This chapter is dedicated to AlmightyTaco123 for nominating Forget Me Not for Best Teoph Fic in the ATLA awards ;)
He hadn't time to get a long look at the daughters face before he dropped the food in shock. For a moment, he'd thought he saw Toph.
The woman at the table was practically spitting.
"Foolish boy! Look what you've done!"
Teo felt horrible. His first task ever, and he'd made a complete klutz of himself. A trick of the eye, and he'd left a terrible first impression.
"I'm terribly sorry, Ma'am. I'll have it cleaned up immediately."
He bent over the side of his chair and began to clean up the mess. Picken, gravy, mashed potanas and steamed turnip-beets cluttered the floor. Thankfully, none of this dishes had shattered, and he at least had that benefit not to be added to his punishment. The woman continued to rant to her husband.
"Lao, why would you hire such a clumsy child?"
His guilt only grew with every word. Surely he'd be fired before he'd even get so much as a chance to prove himself to the nobles.
Glancing up in shame, the daughter caught his attention once again. Black hair cascaded down past her shoulders, disappearing below the table. She wore a long sleeved dress of pale green silk, and around her neck was a silver necklace, the charm a small flying boar. But her face. Teo's throat tightened. She did bear an awful resemblance to Toph.
An irritated snapping form the woman brought him out of his spell.
"Boy! Finish doing your job and be on your way!"
Teo shook his head, clearing his thoughts, and hurriedly continued to finish picking up the dishes. He unintentionally found himself listening in on the family's conversation.
For the first time since his arrival, Sir Lao Bei Fong, head of the noble family, spoke to his wife.
"Now Poppy dear, I am well aware that he is clumsy. Perhaps if his legs worked properly, he'd be able to complete the tasks of a servant," he paused momentarily, and Teo, for the first time, felt ashamed of his disability. Lao continued. "But for now he is still on a trial period. Just give him a chance. After all, you never know when he might be useful."
Lao looked over at Teo with a warmth in his eyes, and a slight smile. Teo was surprised to receive such respect and even…affection from this nobleman, whom he'd just met. The feelings of anxiety that had been building up in his stomach just moments before disintegrated.
The woman chuckled and placed a sympathetic hand on her husband's arm.
"Oh, alright,"
she rolled her eyes and smiled, giving Teo the impression that her spiteful demeanor had been altered.
"If you suppose that he may be productive, you may keep your new 'pet'. Just be sure to have the more experienced servants deliver the food?"
She jokingly pleaded, causing Lao to laugh.
Teo finished up with the plates and set the small stack on his lap. He clasped his freed hands in front of him and bowing his head to the family, grateful for their kindness despite his mistakes.
"Thank you, Sir. Thank you, Ma'am. I'll send out Utako immediately."
He quickly turned his chair around and exited the dining room.
Back in the kitchen, the rush had died down and the workers who remained were preparing dessert. Teo began to get nervous again. They all seemed eager to leave, how would they react to the news of having so stay even longer and cook an entire new meal?
The chef glanced up from his post filling pastries and noticed Teo by the door. He glanced down at the jumbled pile of plates and uneaten food an sighed, shoulders slouching slightly before suddenly becoming ramrod straight. He began to shout over his shoulder.
"Utako! You let this kid deliver the food? What is wrong with you! Get over here!"
Teo looked around, unsure of whom the large man was referring to when he summoned. Did he want him to approach so that he could be punished?
After several moments, the man in the brown uniform from earlier appeared. In the doorway, he looked from Teo's mess to the angry chef and gulped. He put on a nervous smile and began to slowly inch his way towards the chef.
"Utako, you fool! I said get over here now!"
The chef pointed to the ground in front of him, and Utako quickened his pace until he was standing before the flustered chef.
"Uh…um…hello, Ch-Chef Nobue. Is…is something wrong?"
His eyes darted back and forth as he stammered. The chef have an angry smirk and began to pace in front of Utako. His voice came out quietly at first, slow and raspy, sending a shiver down Teo's spine.
"Is something wrong…Is something wrong? I don't know. Does something look wrong to you, Utako? Why don't you tell me. Because I'm pretty sure that you know what it is!"
As the chef lectured, his voice rose to a frightening shout.
"Tell me, Utako, why you would send that boy, whom you don't even know, on his first day, without any instruction whatsoever, to do your job? What were you possibly thinking!"
"Um…I…uh…"
Utako stammered. The chef continued his disciplinary rant, oblivious to his shaking.
"What did you expect to happen! For him to not make a single mistake? To know exactly how to do the job that you've worked for ten years?"
Utako wrung his hands.
"Well, you see…I didn't think that it would be that difficult for him to-"
"That's not the point! The point is that you decided to slack off your job and dump all of your duties onto him! That is the one thing that you are to do, and then you just go and burden that boy with it! And the Bei Fong's now have to wait even longer before they are able to eat."
The chef paused, and Utako stood silent for a moment.
"Well! What do you have to say for yourself!"
The chef had stopped pacing at this point and was flailing his arms wildly.
"Nothing? You have nothing to say? Should I just fire you, right here and now!"
Utako gulped and began to stammer again.
"Er…uh…I apologize, Chef Nobue…"
Chef Nobue exploded.
"Sorry? Sorry doesn't cut it! Right now you are the one who is going to make the plates new from the extra picken in the ice box, which I so thankfully made, deliver it to the Bei Fongs and you will be relieved of your 'difficult' duties for a week."
With that said, the enraged chef stormed past Teo and out the other set of kitchen doors.
The kitchen was silent, still holding their breath from the chef's eruption. After a few eerie moments, a few clanks came from a man collecting the dishes from Teo, and the room sprang back into life.
Teo sat awkwardly near the doorway, unsure of what he was supposed to do. The man in white from earlier glanced up and him, and waved a hand at him.
"Go, shoo, we're busy here."
"Um…yes, sir…"
Teo was confused. He'd thought that this was his reason for being here? Why would they send him away? Then again, he did cause that big ordeal with Utako and the chef…
He obeyed his senior with a small nod and exited the kitchen.
Wow! I am SO sorry about the lack of updates! I feel terrible; I've been lazy and neglected my fanfiction duties. I also had writer's block, so hopefully that's gone, but you guys don't deserve excuses. You've been so patient with me. Thank you for that! Here's two chapters to make up for my absence.