Chapter One

Flames danced before Katara's eyes as the waterbender fell backwards to avoid being burned. She hit the ground hard and scrambled to get away, while the firebenders struck out at her, shot after shot. She backed into a rock and turned just in time to see a bright blast of flame heading straight toward her…

YOU DIED

"Dammit!" Katara exclaimed, removing her headset and laying it on her keyboard. The chat box exploded with "gg" as the game ended. Katara loved "Avatar", but she knew the firebenders were massively overpowered. No matter how high level she got and how hard she tried, they always killed her character and locked her out of the game for 24 hours. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, exasperated.

"Katara! What happened?" She heard her brother, Sokka, call from his room next door.

"Your stupid invasion plan failed and I died!" she called back, huffing in anger.

"My plan wasn't stupid…" Sokka said, dejected. Katara rolled her eyes, sighing once again before closing down "Avatar" and turning off her monitor.

It was Sunday night, and school would be starting up again the next day. Katara was nervous to begin her senior year at Elements High School; she had taken entirely AP courses and was expecting a heavy load of work. In addition to that, she had to worry about cooking for her dad and older brother, both of whom were hopeless in the kitchen.

Katara looked at the clock on her wall, and got up to start dinner once she saw that it was 5:30. She trudged down the short hall and around the corner, passing behind the couch where her dad, Hakoda, watched football. Through the creaking door, she stepped into the cozy kitchen. A quick check on the contents of the fridge decided they'd be having grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. After she quickly whipped up the meal, she called out that dinner was ready and retreated to her room with her plate.

"Thank you Katara!" Hakoda called, followed by Sokka repeating Hakoda's thanks through a mouthful of grilled cheese. She smiled and opened her history book, taking a bite as she began to read about the ancient Tibetan monks. World Cultures class started tomorrow, and she wanted to be at least 2 chapters ahead by the first quiz.


Aang raced up the stairs of his new building, his luggage thumping against each step as he dragged it behind him.

"Slow down, Aang! We have all night to get settled!" Gyatso called after him, before taking his own bags up the stairs, much more slowly.

Aang arrived at their apartment door, trying the handle and finding it locked. He waited impatiently for a moment before leaping down the stairs to Gyatso and taking his bags, sprinting back up the stairs with them in hand. Gyatso chuckled at Aang's impatience, making his way up at his own pace.

Aang was fidgeting anxiously as Gyatso pulled out his keychain, trying one, then another key until the door clicked open. Aang burst in and quickly glanced around his new home, anxious to see it. His face slowly fell as he took in the ratty couch, the scuff marks all over the floor from years of wear and tear and the stained carpet.

Gyatso put his hand on Aang's shoulder. "This is it, Aang. Our new home. Isn't it wonderful?"

"Yeah, it sure is…" Aang said, his energy quickly dissipating.

"I know it isn't quite what you were expecting, Aang, but it has everything we need. Material things go away in time, what is really important is that we have one another."

"You're right, Gyatso. Thanks." Aang said, smiling and picking up his suitcase, walking over to his room with a spring in his step. Gyatso smiled after his adopted son, and took his own bags to his bedroom.

Aang's room was small, with room enough for his twin sized bed and a dresser, along with his bookshelf. A mirror hung above his dresser and a small ceiling fan hung from the center of the room. Aang looked over to find his dog, Appa, already getting settled in on the foot of his bed. Momo, his cat, was lying on the corner of his bookshelf, lazily whipping his tail through the air. Aang reached up and scratched under Momo's chin, grinning when the cat purred at him. He fell face-first into bed, turning his head to the side and exhaling.

Aang was 17 years old, and for the first 12 of his years he was living at the orphanage. Gyatso had volunteered his time at the orphanage, and one day he adopted him, which Aang was glad for, because the kindly old man was would spend time with him more than any of the other workers. He always felt like Gyatso really understood him. Just after Aang's 17th birthday, his 5th year after leaving the orphanage, Gyatso's home was foreclosed upon and they moved here, to the Air Apartments on the south side of town. Aang was happy anywhere, as long as it kept him out of the orphanage. It meant he would be starting his senior year at a new school, Elements High. He didn't know anyone, but his friend Bumi said that it wouldn't be hard for him to make new friends. Aang had a way with people; when he set his mind to it, he could make anyone laugh.

Aang unpacked his suitcase, putting his clothes into his dresser and the few books he had brought onto his bookshelf. On top of his dresser, Aang placed a framed photo of him and Gyatso they had taken while baking fruit pies together. Their cheeks were covered in flour and their hands were sticky with fruit mush, but the memory was one of Aang's happiest.

Aang looked forward to starting school in the morning, and after a quick dinner he let his mind wander to school as he unpacked the rest of the things for the apartment. By the time he finished, it was near midnight. Aang stripped and crawled under his covers, resting his head on his pillow and stroking Appa's fur with his toes. He drifted off to sleep with his hopes for tomorrow swirling around in his head.


Aang's eyes snapped open the moment his alarm beeped, and he leapt out of bed. The moment his feet hit the floor he slid over to his dresser, taking out his favorite orange hoodie and white pants. Appa growled at all the sudden movement before turning and facing the wall, going back to sleep. Aang smiled and stroked Appa's fur for a moment before exiting his room and skipping to the bathroom and taking a quick shower. Once he was done, Aang put on his clothes, brushed his teeth and opened the door, letting the steam disperse into the apartment. He jogged into the kitchen, grabbing some toast and wolfing it down as quickly as he could. Afterwards, he slid has backpack over his left shoulder, grabbing his keys and heading out the door.

"Bye Gyatso!" Aang called over his shoulder, stopping just long enough to hear a muffled yawn then closing the door behind him and leaping down the steps two at a time. Aang's bus would arrive at 6:15; a quick check of his phone revealed the time to be 5:50. Aang groaned. He thought he would take longer to get ready, but in his excitement he rushed through everything.

It was warm outside when Aang strolled out the doors of the Air Apartments, the orange sunlight just peeking above the horizon. Aang hopped onto the curb and balanced one foot at a time as he walked to the bus stop. A quick 2-minutes later, he stood by a stop sign and waited.

Aang nervously glanced from side to side, bouncing his foot against the pavement. He checked his phone; it was only 6:04. He sighed and watched the cars go by.

"-worked even in the best of circumstances, let alone when they were expecting us!" a girl said. Aang turned on his heel to see who was approaching him.

A stunning girl with deep blue eyes and carefully combed hair strode toward him. She was looking at a boy next to her; he had her eyes, and by the way they looked, Aang guessed they were siblings. The girl was looking at her brother, her hand on her hip, as her brother scratched the back of his head and smiled lopsidedly.

"How was I supposed to know they knew about the invasion plan?" the boy asked. "It's not like they told us beforehand they had evacuated the capital."

"I know, I know… I'm just so tired of the fire nation winning every game." The girl huffed, looking ahead and spotting Aang for the first time.

Aang raised a hand in greeting, butterflies filling his stomach as he looked at the girl. He waved awkwardly, all traces of his restless behavior swept away with her arrival.

"Oh!" the girl said, surprised to see someone else at their bus stop. For the past 3 years, they had been the only ones there. They lived on the outskirts of the district for Elements High; everyone else lived much closer than they did. "Hello there!" Katara called, walking the last few yards to where Aang stood. Sokka was right by her side, smiling when he took notice of the pale boy.

"Hi, i'm Aang." Aang said, mentally cursing himself for his introductory skills. He clasped his hands behind his back, smiling widely at the pair before him.

"Do you go to Elements High?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah, I just moved here. Are you two here for the bus too?"

"Yep!" Sokka responded. "You er… you know it's 80 degrees out, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You're wearing a hoodie." Sokka pointed out.

Aang glanced down at himself, noticing how overdressed he was. He was suddenly conscious of the heat outside, and quickly took his hoodie off, wrapping it around his waist and tying the arm sleeves together.

Katara eyed the strange boy, smiling slightly. When he noticed, he looked at her and smiled back. For the next few minutes, the three of them chatted nonchalantly until the bus arrived. Sokka boarded first, followed by Katara and Aang. Sokka and Katara took a seat right next to the bus driver, and Aang looked around nervously before Katara grabbed his arm.

"You can sit with us, if you want" she said. Aang felt a blush creeping up his cheeks, and he nodded quickly, taking a seat next to Katara. Sokka pressed up against the window to give him space, glaring at Katara. She shrugged, pressing her hands together in her lap.

The bus lurched forward, breaking off their nonverbal exchange. Aang began to whistle a quiet tune, turning his head away from Katara to hide his flushed face. He couldn't think of the last time a girl touched him, let alone a girl like Katara. His arm felt warm where she had touched it.

The bus stopped a dozen more times, slowly filling up with students until they arrived at Elements High. Aang stood up and thanked the bus driver, then the three of them exited the bus, followed by a stream of their fellow students.

Elements High was a large, older building with white bricks forming the exterior. The buses stopped in the wide U-shaped turnoff from the street, letting out students into a small courtyard before the entrance of the school. The courtyard had benches pressed against the walls, a large tree in the center. Past the tree there were glass doors, with a banner draped above them reading "Welcome Students!". Through the doors Aang saw a common area with benches, and past that the open cafeteria.

"Wow," Aang said, taken aback by the size of the school. All his educational career, Aang had gone to class with only his fellow orphans, staying in one classroom as different teachers came and went. Gyatso had told him how different public schools were, but even in Aang's imagination he hadn't imagined the school would be as big as it was.

"Hey Aang," Katara said. Aang quickly turned to look at her. She blushed slightly at his sudden attention, before asking, "Do you know where you're going?"

"Oh, uh, I have Chemistry with Mr. Auberjonios now," Aang replied, "but I have no idea where that is…"

"Me too!" Sokka exclaimed. "Just follow me, Aang! I'll take you there!"

"Ok, thanks." Aang said, following Sokka. He looked back over his shoulder to get one last glance at Katara, only to find she had already left to go to her own class. He frowned, disappointed, before looking ahead and keeping pace with Sokka. Aang usually walked fast, but he was surprised by how excited Sokka was to get to class.

"The Mechanist is the best teacher, Aang, you'll see!"

"The Mechanist?"

"Oh yeah, that's Mr. Auberjonios. Everyone calls him that. No idea why, come to think of it. Oh well! The science hall is this way!"

Sokka led Aang through a series of short halls, until they arrived at a long hallway with an emergency exit at the end. They strode down to the last door on the left. Aang quickly checked the room number and compared it to his schedule, finding he was in the right place. They walked into the classroom together.

The classroom was a fat L shape, with the end being a small alcove containing a cabinet. Numerous scientific posters filled the walls, along with a massive notice board reading "AVATAR NEWS". The desks formed orderly rows facing the front, where a chalkboard took up an entire wall. The classroom was empty, save for them and one more person. Behind a desk at the front of the room sat a middle-aged man Aang assumed to be the Mechanist.

The Mechanist was tall and lanky, hunched awkwardly over his desk scribbling furiously upon a sheet of paper. He had black hair and a dirty white apron covering his green shirt. His computer was facing him, casting a blue glow over his face. His glasses sat low on his nose, and his forehead was furrowed in concentration. The most striking thing about his appearance was his eyebrows, or rather his lack of eyebrows. A few tufts of hair were still there, but otherwise he was missing large portions of eyebrow.

"What happened to his eyebrows?" Aang whispered to Sokka, who shrugged in response. They took a seat at the front of the room, right in front of the Mechanist's desk.

"This is the best seat in the house," Sokka said, "you'll see why."

Aang glanced at the notice board before asking, "What's Avatar?"

"What's Avatar?!" the Mechanist exclaimed, causing Aang to jump in surprise at the sudden outburst. "What's Avatar?! Only my greatest achievement!"

"Your greatest achievement?"

"Of course, my boy! Avatar is my creation, my baby, my pride and joy! Avatar is a game! Everyone at this school plays it."

Sokka nodded in agreement, adding, "It's an MMORPG, Aang. You log in with your student ID, only students here can play. It's a fantasy world where some people have the ability to bend nature to their will, based on their element."

"Their element?" Aang asked.

"There are four elements," the Mechanist began, "fire, earth, water and air. When you first login, you choose your element and start in the nation of your element. Well, that's how it was originally. I got rid of Air because no one was using it."

"Not much of a loss, really" Sokka said. "You should play it when you get home, Aang, everyone does."

"How?" Aang asked, intrigued.

"Here!" the Mechanist said, handing Aang a CD sleeve containing a disk with "AVATAR" written on it in permanent marker.

"Thanks" Aang said.

Aang and Sokka chatted for a minute more, until students began pouring into the classroom and taking their seats. When one particular girl entered, Sokka sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Look out for her, Aang, she's a royal bitch." Sokka whispered.

Aang turned to look at who Sokka was talking about. She wore all red clothes, with a gold dragon on her shirt. Her black hair was done into a ponytail, and she had golden eyes. Her lips were turned into a scowl, despite all the enthusiastic greetings she got from her fellow students. She was also walking right toward Aang.

She stood in front of Aang's desk, turning to look at Sokka. "Hey, loser," she said, earning a glare from him. She turned to Aang, her frown turning into a smile. "Hello. You must be new here, to be sitting next to him. Don't worry, i'll excuse it just this once. There's no way you could've known this, but he's the biggest loser at this school. Be careful; it's easy to fall in with the wrong crowd. My name's Azula." She looked at Aang expectantly.

"I'm Aang," Aang replied, cautiously. He didn't like the way she talked about his new friend, but Aang was non-confrontational by nature, so we resolved to just keep his distance.

"It must be a pleasure to meet me. I hope to see you on Avatar tonight; when you choose your nation, be sure to pick Fire; you seem like an interesting person, and I would hate for you to commit social suicide on your first day." Azula turned on her heel, walking to a desk in the back corner of the classroom. As soon as she sat down, 4 other students got up from their seats and rushed to sit near her.

"What did I tell you? Just because she's popular she thinks she's so much better than everyone else." Sokka growled.

Aang nodded in agreement. "I don't think I like her very much…"

The bell rang, and Aang's first public school class began.