Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, either the show or the comics. Any OCs are, unless otherwise stated, mine.

"Mistress Penga?"

"Unggggh?" I squinted as someone drew the curtains back, then curled tighter under my covers. Why did the servants think they needed to wake me up so early? What could be better than sleep?

"Are you ready to go to market?"

Wait, market?

"Ooh, yes, yes!" I nearly toppled the servant (Jin? Jen?) over trying to get out of bed. She let out a little yelp, and it was so funny I almost wished I had tried to trip her. "I want to get some more shoes!"

"Yes, miss," the servant agreed. "Whatever you wish." She glanced at my closet full of dozens of my shoes, no doubt admiring their beauty and wishing she had some of her own.

I skipped to my dresser, which was covered in things I had found on previous market trips. I had butterfly necklaces, jade earrings, bone hair clips—I really needed another box to keep them all. But those were all nothing compared to my real passion: shoes.

I had been collecting shoes for at least two years now, since I was seven. The problem was, my feet kept growing, and a lot of my old ones didn't fit anymore. And I couldn't just wear the same pair every day, now, could I? I hoped the market had some pretty ones.

"All right," I said, twirling around like the darling I was. "Dress me. In my yellow silk, if you please."

We rode in my father's second-best carriage (he was using the other one, of course), and I wished I had chosen a different dress so I could sit outside the carriage without getting dirty. Well, at least I still looked pretty, even if I couldn't see everything going on out on the street.

When we got to market, it was already midmorning and getting hot. I hated when it was hot. My clothes and hair always got sticky and droopy. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, which meant it would only get worse. I got out and nearly tripped over my hem.

Around me, merchants of all kinds of wares called out to passersby, showing off food, pottery, shawls, you name it—all the things that made coming to market fun.

We had stopped right next to a bakery, which had a cute boy who looked about fourteen offering desserts from a tray. When he saw my interest, he hurried over, bowing deeply.

"Hello, little miss. Would you like a fresh bao?" He held out his tray, full of the little dumplings.

"Ooh, gimme!" I took four of them, shoving one in my mouth as I gave him a handful of copper pieces. "You're cute," I mumbled around the pastry.

He laughed, unfazed. "I get that a lot. But thank you."

"Will you be my boyfriend, then?"

"Ah, I might be a little old for you…" he said, trying to hide a smile.

I heard someone clear their throat, but I ignored it. "Are you sure? Am I not irresistible enough?" I fluttered my eyelashes.

The throat cleared again. I rolled my eyes. "Fine, what is it?"

"Mistress Penga," one of my chaperones said, looking nervously at his feet, "before we do your shopping, we need to buy some groceries."

"Groceries!?" I shrieked. "I thought this was a shopping trip. Like for shopping!"

"And it will be," he assured me. "But we need some ingredients for the turkey duck soup tonight. Isn't that your favorite?"

I pouted. "Yeah, I guess." I looked to the boy for sympathy, but he was already gone, talking to other customers. His loss. He would be a stupid boyfriend anyway.

So we went and got the stupid groceries, and it kept getting hotter. It was almost noon, and I was getting hungry. I had already eaten all the bao, but it wasn't enough. Even though we were supposed to be shopping for just the ingredients, I kept seeing things along the way that I wanted.

"Please?" I would beg, trying to make myself into the perfect little girl who just wanted one more thing. And it worked every time, mostly because my chaperones knew that if I didn't get what I wanted, I would be the exact opposite of a perfect little girl. Especially now, in this spirits-awful heat.

"All right," Ming, my other chaperone, finally said. She scared me, so I had learned her name. "We only have a bit of money left, so let's get something to eat."

"Yes, ma'am," I replied, with less whine than usual. I didn't want to delay any potential of food.

But then I saw something that made me forget even Ming. Two stalls away sat the most beautiful pair of shoes I had ever seen. They practically shimmered in the heat.

I wanted them. No, I needed them.

I dashed out from between my chaperones and into the merchant's tent. My pocket change was all gone, but I didn't care. I would get them, I knew it.

"Forgive me, Mistress Penga, but we've already spent all the money your parents allotted for this shopping trip."

Spent all the money?

I looked at the male servant in shock. "What?"

"We don't have the money," Ming asserted, glaring at me. I ignored her.

"I want them!" I screamed. "I want them, I want them!"

I reached out, my heart breaking as Ming pulled me back. "Nooo!" I sobbed. I tried to bend the shoes toward me, but the ground was too loose, and I only pulled up pebbles. Ming and the other servant pinned my arms back and dragged me away as everyone in the marketplace covered their ears.

Right before we rounded the corner, I saw a girl with poofy black hair pick up the shoes and start to feel them.

"You can't have those, they're mine!" I yelled back at her. She probably didn't hear me.

Two hours later, I sat in my room, organizing my shoes. A pile that was missing the pair from the market.

"Jin, you should go get those shoes for me," I told her. "You have money, right?"

The servant shook her head. "I don't, mistress. I've given it to my brother to care for his sick daughter. And my name is actually-"

I waved my hand. "Whatever. I don't even know who your brother is." But then I realized how bored I was. "You should tell me about him, though. Does he have any kids?"

Jin rolled her eyes. "Yes, his daughter is four years old. The one who's sick, remember?"

"Oh. Right." I began stacking my sandals. "Continue."

Jin sighed. "As I said, Rana is four, and when she's not sick, she's quite the little terror." She smiled briefly, then turned away, looking sad. "I haven't seen her in nearly two months."

"Why not?"

She didn't answer right away.

"Um, did you hear me?" I turned my head sideways, trying to catch her eye. "Why haven't you seen her?"

She still wouldn't look at me as she replied, "I can't afford to."

"What does that mean?"

Suddenly she was staring me right in the face, with a disturbing look I had never seen before. "It means I don't have enough money to go visit my niece before she — never mind." Her face returned to its usual calm, with barely a hint of trouble. "I suppose you wouldn't know what not having enough money is like."

I shrugged. "I didn't have enough money to get shoes today. It's hard, for sure." I patted Jin's hand to comfort her. She flinched as I reached out. "Don't worry, though, you'll get more soon. That's what Mama always tells me."

"Of course, mistress," she murmured. Then, "Oh, I think I hear the bell calling me. I must attend to your mother." She hurried out of the room, wiping something off her face with her apron.

I hadn't heard any bell, but it was none of my concern. Jin had knocked over my shoe pile when she ran out, so I went to work stacking it up again.

Once we had gotten home, I immediately begged Mama for a bit more pocket change to retrieve them, or at least to send a servant to look for them. But she said she would have to wait to ask my father, and by the time he got home, the shoes would already be gone.

So I was stuck here, now without even a servant to entertain me. And the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. In fact, I was madder than I'd ever been, so mad that I could practically feel the room vibrating.

Wait. It really was vibrating. Was I doing that? I didn't think my bending was that powerful. I could barely bend more than I could lift—definitely not the entire room.

As soon as I thought about it, the vibrating stopped. If it even had been there in the first place. I sighed, suddenly tired. It had been so hot, and my feet felt like bricks, and hmm, my bed was quite cozy…

A frantic knocking on my door awoke me, again.

"What did I do now?"

"Something extraordinary, apparently!" I bolted upright. It wasn't a servant at the door, it was my mother.

I scrambled out of my bed and stood, trying to smooth my hair. "Wait, what?"

Mama was almost frantic with delight. "Penga, Miss Beifong would like to speak with you. She said you've-"

"Beifong?!"

"Yes, yes, and she's here right now and oh my goodness, your hair! Give me your brush." She began yanking my hair around.

"Ouch, you're pulling!" I protested, but she held firm.

"I will not have you disgrace our family in front of one of the kingdom's most prestigious families, darling." She pulled one last knot out. "Now, put on your dressing gown and some nice shoes and come present yourself to her."

I didn't have to be told twice. Not only were the Beifongs the most powerful family in the Earth Kingdom second only to the Earth King, their daughter, Toph, had traveled with the Avatar! She was a powerful earthbender, and some even said she could bend metal. I didn't know how that was possible, but it would be amazing to see.

Once I was halfway down the hallway, though, I started getting nervous. What did she want with me? What had she seen me do? I didn't do much that a Beifong would consider impressive, besides maybe buying a lot of things.

I gulped as I passed into the sitting room, bowing in advance. "Hello, Mistress, I'm Penga, it is an honor-" I stopped.

There before me stood the girl from the market, one hand on her hip, the other extended to me. "Penga. Nice to meet you. I'm Toph Beifong." Her eyes were a milky green. Wait, she was blind?

"Uh, um, hi," I stammered. "N-nice to meet you too?" I wasn't sure what to do with her hand, so I bowed again.

She withdrew her hand. "Right, I forgot that's just a Water Tribe thing. Anyway, I came here to ask you to join my new school. I'm going to teach metalbending, and I think you'll be a good candidate for it. What do you say?"

"Um…huh?"

"Penga!" Mama hissed, scolding my lack of decorum. But how was I supposed to respond to that?

Toph grinned. "I know it sounds weird, but I promise it's real. When I saw you at the market this afternoon—" I ducked my head and blushed "—I got this feeling about you, and I think you can do it. I'll give you some time to think about it, but the offer is open—"

"Yes!" I screamed. "Yes, I want to go!" I jumped and would have danced if not for my mother's death glare.

Toph looked a bit surprised at my enthusiasm, but pleased. "Awesome, that's settled, then. I'll see you down at Kunyo's old firebending academy tomorrow." She walked off without another word.

The second she was out the door, I screamed again. "Mama, Mama, I'm gonna be a metalbender! Isn't that so cool?" She was too shocked to stop me this time, as I ran around the house trying to find anything with metal in it to practice.

"Penga, darling, wait! I know you're excited, but we have to discuss this with your father."

"He'll say yes, I know he will!"

Mama tried to say something else as I dashed off again, but I didn't hear it. I was going to become a metalbender! That was all that really mattered.

After Father got home, he and Mama had a long discussion, which I tried to listen to, but they were too good at keeping their voices low. Finally, Mama said something loudly enough for me to hear.

"But what if she can't do it? What then? Are we to…" Her voice lowered again.

Can't do it? Can't do it? Did my parents really have so little faith in me? Sure, I wasn't exactly a great earthbender, but if Toph Beifong thought I could be good, then I would be.

"I can do it," I muttered. "You'll see!"

The voices stopped. Okay, maybe it was a bit louder than a mutter. It may have actually been a shout.

My mother caught me in the hallway as I slid behind a tapestry. "Penga, I can see you, you know."

I didn't move.

She sighed. "You might as well know now. We have decided to let you go to the metalbending academy, as your father thinks it will be good for you. But don't worry if it doesn't work out; you can always come back home."

I peered out around the tapestry. "It will work out," I insisted. "Don't worry about me. I can do it." I gave her my most winning smile.

Mama smiled back at me, a bit sadly. "I'm sure you will, darling. Now get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow." She took my hand to walk me back to bed.

"A very big day," I grinned, knowing I would be too excited to sleep.