Chapter 2

The rest of the day seemed blank and pointless. The only good part was going to sleep, but even that was interrupted by nightmares. When I woke up it was the first time in years I've wanted not to wake up.

How did I get into this mess? Why couldn't I just walk away and ignore the noise in the first time? My curiosity will kill me eventually and I think it already has.

I spent the morning tense, waiting for the door to slam open and take me away. I didn't tell anything to my mum, but I think she saw that I was nervous. She didn't ask though.

The school seemed normal. I still felt uncomfortable the whole time I was there, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. By the time I left school, I was seriously starting to doubt the reality of the day before, but right when I got to the cafe, I froze. By the front desk was standing the boy who I saved yesterday, with someone with him, who seemed about my age, maybe older. I tried to make a quick exit but I was too late. The guy, who was with him, came up to me with a smile on his face saying:

"Hey! We've been looking all over you. It was hard since we didn't know your name, but we looked a lot and eventually figured out that you work here. Hi, my name's Alto. The boy you helped yesterday, is my little brother. I think we need to talk." I was completely in shock so as he left the cafe, I just followed him.

We went to a small park around the corner and sat down on a bench. Alto looked around, making sure that no one was watching. Then turned toward me.

"So, you're an earth bender?" He whispered.

I bit my lip nervously and looked down. He chuckled.

"Don't worry, I wont tell. In fact, I can help you get out of trouble." That got me interested enough to look up. He continued: "I am not a bender, but I know some people who are. You see, there are little groups of benders and I'm familiar with one, in fact, one of them is my cousin. I can ask them to convince Lado and the other two not to say a thing."

"I don't need you solving my problems." I said.

"Oh, just think of it as a... thank you, for saving my brother from some bullies. So are you in?" I hesitated.

"Come on! I really don't think you have a plan to get out of the mess you're in and I can help. Let me help." He seemed nice and I liked how he was so charismatic. I sighed.

"Fine, but you need to introduce me to the 'group' first." Alto's face lit up and he smiled. "Come with me." He said and I did. He took me somewhere I've never been before: The Hud. The Hud is a place where no one in the right mind would think of visiting. The place even smelled like trouble. All the fights, all the danger happened here. I know I should be used to danger considering where I live, but this is a lot more serious danger than any, really.

I felt tense and I have to admit, a little scared. Even with my bending, who knows what goes on over here. But at this moment all I could do is follow Alto, because he seemed to know his way around the place. He took me to an old dance studio, deep in the heart of The Hud. As we went up to the door, Alto knocked. Someone from the inside said:

"Password."

Without hesitating, Alto answered "Popsicle."

The voice said: "Wrong. That was yesterdays password."

Alto said, a little irritated: "Just let me in Jo."

And the door flew open. The guy so called Jo seemed nowhere, but just then something jumped down from on top of the door. It was a kid about 12-13 years old. He smiled at Alto, but backed off when he saw me. Alto said:

"It's cool Jo. She's with me." As we entered the place, I saw 4 more people sitting on what looked like a huge blanket spread across the floor. They were playing cards and didn't even look up when we walked in. One guy, who seemed very irritated with our arrival, said:

"What do you want Alto?" Immediately, Altos face darkened. I could see that these two didn't really like each other.

"Where's Shin?" The guy gestured toward a door. I followed Alto into the other room, where we saw a guy, probably Shin, working out. As soon as he acknowledged our presence, he looked at us and smiled at Alto. He came over and gave him a bear hug.

"How have you been cousin?" He said. Alto just nodded, which seemed like a good enough answer for Shin. Then he looked over at me and asked: "Who's your friend?" Alto told him that I was an earth bender, and how I was in big trouble. Shin looked at me.

"So, an earth bender huh? I'm an air bender." He blasted some air into my face and then said: "Show me your stuff." By that I assumed he meant my bending, so I did, by touching the wall and braking a hole in it. He sure looked impressed. "Wow! You are amazing. Who taught you that?"

"I... taught myself." I said, a little hesitant.

"Are you serious? You're incredible! I've never seen an earth bender this strong before." He grabbed my hand and started to examine it, which made the situation a lot more awkward than it already was. Alto seemed to notice, so he started talking to his cousin, gesturing me to leave, while I still could. So I did.

I walked out of the room where the 4 teenagers were playing cards, but found it empty, except for a little girl, who was... dancing? I walked closer and saw that she was bending. Bending water. Just the way she did it made it seem so beautiful. When she noticed me looking, she stopped.

"No, no. Don't stop. That was beautiful." I said. The girl smiled.

"Thank you. Are you a water bender as well?"

"No. I'm an earth bender. My name is Tana."

"I'm Maya."

"How old are you may?" I was starting to get very interested in this girl.

"I'm 9." She said.

Suddenly, Alto came and told me to go with him. I said goodbye to Maya and went after Alto. While we left the dance studio and The Hub, he didn't say a word. He walked me to the cafe and was ready to leave, when I asked:

"What's gonna happen to me?"

He told me not to worry about it, that the Loda problem would be solved. He left without any other word. The whole day I wondered what happened to Alto in that room with Shin.