Bad Timing
Ms. Silverwolf
Book Read in Class: Tithe, by Holly Black
-A/N: Just a story to keep writer's block at bay! Cute little modern-day oneshot. (I hope its cute, anyway)
"...Kaye couldn't help the frantic pulling on her chain. Panic was spreading- spreading through Kaye like liquid, turning her blood to mice. I mean not mice, ice... Sorry."
Aang winced as a boy in the front row who hadn't been paying attention stumbled through the words in the book, wincing when he realized he had no clue what was going on. Aang smirked and sketched a cloud on the corner of his paper, then made a big 'A' in the center.
"That's enough, Mister Kings, I'm sure Katara wouldn't mind reading now." Ms. Finks struck Katara with a sharp glare, meaning she should start reading. Aang immediately looked at Katara's beautiful, currently flushed, face. She ran her finger down the page and stopped at a line.
Aang had always liked Katara. Her light, beautiful voice. Her long brown hair. Her blue eyes, the bluest he had ever seen. She was beautiful in all ways, inside and out. She stuck up for people, and herself. She had never backed down from a challenge, and didn't even gossip, which Aang had admitted to at times. Katara was by far the most beautiful, smart, and funny girl in their grade. Despite her bad history of family deaths and heartbreak. Aang had loved her since she had first smiled at him in the first grade...
"...Dawn was coming. Kaye saw the red glow out beyond the burning green flames. 'Seven years is the length of our binding.'"
Aang found himself caught up in her perfect voice, as she freely read the words as if she had memorized them. She never stuttered and slipped. Such a perfect girl...
"Aang!" Ms. Finks was coming towards him, her long skirts moving while her black eyes glared. She snapped the ruler down on his desk, making the class jump. Katara stopped reading Tithe and shot Aang a sympathetic look.
"You have better things to do during class rather then stare at Katara. Please open your book to the correct page and read to us, please." Aang shot Katara a fake-confused look, but she was already blushing. Two bright red spots appeared on her cheeks, and Aang scrambled to find the page.
"Uhhmmm.."
"Page 221! Now!" Aang bit his lip and found the page.
Aang read. Ms. Finks stayed behind him, breath hot on his neck like she was some overgrown dragon about to make a supper out of him. Aang read, not as smoothly as Katara, but not as bad as some of the other kids. He shot the teacher an expectant look when he was halfway through the next page.
"Keep reading!" she hissed. Aang gulped.
"'Rath Roiben Rye.' Her voice was soft, the words running together in her panic. She realized what she was doing, her throat almost closed up. 'Cut my bonds.'"
"Ah!" the teacher walked briskly to the front of the room. She looked disgusted with them. "You could have picked a more original book to read, class. The works of William Shakespear are much more interesting then the garbage you kids read nowadays... But since the board decided to let the students pick..." She continued ranting about too much freedom, earning several eye rolls. Aang caught Katara's eye and signaled shooting himself in the head. She giggled and smiled at him before looking back at the teacher.
"So." Ms. Finks turned to scribble a question on the board. "Why did Roiben give Kaye a riddle when he knew that she would use it to save herself? Why not just let her die?" Katara's hand shot up, and Aang smiled to himself. "Katara?"
"Roiben wanted Kaye to use his name to save her life, despite his place in the Unseelie Court, because he loves her." Ms. Finks scribbled love on the board, and Katara caught Aang's eye again. Her face turned an unexplained scarlet as she quickly turned away, and Aang smiled again.
"Love. That's correct. Roiben and Kaye fall in love, like all great stories, because love is always the key to the main character's survival. Without Roiben Kaye would be dead, and without Kaye Roiben would be dead. Any q-" The bell rang, cutting off Ms. Finks, and the class swarmed out.
Katara slowly slid her books into her bag and slung it around her shoulders. Aang quickly rushed over, his own bag already on.
"Hey, good book, huh?" They walked out of the class together. Katara smiled as they walked to their lockers.
"I'm glad we got to vote this year. It's so interesting, isn't it? Tithe, I mean." Katara opened her locker and rummaged inside, pulling out books and sticking other things inside.
"Yeah. All that talk about love in class... It makes me want to ask you something." Katara's face had turned red, for the third time. She looked at Aang, their faces close.
"Yes, Aang?"
"Would you..." Aang took a deep breath. Then the fire alarm went off.
"Ugh, fire drill." Katara shrugged at Aang and walked down the hall, kids filing out the door obediently. Aang swore and banged his head against a locker.
"Damn, damn, damn!!" He scowled at the floor. Next time, Aang. Next time.