Here's the revised version of chapter 2. Wow, I'm NOT doing good this week. Damn.
But it's Sunday and I DO have school tomorrow, so it's gonna be rather difficult to shuffle
between school work and writing. But I'll do all I can. I promise ;)
Favorite, Follow, and Review because keeps me sane.
Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Korra or any of the real life products or businesses that are mentioned in this chapter.
Enjoy!
Chapter 2
Korra's POV
Mako held the door open for me. There was no one else in the class so we must be early. He then led me to the Spanish teacher's desk. The name plate that sat on the front of the desk read 'Mrs. Kaze.' Mako gave a wide smile and cleared his throat so the lady would notice them.
She looked up from what looked like book reports from the summer. I wonder if she graded mine already. But that's beside the point. The woman looked to be in her mid-forties; long brown hair tied up in a neat bun, chopsticks (I know it sounds weird to wear eating utensils in our hair, but it's really a Japanese style) holding it together. She wore a white button down shirt that's tucked into a black skirt. I couldn't see her shoes, but judging by the sound they made when they clacked on the floor as she stood up to greet us I assume they're high-heels.
"Well good morning, Mako. ¿Cómo estás?" She greeted him in Spanglish. "It's nice to see you." She said then looked to me. "Who's this? New student?" She asked before shaking my hand.
"Yes." He let out a content sigh then smiled at me. "Korra, this is Sra. Kaze -but we just call her Mrs. Pema, or Pema-. And Pema," he continued, "this is Korra Jin. She's in all my classes, even all my studies." He said in one breath then placed a warm, strong hand on my shoulder.
"Ah, Korra," Sra. Kaze began. "I've read your record. You speak perfect Inuit, and are 'decent in Spanish' as it says on your record. Am I right?" She asked in a soft and caring tone.
"Um, yes… Yes I'm fluent in Inuit and satisfactory in Spanish." I replied tensely.
"That's quite impressive." She complimented, causing me to nod my head to thank her. "Well, welcome to my class." She spoke quite calmly.
Mako lead me to a couple seats in the back of the room where I saw his name carved in small letters on the bottom left corner of the desk. He gestured toward the desk to the left of his as he placed his bag under the desk against his legs. I did the same then waited for class to begin.
"The bell will ring in about…" Mako mumbles something then looked to the analog clock that was on the wall above Mrs. Pema. He counted with the intervals under his breath and used his index finger to hold his place between each number. Just like I do. "The bell will ring in… 3 minutes." He concluded with somewhat of a sheepish tone.
It was frightening to see him be so friendly because of his mood on the bus, but comforting to know that there IS someone like that who has potential to become friends with me who acts just like me. Without the social anxiety part, of course.
Mako's sudden conversion of personalities is totally familiar to me. He reminds me of myself in some ways. Like sudden happiness that was pulled out of thin air to replace an indifferent mood, or all day depression caused by brooding too much, or maybe he's just a good judge of character and sees that I've been fighting an unfair battle that will never be in my favor. He just seems so much like me.
The bell rang (rung? runged? ringed? barked? mowed? played the theme to mission impossible?) and all the acp students barged through the door and sat down in their seats.
"Alright lets go over the rules." Mrs. Pema began. "First rule: do not yell. Second rule: do not answer or ask questions unless I choose you to. Third rule: do not throw objects, especially across the room. And final rule: respect one another. Do not bully because we have a zero tolerance for that here." She finished then handed out an introduction work-sheet.
During class, I observed Mako. He paid close attention to Mrs. Pema, and he couldn't seem to sit still. He played with his hair, tapped his pen on his book, and shook his leg.
There's just something about this guy that urges my curiosity to know more about him. But if I ask him, what if he takes it the wrong way? What if he thinks I'm pushing it, or hitting a touchy subject? I don't want him to think I'm insane. Maybe I'll ask Bolin. Maybe.
First period ended and Mako and I were off to PE. Mako told me that if the students call PE 'Gym' they scold you because the proper term for 'Gym' is 'PE', 'Phys. Ed.', or 'Physical Education.' If you ask me, that's a stupid rule. But whatever floats their boat is just fine by me.
We walked into the gymnasium and I can't believe I didn't notice how nice it was before when I got my schedule here. The Court was shiny and spotless with six hoops; four of the hoops being retractable and off to the side in front of the bleachers which were retractable as well. The poles that hold the volley ball net, which was currently taken down and probably stored in the supply closet adjacent to the emergency exit doors, are a shiny metal painted white with a later and a spot for the ref placed on one of the poles. There are two sets of stairs of five steps on either side of the gym that lead to the weight room, the front door leading outside, the bathroom, and the locker rooms.
Everyone was messing around with each other and just being boisterous and annoying in general. All the teenagers were either sitting on the bleachers, laughing loudly and obnoxiously, or running around on the court yelling somewhat vulgar statements or trying to jump up and grab the rim of the basketball hoop. But Mako and I just sat on the bench near the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream machine silently until he broke the silence.
"I'm sorry about how I acted on the bus this morning, Korra." He began. "My brother was just so nice and friendly to you and…" His words trailed off as he looked at his feet and started to rub the wood of the bench.
I looked at him and saw the sorrow in his nervous motions. "It's alright, Mako." I tried to say in an indifferent tone, yet caring for his own feelings. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"I mean I kind of did." He began once again. "When we compared our schedules and I saw that we were having all our classes together," he opened his mouth trying to find the right words then looked at me with those amber eyes, "I knew we were gonna be seeing a lot of each other. So I just thought that we could become…" He paused and sighed as he looked down once more. "Well, pals. I thought that since Bolin was so nice to you that I could be the same- You know? Be a good person." He finished then turned his head to give me nervous grin.
I gave him back a grin, but I was totally freaking out on the inside. He is so like me; wanting to make friends with someone who reminds you of yourself. That is so me, and it's scaring me that he's just… I can't put my finger on it, but… I think I can relate to him. Tell him about my problems without worrying about what he'll say. But then again, I am a little worried about what he thinks about me. I don't know I'm so confused.
"Hey Mako, Korra!" Bolin greeted, making me turn my gaze from Mako to him and Asami.
"What's up, guys?" Mako said as he got up, giving a fist-pound to Bolin then a kiss on the cheek to Asami, which pissed me off a little for some reason.
"Hello, Korra." Bolin said then pulled me up off the bench to give me a friendly, tight hug.
"Hey… Bolin…" I forced out of my collapsing lungs. "You can let go now…" He let go of me then gave a sheepish grin and a nervous chuckle.
"Hey, Korra." Asami then greeted, going in for the hug.
I decided to return the hug. "Hey, Asami."
She pulled back and looked at me with those eyes. "Again, I'm so sorry for almost running you over." She apologized again. "It was an accident, and I hope we can be friends." She gave me a hopeful smile that was just tugging at the corners of her lips.
"Really, it's fine." I said with much sincerity. "Yeah, sure." I said nervously, my social anxiety kicking in.
Just then, a man with dark, tanned skin, and long, brown hair tied in the back with three thick locks of hair held together with beads came out of his office and walked over to the bench where the four of us were, attention directed toward me. He has small, blue eyes; he wore a plain blue t-shirt with white stitching, a pair of blue sweat pants with white sets of stripes running down both sides of the legs, and dirty white running sneakers. His dark skin, blue eyes, and hair-style were definitely Water Tribe. Northern style specifically.
"You're Korra Jin, right?" The man asked in a tone that matched his appearance.
I looked into his eyes, somewhat intimidated by his husky tone, but discreetly happy to see someone from the Water Tribe. "Uh- Yes, Sir." I answered, trying to sound confident but failing. "I'm Korra Jin." I started to play with the ripped pocket of my jeans.
"Nice to meet you." He shook my hand, and I shook back firmly. "My name is Tarrlok Agloolik; call me Mr. T (He Pity The Fool!) or Coach Tarr if you're on the girls' volleyball team." He greeted before he got down to business. "Now I've read your record and saw that you are skilled in six styles of martial arts. Am I correct?" He said, making Mako, Bolin, and Asami all stare at me in awe.
Agloolik is definitely an Inuit name from the Water Tribe; so meeting a Northerner was kind of relieving. I need someone to relate to here that's from the South, but I guess the North is the next best thing. Although I still am started to feel self-conscious, but for what reason? "Uh- Yes… Yes I am…" I answered timidly.
"Now my record on you has been cut off in the copying machine, so I could not read what styles you are skilled in." He said then took out a pen and notepad. "Could you please tell me what they are?" He asked, getting his pen ready.
I panicked a little. What if Asami thinks I could have beaten her when she nearly ran into me with her car? What if Bolin becomes intimidated by me then tries to avoid me? Oh, Spirits! What if Mako doesn't want to be my 'pal' anymore? Oh crap! What do I do? Tell the truth, or evade the question? Maybe if I avoid it now, I can tell him after class. Yes, I'll try that.
"Korra, please tell me what martial arts you are an expert in." Mr. T asked me impatiently.
"Well, um…" I trailed off purposely then gave him genuine nervous eyes. But he was good at this and gave me a reason that made me change my decision to telling him the truth.
"Korra," he began in a softer tone, but still strong, "If you tell me what you can do, you'll get extra, and usable, credits for when you go to college. And maybe obtain a scholarship." He got his pen ready once again. "Now, what types of martial arts are you skilled in?"
I took a deep breath and stood up straight, nervous on the inside, but confident on the outside. You could call it lying to yourself, but when you have ADD and social anxiety, it's called progress. "Well, I'm an expert in the fighting styles of Hung Gar, Chu Gar Southern Praying Mantis, Northern Shaolin, Ba Gua, bare knuckle boxing, and, if you'd like to consider it a fighting style, Tai-Chi with a fighting twist using bare knuckle boxing, of course." I said in one breath, causing the four of them to stare at me, along with some unwanted visitors.
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out, save for a quick exhale of astonishment. "I thought you were going to say American karate, kenpo, judo, or even jujitsu, but… I had no idea you were going to tell me different styles from around the world, including MMA. I mean…" His words trailed off as he tried to figure out what to say next. "I recommend you try out for a sports team here, or even teach a class for community service." He suggested, making me smile a bit.
This caused me to become pleased with my accomplishments despite my ADD and anxiety. But I was still nervous for whatever reason. "Well, I have other stuff going on, so…" I said, being completely truthful without telling him everything. I did have a job to put food on the table, and I need to help my mother out with creating and revising budgets for food, utilities and such. Not to mention I need to build a schedule for after school help in some of my classes, and go to my therapy appointments twice every month, which we can barely pay for. So yes, I really do have other stuff going on. And home life is my first priority.
"Well, think about it." He said, putting the pen and notepad in the pocket of his sweats before he turned around to face the crazy teens. "Alright, everyone! Let's sit down, take attendance, and then go over the rules!" He shouted in a threatening tone that caused everyone to gather around him, sit on the stairs, and shut their mouths.
"Alright, Scrubs…" He began as he paced in front of the stairs. "First rule: Do not speak unless spoken to, or unless you raise your hand and wait patiently. Second rule: Absolutely NO vulgar language in this building; any building for that matter." He stopped pacing at the middle of the small stair case then stood erect with his hands placed behind his back; a death stare of authority breaking everyone's outer shell, except for me. His intimidating glare was still eminent, but he gave me a subtle grin that only I noticed; caused me to smile back at him.
"Third rule: Play nice and by the rules." He finished to a boy in front of me with short and curly, dark brown hair, wearing -from what I can see- a light blue t-shirt and a pair of baggy gray sweat-pants. "Yes?" He sighed. "What is your question, Howl?" He asked, somewhat irked.
"Um, doesn't using the word 'and' between those two statements make it two rules?" He asked in a smart-ass voice. I couldn't see him, but I can envision the smirk that's plastered on his face.
"Howl, I do not have time for stupid questions." He sighed and clutched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.
"There's no such thing as stupid questions, just stupid people." A Fire Nation girl said, making everyone, save for Howl, laugh. Including me and Mr. T.
"Alright, everyone. Calm down." Mr. T ordered, back to his authoritative speaking manner. "Fourth rule: no messing around in the locker rooms. That means NO ELECTRONIC DEVICES!" He exclaimed, getting a wave of disappointed sighs and mutters.
I didn't mind that rule, considering I don't own an electronic device. I don't even think I would mind if I did own one. I mean, living without any devices for literally my entire life hasn't had an effect on me. I can live without an iPhone or MacBook.
"And last but not least… The fifth rule: NO BULLYING!" He practically screamed. "There is a zero tolerance for bullying at this school. So if I see ANYONE mistreating a student, you will earn yourself -including the ones who were said bully's lackeys- an office detention with the principal." He looked at everyone in the room, except Me, Mako, Bolin, and Asami. "AM I CLEAR?" He asked in his loud tone.
"Yes, Mr. T." Everyone answered in unison, though some voices sounded sarcastic.
Made it better, I think. But y'all can give me suggestions and stuff if you want.
Anywho, I'll see you cool gator-cats on the flip side B|
-TheClaudMaster