Kaja rested her chin on the edge of her mug and stared down at her textbook, not really seeing it. With the coffee fumes billowing into her face, she could finally think.
Not that it helped.
What am I doing? What is so hard about picking a major and sticking to it?
Terane hopped off her shoulder and scooched the mug away, pushing with all the might of its stubby, green legs. When the mug budged an inch, dislodging Kaja's chin, the little spirit glared up at her in stubborn victory.
"Yeah, yeah, it's bad for me." Kaja pushed the mug out of Terane's reach and swooped it up for a sweet swig. She settled it back on the far side of the chemistry textbook. "But it keeps me going."
Terane crossed its arms.
"In the wake of the founder's death at the hands of Neo Red Locus terrorists, the new president of the Korra Search Foundation has decided to close the organization."
Propping her chin on her hand instead, Kaja gazed across the room to a cluster of middle-aged folks around a TV she could see from here. She could even read the closed captioning on the normally-silent screen.
A new face filled it, network microphone shoved in close. "The Korra Search Foundation has spent twenty years seeking out the new Avatar. It's time to admit—"
A chill ran down her spine. All her life, it startled her every time they said how old the new Avatar would be. She'd talked to her classmates about it, and they all felt the same way—they even had a four-elements-themed prom to commemorate it. No other year had a right or reason to do that.
But that was the thing: all fire-benders her age knew one of them should have been the Avatar, but they never had a sign that one of them actually was.
"At this point," the KSF president on the distant screen continued, "we have to admit that maybe the Red Lotus has succeeded after all. Maybe the Avatar cycle has ended. Korra prevented the spirit of chaos from reigning for ten thousand years. She pushed for fair treatment and equality, unlocked the spirit world, and helped establish the Interweaver.
"That is enough. While she rests in peace, the rest of us at the Korra Search Foundation may do likewise in our own lives." He ended with a small bow.
The old folks' voices clamored up, drowning out the already-loud TV. "How dare they give up on the Avatar! Who's going to lead us? Who will protect us?"
The same people who have been the last twenty years, you idiot. Kaja pulled her mug closer and swirled her coffee with a tiny fingertip flame. If she finished it quickly, she could escape before they noticed her age. She should study—for real this time—elsewhere.
Terane glanced at the TV, glanced at her, and helped her pack her pens.