Model Behavior


Summary: Modern/AU. Korra thought it was an ordinary day of art class at Republic School for the Gifted. But then, the art model Asami Sato walked into the room... Korrasami


Chapter 15: Busted!

"Wake up!"

"What?" Asami moved her head to the side and winced at the bright light in her face. She moved her arm to block out the sun. She opened her eyes and found herself staring at the bottom half of a poster. She stared at the picture of feet before moving her eyes up, taking in the sight of Tahno from the WolfBats. She blinked rapidly before rolling over. She gazed around the room in a sleepy daze, taking note of Opal grabbing Bolin by his collar and shaking him with no abandon.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"It's seven in the morning!" Opal hissed.

"So?"

"So, your alarm should have gone off hours ago. You have to get out of here," she answered.

Asami continued to stare at her. Alarm. Korra. Dorm. Midnight Dragon. Iroh. Dorm. Sneaking in. Window. Breaking rule. Lin. Security. Caught. Dorm. After hours. Weeknight. Guys in dorm. Loud bang. Korra. Protection. Korra. 7 am. 7 AM. 7 AM!

"Oh, shoot!" Asami cried before flinging the sheets off of her. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and moved to stand up. One of her legs were still wrapped up in the sheet, causing her to collapse to the floor on top of Mako, who grunted in surprise.

"What the hell was that for?" he groaned while rubbing his arm. Asami climbed off of him before rushing across the room to wake the sleeping Avatar. She stubbed her toe on the side of Opal's bed and forced herself not to let out a loud cry. The pain throbbed as she limped over, careful not to step on Bolin who was still out like a light.

Korra woke up with a start when she heard Asami stub her toe. She jumped out of the seat and moved into a fighting stance before taking in her surroundings as Asami walked over to her. "What's up, limpalina?" she said gruffly, cracking a half smile. She rubbed her burning eyes, jumping slightly as Asami reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She pressed a few buttons before holding the glowing screen in front of her face. Korra blinked a few times before focusing. Her blue eyes widened as she snatched the phone out of her friend's hand.

"Oh, spirits, we're dead!" she shouted. Opal shushed her before focusing on Bolin once more.

"I got him, Opal," Mako muttered while wavering her away. She took a step back before rushing over to the dorm door, peering out the peephole.

Mako took a deep breath before lowering himself by Bolin's ear and whispering in a scratchy voice: "Wake up, my lovely turtle-duck."

Bolin jumped up with a yelp. He scrambled onto Opal's bed and cowered in the corner, holding up a pillow as if to protect himself. He breathed heavily and placed a hand over his heart. Korra and Mako burst into laughter as recognition settled in on Bolin's face.

"That's not funny," he insisted.

"What was that about?" Asami asked.

"Mako did a spot on impression of my cousin, Eska. They used to date," Korra explained, wiping a tear away from her eye. "Well, only if you call treating him like a servant she liked to humiliate as dating."

"Oh." She nodded once. She pointed at the phone in Korra's hand. "Why is my number under the name Samus?" she asked.

Korra looked at her phone before shrugging and putting it back into her pocket. "I changed the name after our trip out karaoking," she answered.

"What does it mean?"

"You're kidding right?" Bolin asked. Asami shook her head before looking in between the two of them. "Samus Aran is the main character from Metorid. She is one of the earliest female characters to be revealed as a main protagonist in a video game."

"So?"

"So? She's a badass who uses power canons and missiles in her missions against space pirates and their leader Ridley," Korra said. Each word carried a tone of disbelief, hinting to Asami that it was something she should have already known. "That's kind of like you. You're an engineer who creates cars and who knows what, and is dealing with two lackeys and a Rika. I thought it was a perfect fit."

Asami cocked her head to the side and frowned. "Is that a good thing?"

"It's a compliment," Bolin reassured her while placing a hand on her shoulder. He then turned his attention back to Korra. "She's cool, but not as cool as Sheik."

"Samus is way better," Korra quickly corrected him.

"Sheik is a princess disguised as a fighter," Bolin challenged.

"If she's so great, she wouldn't play the damsel-in-distress role," she snapped.

"Hence the creation of the character, Sheik!"

"Hey," Mako called out. The three of them jumped at his loud voice. He cleared his throat before rubbing the space between his eyebrows with his knuckles. "We don't have time for this."

"He's right," Opal agreed. "The campus is starting to wake up. You all have to get out of here." She turned toward the firebender and clasped her hands together tightly. "Mako, how bad can things be? How many rules did we break?"

"Let's see: having overnight guests in a dorm room during the week, two of them being male, sneaking into a room, fake ids, and underage drinking," he listed off.

"How much trouble could we get into?" Korra asked.

"Well, given all of the factors, even if we were to explain our side of the story…" he trailed off. Asami, Bolin, Korra, and Opal all leaned closer to him, their eyes wide with hope. They held their breaths waiting for him to finish his sentence. "A lot," he concluded.

"We're going to lose our scholarships," Bolin said to the Avatar. Mako nodded.

"I'm going to get a reputation," Opal whimpered.

"Depending on which way you spin it, that could work in your favor," Korra pointed out. Asami rolled her eyes before slapping the darker girl on the arm. She couldn't help but smile when she watched her pout while rubbing the sore spot.

"I'm going to lose my modeling job," Asami said quietly.

"Well, it's not like you need it," he commented. "Nothing will really happen to you. You don't attend this school."

"I felt left out." She shrugged. "If you don't want me to be empathetic, then fine."

"Okay, fine," Korra said with authority. She went to stand next to Opal at the front of the room. The younger girl quicky moved to Bolin's side and looked at her expectantly. The other three members of the Krew did the same. "We just can't get caught," she stated as if it were simple.

"How?" Opal asked, desperately. "You all will have to leave through the main doors. You can't sneak out the window again, someone is bound to notice."

"No problem," Korra said with an air of reassurance. "I am the man with the plan. Well, woman. I am the wo-man with the plan," she said while puffing up her chest a bit. "Everything will be fine."

Bolin let out a loud groan and clutched his stomach before darting towards the bathroom. A second later, he was emptying his stomach into the toilet. Mako, Opal, and Asami all looked at her, expectantly.

"As long as he can hold it in until we make it outside, we should be good," Korra said. Her smile faded as Bolin, once more, emptied his stomach.

"We're doomed," Mako groaned.

"We should at least try," Asami suggested. "We won't know what will happen until it happens. Besides, I'm sure Korra has a good idea."

Korra rubbed the back of her neck before smiling sheepishly. "My idea is to listen to whatever idea you come up with," she answered.

"Me?"

"You're the smartest one out of all of us, so you probably will have a better plan than we could ever come up with," she answered. Asami smiled at the compliment before bitting her bottom lip and looking over at Opal and Mako. The two stared back at her, waiting for her instruction. Korra placed an arm around her shoulders and jostled her a bit. "So, what are you thinking?"

"I'm going to need a copy of the student handbook," Asami instructed, "and for everyone to clean up this room back to the way it was, and someone get Bolin some water and a banana for his hangover."

"I told you not to eat all of those pineapple chunks," Korra called out. "I got sick just from watching you."

"It was a good idea at the time," he moaned in response.


"This is a stupid idea," Opal said. Sweat broke out on her forehead as she tugged onto the metal handle of the flatbed cart. "We're going to get caught."

"No, we won't," Asami panted. She stood next to Opal and the two of them tugged the cart slowly around the corner of a hallway. "This will work."

"How do you know?" Korra grunted as she ran into the corner of a wall. She rubbed her back and took a step to the side, directing the two other girls to around the corner. She winced as they took too sharp of a turn and caused the back left wheel of the flatbed to run into the wall with a loud thump.

"Science project," Asami answered quickly, refusing to look into her eyes. In a way, it was a science project. She and a few other girls were testing a hypothesis of how to sneak their older boyfriends into RITA to attend a school dance with them. They were able to carry the plan off by hiding the guys on a flatbed cart, (flat on their backs), covering them with piles of long flat cardboard boxes and covering everything with a few extra-long table cloths. They convinced the decorating committee that a few teachers had asked them to set up another table in the room. It worked out since Asami had checked ahead of time that the school commons, the area where students can relax during free period, had a few extra tables in the storage room.

Currently, Mako and Bolin were resting on a flatbed cart underneath Opal's mattress. They covered the mattress with one of Opal's fitted sheets, stretching the corners to cover the entire mattress and to hook onto the corners of the flatbed, causing the only thing to be noticeable is the outline of the mattress itself.

"Hurry up, my stomach is doing well with all of the start and stops," Bolin moaned from underneath the bedding. He and Mako had to hold up the corners of the mattress with their hands and feet to make sure it looked as relatively flat as possible. Also, it made it easier for them to breathe.

"We're almost there Bolin. We're at the front doors," Opal answered. Korra ran around to the back of the flatbed cart before picking it up and easily shifting it to the right so that it was free of the turn. She then ran over and pushed open the two front doors and waited for the automatic hydraulics to kick in, so that the doors automatically fully opened. She then grabbed a hold of the metal cart and easily pulled it along behind her and out of the building.


Lin Beifong scowled heavily as she walked towards Air Hall. She muttered to herself while clenching and unclenching her fists with every step she took. A few students spotted her and quickly ran in the opposite direction. She glared at all of them before stopping in her tracks. She titled her head to the side as she watched Korra, Asami, and her niece, Opal, tugging flatbed cart through the front doors of Opal's dorm building.

The three girls tugged as the cart got stuck onto the metal strip on the ground. Lin grumbled before walking over, counting all of the number of rules they could potentially be breaking on her way. She heard Korra give a soft count of three before all of them pulled at one time. Lin fought back a laugh as the metal handle to the flatbed cart popped out of its placement in the cart's frame, sending the three girls falling onto their backs to the gorund.

Lin walked up and glared down at them. It took a few seconds for the girls to notice since they were too busy rocking in pain. Once Korra spotted metal shoes near her head she quickly rolled herself onto her stomach. Lin metal bent the cart's handle off of them before tossing it a few feet away.

"Morning Chief Crankypants," Korra said from the ground with a salute. "What brings you around?"

"My job," she growled.

Korra nodded in understanding before a light squeaking sound filled her ears. It was then she noticed the flatbed slowly rolling towards the bottom of the small incline. She and Asami looked at each other with wide eyes as Opal watched in horror as it slowly began to pick up speed. Lin stomped her foot into the ground. A small square piece of rock popped up and one of the wheels of the flatbed cart ran into it, causing everything to immediately stop.

"That's got to hurt," Korra mumbled.

"What are you doing?" she barked. Korra got to her feet before helping Opal and Asami up. The three of them looked at each other before back up to the older woman. "Explain yourself."

"We were just…" Opal trailed. She scratched the back of her head, swaying on the balls of her feet. "Moving some of my furniture," she blurted out. Korra and Asami smiled and pointed at the younger girl. "It was time for a change."

"The only piece of furniture you have big enough in your room is your bed and that's Republic's property," she answered.

"We know, but the mattress is hers," Korra added. "We're changing it because it's too lumpy for her back."

Lin nodded slowly before turning her eyes onto Asami. The engineer lifted her chin and bit and pulled her lips into a thin line. Korra had seen that look once before when Asami was on the phone with one of the workers from Future Industries. The Avatar had deduced it was one of her 'business looks' that she had to use from time to time to get people to treat her as an equal instead of a female CEO. "So why is she here and wearing your clothes, Opal?"

Asami cleared her throat. "I came in early before classes to talk to the new art teacher and Korra had texted me asking to help them move the mattress," she said calmly.

"She's the Avatar," Lin said dryly. "She can lift a polar bear dog by herself." Korra couldn't help but puff up with pride at the compliment she had just received. Opal rolled her eyes and pinched her on the back of her elbow.

"True, but what friend would I be to let her overexert herself so easily?" Asami asked.

"It wouldn't have been that much of a problem for me," Korra muttered. Opal pinched her harder. Korra let out a soft cry of pain before rubbing her arm.

"And I lent her my clothes because I didn't want her to ruin hers before she went to her classes at RITA later," Opal added.

Chief Lin Beifong looked down at the three of them with a raised eyebrow. Opal and Asami had to break their eye contact after a few seconds, unable to hold her stern gaze. Korra raised an eyebrow before crossing her arms over her chest. Lin held up two fingers to her eyes before pointing them at Korra. The Avatar sneered before making the same gesture back.

"I'll leave you to it then," Lin said with a sigh. "I was actually on my way to talk to Tenzin, and I was supposed to track you down, Korra, and bring you with me."

"Me? Why? W-why? Why?" Korra asked. Whether or not Lin had heard the slight stammer, they weren't sure as the head of Republic security clasped her hands behind her back before walking over to the cart. She placed a hand on the metal handle before looking over it. "Why don't I help you all with moving your mattress? Where were you planning on taking it?"

"Storage," Opal shouted while Korra answered "the dump", and Asami responded with, "Habitat for Humanity".

Lin nodded once. She took a step back before lifting her foot high into the air. "Uh-oh," Opal muttered as the metal from the bottom of Lin's shoe disappeared into the heel. She then slammed her foot into the ground and closed her eyes. A second later, she straightened up and tugged the sheets from two of the corners of the flat bed. Lin let out a soft grunt as she pushed the mattress up, before glaring down at Mako and Bolin.

"Didn't see that one coming," Asami deadpanned. "Why didn't either of you tell me should do that?"

"I forgot," Korra hissed.

"I'm sure Headmaster Tenzin would love to hear about this one," Lin said with a half-smile. Bolin quickly jumped off of the cart, and scampered to a nearby trash can before throwing up again.


AN: I know, the way I had Opal, Asami, and Korra smuggle Mako and Bolin out of the dorm building is just absurd. In fact, i don't think it's possible and I don't think anyone would fall for it. However, that's what i came up with and it had me howling with laughter as I wrote it so i kept it. Just remember, that this is fan FICTION, so please don't shoot the messenger. Plus, i needed to have at least one chapter that was just humorous enough to break up all of the angst and drama i have going on.

PS - the student handbook will be explained in the next chapter and I figured out how i'm going to bring one of the LOK villains in soon (aside from Kuvira), so get ready for some fight scenes. I can't just have this whole story be only angst, especially since i kept their bending. :)

PPS - This story will now be updated on Mondays. Sometimes, it could be updated twice a week, but expect it to be at least updated on Mondays.

Here is the next chapter's title: It's Okay, Roommate