Title: My Journal
I do hope you guys are gonna enjoy this chapter. I'd like to make it clear that I don't have anything against diaries, and so does Aang. Anyway, thanks for the reviews you guys gave the last time. If you have any suggestions, comments, violent reactions press the review button and make your statement. Enough stalling, I'll just get on with it.
Disclaimer: Me? Owning Avatar: The Last Airbender? You've got to be kidding me.
Chapter 1: First Day of School
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Everyone's buzzing about it. New looks, first impressions, blah, blah, blah. For me, going to school is like taking a shower every morning. As usual, I ate my waffles and went to Sokka's house. And as our "first day rituals" (implemented the oh-so-motherly Katara), we have to go to school 15 minutes earlier than we usually do.
Aang closed his journal and went off to Sokka's house. The busy streets ant the people who crowded the sidewalks was always the public scene. After walking 8 blocks, he went to a two-storey building and rang the doorbell.
"Coming!" a boy's voice called out. The crimson door opened, revealing a boy wearing a leather jacket, a white shirt and denim pants. He carried a navy blue gym bag.
"Aang! You've grown an inch taller than me! And I haven't seen you in months!" He punched Aang on the shoulder and ruffled his hair. The boy was Sokka.
Aang chuckled. "Good to see you too. I've been going through evil puberty. Anyway, how's your vacation?"
"It was fine," Sokka grunted. "It was great because we went to different places. It was also terrible because Katara was tagging along with us."
"Yeah, right. It's like I couldn't even hear you," a girl voice said and Katara came into view. She wore a white tank top, a light blue skirt, a blue pair of doll shoes and carried a brown handbag. "Actually, you're the one who's more annoying." She hugged Aang. "Aang! It's so nice to see you again. You look great today."
That's weird. Katara never complimented me about how I look until now. I gazed at my gray shirt, black vest, gray wristbands, denim pants and sneakers. Nothing out of the ordinary to me. It can't be my hair too. It's always straight but messy. So what's so different about me today?
Aang raised his eyebrow. "Uh, I'd like to return the compliment but the only thing that looks great is when I turn my back."
A pink tinge was starting to form at Katara's cheeks. "It's just that you look different." She checked her watch. "Let's just get going."
After walking a few blocks, they finally arrived at their school.
By the way our school is AFEW Secondary School. A lot of students call it A.S.S. for short but all of them ended up at the Headmaster's office.
The 3 friends went inside and strolled down the hallway. A big banner across the ceiling was attached with the words "WELCOME BACK!" written on it.
Aang sighed. "Yeah. Welcome back," he mumbled.
"Hey, cheer up!" Katara said, noticing Sokka and Aang's frowning faces. "Being back at school is great. What could possibly go wrong?"
"Try not to jinx it, Katara," Sokka replied, still frowning. "I can tell that this school year's definitely going to the dump." Then, a swarm of boys went towards them.
"Hi! You're really cute," a boy said.
"Uh, thanks?" Katara replied.
"Katara," Haru called out. "May I walk you home later?"
She shook his head. "No, thanks."
"Hi, beautiful," Jet, the school's quarterback, winked at her. "Wanna hang out after school?"
I told you. She's a guy magnet. Every boy in school is fawning at her.
"Sorry, Jet," Katara replied, obviously annoyed. "It's just the first day and I don't want any dates."
"Back off punk," Sokka said. "You had your chance last year and you broke up with her."
"But I was blind, babe," Jet insisted. "I haven't realized that you're much prettier and smarter than my ex-girlfriend."
Katara was furious. "Don't call me 'babe'! I'm never going to go out with you!"
Katara took off. Sokka followed her.
"Want advice?" Aang offered.
"Sure kiddo," Jet said.
Aang sighed. He can't believe he's actually giving advice to someone that his best friend hated so much. "Um, the pet names gotta stop and maybe you shouldn't follow her around. The same goes for the other guys. She gets irritated when that happens."
"Thanks kiddo," He winked at him.
"Yeah. And don't call me kiddo," Aang smirked. He ran to Sokka.
I see Sokka next to his locker but he's not alone. He's surrounded by thousands of girls and the school's football team. I can hear the girls jumping up and down and shrieking, " Sokka, can I have your autograph?" and "You're really a great running back, Sokka!". The football team was patting him on the back saying "Nice play we did last week!" Every thing was going smoothly until Suki came into the picture. Oh, I forgot to mention that Suki was Sokka's girlfriend. She boxed Sokka's ears and dragged him down the hallway. Ha! Sokka's in a lot of trouble now. Being popular does have ups and downs. I'll just go to class.
Aang closed his journal and searched for the chemistry lab.
"Hi Aang," a girl wearing a pink dress called.
"Hello Meng," Aang smiled weakly.
This is Meng, one of my…um…how should I say this…uh…admirers. I met her when I went to a fortuneteller and she was her assistant at that time. She was once my lab partner during chemistry class but now she's stuck with Smellerbee.
"So, how was summer?" she asked.
"It was okay," he gulped. "How 'bout you?"
"Great," she grinned. "Did you spend time with someone during the summer? Your parents? Friends?"
"No. My mom and dad are still in a business trip. Sokka and Katara we're with their dad because they watched Sokka and his team play during the regionals. All I did was to sit on the couch and watch some movies with my dog and my monkey," Aang explained.
By the way, my dog's name is Appa and my monkey's name is Momo.
"So you're all alone at your house all summer?" she asked.
"Yeah but it was okay," he nodded. "I'm used to it." He spotted the chemistry lab. "Is chemistry your next subject?"
"No, my next class is Music," she replied.
"Um, so sorry but chemistry is my next class," he pointed at the lab.
"So I'll see you later then," she smiled.
Aang sighed. He walked backwards towards the lab "Yeah, I'll see you later."
"Aang! Watch out!" Meng shouted.
But her warning was too late. THUMP! Aang bumped to another girl who was going to the lab too. All the books that she was carrying fell to the floor.
Note to self: Never walk backwards especially in a crowded hallway.
"I'm so sorry," Aang apologized and helped her pick up her books.
"Yeah, you are sorry," the girl sneered. "Maybe next time you should watch where you're going, dimwit."
Aang handed her the books. He took her arm and tried to help her stand up but she refused.
"I don't need your help picking up my books and standing up. I can carry my own weight," she said, grudgingly.
"Sorry," he said. "I'm never seen you before. Are you new here?"
The girl just grunted.
"Uh, I'll take that as a yes. My name's Aang." He held out his hand but she didn't take it.
"Just call me Toph, twinkle toes," she snorted.
Aang just smiled sheepishly at the remark. He noticed his pale green eyes. It doesn't have pupils!
Aang gulped. "If you don't mind my saying so, are you um... visually impaired?"
Toph raised her eyebrows.
"I'm just asking if you're blind," Aang explained, his eyes twitching.
"Yes, and there's no point denying it," she said.
Aang felt another lump in his throat. "It was really nice to meet you, Toph."
Toph shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. I'll just say likewise." She left him and she took a sit at the corner of the room.
Wow! She may be blind but she made her way to the corner without even bumping into anything. And she's got some major anger management problems. I already said I was sorry and she was totally sassing me. I mean the whole "twinkle toes" nickname was even worse than Jet's "kiddo". I'm not even a member of the Dance club! Yeah I admit that I do love dancing but you get the point. I even tried to help her but all I get is the "I don't need your help!" scolding. Take it easy, Aang. She's new here and she's just adjusting. You'll get the hang of this.
Aang took a sit next to Shoji, his friend and current lab partner. "Hi," Aang greeted.
"What's her name?" Shoji asked.
"Who?" Aang questioned.
"The girl you talked to at the door,".
"Oh you mean her? Her name's Toph. She's new here,"
"That explains why I haven't seen her before,"
Suddenly, a tall, well-dressed woman came inside the room.
She's Ms. Kwan, our chemistry teacher. She's nuts about proper behavior and wants everyone to be silent unless asked to speak up. There's no freedom here when she's teaching. She once caught me writing in this journal and it got confiscated for weeks. I reasoned that I was writing because I'm already finished doing the experiment with Shoji but she said that I shouldn't be doing anything except the experiment. But I really learned a lot in this class.
Aang closed his journal and placed it in his bag.
"Good Morning, children," she said.
Everyone stood up.
She sat at the center of the room. "My name is Ms. Kwan, incase some of you doesn't know me or is mentally challenged enough to forget my name. I'm going to be your teacher for today and for the rest of the year and I'm going to be treated as such. I want everyone to be disciplined in whatever you do here and I'm sure we'll get along swimmingly." She grinned mischievously. "Let's get started. Please be reminded about the proper handling of materials. Please pick up your beakers."
Shoji sighed. "Let's just get this over with."
Lunch Time:
The cafeteria. The best place to chat with your friends and to forget all the things that happened during classes. I'm a vegetarian and I'll always be as long as I live. I always seat with Sokka and Katara. I can see Toph, sitting all alone 3 tables away from them. It must really suck being new in school and having no friends to talk to. Maybe I can talk to her and forget the things that occurred earlier and make a fresh start.
"Um, guys? Could you excuse me for a sec?" Aang asked.
"Where are you going?" Katara queried.
"I'm going to ask her to sit with us," he pointed to Toph. "She's from my chemistry class and she's new here. I thought I- you know, maybe I can talk to her and ask her to sit with us?"
"Yeah! Go ahead!" Sokka smirked. "Ditch us and go chat with her."
Katara whirled her hand. "Ignore him, Aang. It's really sweet of you to try and talk to her. Go on. We don't mind."
"What are you talking about? I mind!" Sokka blurted.
Irritated, Katara conked him with a book on the head. She turned to Aang. "Just go."
"Thanks," Aang smiled. He made his way towards Toph. "Come on Aang." he thought. "You can do this. Just go and ask her to come and sit with you. It's not that hard. But what if she treats me like 2 hours ago. It'll be okay. At least you tried to be friendly."
He was now standing beside Toph. She drank her pineapple juice. "What do you want from me twinkle toes?"
Aang rubbed the back of his head. "I was just wondering if you'd like to sit with us."
She frowned. "What are you trying to do? Introduce me to your friends and tell them that I'm the totally helpless, blind girl you crashed into during class? Yeah. I know I look like a sad kitten wandering around a busy street but I'm better off on my own."
Okay. That's it. "Look, Toph. I -"
"Look? I can't even see," she interrupted.
"Haha," Aang rolled his eyes. "The thing is I'm just trying to help you to make some friends. I know it's really difficult since it's been your first day. But since you feel that way, I guess you're better of without someone to talk to."
He left. "Ugh. I knew it. I knew she's just going to tell me to get lost," he said to himself. Aang sighed. "At least you tried to help her. It's her problem now that she's lonely." He sat and started eating.
"Wow," Sokka crossed his arms. "Did you have a nice talk?"
"She's not sitting with us is she?" Katara questioned.
"No. She wants to be alone," Aang replied.
"Hey," A voice called out. "What's up?" Aang turned around and saw Zuko with his girlfriend Mai.
"Hi Zuko. Got another problem with your sister?" Katara queried.
"Nah. Azula's off with Ty Lee. She said she's going to the mall later to buy something," he answered.
Aang huffed. "I'm sure that something is really bad. Maybe she'll buy herself a cat and torture it to death."
"Maybe she'll invite Katara over to her house and nag the cat to death. That's the worst torture known to man," Sokka snorted.
"Or maybe you're the one that Azula's gonna invite to her house. One sniff at you, then it'll end up in heaven!" Katara shot back.
"That's much better than being trapped with you far an hour!"
"If I would get trapped with someone, I hope its not you!"
Zuko shook his head. Mai motioned to Aang. "Do they ever get tired of fighting?" she whispered.
"Not really. Its kinda one of their hobbies," he muttured.
Suddenly, Toph went towards their table, carrying her food tray. "Um, can I seat with you guys? That stopped the siblings'' fighting.
Katara blinked. "Uh, sure!" Toph sat beside Aang.
"I thought you want to be on your own," Aang mumbled.
"Eh. Just figured it'll be nice to have some perks around," Toph replied.
"Guys this is Toph. Toph this is Katara, Sokka, Zuko and Mai," he introduced.
"Hi," Mai said, almost sounding bored. "We've got to go. The Guidance Counselor wants to talk to me. It was nice meeting you, Toph."
"See you guys later," Zuko waved.
------Moment of silence--------
"So Toph," Katara tried to start the conversation. "Aang said you're new here. What school are you from before here?"
"I was homeschooled, Katana"
"It's Katara."
"Right."
Sokka and Aang couldn't help giggling. The scene of Katara and Toph hopelessly making a converstion was very funny. They stopped when Katara glared at them.
"Where do you live?" Katara said.
"Why do you want to know?"
"I'm just wondering, if, you know, maybe we can visit your house?"
Sokka giggled again. Katara pounded him with a book.
"My house is… the one down the on the Whitaker Street," Toph muttured.
"The one with the big gates and with a flying boar symbol?" Sokka asked excitedly.
"How did you know?" Toph queried.
"That mansion is so big it's the only one in the Whitaker Street," Aang stated.
"So you're from the Bei Fong family?" Katara asked.
"And you live in a mansion?" Aang questioned.
"And you're really stinkin' rich?" Sokka queried.
"All right, all right. All of those are true," Toph burying her head on her hands.
"Cool!" Aang remarked.
"It's not cool," Toph objected.
"Is it hot then?" Sokka said.
"It's neither cool nor hot! Believe me, being rich doesn't mean you always get what you wanted. I've been miserable for 16 years and counting. And you wanna know why? Because I'm rich, blind and my so-called parents didn't even care!" Toph retorted.
---------- Moment of Silence ---------
"I'm really sorry to hear that Toph," Katara soothed.
"Don't be, you didn't anything to me," Toph sipped her juice.
"You know, she's got a point," Sokka added.
Aang stood up. "Uh, excuse me guys. I'll be putting back my tray at the 'finished' basket." He went towards the long line of students.
"Hi! On Ji. Hi! Longshot," Aang greeted.
"Hi Aang," On Ji smiled at him.
Longshot just stared at him.
This is On Ji and Longshot. On Ji and I met when we were 12. We've been best friends ever since. During our English class, we've been assigned as partners for our book report. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. It's just the first day of school and we already have tons of homework. Anyway, Longshot is a member of Jet's gang and one of my friends. He doesn't talk much; he's a guy of actions more than words.
"On Ji, about our book report, what book will it be?" Aang asked.
"I haven't thought about it yet," she said. "Ms. Shozu said that the books should be true stories. She didn't specify what topic the book should be. How 'bout you Longshot? Any suggestions?"
Longshot stared at her.
"Right. That's fine," On Ji grinned sheepishly. She turned to Aang. "Let's just talk about it on the phone later at 7."
"That'll be great," Aang beamed but his smile turned to a frown. "Where's Hide? If he sees me talking to you, I'd be pounded for sure!"
"Don't be frantic, he'll no longer bother you anymore," she assured.
"Why is that?"
"He transferred schools."
Aang was flabbergasted. "Your boyfriend transferred to another school?"
"Yeah. His dad had a new business to attend to in another state. And he's no longer my boyfriend," she looked at her empty tray. "He said he found another girl. She's smart, athletic and pretty…" she clenched her fist. "She's so much better than me in everything. He said that she's the same level as he is. And it was better for him to be her boyfriend instead."
"Oh. So sorry about you two breakup," Aang said.
Longshot tapped her on the back.
"Its okay," On Ji smiled. "I'm gonna be so much better off without him anyway. That reminds me." She pulled out 2 tickets from her coat. "Since _________'s sick and Longshot doesn't like loud music, would you come with me to the Linkin' Park concert?"
Aang was estatic. "Yes! Definitely! I'm a fan of Linkin' Park. I have all three albums."
"Great," she dropped her tray at the basket. "Meet you at the Big Dome, 8:00, Thursday next week." She handed him a ticket.
"I'll buy the popcorn and soda," Aang took the ticket. He dropped his tray at the basket.
"I hope we'll have a great time," she smiled warmly at him.
Aang blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. Me too."
"Bye," she waved.
Aang waved back, still blushing. Realizing that Longshot was staring at him, he stopped waving.
The bell rang.
"Uh. I'd better get going. See ya' later Longshot," Aang said.
Longshot nodded.
Aang ran to the hallway and searched for his next class.
Dismissal:
Sokka ran to the hallway and strolled down to the stairs. His friends are waiting for him outside. "Guys! Guys!"
"Oh. There's Sokka," Katara said.
He panted. "You're not going to believe this!"
Toph smirked. "What? That you're still alive?"
"I got accepted at the wrestling team!" Sokka exclaimed.
"You're right! I really can't believe it!" Toph jeered.
"Uh, Sokka?" Katara said. "You really think wrestling is for you?"
"Yeah," Aang agreed. "I'm really sorry to say this but you're not actually the buff type."
Sokka crossed his arms and looked away. "Hmm… it's like my own friends don't have faith in me."
"Don't be silly, of course we do," Katara assured. "We just don't want you to get squashed."
'Actually, I think that's a good idea Sokka!" Toph exclaimed.
"You do?" Aang said in dibelief.
Toph grinned mischievously. "He's a member of the football team, am I right? He's gonna be fine."
Sokka hugged Toph. "Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! At least Toph believes in me!"
Toph tried to escape Sokka's lethal bear-hug. "See? Even his hug's going to kill a 300 pound wrestler." She wrinkled her nose. "Not to mention his smell! Ugh!"
Sokka released her from his grasp. "So it's settled then. I'm already in the wrestling team and there's nothing you guys can do about it."
"But I don't think dad's going to be happy about this," Katara remarked.
"Are you kidding? He's gonna be proud of me!" He poised. "He's going to be happy because his only son's turning into a man!"
Toph rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right."
"It's getting late. We have to get going," Katara reminded. She grabbed Sokka's arm. "Come on macho man, time to go home."
"So could you help me figure out a wrestling name?" Sokka asked.
"Let's talk about it on our way back," Katara answered. They wave goodbye and left.
"Hey Aang," Toph called.
Aang looked back. "Yes Toph?"
'Thanks for offering me to sit with you. It felt really great having friends," Toph said.
"You sounded like you never had any," Aang replied.
Toph shook his head.
Aang's eyes grew wider. 'You never had any friends? That's awful."
"Well at least I have now," She smiled, this time it was a genuine smile. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it. But how are you supposed to go home?" he couldn't help asking.
"Our driver's going to pick me up any minute now," Toph answered.
"Duh," Aang muttured.
"Oh and twinkle toes, it was really nice meeting you. And this time I mean it," shesmiled.
He returned the smile, even though he knew that she couldn't really see him grinning.
"Hey Aang!" Katara called. "Are you coming?"
"Yeah! Be right there!" he yelled. "See you tomorrow, Toph!"
"Yeah," Toph waved. She can feel and hear Aang's light footsteps running towards The Bickering Siblings. " I can't say I'll be literally 'seeing' you tomorrow."
Aang finslly caught up with them.
"
"What about 'The Flaming Dragon' ooh –ooh or maybe 'The Dark Slayer'," Sokka said.
She shook his head. "Lame."
" 'Sokka Peligrosa'! How about that?"
" I thought 'peligrosa' are used for girls."
"Just help me out, okay?"
"I'll help you, as long as it keeps you from making up stupid nicknames."
"You really love picking on me, don't you?"
"Of course. I'm your sister. Hmm… you know what guys?"
"What?"
"I'm very glad Jet and the other boys are no longer following me."
Well, our first day wasn't bad a s I thought it would. I mean, first, Katara said I look great today (but I don't think I am). Second, Jet and Katara's fan club is no longer following her. Third, On Ji asked me to go with her to a rock concert. Fourth, Toph Bei Fong is officially one of our friends. And Fifth, Sokka's on the wrestling team (Personally, I don't think it' a good idea. Well, I gotta admit, being in the wrestling team increases your chances of being one of the toughest boys around and it does make you popular). Aaahhhh…I do hope it'll last a lifetime…
I'm really sorry if this chapter's really boring. It's kinda tough for me to transfer my stories from my mind to my laptop. I also making another story entitled "He's A Girl". This for the Zutara fans… ;) I'm still looking for a plot to make a Tokka oneshot/drabble though and it make take some time… If you had time reading this chapter then I guess you'll also have time reviewing it!
Next Chapter: Toph's a Wrestling Champion!