Katara sat her bedroom window, staring out as the sun arose in the sky---piercing the morning fog with its vivid crimson color. She was already dressed to go to school, but school doesn't start until around seven. It wasn't even six yet. Usually, she's never up this early. Unless her older brother, Sokka, is snoring loud enough to wake her up in her room. Why did she have to have a room right next to him?

Katara's eyes began to glaze over with water, her mind flooding with memories of Zuko. He'd left yesterday to move back to California with his family. Zuko never told anyone the exact reason of why he was moving, just that he felt it was time to return home. I miss you, Zuko, why did you have to go? Katara thought to herself.

She looked across from her, where there were photographs of them plastered all over her wall. She glanced at the one with her and him at the county fair. Zuko gave a weak smile, while Katara beamed proudly next to him, grabbing hold of Zuko's arm. They stood next to the ferris wheel where Toph and Aang were in the background to ride next.

Katara glanced at another image, where Zuko stood soaking wet from the water she'd splashed on him at the beach. Then, she looked at the photo they took only three days ago--when Zuko had told them he was moving. The whole group was present in this photo, all of them smiling next to each other. Katara looked at herself in the photo--where she stood next to Zuko.

I can't believe he's gone, she thought. Distant anger began to float through her blood. She wanted to be angry at Zuko, but she couldn't. It's not like it was his fault he had to leave. Deep inside, she was furious with herself for using his movement as an excuse for her reason of not telling Zuko how she truly felt. She never really noticed the feelings before, until school began once again and Zuko came back from summer vacation with short, shaggy black hair and a few inches taller than he was before.

"BEEEEEEEEEEEPPP!!" The noise startled Katara, and shocked her away from reminescing the time she spent with Zuko. I thought I turned this thing off, Katara thought, reaching for her alarm clock. She noticed it was six o'clock--an hour before shcool is scheduled to begin. Katara jumped up from her place on her bead, and headed for Sokka's room. Sokka's alarm clock never could wake the heavy sleeper up, so it was her duty to make sure her bum of a brother was up and ready for school.

Katara didn't bother knocking on his door----she knew he wouldn't hear it. She opened the door and hesitantly walked inside. Clothes were scattered all over the floor, nearly tripping her up. She blindly reached for her brother's bed, where Sokka was hanging halfway from it---his pillow wet from drool, and loud snores coming from his body. "Sokka, wake up," Katara said, shaking him back and forth. He moved slightly, but still he was deep in sleep.

"Wake up," she repeated, shaking at his body more violently than she previously had. Sokka turned on his back, mumbling, "...yummy catcus juice.....hey mushroom....such a friendly mushroom....give me more cactus juice, Suki...."

Katara became impatient, then just whacked him on the head.

"Ow!" Sokka yelled drowsily, rubbing the back of his head.

"Get. Up," Katara said, heading for the door. She switched the lights on, and left his room. Once out, she realized just how much it reeked in there. Breathing fresh air never felt so good.

Katara jeaded for the kitchen in the small house. Her grandmother---whom she called Gran-Gran---was standing behind the stove, flipping pancakes. The kitchen was bathed with a sweet, buttery aroma.

"Hey Gran-Gran," Katara greeted, walking over to give her grandmother a hug. She loved living with her grandmother, but there was still a part of her that deeply missed her parents. Her was father overseasm fighting in the war, and her mother passed away when she was younger. But somehow, living here, in New York with her friends made life a little easier to bare. Too bad all of her friends couldn't be there.

"Hello hon, where's Sokka?" Gran-Gran asked, returning her grand-daughter's hug. "You would think he'd be down here by now."

"Yeah, Sokka's never far when there's the smell of food clouding the air, " Katara laughed, grabbing a plate of pancakes from the counter as she headed for the dining table.

"Pancakes??" Sokka asked, struggling to put his shirt on as he came into the kitchen. Katara watched her brother devour three pancakes in four large bites. He grabbed his plate and set it in the sink, clutching his bookbag. "Ready to go?" Sokka asked his sister.

Katara was almost done with her food and continued to eat as she pushed her chair into the table. "Alright, I am now. Let's go," Katara said as she slung her shoulder bag on her shoulder and headed out the door, calling out a simple goodbye to her grandmother before she left.

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"C'mon, hurry---we're gonna be late!!" Suki screamed at Katara as the ahllway filled with other students who rushed to get to their classes. Suki clutched Katara's arm and practically dragged her through the crowded hallway. People pushed her left and right, almost even knocking her off balance. Suki seemed unphased by it all, and continued on as if nothing happened.

The two made it to Honors Literature with Mr. Zhao three minutes before the bell class was silent as Suki and Katara walked into the class. Everyone's eyes were glued to them. Mr. Zhao was seated at his desk in the back of the room, grading papers. Katara hurried to her desk, hoping not to disturb him. It was odd that Mr. Zhao wasn't at the front lecturing the class about how important his course was like he usually is.

The school counselor came into the room and gestured for Mr. Zhao to come to the door. Zhao set down his readnig glasses and stiffly walked to the door, but not before assigning loads of classwork for the students to complete before class ended. Katara immediately got started reading the literature passage from the textbook when Mr. Zhao stood at the door to talk to the counselor.

Mr. Zhao obviously cleared his throat, trying to get the attention of his students. "Attention. This is Jet, he will be joining our class for the rest of the semester." Mr. Zhao moved from the doorway so that a tall, brown-haired male stepped inside the classroom. He had caramel skin, and wore a devious smirk on his face before the class.

"Jet, sit in any available seat until I assign a permanent one for you," Mr. Zhao instructed. Jet shouldered his bookbag as he strided over to the seat beside Katara's desk. He leaned on the chair's back and glanced at the board for the day's assignments.

Mr. Zhao walked outside the classroom to discuss school matters with the counselor. The class immediately began to chatter, haulting their reading for the class. Mr. Zhao popped his head into the room and shouted out, "That does not mean talk! Shut up and get this work done before I assign you another project.

Mr. Zhao closed the door for good, and the class yet again began talking once more. Paper balls flew across the room. Katara began talking to Suki, laughing about an inside joke with one another. There was a light tap on her shoulder, causing her to turn around. It was the new guy, Jet, leaned over his desk to her.

"Where are we supposed to find the passage for the first assignment?" he asked her.

"Oh...um, it's in the green book, Elements of Literature. You'll find the passage on page 467," she answered.

Jet smirked, "Thanks.....?"

"Katara," she smiled.

"Katara," Jet said.

"Hey, do you mind if I get your number, y'know, in case I need to ask you something about homework?" Jet asked kindly.

Katara lightly blushed as she ripped off the edge of notebook paper from her binder and scribbled her cell number onto it. She handed him the paper.

"Thanks," he replied just as Zhao walked back into the room. There was one last paper ball that flew across the room, instantly building fury into the broad shouldered man. He began lecturing the entire class about it for 30 minutes straight. Katara couldn't care how long he lectured them, the more he talked, the less she had to do work. He could talk all class period all she cared.

Mr. Zhao glanced at the clock, then glared daggers at his students, "The bell is about to ring in a couple of minutes. I want these ten assignments on the board completed by tomorrow. Bring it to me before you enter homeroom."

The class groaned loudly. "SHUT UP!!" Mr. Zhao yelled, walking back to his desk.

A couple of minutes passed by of the class working dutifully in silence, reading each passage and writing an 800 minimum word essay for each literature selection. As Katara worked on her third essay, Jet slipped a folded sheet of paper on her desk, She glanced at him with confusion written on her face before she decided to read the note after class ended.

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BRRRING RING!! The bell sounded. She hurridly packed all her work into her shoulder bag, and rushed out of the class, where Suki was leaning on the wall waiting for her. Katara had the note clutched in her hand, and as she unfolded it, she looked around for Jet, but he was somehow swallowed into the mass crowd. Katara finished unfolding the paper and began to read it, with Suki at her side. It read----