So, I guess I haven't updated in a few days so hopefully none of you guys are like 'oh eff this' ^_^ And I'm going to apologize in advance if this story seems a little spacey. I keep getting distracted because Avatar is on and its 'The Blind Bandit', 'Sokka's Master', then 'Avatar Aang'. And two of them are Tokka-tastic. Enjoy! #50. Hands
Toph never understood why she had to take English. She couldn't read or write, she already spoke it, so she found it pointless. Why, she wondered, couldn't she have had a studyhall instead? But then again, it was the only class besides lunch that she had with her best friend, Sokka.
He sat in front of her, his pen hanging out of his mouth and his feet propped up on the empty seat ahead of him. He let his head fall backwards slowly, looking at an upside-down Toph.
"This is so boring," he muttered.
"I know," she says rather loudly. He looks up at her face under her bangs, which spill out from her headband like a black waterfall. The shadow it casts just makes her eyes stand out even more, a pale seafoam color.
The class was in the midst of reading Romeo & Juliet, something Toph didn't want to have to listen to. Especially when the other slow, stammering students were told to read it. But Mr. Iroh, who was a deep lover of philosophy and love and all that mumbo-jumbo, insisted in students taking part in class readings. Every student who had Mr. Iroh was automatically in love with him as a teacher. He always listened, cared, had great advice and a cup of tea brewing on his portable heater in the back. So instead of blaming Mr. Iroh for picking such a sappy love story, they blamed Shakespear himself for writing one.
Damn that Shakespear! was the grade's motto.
"Damn that Shakespear," Toph whispered to him. He was the first to laugh and she quickly joined, both trying to keep it to a whispering laugh. A small snort escaped Toph's nostrils or mouth or whever they come from and let her face fall onto the desk, right beside Sokka's.
"Damn that Shake-es-pear," he repeated, in the same way chick from 'Scary Movie' said it. They had just watched (and listened) to the movie the previous weekend. They laughed a little louder.
"Toph. Sokka," Mr. Iroh said sternly. They lifted their heads up right, the pen falling out of Sokka's mouth. The entire class as well as Mr. Iroh looks at them, eyebrows quirked. "Is something funny?"
Sokka cleared his throat, grabbing his book from the desk, flipping the pages randomly. "N-no, Mr. Iroh...sir," he said with a quick chuckle. Mr. Iroh furrowed his brows before a sly smile played on his old lips.
"Class," he said, picking himself up from his desk chair. "For your veiwing pleasure. Toph, Sokka, to the front." The duo sighed, pulling themselves from their chairs and shuffling to the front of the giggling classroom. "You stand here," he pointed out, moving Sokka to one spot, "and you here." Toph stood beside her friend. Mr. Iroh took Sokka's left arm, holding it up with his palm flat and vertical. He did the same to Toph's arm, placing her hand on Sokka's.
"Why do we have to hold hands?" Sokka asked.
"Don't pull away. Keep them together like you're in love," Mr. Iroh said wisely. The class laughed again, even louder this time. Toph felt her body heat up, praying to the Spirits that she isn't blushing or anything. "Now, recite the words."
Sokka sighed, looking at his book. "If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand, to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss." A bought of laughter erupted and Mr. Iroh instructed Toph to repeat what he said.
"Good pilgrim," she said in an obviously annoyed manner, "you do wrong your hand too much. Which mannerly devotion shows in this. For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands touch. And palm to palm is holy palmer's kiss." She made a light gagging noise to ease the awkwardness of it all, making Sokka laugh.
"Um..." he said searching for his line, "Have not saints lips and holy palmers, too?"
"Aye pilgrim lips they must use in prayer," she said quickly.
"O then, dear saint!" he said in a dramatic, deep voice, "let lips do what hands pray; grant thou lest faith turn to despair!"
"Saints do not move though grant for prayer's sake," she bellowed loudly, trying to be as dramatic as possible. They were always competeing to be more annoying.
"Then move not, while my prayers effect I take," he said, smiling. "Uh...blah blah blah, Romeo kisses Juliet-"
"No, no, you must kiss," Mr. Iroh intereveened.
"You're kidding right?" Toph asked over a cackling class.
"No. You seemed to be enjoying your punishment far too much." Mr. Iroh stroked his pointed gray beard grinning devilishly.
"But we already are," Sokka's ex-girlfriend, Suki, challeneged. "Shakespear said that holding hands is like kissing...you know, just not with lips.
"That's called holding hands, dumb ass!" Jet shouts from the back. "Just do it!"
"That's what your mom said last night!" Sokka shouts back with a smile. The class broke into hysterics, leaving Mr. Iroh to settle them down.
Just as Mr. Iroh began to speak again, the bell rung. Toph and Sokka pulled apart, both of their fingers lingering a bit. They picked their things up as the other students rushed for the door.
"That was crazy. We almost had to kiss," Sokka said, laughing.
"Yeah. That'd be pretty...awkward."
"I mean, holding hands wasn't bad," he said shrugging. They both froze, eyes wide. "I-I mean that in a, uh, non-creepy way." He adds quickly. "We're just friends."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," she said throwing her bag over her shoulder. "Well, see ya." She headed for the doorway as he finished putting his book in his bag.
"Yeah, see you later." He looked down at his bag, sighing, when Mr. Iroh shuffled over and patted his back softly.
"Do not worry," he said wisely. "If things are meant to be, it will find a way."
Sokka put up his wall once again, raising an eyebrow. "I...I don't know what you're talking about," he jabbered quickly, heading for the door.
"I know you do," Mr. Iroh said under his breath. Sokka looked over his shoulder at the all-knowing teacher before turning back to the hallway, a small, hopeful smile on his face.
So, we really had to do this in my English class last year...except the kissing part. I was Juliet since we share the same birthday.
Haha, so thanks for that Mr. Mower. His catch phrase was pretty much "For your viewing pleasure" and is forever my favorite teacher.
Peace, L.