Inspired by Angelfly06's The City is at War
Yuansu City was a divided place. There were many kinds of people living there, but they were shoved into their own districts and seldom interacted in a personal or casual way with people from different districts. The four main districts were Shui, Diqui, Huo, and Kongqi. Those districts were then divided into different neighborhoods. They were all connected by a vast, elaborate subway system, a failed attempt at uniting the people of the city. Zhong Xing was the downtown area and a "neutral zone", a place where people could socialize with those of a different district, though most choose not to. The rest was non-residential areas were known collectively as Tengah. Workplaces were not legally segregated, but most interactions were strictly business-only.
Shui was a quiet, (usually) peaceful district that was divided into two neighborhoods on opposite sides on the city. To the north, Tui was small but prosperous. Most residents were middle class, but it had a few very wealthy families. In contrast, La, the southern portion, was very poor. It was the frequent victim of attacks by gangs from Huo who were often referred as "raiders" because there was almost always a kidnapping- or sometimes even a murder- involved when they struck. The people of Shui were known to be gentle, polite people who rarely went looking for fights but know how to strike back when hit.
Diqui was the largest district and took up most of the eastern part of the city. The people in that part of the city were known to be tough, solid, and very grounded. Most people in that district were poor, but there was a sizable middle class and tiny, but powerful aristocracy. Ba Sing Se was the largest neighborhood in the city and took up almost half of Diqui. The other neighborhoods were Omashu to the far west, Gaoling in the center, and Chin in the South, which had a rivalry with the Diqui "island" of Kyoshi, which was separated from the rest of Diqui by a strip of Tengah.
Huo was the western-most and the richest district in the city. Much of the city's wealth was concentrated in the Aka neighborhood on the western half of the district. Directly east of it was Buru, the slightly uglier little sister of Aka. But even so, most people were lower middle class at worst. The people of Huo were proud and loyal. Driven by a mad love for their district, they thought themselves to be superior to anyone else and were notorious for the raiders that attacked other parts of the city.
Kongqi was a small, fragmented district dividing into four neighborhoods: Namjjog to the South, Bugjjog to the North, Dongjjog to the east and Seojjog to the west. It had a small population and was rather poor, not that the residents minded. They were simple people, non-violent and relaxed, without much concern for material things.
Issho Academy was the most special place in the city. It was located in the heart of Zhong Xing and was the only school that accepted students from any and all districts. The Heads of the City Council voted that they city needed to loosen up and let its citizens interact more. The Council Heads of Huo were adamant about maintaining the status quo but they were out-voted. It had taken a year, during which the number of attacks from raiders skyrocketed, but the school was finished and waiting to educate fresh young minds.
But of the Huo Council heads would never forget that humiliating defeat.
)-()-()-()-(
Katara's hands were shaking, partly out of nervousness and partly out of excitement, as she gripped the straps of her brown messenger bag. Her older brother Sokka slouched on the subway seat scowling.
"Geez," he grumbled "Why do I have to go to this dumb school too? I mean you're the one who wants to go there. Isn't that enough for dad?"
"Sokka, what are you complaining about?" Katara scowled back "We're gonna be a part of history!"
"Not if the raiders get us first." He muttered gruffly.
Katara clenched her teeth, then relaxed and smiled. "No way. I'm not gonna let you ruin this for me. Stay crabby and moody for all I care, but I'm gonna enjoy this year." Her grin grew wider as she thought about the kinds of people she might meet; after all, Yuansu City was huge place and she never got to meet anyone outside her neighborhood. "Who knows what kind of people we'll meet."
She looked down at her outfit, hoping she looking presentable. Katara was often meticulous in her appearance; she wore her uniform-a white blouse, black skirt, knee-socks, and Mary Jane's-clean and ironed and her dark brown hair in a tight, neat braid. Sokka couldn't care less what he looked like; Katara had to make sure he even wore his uniform-collared shirt, tie, vest, dark pants, and dress shoes. She touched the school crest sewn onto her purple vest with her tan fingers, wondering what to expect.
Suddenly, the subway car jerked to stop, knocking Sokka's head back against the wall. "Yup, I'm gonna love doing this every day." he muttered. The siblings walked off the train and into the station. The stations in Namjjog were not much cleaner or nicer that the ones in La, but they were much less crowded. Katara felt her heart pounding in her chest much too quickly and too intensely to be healthy. She had never stepped foot out of La in all her fourteen years of life and now that she had, she felt as if she was breaking some sacred rule. True, subways were neutral ground, but she felt a strange sense of freedom in her heart that she loved.
Just before she and Sokka boarded the next subway car, Katara spotted a boy wearing the black, white, and purple uniform of Issho Academy. He covered his black hair with a yellow cap that had a blue arrow pointing down on the front. She waved to him with a friendly smile. The boy waved back, but was distracted and almost walked into a wall.
"Hey, look out!" she cried. Too late. The poor kid tripped over his own feet and landed face-first face on the concrete floor. Katara left Sokka there looking bewildered and ran up to make sure he was alright
"Oh, I'm so sorry." She apologized quickly.
The boy looked up at her with bright grey eyes, sprang back up, and grinned. "It's no problem. I'm Aang."
"My name's Katara and that's my brother." She pointed to Sokka, who was boarding the subway.
"Hurry up, little sister." He warned.
"You going on that subway?" Aang asked "So am I! C'mon!" He jumped up and took her by the hand, leading her to the subway car. They managed to hop in just before the doors closed and took their seats across from Sokka.
"You can let go of my sister now." He said in deadpan. It was just then that Katara realized that she and Aang were still holding hands; that is until, Aang jerked his hand from hers, embarrassed.
"Sorry." He blushed.
"Sokka," she chastised "don't be rude. I'm sorry about my brother, Aang. He's kind of an idiot sometimes."
"Hey!" Sokka pouted indignantly.
"It's true." Katara shot back.
"Hey," Aang broke in "Are are you guys from here? I don't think I've ever seen you guys around Namjjog before."
"No, we're from La." Katara replied, forgetting her previous anger "You have the same uniform as us, so I guess you're going to Issho Academy too."
"Yeah, I am." smiled Aang "It's so cool that anyone can go there. You know we might have the same classes. It's funny, I'd never see you guys at the school I was suppose to go to. Without Issho Academy and that new bill, we might have never met. Ya know, since your Shui kids and I'm from Kongqi."
"Well I'm glad we're all gonna be classmates." Katara agreed. She was surprise at how sad she felt about the idea of never meeting Aang. She'd known him for all of five minutes but she already thought of him as a friend. A very close friend.
The subway jerked and shook for another ten minutes before reaching the station. The trio navigated through the thick crowd and made it to their next subway.
"This is crazy! Too many subways. We should've taken a taxi instead!" Sokka grumbled "Why couldn't Dad just get someone to drive us to school?"
"Ugh, you're so spoiled Sokka. Get over it." Katara complained. She turned to Aang "Taking the subway was my idea. I figured it would be more fun to travel like normal people."
"Aren't you guys normal?" Aang asked with a slightly sarcastic look.
Katara turned to him said "Well, we're pretty normal. But our dad's part of City council, so we don't have to take the subways; we could get someone to drive us if we wanted to."
"Yeah, so why don't we?" Sokka interrupted.
"Because I just don't want to, okay." Katara snapped. "Besides, then we wouldn't have met Aang." She didn't notice, but Aang was beaming.
One last brief ride later, the three teenagers stepped into the light of Zhong Xing. Katara felt her stomach flip and her hands shaking again but this time it was out of excitement rather than nervousness. Zhong Xing was full of tall, gleaming skyscrapers that made her feel so much smaller that she really was. It was amazing how little she knew about her own city.
She looked at Aang, who was just as awestruck. "You know what?" she began "Technically, this is our home too."
"What?" the boys asked in unison.
She blushed at her sudden, odd comment and struggled to explain, "We all live in Yuansu City and since this is part of Yuansu City, technically we live here too. Does that make any sense?"
"Yeah, I see what you mean. Wow Katara, I never thought of it like that." Aang exclaimed. For some reason, that made Katara a bit upset, but she shook it off and looked up to her school; it was just a few blocks from the subway station. "C'mon," Sokka called "Do you want to be late?"
The school was as just as beautiful as the rest of Zhong Xing. The exterior was white and looked almost polished. It was at least five stories tall and covered a whole block. The architecture was Asian and the building looked a little like the Forbidden City in China. That is, if the Forbidden City had countless teenagers walking through the doors with backpacks and school supplies.
Upon entering, Katara saw students crowding around a bulletin board with some kind of list on it. As she was walking over there, she walked over to the crowd, she bumped into a boy. He was about her brother's age, with dark hair covering most of his face.
"Sorry." She gulped. He didn't say a word, but only kept walking away. Katara frowned 'What a rude guy.' she thought as she paused to stare at the boy's retreating form.
By the time she got the bulletin board, Aang and Sokka were already there. "Katara, you're in Room 216." Sokka informed.
"Huh?" She asked. Aang pointed to her name on the board. "You're on the second floor." He replied. "I'm on the second floor too, but I'm in Room 226."
"I'm on the third floor because I'm a sophomore, Room 311. You freshmen have to stay on the second floor, so I guess this is goodbye. Later." Sokka walked off to his own class and melted into the huge crowd.
'Figures he'd ditch us when he got the chance.' Katara thought as she and Aang went the up the stairs before going their separate ways. Aang turn back and cried "Later Katara!" across the hallway. Suddenly, but only for a moment, everyone stared at her. Katara blushed and smiled shyly before running to Room 216.
The classroom had twenty brand new desks and walls covered with cheesy posters about self-esteem, respect and good grades. She went to sit down in a seat in the middle of the class, only to bump into a visibly upset girl. She was pretty, with pale green eyes covered by short jet-black bangs; the rest of her hair was tied back with a green hairband.
"That's my seat." She hissed. She was short, thin and looked rather fragile, but she seemed to exude the authority and confidence of a comic book superhero.
"Well, excuse me," Katara replied, annoyed "How was I supposed to know?" She got up and looked for another desk but the girl stopped her.
"Look, I'm sorry. I don't wanna make enemies on the first day, but you should really watch where you're going."
"That's not the best way to make friends; you should watch more TV if you wanna know how its done." Katara noted, calming down. "I'm Katara."
"I'll make a note of that." she laughed "My name's Toph. Sorry, but you'll have to take another seat."
"Or maybe it is the best way to make friends." Katara joked as she moved and sat in the next row.
"Yeah, but…you don't sound like anyone in I've ever met in Diqui." Toph replied.
Katara was surprise. Why, she wasn't sure. Perhaps she just assued anyone willing to talk to her had to be from the same distric. But then again, you can't tell which district someone's from by thier attitude. "You're from Diqui? I'm from Shui."
"Yeah. I'm from Diqui." Toph's voice became flat and awkward. She turned and sat in her desk, her back to Katara.
'There goes a good friend.' She thought,wishing she had chosen a different seat.
Just as she sat down, the teacher walked in. He was tall and authorative in a way more frightening than Toph's. He stared the class into silence and began "I am Sifu. Long Feng. I will not tolerate any failure. You came to learn? I expect you to work you hardest if we're not to have any problems. Understood? Good." Long Feng had a cold, demanding voice that seemed to cut right into his students; Katara had to stop herself from visibly cringing.
'Suddenly, I'm not so excited for school.' she thought.
"Now," Long Feng continued "I will need a volunteer to pass out your schedules."
No one replied. Long Feng looked at each one of them, memorizing their faces. "You," he pointed to Toph. Toph said nothing. The boy behind her nudged her.
"Who, me?" she shook her head and answered "I'm blind."
The class snickered at her declaration. "Silence!" Long Feng commanded. In an instant, it was quiet enough that Katara could hear the kid behind her breathing.
"What to mean you're blind?" he asked Toph in a hard voice.
"I mean I can't see." She replied plainly.
He looked at her for a minute "That is not an excuse." He insisted "What is your name?"
"Toph Bei Fong."
Long Feng's eyes widened with recognition. "Very well then. You'll do it." He decided pointing to Katara. She gulped and got up. "I'm Katara."
"I asked for your assistance, not your name."
'Figures you wouldn't care to know my name, you creep.' she thought grumpily.
)-()-()-()-(
The rest of morning passed without incident. Two classes later, Katara was back on the first floor in the cafeteria. It was in the back of the school and had tall ceilings and huge windows on the back wall that made the room as bright as the outside. Oddly though, the room was pretty cold. The floor was stone tile, tables were made of new, shiny metal, and chairs were made of fine wood; nothing was soft or warm. 'At least the food's not so bad.' Katara thought. She spotted Toph sitting alone in the corner of the cafeteria. Forgetting Aang and Sokka, she immediately went to sit next to her.
"Is this your seat too?" she teased.
"It might be. Glad you asked this time." Toph smiled and moved over."You don't mind sitting next to a Diqui girl?
"Not if you don't mind sitting next to a Shui girl."
"Only if she's cool." Toph joked.
"Then it's settled." Katara smiled and sat next to her new friend. "Can you believe how creepy that f-"
"Katara!" Aang appeared out of nowhere and took a seat across from her "Who's you're friend?"
"Oh hey, Aang. This is Toph, from my homeroom class. Toph, this is Aang." Katara looked around the cafeteria. "Aang, have you seen Sokka?"
"Yeah, but he said he was gonna sit with the sophomores."
"Yeah, I said that but they weren't gonna sit with me." Sokka grumbled.
"When did you get here?" Katara cried, surprised by her brother's sudden appearance. He didn't look very happy; his face was downcast and his shoulder sagged with disappointment.
"What's wrong Sokka?" Aang asked.
"Doesn't matter," her shrugged "'Cause apparently I'm stuck with you guys."
"Not cool enough for the big kids?" Toph taunted lightly.
"Who the heck are you?" Sokka demanded before taking a bite of his lunch.
"This is m-." Katara answered
"Thanks Sugar Queen, but I can speak for myself. The name's Toph and I'm a proud Diqui girl." She grinned
'Sugar Queen?' Katara wondered in her mind 'Where'd she come up with that one?'
"Diqui?" Sokka inquired "Geez, Katara, to you even want to hang out with anyone from your own district? I mean really, a Kongqi boy" he pointed to Aang "and a Diqui girl." he pionted at Toph.
"What?" Katara sniffed "Isn't the point of the school? Aren't we suppose to learn about people from other districts and neighborhoods?"
"Sugar Queen has a point." Toph agreed.