Author's note: Yeah so I uploaded my story and I might put more up if I get bored. Oh and please give me reviews! I really want to know what you guys think. Be nice though! This is my first story. Disclaimer: i do not own avatar or any of the characters.
Chapter I:
"Tara!"
My head snapped up from where it was resting on the desk. I was daydreaming, as usual, about water bending.
"Just what pray tell," my teacher sneered, "were you doing?"
"….."
I couldn't tell my fire bending teacher I was dreaming up new ways to water bend. Yeah, that's right I'm a water bender and a fire bender. It's very rare. My father, Hiroshi, was a fire nation general that led the attack on the southern water tribe. My mother was a powerful water bender that defended our tribe. After the fire nation took over, all the existing water benders were captured, including my mother. They were put into fire nation prisons and had dry air pumped into the cells and had to be tied up before allowed drinking water.
My father was demoted after his failure at Ba Sing Se beside the general Iroh, the fire lord's own brother. Iroh and my father were very close friends but after Iroh's son Lu Ten was killed in the war, Iroh neglected everything that wasn't about his family. Anyway, my father was demoted to guarding the southern water tribes' prison cells. My father told me that they met while my mother was escaping. He usually tells a wild story about how he fell in love with her at once and demanded that she be let free. But I found my mother's old diary. She wrote in it from before the fire nation attacked all the way up to when I was born. She wrote how my father was the only guard that didn't beat her up. I laughed every time I read the part where my father would walk up to her, stare, try to say something, and walk away embarrassed. The father my mother knew was very different then the way everyone else knew him. Hiroshi is now unafraid, bold, serious, confident and totally unhappy. He only smiles when I fall over or do something to disgrace myself. I guess he misses my mom.
Anyway, I should get back to the present….
"Well, Ms Tara?" Master Hisa asked viciously. "Is there a reason why you aren't writing down our lesson?"
The other students looked at me. With pity. My father would shudder if ever a Long was looked on with pity in his presence.
"I'm very sorry Master," I put on my sugary voice, "I must have been too excited with our lesson that I forgot to take notes."
The class tittered.
"Make sure it doesn't happen again." She replied curtly as she turned around to talk about offensive jing and other stupid fire nation crap.
I officially hated my father for enrolling me in this nightmare. A year ago I was excited because I thought I would love fire bending like I love water bending. I'd never tried it because I was a little afraid of fire. But as the first week wore on, I soon realized that the fire bending academy was about learning in a classroom, not actually learning fire bending… Let's put it this way, if I could bang my head against my desk without the teacher sending me to see the principle, I definitely would. Every day for two years I would sleep in class and pray that the dismissal bell would ring early.
Today was one of those rare occasions that my wishes actually came true. The dismissal bell rang and I jumped up and ran before anybody could stop me. I was flat out sprinting when someone grabbed me. I had my water bending stance up before I could see who it was. Jiro, who is my jet black hair and god like featured best friend. I could see in all the rich girls' snobby faces that they would kill to be where I was... which is probably not a good thing in a fire bending academy. Jiro and I were as thick as thieves ever since he found my water bending secret. Grinning, Jiro grabbed me and threw me in the nearest broom closet. It was pitch black and it probably wasn't helping that he was hugging me in the tight space and that I was blushing furiously.
"Jiro?! Wha-?" I asked breathlessly.
"Shhhhh!"
I could hear all the students and teachers all talking at once, wondering why the bell rung early.
Then I heard our principle yell "Everyone back to your classrooms! This is a juvenile prank and I will find out who did it."
I heard the murmurings of students being herded back to their classrooms and then silence.
Jiro shifted to the door and peeked outside.
"Coast is clear! Let's go!" He helped me out of the closet and shut the door behind me.
He motioned for me to follow and started jogging towards the exit.
"Where the heck are we going?" I asked happily.
"Where else?" He said turning around to shock me with his gorgeous blue eyes.
Grinning I sped up to run next to him. We ran out the door, not bothering to hide from the fire nation soldiers guarding the school. We've broken out so many times they don't even chase us anymore. Annoyance flickered in their eyes as we passed but they just watched us go as usual. Slowing down to a walk we walked into the small rural town that consisted of a thicket of houses, a drugstore, a grocery store and a small ramen restaurant. Outside of town there was a thick forest that ran on all the way to the earth nation. Naturally we were forbidden to go past the last house but just like school, people saw us go into the forest and didn't even bother to chase us. We stuck to the little path that ran right next to the river. We followed the river until we saw the fallen log that lay across the river. Jiro, as always, held my hand to make sure I didn't fall in as I did so many times when we were young. I didn't lose my balance anymore, thanks to water bending, but I liked to pretend I was still clumsy so I could hold his hand. After pulling me across the fallen log, an old shack was waiting for us. Broken down, abandoned and forbidden was all the qualities that made it feel like home.
"Ms. Tara." Jiro said, holding the door for me.
"Why thank you, Mr. Jiro" I replied, mimicking my father's haughty voice. It worked and he laughed.
I stepped inside and sighed with contentment. Inside was just as shockingly ugly as the outside. There was an old earth nation poster on the wall, a faded green couch and stairs that led upstairs to the roof. Jiro bounded up the stairs and whooped with glee. Laughing, I ran behind him and yelled too.
"That was the best escape plan you've had yet, Jiro!" I yelled, jumping up and down.
Grinning, he turned to me and said slyly "Even better then the time I blew up the principle's office and we jumped out the 2nd floor window?"
"Actually that was my favorite time!" I said while spinning around. "That got us out of class for two weeks!"
"Haha! That was only 'cause we broke our arms and couldn't write." He replied back.
I couldn't help but giggling until I was on the floor. Jiro joined in and soon we were laughing so hard we sent the crows, that lived in the trees around the shack, flying with fear. When we were both sitting with our backs to the walls gasping for breath, Jiro pulled out a little square package wrapped in newspaper clippings.
"Happy Birthday Tara." He said grinning like a mad man.
"You remembered." I felt like crying. My own father couldn't remember my birthday but Jiro could.
"Here," he said putting the gift in my hands, "open it."
Wondering what he could've possibly gotten me, I carefully opened the gift. A velvet black box was inside the paper and when I opened it, I actually did cry.
"What?" I saw Jiro's shocked expression as he saw the tears come from my eyes."Why in the world are you crying?" he asked as he hugged me.
"It's just…it's so nice and… you're the best friend I've ever had Jiro." I sniffed.
Jiro had probably saved up for a year to get me this. In the velvet black box was the water tribe symbol on a light blue rock that was tied onto a black ribbon. A water tribe necklace was what I'd been wanting for years.
"Here," Jiro said smiling softly, "let me put it on you."
I turned around and he brought the necklace to my neck and tied it loosely.
"I don't think people will be too pleased to see me wearing this…" I said turning around and when I did, I instantly wished I'd hadn't. His face was 2 inches away from my face. I looked towards the river to keep my face from turning red.
"Ah screw the fire nation. All they do is try to keep us from thinking." At these words I turned back and stared at him in wonder.
"Are you saying that you hate the fire nation?" I accused.
"No I'm just saying that I hate their ideas." Jiro turned away not meeting my eyes.
"What?" I asked worriedly.
"It's nothing."
"Is it another one?" as I asked this his eyes turned hard. His silence answered my question.
"Did you burn it yet?" I asked quickly.
"No."
"Can I see it?" I asked looking up into those blue eyes.
Sighing, Jiro took out the fire nation military ad and handed it to me. It was crumpled which showed how much Jiro had wanted to rip it. But no, he had said one time; this was the sort of thing that everyone couldn't help but feeling happy burning. The bright blue paper had evil looking drawings of a grim reaper look-a-like water bending. The spiky letters read "Save our great nation from the demons that torment our fellow brothers and sisters. Help us rid the world of the undesirables. Join fire nation army today." On the bottom was a sketch of a fire nation family with two children and a mother cowering away from the water bender. One child's cheek was bleeding and had an icicle impaled in his arm. Trying not to be angry I set my hand and the paper on fire. Jiro watched the trees. He was probably trying to hide this from me for awhile. As soon as there was nothing left to the paper I cooled my hand and stood up.
"Jiro" I said softly.
"Yeah?" he replied remorsefully.
"Let's go practice." I said suddenly grinning with excitement.
