Book 1: Responsibility

Chapter 1: Breaking News


The boy sat in the Jasmine Dragon Tea Shop. The news was still a heavy load on his mind as he played with the tea in the small cup, watching it shift from side to side without spilling. He was the avatar. He just found out a few hours ago.

At first he didn't know how to react to the news. First of all, he never wanted to be the avatar. He never asked. Today was his sixteenth birthday and he intended to spend it with his mom. Next thing he knew, some geezers from City Hall requested an urgent meeting and then the gut punch came.

How could anyone prepare for news like this? How inconsiderate is it to have so many great expectations going into your sixteenth birthday, only to be shattered by the weight of the world thrown on you by people you only see on the news. Knowing that he'd have to undergo rigorous training in body and spirit. To have to leave everything behind to go travel the world. To likely be a target once the news of the Avatar's return spread. Everything negative about the situation attacked his mind.

He ran his hand through his black, bowl-cut hair, giving it a slightly unsettled look. He brought the cup of tea to his mouth and took a sip, but was caught by surprise by the temperature. It was already cold.

He sighed and pushed the cup to the middle of the table, which came as a signal for the waitress to come. "Was the tea not to your liking?" The waitress asked in concern.

"Huh? Oh...n-no that's not it, sorry," He replied constantly shifting back and forth from his thoughts to reality. "I just have a lot on my mind. I wasn't thinking," He explained as she took the cup.

"Shall I bring a fresh cup for you? Free of charge," She offered.

"Yes, thank you. And sorry again," He bowed his head slightly. She smiled warmly.

"It's no trouble," She replied before walking off.

He always liked this tea shop. The service was always so quick and loving. It felt like a second home. A place he could easily come to and relax. Even the hospitality of a common waitress would be enough to get his head out of the stormy clouds for a few minutes.

Unfortunately, today, it wouldn't be enough. Sixteen was a magic number in growing up for a number of reasons. First kiss, driving, parties, jobs, the first taste of an adult's life usually happens as they reach that age. But for him, it wasn't a taste. It was practically a full holiday meal of all of the foods he hated the most.

The waitress came back with a hot cup of jasmine tea. "Here you go," She said warmly.

"Ah, thank you. Are you sure I shouldn't pay?" He asked, visibly uncomfortable by the Samaritan gestures of the waitress.

"Like I said, it's no trouble at all. You're a regular here and it looks like you have far more on your mind than the cost of some tea," She reassured. She made sense, he couldn't deny that. She left him to his thoughts, but shortly after the bell rang on the door.

"How did I know I'd find you here, Zeren?" A woman's voice said from the entrance.

Zeren looked up. "Mom?" He realized. Appearances can fool anyone. She looked nothing like a mother would. She was visibly young and vibrant. It was clear that Zeren took after his mom in many of her facial features with her long black hair in a pink scrunchie and wore a viridian colored one-piece dress. She caught the eyes of many customers as she walked in and sat across from Zeren.

He avoided his mom's eyes, looking to the bottom right corner of the room. She gave him a sympathetic smile and waved one of the workers over to the table. "Yes, I'll have the same thing that my son is having," She ordered.

"Right away Ma'am. Is that all?"

"Yeah, that's it for now." The waiter went to go work on her order. She looked back at Zeren with the same sympathetic look and started leaning her head on her hand, propped up by her elbow. "Y'know, I want to brag to the world about my son being the avatar, but that solemn look makes it veeery difficult to do."

"If you want to brag, go ahead. I'm not stopping you," He answered.

"Liar. Anytime you're against something you have that habit of looking to the bottom right side," She snickered. His eye twitched. He knew his mom was right, but his pride wouldn't allow her to have the satisfaction of teasing him while he's down.

"How would you know?" A lazy, pitiful question came out of his mouth. Her tea came.

"Here you go, Ma'am," The waiter said.

"Ah, thank you," She said handing him five yuans. They slightly bowed to one another as genuine thanks for service and payment. "'How would I know', you asked?" She blew on the tea and sipped some. She winked at him giving him a vibrant smile. "I'm your mother, of course."

He knew that was the answer she'd give. It was obvious and cliche, but he didn't exactly ask a question that begs for a complicated answer. "Plus, you got that habit from me," She explained, pointing a teaspoon at Zeren. She leaned back in her chair, swaying her feet side to side, looking up to the ceiling. "I remember the first time I noticed it! You had to poo, but you were so uncomfortable letting your precious mom watch! After all that time you spent training to use the potty," She was being unnecessarily loud with such an embarrassing memory in a rather quiet place.

"Mom!" Zeren tried to catch his mom's adrenaline before it got to too high, but to no avail, she continued the short story.

"You were looking to the bottom right, holding it in and fidgeting in your diapers! It was too cute!" Zeren had died a little inside. A shell of himself was left, slouching on the table while his mom was laughing to herself, swimming in nostalgic memories. Awkward stares raped Zeren but had no affect on his mom.

After his mom had his fun, she quickly changed her tone. "Anyway, Zeren. I know it's probably stupid to ask, but how are you feeling? Tell me truthfully."

Zeren brought himself back up and kept quiet, not because he didn't want to answer, but because he didn't know how to answer. Being the avatar was supposed to be an honor, right? He should feel proud, right? Wrong. He was being stripped of his right to live his own life. A life free of heavy burdens. Of course, he thought that just because he was the avatar, it doesn't mean he'd face hardship in his life time, but in every era, there's always someone who opposes the ideals bestowed on the chosen being.

"I don't want it." He answered. It was honestly the best, most straight forward answer he could give. His mom didn't budge at all. She took the answer head on as if she were fully expecting that response, and she honestly was.

"Then don't be it." That was a response that Zeren wasn't expecting. He fully expected the "don't knock it til you try it" response. When he looked at her, she was being dead serious. Probably as serious as she'd been all year long.

"Whaddayou mean?" He asked. The answer she gave couldn't have been more straight forward. But he asked this, as if seeking a positive answer to allow him to move forward.

"Exactly as it sounded," She said, sipping her tea again. Zeren looked down at his cup of tea and took a sip. It was much warmer this time.

"Is the answer really that easy?"

"It can be. There will always be someone who disagrees with your decisions, but at the end of the day it's your decision to make. Always remember that." They both sat there, sipping their tea til it was finished. Zeren thought about what she said, but he still felt like he had a job to accomplish being the avatar. It was his choice to make, but the duty to the world greatly outweighed his say in the matter. At least that's how he thought.

"I'll...I'll give it a go," He hesitated. He wasn't sure why he said that. Fact was, the world was enjoying a time of peace. Maybe somewhere deep in his mind, he thought that everything would be fine. He'd just take a few years to master the elements and come back home.

"Are you sure?" She asked, skeptical about his answer.

"I'm sure." He wasn't sure at all.

"You know you don't have to, right? Say the word, and I'll personally go tell those council members to go shove their ancient avatar prophecies up their-"

"It's fine, Mom, really," Zeren said hastily, catching his mother in a state of aggression as she cracked her knuckles with her brow scrunched together. He knew how she would get when serious or when it concerned his happiness. But this was his problem. It wouldn't make much sense making a scene in City Hall. Her reckless behavior could very well put them on front page of Republic City Times.

"Okay, if you're positive you're fine with this, I won't argue," She said, relaxing her muscles. "When are you supposed to report back to them?" She asked, shifting gears.

"They never really gave me a choice, honestly. They said that escorts would come pick me up tomorrow morning."

"Going?"

"To the Fire Nation. They said I would first need to master firebending."

"Fire Nation, huh? Well then, we better go home and start packing. It's already passed midday."

"Uh, the counselors said I wouldn't need to bring anything with me on this journey. Everything would already be taken care of."

"Well the counselors can kiss a donkey hippo's behind. They're not your mother. I am. And I say we're packing!" She put her foot down, with a slight pout.

Lenka couldn't help but smile. As vibrant and kind-looking as she is, there was no containing her foul-mouth, especially when people tried to parent her or him when it wasn't their place to do so. Although, it was the second time she said "we". It begged the question.

"By 'we' you mean you're-"

"Yup, I'm coming with," She finished, grinning at Zeren. Something about that made him feel relief. It's not like he was a "momma's boy". Not by any means. But if anyone's presence could give him a positive outlook on things, it was hers, by far. Still though, it didn't stop him from persisting.

"What about your job? You can't just leave Republic City. You've built a life here," He explained.

"A life for you," She clarified, poking his forehead from across the small table. She winked and said, "Besides, my son is the avatar and I'm manager of the place. I'm sure they'd understand."

"But-"

"I don't intend to stay with you for your entire journey, y'know. It's just for a few months until you get adjusted."

Zeren stopped persisting. His mouth moved, as if trying to find a question to stump her on. But he knew it wouldn't work because she always somehow had an uplifting answer. He should have known better that she wasn't gonna sacrifice her whole career for something that he wasn't even too sure about.

"Let's get to packing then." He said, speaking her language.

"Yes!" She celebrated. She just then exposed herself to Zeren. She wanted nothing more than for a few months off her job at the market. This was his mother. But there could be no one better.