Author's Note: I felt bad the first chapter was so short, so I'm posting this chapter along with it. I tried to get Azula's view on this situation into the fic at this point. Not sure if it worked, though…
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Azula had been having a very bad day.
First, she had been woken up before the sun even rose – something positively sacrilegious as far as her family was normally concerned – and hadn't even been able to eat breakfast, because her uncle was urging her to get dressed 'simply'. Apparently 'simply' meant no arm protectors, no protective clothing, and no baggy clothing. Also, no layers. Thus she spent her first waking moments going through everything in her closet while her uncle packed everything she was throwing around. When she finally found an outfit that was 'simple' enough, she was then told to say goodbye to her family.
No one wanted to tell her where she was going, although apparently her brother was going somewhere else, too. Her mother hugged her tight and wished her the best of luck, then went off to check that both Zuko and Azula had 'proper' clothing packed. Azula was unable to find her father, much to her anger (the sun was just rising – he couldn't be working yet). And after all that rushing and running, she was given three packs (no servants to carry them either!) and told to carry them outside into a ridiculous yellow, metal thing of some sort.
She'd gotten on, glared at the orange-haired woman who spoke quickly with uncle Iroh, then laid her head down to attempt to at least be still until the sun was up – so help her Agni, she was at least trying to show some respect – and then the next thing she knew, she was practically in a whole different world, thrust into classes with unfamiliar children, and to top it all off, they were all now aboard the yellow thing once more, bound for who knew where, and her opinion far too cramped together for royalty such as herself.
"I thought today we'd review some old lessons," Ms. Frizzle said, and Azula knew it was for her benefit and glared at her fiercely. "Besides, I think that chemistry will be much more fun with me along this time."
Everyone chuckled or shifted nervously.
Dorothy Ann smiled brightly at Azula. "So, how do you like it here so far?"
"I've only been here for thirty minutes." Azula snapped. "But at this point, I have to say I just want to go home."
"Aw, c'mon," Carlos piped up, "This class is awesome, if you get my point."
Azula hit him without even glancing over. He fell over onto Phoebe. Both of them stared at her in shock. Dead silence fell over the bus for a moment as she looked over at Carlos coolly. His nose was beginning to bleed. She smirked, and at that moment everyone began to figure out why her parents had named her after a demon. After a moment of silence, everyone began speaking at once.
"Is it just me, or was that a little mean?"
"That's not right," Arnold exclaimed, only to cower beneath her golden-eyed glare. "I, I mean…"
Tim looked at her with wide eyes, "You can't just hit people!"
"Why not?" Azula asked without a hint of emotion.
"It's against school rules!" Wanda told her, not even flinching under Azula's steely glare. "Apologize to Carlos right now."
"He deserved it," Azula said, a hint of glee in her voice. "He wasn't funny."
"And that was?" Arnold asked.
"Yes."
"That's enough!" Ms. Frizzle stopped the bus, stormed back to Azula's seat, and hauled the sadistic princess out the door. "Look, I know it's hard being the new girl, and I know you may be feeling vulnerable-" At this point, Azula's jaw dropped- the insolence! "-But in my class, we have certain rules, and unless you want me to call your father, you will not touch any of my students."
Azula didn't know what was more infuriating; the fact that Ms. Frizzle was so calm, or that she presumed to tell the heir of the Fire Nation what to do. As it was, she ground her teeth together and nodded, not wanting to anger her father with a bad behavior report.
No one on the bus would sit with her. Big surprise there. Like she cared about commoners anyway. Fools didn't even look like Benders. They'd be totally useless on the battlefield, really. How this nation managed to keep going, she didn't know, but she suspected she was the only one here who could wield any sort of weapon. Yes, today was terrible. Totally, utterly terrible.
She thought it couldn't get worse.
Then Ms. Frizzle assigned Arnold, the wimpiest kid in existence, to sit next to her.
"Oh my Agni," she muttered, dejectedly staring out the window. "I had to jinx it."
