Edit: Remember, both of the Author's Notes below are from the previous version of the story and I'm just leaving them there for old times sake. If you don't see this Edit message at the top of a chapter, I haven't edited it yet and I recommend you not read it until I do due to some significant plot changes I am making. More on Katara and Sokka's background this chapter, something that was severely lacking in the last version of this story. Hope you enjoy!
Hey! I'm back! And this chapter is dedicated to:
tequilasspot, flockroxz and Ruby of Raven for subscribing to my story
flockroxz for favoriting my story
flockroxz for favoriting me
flockroxz for subscribing to me
and
volleyballbabe51 and Ruby of Raven for reviewing and assuring me that the last chapter didn't suck as bad as I thought it did. I am very happy about your enthusiasm towards my story and I really appreciate it. Thank You guys so much! Here is Chapter 3!
The small heel on Katara's sandals clicked against the hallway's light gray marble floor with streaks of black and silver. After an entire summer away, she still couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful her school was. Light came in through the glass ceiling causing the silver lockers that lined the large hallways to glitter in the sun's rays. Pristine white water fountains, grand floor to ceiling windows, immaculate bathrooms cleaned every other period. Katara marveled at how modern yet elegant the school's design was as she walked through the halls, her older brother close by her side. She looked over the schedule that was sent in only days before. Sometimes she still couldn't believe she was actually here at Bending Minds Academy.
She remembered how hard she had studied for her entrance exam to both Bending Minds' primary and secondary academy. Her family had never had the most money. After her mom died, and her father was forced to support two children on one income, growing up hadn't been easy for Sokka and her. Her dad often had to work long hours to support them, sometimes even two jobs. It became harder and harder for him to pick them up from school, or get home in time to make dinner, and it wasn't long until Sokka and Katara had to learn to take care of themselves. Soon enough, they were walking home from school, Katara was picking up cookbooks from the library and making dinner, Sokka was fixing the sink or the dishwasher when it broke, they cleaned the house together and would read with each other before bed if their father couldn't make it home in time to tuck them in.
Despite everything, their father always spent every free moment he had with them. No matter how tight money got, their father always got them presents on their birthday, he took them to the park on the weekends whenever he could, if he had a moment to spare, he helped them with their homework, or showed them wrestling moves, and made them their favorite meals. Between all the hardships they suffered through, every other moment was filled with pure joy. It was extremely hard sometimes, especially being the only girl and having no one to really confide in, particularly when her body started 'changing', but Katara definitely cherished her childhood and loved her family to the ends of the earth.
However, everything changed when their father got a job installing solar panels at Fire Nation Energy Corp. Not only was the pay great and the hours generous, but when not installing panels, manual laborers actually worked in the offices at the company's headquarters. Her dad, in true Miyuki fashion, had worked his butt off and eventually landed a position as Supervisor of Labor which paid even better, and also occasionally allowed him to meet with very influential people when he reported on the progress of his staff. If there was anything Katara knew about her dad, it was that he was ridiculously charismatic and could befriend absolutely anyone. Sokka seemed to have inherited the gene but Katara hadn't been quite so lucky.
Being able to befriend such influential people, he eventually found out about the great education at Bending Minds Academy and though the school was extremely exclusive, due to his connections he was able to get an application. Her father studied hard with them and that's how they ended up where they are now. After primary school, students are required to apply again for secondary school, this time with the option of choosing specialized courses. Katara, not being sure what she wanted to be in the future applied as a general student; Sokka, on the other hand, applied as an engineering specialist.
"Yes!" her brother suddenly cried jumping as he pumped a fist in the air. "I finally got into Intro to Robotics! That must mean the department liked the blueprints I submitted for my popcorn kernel remover!" the brunet boy explained, as he smiled down at his schedule with an ear to ear grin. Katara almost swore she could see tears of joy brimming in his blue eyes.
"That's great Sokka!" she said, her brother's excitement contagious as she looked down at the paper in her own hands.
Name: Katara H. Miyuki
Age: 16
Grade: 10th
Sex: F
Guidance Counselor: Dr. Yugoda
Period 1- Art
Period 2- Child Development
Period 3- World History
Period 4- Geometry
Period 5- English
Period 6- Lunch
Period 7- Free Period
Period 8- Earth Science
Period 9- Physical Education
Katara smiled down happily at her schedule. She got to start off her day with fun and peaceful art, and was glad that she didn't have to strain her brain much in the mornings. Another good thing about her schedule was that she had gym last period! So after she ran around and got sweaty in gym, she didn't have to rush to another class, She could just take a nice warm shower, and go home. But the best part of her schedule was that she finally had a free period this year! She never got free period. And if that wasn't great enough, her free period was right after lunch! That was like two free period's in a row! She looked over at her brother and they shared wide grins, both ecstatic about their schedules.
"What are you two grinning about?" came a snarky voice that filled Katara with even more joy.
"Toph!" Her blue eyes immediately lit up. She lunged at the small girl, giving her quite the enthusiastic hug.
"Alright Sweetness, you've already filled up my hugging quota for the week with that one." Toph replied, her arms staying limply by her sides. Katara only glared slightly.
"I would reply, but I'm too happy to see you to care right now! Sooooo, how was Madrid? Did you have fun? Oh, I missed you so much! You were gone for two whole weeks and you didn't write or call at all! What is the matter with you?" her rambling ended with a swat to the green-eyed girl's arm.
"Sorry mom, I'll remember to write next time." Toph replied, not even flinching at the hit.
"Good!" Katara replied satisfied. She looked her friend over for the first time since seeing her again. Toph, was wearing a black tank top and one of those green and black sweaters with the built in earphones. She was also wearing fitted jeans with green converse. Her long black hair was pulled into a low ponytail, topped with her trademark fuzzy head band. This reminded Katara of back when Toph would wear her hair in that cute bun. She out grew that, but she knew Toph wouldn't outgrow that headband anytime soon. Thoughts of a young Toph brought back memories of the day she first met her two dearest friends. It was recess her first day at Bending Minds Academy, she was sitting alone under a tree on the field next to the playground, ripping strands of grass out of the ground as she unamusedly watched a group of boys play soccer.
"That's my spot."came a voice as a figure hovered above her. She looked up only to be met with large green eyes. A girl in a white dress, small in stature but with an intimidating aura stood before her, arms crosse, standing in a solid stance.
"Well I have no problem sharing." Katara stated with a shy smile.
"I do." was the girls response as she tilted her head ordering Katara to move with her harsh green eyes. Katara shrank under her gaze for a moment and even considered finding somewhere new to sit to avoid trouble on her first day but her face fell into an intimidating glare of her as she lifted her head to once again meet the eyes of the girl before her.
"Well too bad! We can share or you can find a new spot!" she replied childishly sticking her tongue out at the rude newcomer. The girl that stood before her only lifted a curious eyebrow in response to her antics and Katara couldn't believe the next words that came out of her mouth.
"You're poor, aren't you?"
"W-what?" she exclaimed taken aback by the girls abrupt inquiry before looking at the ground in shame. She wouldn't call her family poor, per se, at least not anymore, but compared to these people, they may as well be.
"It's that obvious?" She had no idea her plan to keep her status a secret would fail on her very first day. She had even worn her best outfit in a miserable attempt to fit in.
"I can tell by the way you slouch and the fact that you're sitting with your legs open even though you're wearing a dress. Most of these prissy bitches would never be caught dead sitting with such terrible posture." Katara's eyes widened so much they almost burst out of her head.
"You- you just swore!"
"If we're gonna be friends, you're gonna have to get used to it, Sweetness." the rude girl replied plopping down in the spot beside her. The girl in question was about to pipe up about the fact that her name was Katara not Sweetness as she had so rudely nicknamed her without even finding out her real name when her blue eyes widened as the first part of her sentence sunk in.
"Friends?" the brunnette repeated unsure she heard the girl correctly.
"Toph." the green eyed girl stated in reply with a wide smirk, sticking out her hand in greeting. She could only stare at the limb for a long time wondering how the conversation went from hostile threats to declarations of potential friendship. She was eventually able to shake her shock at this unexpected but welcome turn of events and reached for the outstreched hand with a wide grin.
"Katara!"
The blue-eyed teen took a moment to smile fondly at the memory before shifting her attention to Aang just as he also turned to her after greeting Sokka. Katara offered him a warm smile when their eyes met happy to be attending school with her friend again. This caused him only to blush and give her a shy, crooked smile in return. She remembered how she had met Aang later that day, since he and Toph usually played together after school. As they were joined by Sokka, introductions went around and the siblings were invited to Toph's house to play. They were pretty shocked when a sleek, black car pulled up to drive them, and even more surprised when they pulled into the driveway of a lavish mansion. While the two sibling were overwhelmed at first, all thoughts of not fitting in vanished when they started to play tag in Toph's spacious backyard. They played until the sun went down and their father had to pick them up since it was too dark to walk home.
"Hi, Katara! You look great today, not that you don't look great everyday, I mean you always look great! You just look as prett-er great as usual today, you know, since you look great every day. Eh heh heh." greeted her lifelong friend with a nervous grin.
"Wow Twinkletoes, what a cliche way to awkwardly greet someone."
Katara's smile widened as she looked at her long time friend. He was wearing an orange hoodie with jeans and blue sneakers. He also had on his typical orange hat, with the giant blue arrow. He had been wearing that hat since they were both eight years old, and she knew, just like Toph and her headband, he wouldn't outgrow it for a while. Under the hat, she knew, he had spiky brown hair. His grey eyes sparkled with anticipation as he waited for her reply.
"Thank You Aang." she giggled, joking giving a twirl and a small curtsy. "I do my best." She opened her arms, inviting him for a hug, though they saw each other less than a week ago.
"Yeah," she heard from her brother as her and Aang finished their embrace and turned their attention to the oldest of their group. "You better look great, since you take FOREVER in the bathroom in the mornings!" he received a glare from his sister and was about to receive a hostile
"Hmm, like how long it will take you to beat me in wrestling." Toph piped up earning a glare from Sokka as the group laughed at his expense.
"You think you're so tough!" Sokka challenged the small girl with strength far beyond her size.
"No, I know I am!" Toph shot back.
"Oh, yeah!" Sokka continued.
"Yeah I do-waha Ha HA!" Toph began to laugh as Sokka tickled her ferociously.
"What's up with you and the tickling today Sokka!" Katara said smiling at the scene.
"B-be cause, th-tha Ha Ha, that's all he knows how to do!" Toph replied for him.
"Oh," Sokka stopped tickling her. "Well, it's enough to defeat the great 'Blind Bandit'!" Sokka retaliated, teasingly. Toph blushed.
"Hey! That was a long time ago!" This caused Katara, Aang, and Sokka to chuckle at the blushing Toph. Katara remembered that from when they were younger too. They were about 6 or 7 years old and Toph was over Sokka and Katara's house for a play-date. Toph had bet Sokka that she could beat him up blindfolded. The wager was, if Toph won, Sokka was forced into a week of servitude, if Sokka won, Top would have to swallow her pride and say 'Sokka is way stronger and cooler than me and could beat me in a fight any day because he is the strongest guy in the world'. Let's just say Sokka had been carrying Toph's stuff around with a black eye for quite while. For a long time, Toph had called herself the Blind Bandit saying someone as cool as her deserved an equally cool nickname. Though she seemed to have grown out of it, Katara knew she secretly still used it at times.
"Oh, shut up!" She said as she punched Sokka in the arm.
"Ow! Why you-!"
"Alright you two!" Katara loudly clapped her hands together like a teacher trying to get the attention of a rowdy classroom "We haven't seen each other all summer, and this is our first day all going to school together!" she stated sternly effectively shutting up the bickering duo. "So how about instead of fighting, we do something productive, like compare our schedules before the bell rings, hmm?" she suggested, not really suggesting as much as ordering.
"Fine, mom." Toph responded, but complied to the brunette's wishes pulling her schedule out of her backpack.
They all traded their schedules, Aang giving his to Sokka, Katara giving hers to Aang, Toph giving hers to Katara, and Sokka, reluctantly giving his to Toph.
"Oh, look Katara! We have Child Development, Gym, and Art together!" Aang announced gleefully.
"Great Aang, we get to start the day together!" she exclaimed excitedly not noticing the blush her comment elicited from the young boy. "Toph and I only have Free Period, but I guess that's to be expected since we're in different grades." she said with a sigh as she handed Toph's schedule to Aang for comparison. Their analysis didn't include Lunch since the entire school had Lunch break at the same time in order to 'encourage diverse socialization' though most people still stuck to their groups.
"Unfortunately, I've got Art and Gym with Snoozles over here." she smirked and cracked her knuckles "But at least that means I can kick his butt in sports during P.E."
"Greeeeat." Sokka said folding his arms and rolling his eyes.
Their conversation was interrupted by the shrill *Bring* of the first warning bell, telling students class started in 10 minutes. There were three warning bells in between periods, a 10 minute bell, 5 minute bell, and a 1 minute bell, the final bell meant you were late, which wasn't a hard thing to be in a school so large.
Katara turned to her two younger friends as the bell's resounding ring died away.
"Let's see if we can show you guys to your lockers before the second warning bell, we don't wanna be late, but we don't want you guys getting lost either." Katara 'suggested', leading the group out of the courtyard towards the regal glass doors that led to the hallways.
"Yes, Mam!" Toph repeated the nickname with a salute and a haughty smirk that only widened when she smugly met the glare of the blue-eyed girl. Katara turned her attention forward, Aang's locker number repeating in her head as she scanned the immaculate halls. She thought about her dad and how he had recently lost his job due to the new CEO of Fire Nation doing ridiculous staff cuts. She had to keep her scholarship, she had to be perfect, she had to give her father a better life, after everything he's done for them, and she knew Sokka felt the same way.
'Calm down, Katara.' she thought to herself with a small sigh. 'You're gonna be fine. It's only the first day.'
Ok, I know the class comparisons are kind of confusing, but I'm sure you guys can pick up on it once we get into class XD! Nevertheless, I will give you an outline:
Zuko-Katara
Period 2- Child Development
Period 6- Lunch
Period 7- Free Period
Period 9- Gym
Katara-Aang
Period 1- Art
Period 2- Child Development
Period 6- Lunch
Period 9- Gym
Toph-Katara
Period 6- Lunch
Period 7- Free Period
Toph-Aang
Period 3- World History 1
Period 4- Geometry
Period 5- English 1
Period 6- Lunch
Period 8- Earth Science 1
Toph-Sokka
Period 1- Gym
Period 2- Art
Period 6- Lunch
Sokka-Katara
Period 3- World History 3
Period 6- Lunch
Well I apologize but I'm afraid there will be more of our beloved character relationships next chapter. I'll try not to drag it on, because I'm REALLY excited to get to writing the party and, of course, the child development class ;D! I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter and was able to get a good feel on Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka's friendship. Pretty much just like the show, I guess. And Toph's head band is referring to that ear muff thing she wears in the show, that I assume is a headband. Also, I'm thinking of putting a poll on my profile, asking whether I should make 'Love of Highschool' only Katara's tenth grade year, or Katara's whole highschool experience, until she graduates. I would probably put it up once I reach around double digits with chapters. Please tell me if you see any mistakes. Anyway, thanks for all your support! PLEASE REVIEW!
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