I know a couple of you really liked Road Trip, so these last few weeks must have been ultra lame. It's been over a month since it happened though. See, I used to write my stories on my iPod touch, email them to myself, access them on the desktop computer, and post them. However, a couple of weeks ago my dearly beloved iPod Touch drowned, and I lost access to all of my stories (which was a lot, I think I'm most pissed about just one though,) and all of my pictures, which had just gone over one thousand. I had Chapter the Sixth written though, which sort of bummed me out because I hate rewriting stuff. But enough complaining. It's time to move one. My iPod would have wanted it this way.
Sokka waddled up the stairs and into the main seating area. He scanned the sea of heads until he spotted a single black-haired head just sitting there. Grumbling, he waddled towards it.
Zuko was reading an eleven-month old Reader's Digest magazine when a shadow crossed in front of him. He looked up to see Sokka standing above him with the meanest glare he'd ever seen him use. Zuko broke into a wide smile.
"Hey, Sokka! I'm glad you're up!"
Sokka didn't say anything. He continued to glare at Zuko, who got the feeling that if Sokka had been a firebender, he would be ashes.
Then without any warning Sokka swung his right arm up and slapped Zuko on the face surprisingly hard.
Zuko cradled his cheek and continued to smile. "What the hell was that for?" he laughed.
Finally Sokka spoke. "Did you know that if security catches you wandering around the car lot while everybody's supposed to be above deck, they automatically assume that you're smuggling cocaine?"
Confused, Zuko rubbed his face for a moment. "What- Wait, Oh!" And then he broke into hysterical laughter that drew the attention of more people than that slap a few seconds ago.
While Zuko struggled to keep his organs inside his body, Sokka simply shook his head and waddled away.
Aang found Katara leaning on the railing of the lower deck. She turned to see him approach. "Hi Aang. What's wrong?"
What was wrong was that Aang had just caused a major flood in the maintenance closet and he was now paranoid. "Nothing. What are you doing?" He stood really close to her and looked around nervously.
"I'm just looking at the water. It's so clear-"
"Hey listen, if anybody asks- and nobody's gonna ask, really- I was with you for the last five minutes." Aang continued to glance around.
"What? Why?" Katara pushed hair out of her face.
"No reason, don't worry about it. Look, you can see the dock." Sure enough, the boat was approaching the opposite dock.
The two turned to look at the dock.
Sokka had to pee, but he didn't want to take his pants off again. So instead he found a vending machine, got a bag of assorted fruit snacks and went outside. He finished the fruit snacks just as he turned the corner and saw Aang and Katara leaning against the railing.
Katara and Aang jumped visibly when Sokka clapped his hands on their shoulders. Aang especially peed himself just a little bit, while Katara screeched "No God No!" When they both saw it was just Sokka, they relaxed, and Aang tried to figure out how to discreetly dry his underwear.
Sokka stepped forward between them, giving a thousand-yard-stare to something on the horizon. "Hey guys. What are you doing?" he drawled.
"Looking at the- the dock," Aang stammered.
"Mh Hmm," Sokka said with a nod. "Now, whose idea was it to leave me in the car?"
"Um, definitely Zuko. It was Zuko's idea," Katara answered.
"Uh huh. Zuko," Aang agreed.
"Well I already got Zuko."
Aang suddenly looked backwards down the deck. "What's that? C-coming!" He took off in the direction of his imaginary summoner.
"There's no one there," Katara observed brilliantly.
"Whatever. Let him run around soaked in terror pee."
The ferry docked and the four met down at Zuko's car. Zuko made a point to laugh at Sokka's expense as often as possible. Just as Sokka was about to sit down in the backseat, Zuko turned around and stuck his hand out. "Whoa Sokka, do you need one of those inflatable donuts?" Sokka cursed at him and sat down with a wince he hid from everyone.
Eventually the cars were heralded from the ferry and Zuko drove out onto the regular roads. He navigated through the streets of the small port town and tried to find a store.
"Alright Sokka, I'm really sorry about all that. Do you want anything? Like something to eat? Drink?"
Sokka's arms were crossed. "Yeah, ice cream. For my ass."
Zuko fake-laughed heartily. "Ha ha. That movie sucked. How about a Sprite and a Snickers bar?"
"Fuck you. I don't need your pity food."
Katara sensed the animosity in the car and spoke up. "Wow Sokka, what crawled up your butt?"
Zuko almost crashed the car from laughing so hard. He finally pulled over and handed Katara a fiver. "Run in and get your brother a bottle of Sprite and a Snickers bar." He was still catching his breath.
Sokka growled but did not fight the offer of free food. Katara stared at the money in her hand. "Are you serious?" She said.
"Fine. Aang, care to run in?"
Aang created a small gust of air that blew the money out of Katara's hand and into his. He ran out of the car.
When he came back a few minutes later, he was nearly ecstatic. "I found some batteries! I hope you don't mind Zuko."
"No, that's alright. Everyone ready?"
Zuko drove back into traffic and down the road. Aang disappeared into his Bob Dylan tape and Sokka drank his soda. Zuko tried to scratch the back of one foot with the other foot, which made it very hard to drive behind him. Katara looked at the map.
Katara touched the map. "We have to go through the desert?"
Zuko glanced over. "Yeah. It's the shortest way."
"I sure hope that doesn't bode badly for us," Katara said foreshadowingly.
Katara found Zuko's old Queen tape which he had lost months ago. He almost peed himself when she read the label and had immediately stuffed it into the deck.
"And another one gone, and another one gone, another one bites the dust. Hey, he's gonna get you too! Another one bites the dust!" Zuko and Katara sang in a surprisingly good harmony. Sokka mouthed the words in the back seat while Aang bobbed his head to a different song altogether.
They drove out of the city singing.
September fourth is National Impersonate A Doctor Day! Change your pen name to let the world know that you're a doctor even though you're not! Just don't dispense any medical advice or try to perform surgery on someone, or you'll be sued for malpractice!