"You're late," Tenzin declared sternly. Korra grinned sheepishly as she stepped off the ferry that had taken her to the secluded Air Temple Island. It had been years since she had last seen Tenzin. Korra saw that he had kept his beard after all this time, and had to hold back a laugh after remembering Bolin's remark. She liked to think that Tenzin's facial hair was his own unique way of honoring the fictional Wang Fire, a creation of his Uncle Sokka, who had immortalized the character in numerous books (and a musical, performed by the talented Ember Island Players).

"Sorry, Master Tenzin," Korra said, with a nonchalant wave of her hand. "I actually arrived early, but I met these two pro-benders who invited me for a meal at their apartment. One's really outgoing and friendly, but the other is so distant and a little bit of a snob, if you ask me – "

"You did what?" Tenzin nearly shouted. He cleared his throat and regained his composure. "Korra, you are the Avatar. You have a duty to maintain your personal safety! It is not safe for you to go running around the city with strangers who might want to take advantage of the fact that you are new to this town." Korra rolled her eyes. Tenzin paused, and a thought seemed to cross his mind. "Wait a minute. You didn't tell them that you were the Avatar, did you?"

Korra wrinkled her nose. "Of course not! I told them that I moved here for my airbending training."

"You told them you were an airbender," Tenzin said slowly, and Korra nodded. "From the Southern Water Tribe."

"Well, yeah," Korra shrugged. "I told them that my grandmother was an airbender. They believed me."

Tenzin's palm met his forehead with a loud slap. "You know what, Korra," he said finally. "I won't even try to explain all the holes in your logic. But," he said, "If those two are dense enough to believe you, they are probably just as harmless as well." He turned and began to walk away. "With that said, Korra, you are looking strong as usual. Come, it is time for lunch." Korra grinned and quickly followed in his footsteps. She knew Tenzin couldn't stay angry for long.

Tenzin led her inside the tall, white tower where the residential quarters were located. Navigating through the hallways and bowing politely to Air Acolytes who passed by, he brought her into the wing where his family resided. As soon as Korra entered the dining room, she felt three small bodies jump and attach themselves to her person. "Korra!" three high-pitched voices chorused. Korra wobbled.

"Hey, guys!" she greeted Tenzin's three kids: Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. Meelo, the youngest, did not wait to climb up on Korra's shoulders and play with her hair. Pema, Tenzin's very pregnant wife, stood up and gave her a tight hug.

"It's nice to have you here, Korra," she said. "Will you join us for lunch?"

"Thanks," Korra replied, "But I already ate. I think I should go unpack. Where will I be sleeping?"

Pema pointed down a hallway. "There, the second room on the right. Make yourself at home!"

Gently, Korra lifted Meelo off her shoulders and made her way to her room. She dropped her heavy bags on the floor nearby the bed and let out a groan of relief. Man, those bags were heavy, she thought to herself, rubbing her shoulders. She stretched the muscles in her arm and examined the room. It was medium-sized: more than enough to fit a bed, a desk, and a dresser. Wide windows on one wall allowed light to stream in abundantly. A fluffy white rug, reminiscent of one Korra had back in her home igloo, sat in the center of the room across the hardwood flooring.

Pema had taken the time to decorate the place, it seemed. There were several framed photographs around the room, mostly from Tenzin's visits to the Southern Water Tribe that had taken place when Korra was much younger. Korra chuckled a little at a shot of her at five years of age, gazing up at Tenzin's bald head with amazement.

She decided she liked the room. Korra began to unpack, starting with her clothes. She was stuffing garments into the dresser carelessly – she had no patience for folding and all that – when Pema entered the room. "Hi, Pema!" she said. "Thanks for taking the time to decorate this place. It looks great!"

"Oh, that's alright," Pema said. She paused. "Just what are you doing, Korra?"

"...Unpacking?"

Pema raised her eyebrows before letting out a small laugh. "That's a funny way of unpacking. Anyway, I've got some things for you," she dropped a large stack of books onto the bed. Korra swore she saw the mattress sink underneath the weight. "These are all the textbooks and materials you need for school, which starts on Monday."

Korra groaned. "I forgot about that part."

"You'll love it!" Pema said, digging through the books. She pulled out a piece of paper. "Ah, here it is. This is your schedule."

Korra looked over the piece of paper. "I have to take all these classes?" she wrinkled her nose at Pema's amused nod. "I don't know what this Trigonometry is, but whatever it is, it sounds life-threatening."

"Oh, you'll catch up soon enough," Pema assured her. At that moment, Tenzin entered the room.

"Korra, I need to inform you of your schedule," he said.

Korra held up the piece of paper in her hands. "I already have my schedule."

"No, your airbending schedule," he clarified. "You will train and meditate with me every morning before school. We will alternate between the two, so you will train one morning and meditate the next. On weekends, you will train from breakfast until noon."

The girl groaned. "That's so intense. Can't you cut me a little slack?"

"No," he answered briefly and left.

Korra looked at Pema accusingly. "You married that."

Try as she might, Korra could not prevent Monday morning from arriving, a fact she detested as she climbed out of bed. Running a hand through her hair, which she had let down during the night, Korra shuffled down the hallway towards the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and made her way to the sink, cringing as she saw her reflection in the mirror. Every night, her hair insisted on arranging itself into a vague, nest-like structure. She took out a comb from her toiletries bag and began to untangle the brown mess on top of her head.

She took a brief shower and brushed her teeth before changing into a new set of clothes. Then she traversed back down the hallway to the dining room. Tenzin, Pema, and their children had just seated themselves around the table. Korra took a vacant spot and yawned a sleepy "good morning" to the family.

Breakfast was a calm affair, and Korra ate heartily. She regretted this later, when Tenzin had her run through some basic airbending positions. Airbending required a lot of agility and speed – two things she did not have after a large meal. The positions were necessary, Tenzin said, in order for Korra to familiarize herself with the character of airbending, even if she couldn't produce an air shield yet. Or even a small gust of wind. Or anything at all, really. Out of all the elements, Korra found air to be the most challenging.

Finally, it was time for Korra to leave for school. She couldn't help but be nervous as she grabbed her rucksack filled with supplies and slung it over her shoulder. Stepping onto the ferry, Korra almost wished that the training session had gone on longer. She strolled through the city streets, tailing a group of teenagers who carried books and looked about her age. Eventually, the teenagers turned and entered through a pair of iron gates. Korra stopped. She had arrived at Republic City High School.

The school's main building was made of red brick, which stood out brightly against the greenery of the well-manicured lawns. It was several stories high and seemed to tower over her as she examined the campus. On the facade of the building were four banners, each bearing a symbol of all four nations. In the midst of the grounds stood a marble fountain. Students had already arrived and were roaming the front lawns, chattering loudly.

"Hey, Korra!" she heard a voice call out. "Korra, over here!"

It was Bolin. He was walking down the opposite end of the street. Mako was beside him, calm and stoic as usual. Korra waved enthusiastically and ran down to meet them. "So, what do you think of the place?" Bolin asked.

"It's awesome!" she said. "There's...so many people."

Bolin nudged Korra through the gates, declaring loudly: "New meat coming through!"

Embarrassed, Korra elbowed him in the torso, earning a startled "oof!" and a rare snicker from Mako. Bolin opened his mouth to respond when he spotted something and halted. His face turned dark. Korra looked at him, then at Mako, who had a similar expression on his face. "Guys, what's wrong?" she followed their gaze to see three boys standing by the fountain looking back at them. "Who's that?"

"That brown-haired one, with the kind of face you just want to punch for no reason," Mako said, "That's Chun. His father's filthy stinking rich," Mako spat.

"And the other two are Yomo and Han. They're two of the three members of the Tigerdillos," Bolin added, "The team we're battling in a few days."

"Come on," Mako sighed. "Let's just go. I don't want to start another fight with them." He grabbed Bolin by the arm and dragged him off to the side. Korra followed, keeping her sight on Chun and the two Tigerdillos. Chun met her gaze. He looked intrigued. "And now, the better part of the student body..." Korra heard Mako say. She turned. They were walking towards a boy and a girl who were leaning casually against a tree, seemingly deep in conversation.

The boy had dark, shaggy hair that Korra thought was far too long. His face was thin and gaunt, and he had a serious demeanor about him. The girl, on the other hand, was beautiful. Tall and thin, she had wavy hair that reminded Korra of waterfalls in the way that it moved as the girl turned her head to look at them. Mako waved to the pair as they approached. "Guys, this is Korra," he gestured towards her. "She's new in town. Korra, this is Hasook and Asami," he pointed to the boy and girl in turn. "We told you before that Hasook plays on our pro-bending team."

"It's nice to meet you," Korra said, shaking each of their hands.

"So what were you guys talking about?" Bolin inquired.

"This week's match," Asami responded. "Both of you better be ready. I heard the Tigerdillos have been practicing every single day."

Hasook tossed his head and said flippantly, "No worries. We'll beat them, for sure."

"Don't be an idiot, Hasook," Mako narrowed his eyes. "We're not talking about the Turtleducks here. The Tigerdillos are tough. We've played them before, and we won – but just barely."

"Mako's right," Bolin agreed. "We need to train really hard for this. I mean, we don't want to get eliminated in the preliminary rounds, now, do we?"

"Speaking of which," Asami cut in. "We haven't decided how much money we want to bet with the other team." At Korra's confused expression, Asami explained, "For every match that the Fire Ferrets play, I run bets between them and the opposing team. My job is to help both teams agree on how much money each will bet, and I keep the money safe until after the match is over. The winning team takes all."

"So basically," Bolin elaborated, "Let's say Mako, Hasook, and I pool our money and bet 30 yuan, which is the amount we usually agree upon. The Tigerdillos also bet 30 yuan. Combined, that makes 60 yuan."

"So what happens with the 60 yuan?" Korra asked.

"A small cut of it goes to me," Asami said. "The rest is divided equally among these three boys." Just then, Korra heard the sound of a ringing bell signifying that school would start soon. "We'll talk about this later," Asami said hastily. "See you around," she waved goodbye briefly and began to walk rapidly towards the building.

"Hold up, Asami," Mako called out. She paused, allowing him to catch up, before the two of them continued onwards.

Korra eyed the pair as she, Bolin, and Hasook began to stroll calmly down the path. "Are they...?"

"A couple? Nah," Bolin said. "They're in the same homeroom, that's all. They're both seniors."

"Seniors?"

"That means they're in their final year of high school. You're in your eleventh year, right? That means you're a junior, like us."

"Oh. Okay. How do you know which homeroom you're in?"

"Let me see your schedule," Bolin peered at the sheet of paper Korra handed him. "Ouch. You've got Teacher Bei Fong." He grimaced, and Hasook sucked in his breath. "You're in for a big treat, Korra," Bolin smirked. They made their way up the staircase leading up to the front doors.

"There's your homeroom," Hasook pointed at an open door down the hallway. "Bolin and I are here. So I guess we'll see you later."

They turned abruptly, walking into a classroom full of rowdy students. Korra was alone now, in the midst of a crowd, feeling conspicuous in her traditional Southern Water Tribe clothing. She struggled her way through the giant mass of students and somehow managed to reach the classroom Hasook had pointed out. She walked in, clenching the strap of her rucksack even tighter. Korra ducked just in time to dodge a paper airplane someone had flung from across the room. The atmosphere in here is ridiculous, she thought. The students were even rowdier than the ones she had seen before – they were yelling and throwing things – and seemed to enjoy this, for some incomprehensible reason.

The door, which Korra had closed behind her, swung open again. In an instant, every single student in the room fell silent and jumped into their seats, leaving Korra standing in solitude at the front of the class. Slowly, she turned and saw a grey-haired, fierce-looking woman glaring down at her, hands on her hips. "T-t-teacher Bei Fong?" Korra smiled nervously. "I'm Korra. I'm new here?"

"You will address me," the woman boomed, "As sir."

"Sir, yes, sir!" Korra corrected herself quickly. This woman was terrifying, to say the least. She heard a snicker and whirled around. It was that boy she had seen earlier – Chun. Mako was right. Chun's face was just begging for a nice right hook, which Korra would be more than glad to offer if she had the opportunity.

"Chun," Teacher Bei Fong said, in that menacing tone of hers, "What exactly is so funny to you?" Chun offered no response. "Well, then, Korra. Seeing as the two of you are such good friends, I'll let you sit beside him for the rest of the week."

The look on Korra's face was priceless.

The days passed by slowly.

Korra was, surprisingly enough, keeping up with most of her classes – with the exception of Trigonometry. Two days in and she was already falling behind. But Korra liked to think that she made up for it by doing especially well in History. (Now that she thought about it, though, she had a bit of an unfair advantage in that particular class: most of the knowledge the teacher conveyed had already been passed on to Korra by various White Lotus members, who had actually been a part of those events. Nevertheless...) Korra also found herself enjoying Physical Education, a class in which bending wasn't allowed (as to put benders and non-benders on equal ground) which pushed her to rely on her own physical strength. As it turns out, Korra had quite a lot of physical strength, a fact which her classmates quickly learned after she had given the coach a black eye for mistaking her for a man.

The entire student body was unable to decide whether or not they liked this strange new girl. Some believed she did not "know her place" as a new student at Republic City High School. She behaved as though she had lived in the city all her life, and was far too outspoken and opinionated, a combination that alienated a few members of said student body. Others admired her for her courage and thought of her as someone who was genuinely nice – just slightly misunderstood, that's all. Whether they were a member of Team Korra or not, however, most students agreed that there was something unique about her.

"People are talking about you," Mako told Korra. He slid his lunch tray onto the table where Korra was sitting and sat down across from her.

They were in the cafeteria. It was Thursday, and Korra had woken up that morning feeling eternally grateful that the week was nearly over. It had been a rough couple of days. She was looking forward to some time off. "Oh really?" Korra said disinterestedly, biting into an apple. "What are they saying?"

"So far, the general consensus is either that you're slightly insane," he said, "or just plain awesome."

"Yeah?" she chewed thoughtfully for a while. "And what do you think?"

He raised an eyebrow. "A little bit of both," he said matter-of-factly.

At that moment, Bolin and Asami appeared at the table, both holding trays of their own. Bolin exhaled loudly as he sat down. "I'm really, really nervous about tomorrow."

"The most important thing is that you don't lose," Asami said, waving her fork in the air as she spoke. "Or you could lose your 30 yuan."

"Yeah, because it's that simple," Bolin rolled his eyes.

"Where's Hasook?" Mako asked.

"Training in the gym," Asami replied. "Man, he's taking this seriously for once."

"I think I'll go join him."

And with that, Mako stood up and left. Korra watched him walk away. As soon as he was out of earshot, Asami leaned in and winked. "So. Korra. Interested?"

Korra laughed. "No, of course not."

Asami shrugged. "Couldn't hurt to ask. A lot of girls are."

"True," Bolin nodded sagely, his mouth full of roast duck.

"Huh," Korra looked back at the current topic of their conversation who was nearing the cafeteria exit doors. She supposed she could see what people found so attractive about him. He was very good-looking (very, very good-looking). "But I thought between the two of you, you were the ladykiller, Bolin."

"Oh, don't get me wrong," Bolin chewed loudly. "I steal my fair share of hearts. How can I not? Just look at these muscles, my perfectly tousled hair, my friendly and welcoming smile..."

"Do go on," Asami groaned.

Bolin swallowed his food and continued. "But really, a lot of girls are into Mako."

"They just don't talk about it publicly," Asami said. "But I'm a girl, and I use the girls' changing room, and you hear things in there," she shuddered, "Things I do not want to repeat."

"I still think I'm the better-looking one," Bolin said.

A/N: I realize this chapter was somewhat longer than the first, but I hope you all enjoyed it anyway! Let me know what you think by reviewing. Thanks!