Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.
Read on…
Aang's POV
"Lower Twinkle Toes!" a small hand grabbed the hair on my head and pushed me towards the floor. I hit the cold tile with a smack. "If you're too high in your bows it shows disrespect! Get it right!"
"I know. I know," I grumbled.
Toph growled. "Then why aren't you doing it right?!" she yelled in my ear.
I yelled back. "Because we've been doing this for forty-five minutes! My back hurts."
"We're going to keep doing this until you get it right!"
"You are such a slave driver!"
"Technically you are my slave for a week Twinkle Toes! You are so stupid sometimes!"
I bowed, my head lower than her waist level and one hand around my front, the other around my back. "My apologies Miss Toph for my–" a hit on my head knocked me down onto the floor with another smack. I quickly jumped up. "What was that for!?"
She held up her fist and I shrank back for an instant before I tried to tower over her.
"Don't you ever, ever, call me Miss," she spat the word like it was a curse. "You can only use it when you are referring to me to other people."
I smiled inwardly to myself. Now I had something to hold over her.
"What are you getting so happy about Twinkle Toes?" Toph yelled. "We still aren't done with your lessons for the day!" she grabbed hold of my ear and pulled me towards another secret room in her basement, the only place where her parents wouldn't know I was there or hear our screams of anger.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!" I screamed as my hearing appendage was being pulled out of my head.
She finally let go of me. As I rubbed my stinging ear I took a look around me. The room was brightly lit with a huge chandelier dangling down just a couple of feet above a small rectangular table. It was adorned with a green cloth, four plates stacked up inside each with a small bowl sitting neatly on top.
"Okay, now we're going to work on etiquette." Toph picked up a fork. "This is a salad fork…"
"Did you get all that Twinkle Toes?"
I snapped my head up from its slumped position and straightened out my body in the intricately cut wooden chair I was sitting in. across from me sat Toph, who looked a little more than annoyed.
"Yep," I exclaimed cheerfully.
What was she talking about? I thought panicky.
"Okay then," she said smugly, as if she knew that I wasn't paying attention. "Why don't you repeat everything I just said?"
"Um…" I picked up a random fork. "This is a salad fork…"
When she smiled I knew it was over.
Before I knew what happened there was a steak knife lodged just beside my head, cutting off a few hairs that flittered downwards very slowly. Please, lord, let her have amazing aim, I prayed.
I laughed slowly. "That was good aim Toph…hehehe." I reached up to pull out the steak knife when her words stopped me.
"What are you talking about?" she stood up gracefully from her side of the table and came over to where I was just frozen with my hand in the air. She leaned down to whisper in my ear, "I missed."
My eyes almost bugged out of their sockets. I broke out in a cold sweat and I found myself not even breathing. Then all I could see was a sparkling emerald green. Toph was staring right at me. She was right in front of my face!
Immediately I jerked back but overshot it and ended up falling on my back, the chair clattering noisily to the floor. The fall stung and my heart was beating so hard it felt like it was about to burst from my chest and run out of here screaming 'I'M FREE!'. Then Toph would maybe bend down to hear my last request.
"A kiss, please. Before I die and float away to the stars above."
Her lips would dawn slowly upon mine and her soft breath would sweep over my face and then…
"You dummy!" Real Toph grabbed my shirt and lifted me up to my feet with her surprising strength. "When someone is in your space you can't just fall over! You have to politely excuse yourself or deal with it but don't just fall over like an idiot, Twinkle Toes! That shows that you're just an incompetent fool!"
I cried silently to myself. I missed dream Toph.
She groaned. "We're never going to get this right!" her hand went through her hair in frustration.
I thought back to my conversation with my dad the night before:
"Hello?"
"Dad…I need your help," I had said.
"Are you feeling okay, Aang? I hope you can forgive me for leaving you but something urgent did come up at work…I should have stayed. I knew it. I'll come back right away. If they need me they can call me. Oh dear, I do hope you're okay. You did say you were okay right? You probably aren't. I'll leave right away–"
I finally interrupted his wordy worries, "Dad I'm okay. Stay where you are. I'm getting better. I think it was just a one day thing." I had coughed, my throat sore from talking before to Toph. "I'll be fine by tomorrow but I have a huge problem!"
"If you're not sick then what's the problem?"
"Toph told me to escort her to a big important ball hosted by her father and I have to learn everything Toph learned in a lifetime in not even a whole day!" I had to take a breath after I had rushed that out.
Dryly he had commented, "That does sound like a problem."
I had whined, not feeling up to his jokes, "Dad…I'm in big fickle pickle right now! It's so fickle the sour juices make plants want to curl up their toes and shrivel up."
"First of all: take a deep breath." I did what he asked. "Second of all: plants do not have toes. They have roots. Third of all: what's a fickle pickle?"
"Dad."
"Sorry, sorry. Listen, Aang, you have a tendency to take things a bit out of proportion. I'm sure this party isn't as big as you think."
"Dad, this is the Beifong's we're talking about. They're inviting several other companies and probably politicians. There are going to be reporters, T.V. News Crews – the whole nine yards! How am I blowing this all out of proportion?"
"…oh dear, this is a big deal!"
"I'm going to go throw up now, excuse me."
"Aang, listen. I won't say you are stupid when it comes to manners and etiquette–"
"Aren't they the same thing?"
"Heaven's no Aang. Manners are what's considered socially correct and apt. Etiquette is the rules of governing correct behavior in a specific social or professional situation. Manners are used for everyday common things and are considered the backbone of etiquette. Etiquette just gets to the finer details. Do you understand?"
"Um…yeah…sort of."
"Toph is going to be helping you, correct?"
"Yes, but…what if I mess up and can't understand a single thing?"
He had laughed. "Aang, you'll do just fine. You always do. But you have to realize that Toph's breaking a lot of rules by taking you. Rules of etiquette."
"What do you mean?" I had asked cautiously.
"I'll be blunt. You are not from her society, nor would I ever want you to be, but–though you are an extremely nice person–niceness will not get you accepted into the Beifong society. High class is all about dirty tricks, and lies. On rare occasions is it nice. And Toph knows this. It's been around her since birth. Taking someone who knows nothing of her world and placing him inside for one day is like picking your nose in public. You just don't do it."
I had paused. "So I'm like a booger on the face of society?"
Despite his serious tone before he chuckled. "A very nice booger."
"Why thank you. I've always sought to be compared to a booger. Now my life's work is complete."
He had sighed. "Aang. I know you'll do just fine if you pay attention. But I also want you to know that if Toph is willing to commit to this by teaching you the finer points of etiquette, be aware of her feelings. She's probably a wreck right now. Don't be surprised if she gets a bit too harsh during your training or whatever. Just be there for her. That's what a friend does."
And just like that, being a friend didn't sound so bad.
I stood up and put my hand over hers which was ruffling her hair. She jerked a bit but otherwise let me intertwine my fingers through hers. Pulling her hand out of her hair, I smoothed the strands.
Neither of us said anything for a long time.
"Toph…." I let go of her hand and stepped away from her to pick up my mess. I lifted the chair up to its proper place, slightly turned so that I would have room to sit in before tucking it under the table. I escorted Toph to her side of the table, her hand resting elegantly atop my open palm. She sat down and I shifted the chair up under the table until only a quarter or so of thigh was showing – that's where she would put a napkin on to catch any stray bits of food. I stood up straight as I walked back to my side and sat down, feeling the edge of the chair with my calves so as to appear graceful.
I recited everything I had learned.
"The golden rule is to work from the outside, in. There will be two knives on the right and one spoon if needed, and three forks – salad fork, then dinner fork, and closest to your plate is the dessert fork – on the left. No soup will be served from your knowledge but if it is the soup spoon will be placed on the extreme right or second in from the right if it is being served as a second course as opposed to first. Since you know that the first entrée is going to already be placed in front of us the napkin is set on the left of the forks."
I picked up the napkin and folded it gently across my lap. "The first step as you sit down is to unfold your napkin in a refined manner and lay it across your lap. Then you cut small bites of food with your fork and knife. If you want bread you will have to cut it with your fingers and not the knife because that's just stupid. On the upper right side there will be two glasses. The first one, the largest, is a water goblet. It will wet the pallet when you have finished. The second is your drink. It's usually red wine but in our case it will be sparkling apple juice."
I looked up at Toph. "Did I get it right?"
She smirked at me, "Almost. The dessert cutlery is usually placed above the place setting. And the napkin is set on the extreme left."
I smiled apologetically.
"But…I think you'll do just fine Twinkle Toes."
I let out a huge gust of air, "Dear Lord, I hope so! I had no idea what I was saying back there."
She let out a huge laugh that soon had me joining in. When the laughs died down I realized she was looking at me. But I couldn't read the expression in her eyes. It was unfamiliar to me and made me feel a bit…weird.
"You know," she suddenly said. "You sure as hell aren't a Prince Edward or Elvis…" she was referring to my excuses from last night, "but that's a good thing. They had big heads."
"No, I think Elvis only looked like he had a big head because of his hair."
"Ah, true." She chuckled and looked at her watch. A grimace painted her sweet face. "We've been here for like an hour and a half. I have to go have another fitting on my dress or some other girly thing." She pushed herself up and I stood. "Okay, a few last things. When we get to the place you are to be the first one out of the limousine, and do it gracefully for Pete's sake. Then you offer your hand to me and help me out. We'll stand for five whole seconds in front of the reporters and then you'll take me, keeping a steady pace, towards the entrance. For the love of God do not step on my dress. If you do I will kill you. And don't say a word, just smile that toothy smile of yours and we'll somehow make it pass the reporters. We'll be entering all alone because my parents will have already gone. So if you mess up, I'll cover for you. And if I mess up, do not cover for me. I'll do it myself."
I gave her a frown. "Don't you trust me?"
"Reporters are like piranha, Twinkle Toes. Once they get a hold of your girly feet they will never let go. So if you mess up there's only one thing that will happen: you will die a social and extravagant death. If I mess up two things will happen: I'll pick myself back up gracefully or I'm going to have to bribe a couple of people to keep quiet. I have a way out…you don't."
Audibly, I gulped.
"Piranha are kinda pretty…"
She smirked. "They're also kinda deadly."
A/N:
So I apologize for not updating. I know it's been two weeks and I'm kicking myself for that. But the story isn't going to stop, no matter how busy I get.
Two reasons why it was late:
I lost my flash drive and only got it back four days ago.
I had writer's block for two of those days and only just managed to grab a laptop to continue yesterday.
So it's almost 2 am and I can't sleep so I finished this chapter.
…
I looked up and there's a roly-poly on my wall….I live in the attic…hmm.
This only get's curiouser and curiouser!
Actually it's kinda freaking me out but I find that it's best not to question these things and just go with the flow. Even if the flow is strange.
Anywho, I'll do my best to upload another chapter by Sunday but things don't always work out the way I want them to. It's Thanksgiving week people.
…
This roly-poly is really kinda fun to watch.
Love: Lola of the Peaches
=]
