Shots Fired by Amphoterus
Aang glanced at the clock, inwardly groaning. He slumped forward in his seat and buried his head into his arms, 'Monkey feathers! Only a minute passed since the last time I looked!' He sighed, resting his head against the palm of his hand, he stared at the clock from the corner of his eye, 'I should have just eaten lunch at the cafeteria!' He began tapping his pencil in a steady beat against his desk trying to think about his biology homework, 'Centrosomes? Centrioles? When am I ever going to use-'
"Will you cut that out?" a voice snapped, bringing him out of his thoughts. Aang sat up abruptly, accidentally letting his pencil fall to the ground. He looked on his left-hand side, past the girl with long wavy hair, and settled his eyes on a boy who was hogging one of the larger tables in the corner, "There's a reason why this room is for silent study," the boy spoke calmly, emphasizing the term 'silent study.'
"I'm sorry," Aang laughed sheepishly and dropped to the floor to find his pencil, "My name is Aang."
"If you don't mind, I'm going to get back to studying trig integrals, Aang," the boy spoke as if he were testing the way Aang's name rolled off his tongue.
"What's your name?" Aang asked without missing a beat. He set his pencil on his desk and leaned back in his chair, trying to get a better look at the boy he was talking to.
The boy smacked his own writing utensil on the table he had taken over, "Zuko," he spoke without looking at Aang. He collected scattered pieces of paper-notes and homework assignments-haphazardly choosing to stuff them into his calculus textbook for now. He gave a fleeting look at the clock, 'Almost 20 minutes before next period,' he took a deep breath and exhaled in frustration, 'Just great! I barely got anything done today.'
"So are you a senior?
Zuko turned his head towards Aang, "Yes," he said bluntly.
Aang finally noticed a prominent scar over the older boy's features. He hesitated for a moment before pointing to his own eye, "Where did you get that?" he asked.
Zuko narrowed his eyes, glaring at Aang, his neutral expression turned into a scowl, 'Who does this kid think-'
THUMP!
"Sokka," the girl took off her headphones and stared at the newcomer, "What are you doing here? Don't you have P.E. right now?" her eyes roamed over to the girl whose hand was clasped with Sokka's, "Who's this?"
"The name's Toph," she replied, pulling her hand from Sokka's, "What's the big idea dragging me here?" she shrieked.
"Katara, I'm so glad you're safe!" Sokka hugged Katara briefly, letting her go before she even had a chance to hug him back. He turned back to Toph, "You were just roaming the hallway!"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Toph said, "I didn't know this school had Hall Nazis," she replied sarcastically.
Sokka's mouth flew open, a look of disbelief on his face, "Wha- I am not a Hall Nazi!" his expression suddenly became serious, "We need to barricade this door, right now!"
Aang quirked up an eyebrow in confusion, Zuko sent Sokka an incredulous look, and Katara looked uneasy. Sokka had already turned back, currently trying to jam the plastic door stopper underneath the shut door.
Toph was the first to speak, "You manhandled me here to do what now?" her eyebrows furrowed in frustration.
They could hear a few distant screams and clamoring that sounded distinctly like…
"Gunshots!" Zuko exclaimed, abruptly standing up.
"What is going on?" Katara asked nervously.
Toph fumbled in her pocket for her cell phone, immediately dialing the police, "My name is Toph Beifong. There's a madman with a gun in my school!"
"That door stopper isn't going to hold for very long," Aang observed quietly.
"I know that!" Sokka screamed at Aang who looked taken aback. He pointed at Zuko, "Push that table against the door," next he pointed at Aang, "Put as many desks and chairs against that table as you can," then he addressed Katara, "Help me flip that table over," he pointed to the table across from Zuko's.
Toph didn't protest as Sokka took hold of her hand once again and pulled her towards the other side of the room. She could hear the screech of the table as the siblings dragged it out of harm's way. She also heard a thud as the table was flipped over.
Sokka urged the girls to crouch behind the table before looking over to the boys, "Guys-"
"I know you're in there!" a muffled voice cut him off.
All the occupants in the room froze for an instant. Zuko flattened his body against the wall, next to the door's hinges. Aang followed the older boy's example by flattening against the wall next to the doorknob. He felt his heart beginning to throb almost painfully against his chest and held his breath as the assailant rattled the handle. He glanced at Sokka who was motioning for them to come over.
"Move," Zuko whispered through clenched teeth.
Aang let go of the breath he was holding and decided to make his way over to the side of the room. He recoiled back covering his ears with his hands and flattening against the wall once more when the assailant fired his gun at the door. He could hear stifled sounds of the assailant rattling the doorknob, pounding on the door, and finally with one more shove had cracked it open.
A bullet grazed through Aang's leg just as he dove out of the way. He crumbled in a heap against the floor, crying out at the sudden pain. He looked over his shoulder to see the attacker preparing to shoot again.
"No!" Zuko cried out, launching himself against the attacker.
Katara took the opportunity to rush by Aang's side, inspecting the wound.
"Katara, don't!" Sokka tried to go after her but was held back by Toph's grip on his arm. Reluctantly, he sat back down.
"If there is a hell… I'll be seeing you there," Toph spoke half-jokingly in a low voice.
Sokka noticed the look of dread on her face, "I wouldn't have it any other way," he replied.
Zuko grit his teeth at the struggle. His grip loosened when the attacker elbowed him in the gut for the third time. The attacker shoved Zuko off of him and fired a bullet that lodged itself in Zuko's stomach. He swore loudly, clutching his wound, and let his knees fall to the floor. He felt fire burning through to the surrounding areas and felt his own blood seep through his shirt onto his fingers.
The attacker ignored Zuko and turned his attention back towards the other individuals crumpled on the floor. Katara embraced Aang tightly, both squeezing their eyes shut.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Instead of gunshots cutting through her, Katara felt someone enveloping their arms around her. She opened her eyes to find Sokka cradling her and a police officer standing in the doorway with his own gun aimed at the attacker as he crumpled to the ground.
The paramedics rushed in right after.