Chapter 1
Sokka looked down at the little baby that was currently laying in his mother's arms and he had no idea what to do.
"Sokka, come meet your little sister, her name is Katara. She's going to be your new best friend." Kya looked as her curious son examined her newborn baby girl. She had tan skin just like him, a little spot of deep brown hair on her head, and big blue eyes that were looking right at him "I know you're going to be a great big brother, aren't you?"
"Katara." Whispered the three-year-old. "I love you." His mother pulled him in for a hug with her and the newborn baby.
Many years later…
"Katara I don't know why you just can't act like everyone else at school. I get it you're a water bender going to school in the Earth Kingdom, but it isn't all that bad. I mean you have me. You've always had me. Just you and I, me and you. I know the transition will be hard, but you'll make some friends soon, I swear." Sokka could see that his little sister was upset still about the move that the pair had made from the Southern Water Tribe to Ba Sing Se, but their father decided that boarding school would be best for them since he was gone so much. "Dad said that you need to try, Kat. I know you can do this."
They both walked down the long green and grey corridor that led them out of the dormitory and to the main courtyard of their school.
"I'm fine Sokka, I know I can do this and I know that I have you but you're three years older than me. We aren't even in any of the same classes. There is this cool Fire Nation kid in my class though, his name is Lee. He is a year older, but he started school a year later than he was supposed to because his family was traveling or something like that. I think I could be his friend. I just don't know how to approach him, he seems very shy and scared for some reason..."
"Really Sis? There is a war on the verge of happening and you're wondering why a Fire Nation boy is afraid? It is because his Fire Lord is going to try to kill everyone in the world that stands in his way of finding his son Zuko. Poor Ozai went really crazy once Iroh ran off with his son, I can only imagine what I would be like if my brother kidnapped my heir and only son and basically disappeared for years. Ozai is really old Katara, he needs Zuko back to take over the throne, he can't give it to Azula." The bell rang as Sokka finished his point. "Just say hi to Lee, I'm sure that would work out for you."
"Thanks, Sokka, bye!" Katara rang away from her brother and went on her way to her first class.
Katara walked into her defensive bending class and saw Lee sitting down by himself at an empty table. He looked so distracted staring out of the window at a cherry blossom tree that sat directly in the middle of the courtyard. He looked like he was lost in a million different thoughts by the look on his face. This is my chance she thought to herself all I must do is simply say hi. You can do this Katara. She sat down next to him and he shuffled in his seat to move away from Katara. Katara just say hi, just do it.
"Hi, my name is Kata..."She was then cut off by Lee.
"Your name is Katara and you are the daughter of Hakoda, the chief of the Southern Water Tribe, I know who you are Katara. My name is Lee. Oh, dear you totally think that I'm creepy or something. It's just that... Well... You see... I'm fascinated with water bending! Being the daughter of the chief, it means I've heard about you. You're a water bender! A real live water bender! I'm sorry I've said too much haven't I?" He shied away from her yet again after his confidence died down from Katara's surprised face.
Katara couldn't get over a fire bender being so interested in the opposite element. "Lee, you seem really sweet, what makes you so interested in water bending? I mean clearly, you're a fire bender. Those two are opposites. I don't mean to make fun of you or anything, but it is so interesting to see someone into water bending that isn't well, you know, a water bender." Katara looked up at the board to see what their instructor was talking about, it was opposite bending advantages and disadvantages and on the board was a list of students that were paired together to spar, this included Katara who was paired with Lee. This is when she realized that Lee truly was in for a lesson on water bending today. "Lee looks like you're going to be getting that water bending lesson today, so you better take some notes."
"Actually Katara, I can't spar with you. I can't fire bend against a non-fire bender, I can't risk hurting you, but I would love to learn more about your style of bending. Can you heal? Do you do blood bending? That is like the coolest yet most creepy thing ever."
Katara couldn't figure out how this geeky nerdy kid manage to get into a school like Ba Sing Se Academy he was just some nerdy kid who didn't look like he really belonged to a more prominent or rich family. Lee looked like a normal kid who didn't have the kinds of family obligations that she had. Maybe somewhere in his family there was a relative with money, but Katara wouldn't worry about it now. Right now, she had to make up a water bending lesson for Lee for after school. The opposite bending lesson was also a group project that did require some outside work. Katara thought it would be wise to not invite him back to her and Sokka's suite at school because he already knew so much about her. She didn't want him to know about her embarrassing big brother yet.
"Katara would you like to meet in my room so that we can do this assignment together? After dinner time is preferable. I usually go to see my uncle during dinner time. He's the only family I have, and he has a tea shop in the Upper Ring called the Jasmine Dragon, I go to help and eat supper there whenever I can. Would eight o'clock work for you Katara?"
Katara looked at Lee and suddenly her questions were answered, his uncle owned a tea shop in the Upper Ring, this is how he could afford to Ba Sing Se Academy. "Yes Lee, eight is perfect. I'll see you then." The bell rang and Katara got up out of her seat and started to go to her history class.
"Katara wait up!" Lee rushed to catch up to her. "Can I walk with you to history? We are in the same classes, so I don't mind if you don't mind."
"Sure Lee, I don't mind at all. I could really use the company. And hey, since you don't think that sparring is the best idea for us why don't we script a fake fight, so it seems like we're sparring? "
"That sounds like an amazing idea Katara, thank you for understanding." Lee motioned to carry Katara's books to their next class. She felt bad because their history books were so heavy.
Katara and Sokka's Suite Later..
Katara sat on the floor of the common room she shared with Sokka doing her lesson for Lee when Sokka came in with his friend Toph, a blind earth bender.
"Sis, did you talk to Lee? How did it go? Do you finally have a friend?" Sokka sounded way too excited that Katara may have finally made a friend but he knew it was just what his little sister needed. "Did hi work out for you?"
"Jeez Sokka, why don't you just go find the kid and ask him if he wants to be friends with your little sister? That would probably be less embarrassing for her than this line of questioning." Toph always seemed to be so in tune even though she could not see what was happening, it was something Katara never fully understood.
Katara had never really spent any time with Toph since she had become friends with Sokka. She knew that Toph had the potential to maybe be her friend, but she didn't want to be the intruding little sister, even though Sokka never looked at her like that she wasn't sure Toph would feel the same.
"Actually Sokka, I did talk to Lee and I'm going over to his room after dinner so that we can work on our defensive bending assignment together. It is about opposite bending styles and apparently, we are the only fire and water benders. And I need to finish this water bending lesson for him. It was supposed to be an actual sparring match, but Lee doesn't want to risk hurting me so we're going to script a fake fight." Katara got up and went into her room to finish the lesson plan.