Probending Round Seven
Team: Ba Sing Se Badgermoles
Position: Earthbender
Task: Celebrate Graduation
Prompts used:
One Point: (word) Accomplishment
Two Points: (character) Sokka
Word Count: 1607
Note: Aang, Katara and Sokka use the last name 'Pipinpaddleopsocopolas' when they try to get into Omashu in ATLA, in case you didn't know
Lin sat opposite the audience, shuffling her feet nervously. Today was the day, the day where she would graduate the Beifong Metalbending Academy. It was the first time that her mother would grace the school with her presence in years - if there wasn't a major police matter that took priority - she understood that her mother was busy, but she really hoped she would be coming, although it didn't look that way. In some part of her, she was glad her mother might not come, the other part was upset she may not, she couldn't decide.
"Hey! Ning!" A girl hissed, heading to the young Beifong, taking the seat next to her. Lin looked up at the girl, Hua, all the way from Ba Sing Se to train with Toph, not that she was ever there, she smiled and Hua continued.
"Are you nervous? I mean, the Toph Beifong will be here to personally hand us our certificates. Can you believe it? I've waited my whole life for this moment! And you have to give a speech!"
Lin fought the urge to roll her eyes at the mention of her mother,
"No, not really, I mean, it's not that big of a deal, I saw her all the time in the city."
It wasn't exactly a lie. Lin had enrolled in the school under the false name Ning Pipinpaddleopsocopolas, so that she would be judged for her bending, not her heritage, and so far, it had worked out well for her. The only problem was that her mother had no idea she had used another name.
"Oh that's right!" Hua said, "I keep forgetting you're from Republic City! Did you ever meet her though?"
"Yup. She's really not all they say she is. Too focussed on her work if you ask me. I wouldn't be surprised if she cancelled today, to be quite honest."
"Oh no! That'd be horrible! What would happen then?"
"Then she'd probably get Sokka, or maybe Aang or Zuko to do it, possibly Katara."
Hua's eyes widened, "You mean the avatar? Wow! I still hope she comes though."
Lin sighed and sat back, she was bored of how her mother was seen as some hero, when she could barely raise two children. She had overheard her teachers talking nervously amongst themselves the night before, they said Toph had called and couldn't wait to see what they had taught her daughter, and because the young metalbender was using a false name, they were rushing around all morning trying to figure out how to tell their employer that her daughter hadn't actually enrolled. Despite being slightly scared of what her mother would do to her when she found out, Lin found it amusing how scared they were of her mother, when she probably wouldn't turn up anyway.
Sitting back, she relaxed a bit when Bumi and her Uncle Sokka walked through the door and waved at her, she waved back, grinning as they sat down. It turned out that Sokka had invited Aang, who brought Katara, and Bumi had applied for leave from the U.F., which sparked Zuko's interest, and he ended up coming. Tenzin had written to her a few weeks before, telling her that he couldn't leave the council, because so many important figures would be going to her graduation, and he promised to make it up to her when she returned. And yet there was no sign of Toph, nor was there an explanation for her absence.
Almost everyone was seated and settled when she heard Hua gasp for the thousandth time that day, nudging Lin, she leaned over and whispered,
"Ning! She's here! Look at the door! Toph came!" Lin's heart sunk, suddenly it was beating so hard, as if it were trying to get out of her chest, and her mother knew, she 'looked' in her direction and waved, Hua and other students waved back, whilst Lin tapped her foot twice on the Earthbent floor, Toph bobbed her head in acknowledgement and made her way up onto the stage, thankfully taking a seat instead of coming to talk.
The ceremony got off without a hitch, Toph gave a short speech, and the head teacher got up and gave a very long speech about the history of the school and how proud he was of the students everyone zoned out for a while until she was brought back to the present by the end of the speech with,
"And now, this year's top student, Ning Pipinpaddleopsocopolas to give her address."
Biting her lip, Lin stood and walked over to the podium, fumbling with her cards, she looked out to her family, Bumi, Sokka and Aang were all laughing, trying to cover them up with coughs, while Katara was biting her lip and trying her hardest not to laugh, whilst Zuko gave her a confused look, but smiled encouragingly as she started.
"Three years ago, I, along with the forty-nine people behind me stood at the gates of this school, extremely nervous, although very excited, ready for three years of intensive training with the best, toughest, most unforgiving Metalbending masters the Earth Kingdom has to offer. Now, we are here, being told that we ourselves are masters, an accomplishment we never thought possible, and I assure you, that although we are somewhat nervous, we all can't wait to leave."
She let the hall chuckle before continuing.
"When I came here, I was the only metalbender from the City, I knew no one, but now, I have forty-nine of the greatest friends I could ask for, and I know you are all going to be amazing at what you go on to do, and none of you have to worry about what most of us said we were afraid of on the first night here. I assure you; you will all be judged for you and your talents, not what your parents have done, so go out and to it!"
She turned around to see Toph grinning at her, laughing under her breath, she held out her and for 'Ning' to shake. When she did, the Chief of Police pulled her into a hug and hissed in her ear,
"Lin not a nice enough name for you?"
"Shut up, mother." She replied, grinning as she sat back down, glad she hadn't stuffed up her speech.
Toph took the stage, she had to earthbend a small platform out of the stage so that she could reach the microphone, the head teacher stood next to her to whisper the names of each graduate in her ear as she announced them and gave them their certificate. Lin was last, she smiled at Hua, who had just received hers, Toph was leaning down to hear the name, the man was still whispering as she called into the microphone,
"Lin Beifong"
The hall was silent as Toph waited as Lin got up and awkwardly shook hands with her mother as she was given her certificate, sat down next to Hua, who looked away, and listened to Toph announce that year's graduating class.
After audience filed out to wait in the courtyard (and meet the avatar) Lin's classmates turned to her, obviously waiting for an explanation, when Toph grabbed her wrist and yanked her up and out of the hall.
"You and I have to talk."
The two closed themselves into a small room, Toph Earthbent a seat up and waited for an explanation.
"I'm sorry, mom. I just didn't want to be known as 'Toph's Daughter' I wanted to be known as someone with a talent for Earthbending, I just can't live up to your hype."
Lin expected to be yelled at, or lectured, she did not expect for her mother to laugh.
"What's so funny?"
Toph smiled,
"I'm proud of you, you know? You don't need to live up to my hype, you have to live up to yours, you will always be 'Toph's Daughter' but that's only because it's true, but more importantly, you will always be Lin Beifong, badass metalbender and a great friend, I could tell you meant all those words, and that your friends believed them. I'm sorry I put pressure on you, I didn't realise people just pegged you as a mini me, but for what it's worth, you've proven them wrong. I would never have spent three years doing whatever those lily livers told me."
Lin laughed and hugged her mother, before going to explain herself to her friends.
"Lin!" Hua called out, waving her over to a large group of graduates, shyly, she walked over and started to explain herself, but Hua put up a hand.
"Listen, we get why you did it, and we understand. We don't see you as Toph's daughter, we see you as Lin now, and a great friend."
Lin smiled, "So we're good?" she questioned in relief.
"Almost. We will forgive you if you introduce us to your friends, have us over at the Gaoling estate, and get five of us interviews at the City station."
"I can do the first thing, but the estate still belongs to my grandparents, you could probably come to Air Temple Island though, and as for the interviews, you all automatically get one if you graduate here."
Hua squealed and hugged her friend, declaring a party in the dorms before everyone left. Lin knew that not everything would be a big party, but she had just proven that she could graduate the most prestigious Metalbending Academy by her sheer talent alone, no help from her mother or any of her other connections, and that was something worth celebrating.