Chapter 1

Pearls and Skulls, Mercedes and Motorcycles

Katara and Jet walk to their jobs in the mall. Katara worked at Hot Topic and Jet worked at Spencer's. The two have been going out for about three months. They met in the food court, and found they had similar tastes in music, clothing, and body piercings. Katara just recently got her third ear piercing, she now had her eye brow three times, her nose, and her belly button. When she first got her eyebrow pierced in the summer before her freshman year her brother Sokka, didn't really approve of it, until she talked him in to getting his done too. Now he has his eyebrow and his lip.

"It's addictive; trust me." She said

"I believe you…now." He said "Why didn't you tell me this before?" he asked

"I did you just don't listen to me."

"You are a half hour late!" Katara's boss said to her.

"Yeah I know your lucky that I even came in today at all." She said back

"Yeah…yeah…sort those…after you're done with that your cashiers.

Katara did what she was told, and worked her shift. She got off work about 20 minutes before Jet so she had time to eat before he came to meet her. He got a lunch break so he had already eaten.

She sat and stared at nothing…deep in thought about things that had ruined her life, what had gone wrong and if she could have stopped it. She always came to the conclusion that she couldn't, but why did she feel guilty?

"Hay, are you ready?" Jet said

Looking up at him, "Yeah, let's get out of here." She said

They walked home, and talked about their days at work. When they got to Katara's house they spent and extra 20 minutes saying goodbye, or until Sokka shooed Jet away.

"I don't know what you see in him?" he said to her, one time

"I don't know what you're doing in my business!" She said back

"Guys like that only want one thing…" She cut him off.

"…Thanks for trusting me…JERK!" she said running up to her room

"It's not YOU I'm worried about!" he yelled after her as she slammed her door shaking the whole house.

Sokka didn't understand her, sometimes she could be very understanding then next she thinks your out to get her. A lot of things had happened after their mother died. Sokka accepted it greave and then let it pass. Katara on the other hand kept it as fresh as the day she was told, it was a scab she kept picking at so it kept bleeding and would never heal.

A crossed the area in the text district over, sat a very successful young man who had just finished an essay for his college and university applications. He smiled a little when the last page had finished printing and stacked the papers up and stapled them together and put them in the Dark Red folder labeled: Harvard. He had four other folders with different Ivy League schools on the names of the folders. There were about 5 others that were not Ivy League but still pretty good school. Both his mom and dad went to Ivy League schools and he worked hard to get in to a nice school. He went to the best private school in the area and was in the top ten of his class. He was the president of student council, the captain of the golf team and had a girl friend. Attended fancy parties at the country club where his family had membership. While he was organizing and going though his calendar to see what he was to do next, when his phone rang.

"Hello? Oh Hello Mai, what's going on?" he asked "You get to…that's great. I'm happy for you." He said in to the phone "Yeah I'll be there to see you. I'm leaving soon. Yeah. Okay, talk to you when I get there. Bye." He said

Zuko walked down stairs and told the head butler where he was going and for him to tell his dad when he got home. Zuko put on his nice jacket, opened the door of his Audi, he got as a birthday present a couple years back. Opened the garage door and pulled out of the drive way on his way to the horse barns. Mai his girlfriend was having a horse jumping contest. In the year previous she had won at nationals, but last year she was tossed from a horse, the accident had set her back in practice so no one knew if she was going to be able to compete in one of the first competitions of the year.

Zuko pulled in to the long drive way of the horse arena, he waited in line to get through the gate and looked for his parking pass to hang on the rear view mirror. When he did he was waved through the gate and motioned to park in the VIP parking area. He put his sunglasses back in the case in the car. Got out shut the door and locked it making the horn and lights blink and sound, three times. He walked to the entrance and found where his sister Azula and her friend Ty Lee were sitting.

"Hello Azula." He said greeting her with a kiss on her cheek.
"Hi Zuko, how are you?" she asked

"Pretty good and your self?" he asked
"Wonderful thanks for asking." She said back. "Hope Mai didn't tare you away from something important" Azula asked with a smile.
"Ah, no I was at a stopping point. I needed a break too. Might as well come and see Mai kick some butt here." Zuko said with a smile.

Ty Lee, Azula and Zuko kept talking until the competition started. It was an area event so most of the people competing were from either the country club or his school. When Mai was called, Zuko clapped with everyone else. Mai and her horse completed the 1 course with out a problem. As well with the 2nd and 3rd as well with the 4th, she completed the competition in second place. Her horse had knocked off one of the poles on one of the higher jumps.

After the competition, Zuko, Azula and Ty Lee went to see Mai in the winner's area with the first and third place winners.

"Congratulations." Zuko said to Mai with a kiss on her cheek.

"Thanks, I thought I had this one but not this time she said, holding her ribbon.
"You'll do better next time." Zuko said

"Yeah you did fine. Don't worry; it wasn't anything you really could have practiced for" Azula said consoling Mai.
"Yeah, you're right.

Everyone that had came to congratulate the winners were leaving and the others were getting ready to put there horses in the trailers and go home.
"Want to go out some where after you get cleaned up?" Zuko asked. "My treat…" he added with a smile.

"No, not this time I think I will stay home." She said

"Okay well then can I call you later then?" he asked, she nodded her head yes and kissed her boy friend good bye. Took her horse to the loading area, the handler had the horse trailer and truck all ready to load her horse up to take home.

Zuko walked him self out and got back in his car and drove him self home to work on some more college application things. It was near sun set and things were winding down and pretty uneventful day, or so he thought.