The weather was getting nicer, so Iroh put some tables and chairs outside of his tea shop for the customers, and of course for his nephew, Zuko, and his friends.
It was Monday morning, and Aang was very tired from staying up later than he should have, over the weekend. He was upset over his crush. It was an honest, deep-rooted nest of feelings that he'd developed for Zuko over the years that they'd been friends. He couldn't even get enough sleep anymore due to his fear of rejection. Every time the boy thought of his older friend, he felt as though he and Zuko would never be together the way he truly wanted to be. To Aang, clearly it wasn't just an intermediate level of a crush anymore. It had become something more.
Aang's first class was gym, and Zuko happened to be in it, as well.
He came over to Aang and said, "Morning! Are you feeling any better than you were last week?" Aang didn't look so happy at the moment, but he was just glad that Zuko seemed to be concerned about him.
"I'm fine, now," Aang said, beginning to muster a light smile.
"That's good. You had me worried for a little while," Zuko responded. He did seem to notice that Aang wasn't himself, but he least expected that the boy's heart was aching badly over him.
Then, the baseball game that the class was going to play began. Aang was afraid that he would miss the ball and strike out when it was his turn, and he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of everyone, especially Zuko.
When it was Zuko's turn, he hit a home run on his first swing, and Aang gave him a high five. No matter what it was that Zuko did, Aang was always in amazement.
"Nice job," Aang said.
"It was luck," said Zuko.
Next, it was Aang's turn up at bat. The sun was strong, and he had to squint to see the pitcher. Aang took his first swing and missed.
"Strike one!"
He missed his second one too.
"Strike two!"
It was Aang's last chance to hit the ball and impress Zuko. He stood firmly, gripping the dirt with his sneakers as he held the bat with an iron grip. The pitcher threw the ball and Aang locked his position onto his target.
Crack! Aang hit the ball with so much force that it landed far off into the outfield. It was another home run! Aang was so excited that he forgot to drop the bat until he was more than halfway to first base.
When Aang got back to the bench where Zuko and the rest of his team were sitting, they all cheered.
"That was awesome!" Zuko shouted.
"Thanks," said Aang.
"Hey, your face is a little red, I hope you didn't strain yourself too much in that run," said Zuko, with a bit of a puzzling look.
"Yeah, I guess I got a little carried away, and the days are getting really warm too. Sometimes the humidity is what makes it seem so much hotter," Aang added, trying to hide the fact that he was blushing.
When it was time to have lunch, everyone met at Iroh's tea shop. Today, there was a new face at the lunch table. It was Mai. She had come to town to visit Zuko, or rather, to tell him something. She seemed cross. She was definitely angry about something, and everyone had already long predicted exactly what she was about to do.
Mai decided to announce to the whole group that she was breaking up with Zuko, the way a cranky little schoolgirl would handle it. Her excuse was that she had found another boyfriend at her new private school.
"Zuko, your such a jerk! Why did I ever even think of giving you the time of day? You haven't called me in months!" Mai hissed, standing over him.
Zuko didn't respond because he was trying not to laugh at how ridiculous she looked. The angered girl of gloom eventually took her leave, and stormed off in quite a tantrum.
After Mai had left, Zuko admitted that he wasn't really very upset.
"She was way too bossy, and to be honest, I wasn't really interested in staying with her for much longer, anyway," Zuko said.
"Wow. That happened fast," said Katara.
"You aren't even phased in the slightest?" Toph asked.
"Not really," said Zuko. "I haven't talked to her since last summer," he added. "Actually, I've been hoping to pursue a completely different kind of person this time," Zuko said, as he met Aang's glance.
R&R :D
