"Is...is this the right place?" Katara asked, looking up at the large manor.
"This is the place that the ad said. It was kind of obvious though. I mean, the pay for the job is so high. No wonder. They're rich." Sokka said, looking at the newspaper, in the job listing sections. One of them was circled in red. "The only thing I don't get is that why are you applying for the job and I'm here with you."
"Think of it as moral support. Besides, I didn't want to walk here alone."
"Whatever, you big baby. Let's just go in." She said.
The two would have went inside, but a large black gate blocked them out. They could only see the long driveway, and part of the extravagant house.
Katara noticed that there was an intercom on the brick that held the gate together.
He pressed the button. Almost immediatly, the gates opened. They both jumped back.
"Uh, when'd he get there?" Sokka asked, pointing to a man standing where the middle of the gates connected. He had white hair that was combed back. He was in a nice suit as well.
"What are you here for?" He asked, in a british accent.
"Oh, uh, hi." Katara said, waving his hand. "I actually wanted to go for the tutoring and teaching job. Is it open?"
"Yes." He nodded. He started walking away. He turned back, seeing the two still standing, confused. "Well, come now. You'll need an interview."
They nodded, quickly following.
The inside of the house was just amazing as the outside. Full of deocrations and furniture.
"So, um, who am I going to be tutoring?" Katara asked.
Sokka was too in awe to even speek.
"The son of this house hold."
"House hold? More like hotel hold." Sokka said, noticing all of the rooms and doors.
"The Bei-Fongs like to keep things...upscale." The man hesitated.
"So, is your name like Jeeves or something?" Sokka asked.
Katara hit her arm.
The man sideglanced her. "My name is Gavin."
"Close enough." She shrugged.
"No, not really, young lady."
Katara heard something faint, intruding in his ear, gradually getting louder. Some music. A violin, maybe? No...Cello? He couldn't really tell. As they got closer, he knew it was a cello because of the depth of the sound.
"You are going to need to be interviewed by the parents of course."
They walked towards the living room. There were a few clinks of china, causing the two to think that there was tea.
"That was beautiful, Toph."
"Thank you, father."
"Maybe we should have you move onto another instrument."
"That would be fine, mother."
Gavin stopped infront of the two siblings, holding up a hand.
"Stay here, please."
Gavin walked into the living room. He stood halfway in the doorway, so to cue the two in soon.
The living family was sitting on the sofa.
Lao Bei-Fong wear a blue suit, pressed and dry cleaned.
Poppy Bei-Fong was in a long and flowing dress.
Toph Bei-Fong was in a sweater vest and long sleeved shirt with black pants. His long hair was tied in a braid. His cello was rested against the wall.
"Miss and Mister Bei-Fong. I had a possible teacher for Toph." He said.
"Send them in."
"Well, I'm already here." A man, in his late 40s or early 50s sat in an armchair, with a breifcase by his feet.
"Now, now, Mr. Rube. Let's give this a chance."
Mr. Rube smirked a bit as Katara and Sokka came into the room.
"Uh, hello. I wanted to apply for the job."
"Children?" Mr. Rube asked. "Highly unqualified."
"Hey, just 'cuz you're like a hundred years old and you've probably gone to three ivy leauge schools, doesn't mean you're more qualified than my brother." Sokka defended.
"Oh god..." Katara muttered, grabbing his temples.
"You see, we are in high school, so, we are fresh to the things that a regualr school proclaims the standard curriculm. He can take what he learns in class and then quickly project it onto your son easily. Plus, he is somewhat the same age as him, so, he can relate to us more."
Sokka paused, realizing she had just embarrassed herself and Katara.
"Oh, by the way, you have a beautiful daughter." She added.
Toph cringed inside, a piece of his dignity crumbling.
Ignoring the last comment, Lao pondered for a moment.
"You know, I believe she has a point."
"She does?" Katara asked. "I-I mean, she does!"
"I believe we have a teacher for you, Toph."
"Excuse me?" Mr. Rube asked.
"We have your number on call." Poppy said, dismissing him.
He got up, huffing out of his nose, grabbing his breifcase.
"So, who are you exactly?"
"Oh, um, I'm Katara and this is my sister Sokka. She's my-"
"Assistant. But, I prefer student teacher."
"Ok then." Lao got up shaking each of their hands. "Is it ok if you two come here about an hour everyday after school?"
"Yea. That'd-That'd be cool." Katara nodded. "We'll be here tomorrow, around 2:30."
"Yes. Do you agree, Toph?"
Toph nodded. He's never been taught by someone younger than fourty.
The next day...
"Sokka, where are you going?" Katara asked.
"Home..?" She said confused. They were outside of the school sidewalk. Sokka was going left. Katara was trying to go right.
"We have the teaching job."
"Oh! Do we have to? I just had a long stressful day for the last six and a half hours!" She complained.
"Uh, yea we have to. I mean, if you want us to not get paid and not kicked out of our apartment." Katara offered.
The two lived in an apartment in the middle of town, close to most things, such as restaraunts, shops, and of course, school.
"I thought you were just going for the job. Not both of us."
"Well, you're my assistant."
"Well, assistants don't always have to be there."
"Sokka, we both have to be there!"
"Are you just scared to walk there by yourself?"
Katara hesitated, refusing to answer.
"Look, I'll go there with you for a little while, but then I'm going to have to leave."
"Why?"
"I have a date with Suki." She stated, walking past him in his direction.
"How serious is that relationship?" Katara asked.
"Why don't you stop worrying about my personal life, and get your own? I mean, you have double the selection since your bi."
Katara shrugged. "It's not like I'm not looking. I'm just preoccupied with school work, the jobs I've had, taking care of you." He listed.
"Don't make excuses."
"I'm not really looking for a relationship anyway."
"I'm going to have to take you to a club or something." Sokka said, waving a finger.
At the Bei-Fong house...
One of the servants took Sokka and Katara to Toph's room. Before Katara could stop Sokka form barging in, she already did.
Toph was sitting on his bed, hands folded neatly in his lap.
"Why are you just sitiing there?" Sokka asked.
"I was waiting for you two."
"Well, we're here."
"I...I noticed."
The room was big, but the walls were bare, only a few shelves with books on them. There were two doors at either end, one a bathroom, one a closet. There was a table to the side with a few chairs, which Katara guessed.
Katara's phone rang, and he stepped out for a moment.
Sokka threw her bag down, and plopped on her back on his bed.
"So, um, how are you?" Toph asked.
"Oh god, I am so not in the mood today. It's that time of the month, if ya know what I mean. And, I have a date with my boyfriend and he is probably going to want some. But, don't tell my brother I said that." Sokka said.
Toph's eyes darted, unsure of what to do or what that meant.
"Though you probably don't what I'm talking about. Have you even hit puberty yet? You don't even have any boobs yet. " She poked his chest, causing Toph to become even more nervous.
"I-I don't believe I've hit what you are talking about." He replied.
"I knew it."
Katara came back in the room, closing his phone.
"Who was that?"
"None of your business." He said.
Sokka stretched into an upright position. "Well, I'm leaving." She announced.
"We just got here." Katara said.
"I said I'd only come for a little while. It's more than a little while."
"Five minutes is not the time I expected."
Sokka grabbed her bag, getting up.
"Sokka..."
"Hey, who's the oldest?"
"You are."
"And, who did dad leave in charge when he went undercover?"
Katara groaned. "You."
"Good. You remember. Now, I'm leaving and I'm going to get ready for my date."
"Am...am I intruding?" Toph asked.
"Please. He's just being a drama queen. Guys, right?"
"Um, I...I suppose?"
"See? Two girls against one boy. I'm leaving." Sokka walked out of the room and soon out of the house.
"Did I...did I do something?" Toph asked.
"No. She's just..." Katara shook his head, whistling and circling his finger near his brain. He pulled the table in the middle of the room, a bit more, and sat. He motioned him to join.
Toph sat in the second chair.
"So, I borrowed some extra textbooks from school. Science, Social Studies, Geometry. Mostly the basic things."
Toph nodded. He looked up at Katara. "Why does your sister think I'm a girl?"
Katara shrugged. "Sokka's just weird. She doesn't really pay attention to pronouns."
"What are pronouns?"
Katara didn't find that too weird. He himself didn't fully understand what a pronoun was until a few years ago.
"Well, it's when you replace a noun with another word. Like he, she, it, them, us."
Toph nodded slowly.
"Do I look like a girl?" He asked.
Katara hesitated, looking at his face. He couldn't deny his face had feminine parts about it. He also couldn't deny that he was cute. Maybe Sokka did need to take him out to a club.
"How old are you?"
"Fourteen." Toph said quietly. "How about you?"
"Um...seventeen in a few months."
There was a screech in Katara's mind. He could not think of hooking up with him. He was two years younger than him, soon to be three. That would not look good for him. Then, why was he still thinking about it?
"Well, um, there you go. You haven't really grown yet. In a few years, you'll look more like a guy." Katara explained. "Now, let's get to work. We should probably start with english."
He got out a few papers.
"I'll start with teaching you how to write-"
"You're going to teach me how to write?" Toph asked, a little bit afraid.
"Uh, no. I'm gonna teach you how to write an essay. In school, my teacher taught us how to put one together after reading a book."
Toph shook his head. "But, I don't know how to do either of those things."
"Well, once you learn to write an essay, you'll be able to put it together easily."
"I can't do those either, but I meant that I can't...I-I can't..."
Toph paused, looking off.
"I can't read or write." He stated, obviously embarrassed.
Katara didn't respond.