddenly silence, missinterpretating it for shyness. "You must be new around here, I haven't seen you around in the institute before."

"Sorry but why should I put my blazer back?" She eyed her in a serious way, unconciously answering her question. "Now I'm not saying I'm an expert in meteorology, but as far as I know it is not cold outside."

The blue-eyed giggled once again and raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms in the way "Yup, you must be the new girl. American right? You definitely have the accent." She saw her taking a seat next to her desk without putting her blazer back. The new girl had just decided to ignore her. She sighed "It is in the dressing code. First class is obligatory to wear the blazer inside the classroom."

"Dressing codes?" She remembers having dressing codes in her latest institute, but in her perspective wearing the blazer as obligatory was unreasonable. "Why would wearing a blazer inside the classroom must be obligatory. Isn't that stupid?"

"Well the climate is quite-" the bell rang interrupting her.

The rest of the girls had already sat down incluiding the girl she was talking to, and she did the same. "Good morning, silence." A woman not younger than fourty-five years old made a quick appearance to the front of the classroom "Silence." she said louder, preparing the books she was carrying and placed it above her fancy wooden desk, that was located at a few distance from the entrance.

"I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Katara." the girl sitting beside her smiled, in which she returned in a weaker way and continued to prepare her book.

"Toph."

"May I?" A girl from her age opened the door to enter, but stopped when she found the teacher already inside.
"Late." The woman coldly said as enough saying for the girl to understand the memo, and she did. The girl with light brown hair made a face and closed the door after being denied to enter the classroom.

Her face remained calm and serene, but her mind was demanding between answers and questions the action she just witnessed and took her sight up to the clock with roman numbers that was placed above the blackboard, and started making calculations. The bell rang at 7:55, the class officially starts at 8:00. The girl entered the classroom just a minute late. Oficially, Toph Beifong has started her first day in the institute with tougher rules than the ones she was used to in the institute back in America.

As if her mind was read by the girl next to her, she turned her face to her and found Katara smiling. Unlike the other smiles she had given her minutes earlier, this smile was different, it was regular as if it had no happiness nor sadness, as if it had no meaning.

"Welcome to London..." she said.