Prompt: Spelling Bee
Requester: Mildly Rabid (Took long enough, amirite?)
Words: 737
Spotlight (aka Unexpectedly Undercover, Pt. 2)
"What is this?" Aang complained in a strained whisper, slouching in his seat. "They're just spelling words!"
Katara, seated next to him with her arms crossed over her chest, smirked smugly. "I told you it would be boring."
Aang sighed. "Even now that the war is over, the Fire Nation still doesn't know how to have proper fun. It's almost like…" An unreadable look suddenly crossed the airbender's face, and Katara peered at him suspiciously, her eyes narrowed.
"Aang, whatever you have in mind, my answer is no."
"But, Katara—" the boy's protest, which had drawn a few annoyed glances from fellow spectators, was abruptly cut off by a sharp movement of the waterbender's hand.
"No," Katara repeated, her voice lowering to a stern hiss. "I know you, Aang. These people don't need to be introduced to your fun. It's just too much of an overload. Besides, were not supposed to draw attention to ourselves."
"Integration, Katara," Aang countered, minding his volume. He lifted an index finger matter-of-factly. "I'm tagging a personal mission onto our main task. This personal goal will be to plant a seed of creativity and fun back into this dismal little town." He made as if to stand. "My first order of business will be to enter this contest."
"What?" Katara grabbed his sleeve, tugging him back down into his seat. Behind them, a lady glared at Katara and spat out a quick hush.
Katara averted her eyes and grasped Aang's sleeve more firmly, leaning over to whisper angrily into his ear. "I'm not going to let you inject mayhem into this town. Sit down!"
Aang obeyed reluctantly. Immediately afterward, he pulled a crumpled little flyer from the folds of his tunic, and, straightening it, he pointed out a section of it that detailed the applicant criteria. "Look," he whispered, "It says here that anyone is welcome, as long as they are between the ages of six and eighteen. And the older age group doesn't begin until later tonight. I bet they would still let me sign up!"
Katara bit her lip, drawing her eyes carefully over the portion of calligraphy Aang had directed her to. She glanced over the rules, and after a long moment of consideration, relented. "I suppose…" she began, and Aang gave a squeak of excitement and grabbed her hand, half-dragging the waterbender out of her seat and up the aisle toward the theatre's lobby area.
Katara rolled her eyes. "You definitely are spending too much time with Sokka."
When the two teenagers bounced to the sign-up table, the middle aged woman manning it didn't look up, scrawling busily on the parchment laid before her. She paused momentarily to push her spectacles back into place on the bridge of her nose and dip the quill into an ink dish. Then she resumed her writing, ignoring the pair of adolescents that had dared attempt to disturb her.
"Ahem," Aang cleared his throat, and leaned forward, trying to get the woman's attention.
Katara fidgeted. She hadn't yet been brave enough to interact so…boldly…with the residents of the town they had settled in for their brief time as 'short-term sleeper agents'. She stood slightly behind Aang, peering over his shoulder at the sullen lady before them.
Finally, after a sigh of annoyance, the woman put down her quill and lifted her chin, leveling Aang with a beady-eyed stare. "What is it? You're too late for signing up for the Bee, the contestant slots have already been filled."
The airbender visibly deflated. "Oh," he frowned.
Katara, inwardly relieved, put a comforting hand on Aang's shoulder. "It's all right. Better luck next time." The waterbender started to pull him away.
The woman at the table adjusted her glasses once more, squinting. "However," she intervened, her solid voice reverberating through the air, "One of our junior word callers was unexpectedly dismissed this afternoon with an illness, and we have an extra spot open. Normally the junior callers must be above 18 years old," Aang made a face, "But in this case I suppose I can make an exception. If you're willing?"
"Of course!" Although Aang had no idea what he was getting into, his eagerness was painfully evident, and it made Katara wince.
The woman's amber eyes narrowed, and she dipped her quill in the ink jar with a businesslike deftness as Aang grinned at her. "Name for the record please?"
Katara grimaced.
A/N: I know I am undeserving for any reviews, seeing as how badly I've neglected my fanfics-but they still make me smile. :)