"Stupid fucking car." Azula mumbled she jammed the keys into the ignition for a third time. Still the engine refused to turn over. She'd twist the key only for it to make a few mechanical coughs and wheezes before sputtering out altogether.
She fumbled around in her pocket for her phone, spilling out a pair of gloves and a crumpled post it note in the process. Swearing once more she collected her escaped belongings.
She hit the power button and waited for it to turn on. But just like her car, her phone wasn't working either. Rather, between one busy event after another, she'd forgotten to charge it. She scowled, trying to flag down a car like some sort of desperate hitchhiker was beneath her.
With a sigh she sat herself on the hood of her car, elbows on her knees, and chin cupped in her hands. She'd simply wait there until Zuko noticed she was missing and had the mind to go out looking for her. Heaven knows their father wouldn't.
She drummed her fingers against her cheeks.
The sound of another car; one that was clearly down a muffler, assaulted her ears. Sure enough a lovely beater car had come to a rolling stop next to her own sleek, brand new car. It's driver rolled his window down.
"Need a hand?" Called the young man, he couldn't have been much older than she.
"I need a working car, not a hand." She quipped.
"Ha. Ha." The boy muttered. He stepped out of the car anyhow. "Lucky for you, I'm used to car problems."
She looked at his car, "yes I can tell."
Ignoring her commentary, he continued, "so I taught myself a few tricks. I wouldn't mind taking a look at it for you."
Azula stole a peek at the man's watch. Zuko wouldn't even be home for another hour. "Alright fine, what have I got to lose?"
The boy smiled. From his car he pulled out a metal box. He dashed straight to her car, seeming almost eager to be inspecting it. "Pop the hood if you will."
With a shrug, Azula flicked the small lever, allowing for the boy to open the hood. She found herself relieved when a puff of smoke didn't immediately nail him in the face. She stepped out of the car to stand by his side. She couldn't see anything wrong.
"Your battery it just dead. Easy fix, I'll just need to jump it."
"Jump it?."
"Yeah. Basically I just have to pull my car up, attach these babies," he pulled out jumper cables, "to my car's battery and your car's."
Azula yawned, "just do what you need to do." She waved her hand dismissively. Even so she watched him intensely as he hooked the red clip onto what he so poorly described as the "positive thingy."
"And what exactly is this positive thingy?"
He rubbed the back of his head, "uh…it's kind of like…it's the…uh, positive thingy."
Azula rolled her eyes. Watching him repeat the action on his own car.
"Now you take the black clip and latch it onto the negative thingy." He explained. "Now I just start my car and we wait. This could take a bit."
"Right. Red for positive, black for negative, and start the car." Azula repeated, deciding that this is probably one of those things she should store for future references. "I suppose I should thank you." She reached into her other pocket and slipped him a bill. She didn't bother to look at how much she had just tipped him, it didn't really matter.
"Wow, this is kind of a lot. Thanks."
She waved his gratitude off. As far as she was concerned, he did her a service, and services required pay.
"We're gonna be here for a while so we may as well get to know each other." He pointed out. "My name is Sokka."
For a moment she was silent. Deciding that this Sokka seemed harmless, she replied, "Azula."
"Nice to meet you." Sokka beamed.
"In due time you'll find out that that's not true." She was being serious, but the man chuckled. She supposed that she'd rather wait with him than anyone else. He seemed more genuine than most people she happened across in that town. And who knew, perhaps she'd have her first real friend, since moving there.
