It was the next day, and Zuko was feeling a lot better than he ever had about the holidays. Maybe it was because he finally got the burden off his chest. He felt like could breathe, and that he had a reason to smile. So he got up the next morning and did something he never did before. He plugged in the Christmas tree. He sat on the couch and watched as the little lights blinked in a pattern and reflected against the different colored bulbs and tinsel. Something in him grew warm just from the sight of the pretty tree. It made him think about Celeste. Yet again she was on his mind! After the day before he was wondering how she was doing. He was worried about her. If she kept up what she was doing her state of health would continue to go down hill and she could end up in intensive care just like his mother had. That was something he couldn't bare to think about. He wanted to let her know that she meant something to him, and that she was beautiful the way she was. The commercial for the Prodigy came on and he looked at it…knowing that deep down there was only one prodigy he wanted, and her name was Celeste.

He was taken from his thoughts when the phone rang again. He walked over to it and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Zuko, we've got a major problem!" Zula said on the other line.

"What is it?"

"It's Celeste."

"What about her?"

"Get over here, fast! I'm at her house." And Zula hung up.

Zuko didn't even think twice and put his coat on and walked out the house. He got into his car and drove off to Celeste's house like a mad man! He even blew a few red lights. The picture of Celeste lying on the floor from malnourishment popped into his head. He grit his teeth and pushed down more on the gas pedal to get to her house quicker. He hoped she was okay. It had to have been serious if Zula called him like that.

He pulled her into her driveway and jumped out of his car and ran up to the door, slipping on the stairs again and almost falling. He rang the doorbell and Zula answered. "Glad you're here. Come quick!" Zula said and she led Zuko up the stairs and into Celeste's room. Zuko bounded through the doorway and looked at Celeste, who was sitting up in bed in a night gown. He didn't understand, she looked fine.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"It's terrible…she has…LARYNGITIS!" Zula cried out and then pounded her fist on a wall out of frustration, "Oh it's terrible!"

"Say what?" Zuko grew upset. He had driven like his mind was bad to get to her house all because she had lost her voice? "You made me leave the house over a simple case of laryngitis?"

"But the state competition is in four days! She won't recover by then! Oh my plan! My beautiful plan! We were going to be rich!" Zula began to sob without tears. Zuko gave his sister a weird look. She was blowing it was out of proportion. Celeste waved and Zuko walked over to her and took a seat on the side of her bed.

"Are you okay?" he asked, and she just nodded. "Can you talk?" and she shook her head.

"Her voice is completely gone! She opens her mouth and nothing comes out!" Zula informed him. Zuko touched her forehead, making Celeste smile over his tender care. Zuko scoffed.

"She's fine."

"What?"

"She has no fever. She lost her voice is all."

"How did she lose her voice?"

"Because you pushed her to sing too much."

"Huh?"

"You made her sing to the point where she damaged her voice." Zuko blames Zula.

"Now she won't be ready for the state competition in four days! What'll we do?"

"There's nothing we can do. She'll have to drop out." Zuko said. Celeste's face grew frightened.

"WHAT? NO WAY!" Zula yelled.

"That's the only option." Zuko told her. Zula groaned and fire came from her fists. "Calm down."

"I can't believe this!" Zula barked. She began to pace back and forth. "Okay, okay, Celeste, drink lots of tea and water, no speaking at all! Your voice might come back." Zuko just gave his sister a bland look and looked back at Celeste who was looking down at her own hands angrily.

"Don't feel guilty. It's not your fault." He said, also hinting to Zula that it was all her fault. Zula growled and left the room.

"I'm leaving. Call me when you get your voice back, Celeste." And she left. Zuko looked at Celeste who just looked up at him for hope.

"Maybe you will get your voice back." Celeste picked up a mug of tea from her night stand and brought it up to her lips and took a sip. Zuko saw that there was no steam coming from it. "Is it cold?" he asked. She nodded; "Here." and he took the mug from her and placed it in his hands. Celeste watched as Zuko warmed his hands using firebending and reheated the tea. Within seconds there was tea coming from the mug. He handed it back to her. "It might be a little hot, so be careful." He said. She took it gratefully and sipped it. "It's a shame that you lost your voice. If it wasn't for Zula pushing you so much you wouldn't be in this state. All she cares about is herself. She's always been like that. She used to like watching out father yell at me. As long as it wasn't her, which it never was, she didn't care." Celeste tilted her head. "Are you going to be okay?" Zuko asked her. She nodded. "Your parents will be back home soon?" and she nodded again. "Good, than I'm going to go. I have some last minute Christmas shopping to do. I'll be there at the competition. I promise." Zuko said with a smile, and she smiled back at him. He winked at her and stood up. He walked to the doorway and then turned back to look at her. She waved and smiled and he did the same and left.

Zuko went to the mall, happy that Celeste wasn't harmed and he shopped without worry. He found some great bargains and spent almost all the money he had in his wallet, including the check that his father had given him. He bought his uncle a set of three tea cups that had fire nation symbols on them and red gems. He knew that his uncle would like it. He thought about getting his father or sister a gift, but then he changed his mind. They weren't giving him anything but a hard life. Zula would be getting a bunch of gifts from their father. Plus the tea kit was expensive enough. So Zuko just bought Christmas cards. He would have never bought his uncle something, let alone Christmas cards for everyone.

On his way out of the mall, he spotted the Prodigy in the window. He walked over to it to look at it. It looked so cool! It said on a sign that you could put it on credit, and he grew excited. He could finally buy the system he wanted. But in the next window he saw something else. It was a jewelry store, and in the window was the exact same necklace that Celeste had wanted! He moved over to it and looked at it. It was very pretty and available on credit too. He knew if he put something on credit he'd have to pay for it the next week, and that meant winning the race…or working his butt of around the house by doing extra chores. He looked at the Prodigy and then back at the necklace, thinking about what to get. And it was a hard choice to make, but he was comfortable with the one that he made.