Summer Days
Chapter 1
The pick-up
Lila stretched and yawned as she woke up. Last night, she and her sister, Mai had attended the Fire Nation New Years celebration. The two of them had went with their best friends, Ty Lee and Azula. Lila pulled her long brown hair back into a braid then turned twisted it into a bun. She took eight boby-pins and stuck them in the bun to keep it from coming undone, next she took the small red and gold tiara that Chan had given her and pushed it in her bun. She walked to the wardrobe at the end of her room and took out a long red under dress that had a low-cut, squared neckline. Then she pulled out a longer, sweeping, orange skirt that she tied around her waist. The skirt had a fierce red dragon embroidered into it, and it had small rubies for the eyes. It was her favourite skirt, and, because of that everyone had started to call her Lady Dragon. Lila smiled at the thought as she pulled on a pair of light red tights. Afterwards she walked over to her bedside table and took from it a small, intricately carved wooden box. She opened the box and took out a pair of small black slippers, the same small black slippers that Mai had given her when she was three. Lila smiled at the memory as she put the slippers on. They still fit. Knock, knockety, knock, knock. That was Azula's secret knock. Lila walked to the door.
"Azula!" she said bowing. Azula smiled.
"There is no need for formality Lila, we are the best of friends." Lila stood up. Azula looked down.
"Are those the slippers you wore when we first met?" Lila nodded. The two friends hugged.
"I came to tell you and Mai that I got permission from my father to go to Ember Island." Lila looked down.
"Oh, ok. Well I hope you have a good time." She said trying to sound happy. Lila started walking to her wardrobe again, but Azula caught her wrist.
"Silly who said I was going by myself?"
"But I thought you…" Azula cut her off.
"No, I'm inviting you, your sister and Ty Lee to come with me." The smile returned to Lila's face. She hugged Azula so hard that Azula thought that her lungs would break.
"Honestly Lila, who knew that bloodbending could make a person so strong so quickly?" the two of them started to laugh.
"Oh my! Why is everyone laughing? I want to know the joke." Said a voice at the door. The two girls looked around and saw Mai leaning against the doorframe, her arms folded across her chest. She tried to look board out of her wits but she was having tremendous trouble and she started laughing herself.
"Nice to see you too Mai." Said Azula. Lila told Mai the plan about Ember Island.
"You are allowed to bring your boyfriend." Said Azula. "Ty Lee and Lila don't have to because their boyfriends already live on Ember Island." Lila took out her traveling bag from beneath her bed and started packing. She put neatly folded tops and skirts in, she put her bathing suit in, she put her hair brush in, her beach towel, her beauty supplies, and her parasol (a sun umbrella). Azula looked at Mai.
"You know, she's like Ty Lee with these things. I mean it; they literally packed the same things." The two of them giggled. Lila scurried out of the room and twenty minutes later she came back carrying Mai's travel bag.
"I took the liberty of packing for you." She said smiling.
"Thanks." Said Mai grimacing slightly at the thought of what was in the bag that she did not necessarily need.
"Come," said Azula. "Ty Lee is waiting for us at the dock." The three girls left the house in no apparent hurry.
When they reached the dock they found Ty Lee upsidedown on one hand with her right leg brought down and wrapped behind her outstretched hand and behind her neck. When she saw Mai, Azula and Lila, she skillfully untangled herself and hugged them.
"Ready to take off?" she asked. The three others nodded.
On the boat, with their stuff below deck, the four girls stood against the rail feeling the saltwater splash against their faces. As the water got colder Lila felt that they were lost. And she voiced this thought to Azula.
"No, we're not lost. This is just a little stop we have to make." Lila nodded in understanding. But when she saw icebergs she really got confused.
"Not a problem. Girls get your cloaks on." she didn't have to tell them twice, the temperature was frigid. At the sight of the little broken down village Lila thought she understood why they were here. When the boat stopped, all of the people in the village looked terrified out of their wits. Azula stepped off the boat and onto the small patch of snow and ice. She approached an elderly woman with gray hair.
"Um could you tell me where Sokka is?" she asked in a calm and sweet tone. The woman looked startled.
"How do you know my grandson's name?" she asked, her voice shaking. Azula looked confused.
"If you're his grandmother I would have assumed that he had told you." The woman looked skeptical.
"Told me what."
"That I'm his girlfriend." Azula said slowly.
"How am I supposed to believe you?" said the grandmother.
"Because she's telling the truth Gran." Said Sokka's voice from the side lines. Azula turned around to see Sokka holding blue bag and a small floppy package that was carelessly wrapped. He walked over to her and gave her a hug.
"Gran-Gran, this is mygirlfriend Azula, Azula, this is Gran-Gran."
"Where are you going Sokka?" Gran-Gran asked.
"Oh to Ember Island, in the Fire Nation." Sokka said as if he went there every day. The grandmother looked worried but said:
"Take care of yourself." And with that the two kids left.
On the boat once more. Sokka and Azula were sitting on soft little benches on deck.
"Azula, how old are you?" Sokka asked.
"Sokka! Don't you know it's impolite to ask a woman about her age?" She asked pretending to be hurt by the question. Sokka blushed.
"Sorry."
"Eh, it's ok. I'm fifteen, but my birthday's in two weeks." Sokka looked down.
"Hmm." He mumbled.
"What? What's wrong with being fifteen?" Azula said.
"Nothing, nothing at all, it's just, well, I thought you were sixteen, so I…. No, I've said to much already. You will just have to see in two weeks.
