Here's Chapter 2. It's still not supposed to be the best of my writing. Chapter 3 and on will be a lot better.
Chapter 2
"It seems to me that you have mastered moving the rock so I am going to teach you how to pull pieces of earth from the ground to throw. Understand?" Master Mamoru asked. "I think so," Keiko responded unsurely. "Okay," he said getting ready to perform the move. He stood with his feet spread. His form was solid. His feet were planted to the ground. The expression on his face was that of fierce concentration. He lifted his hands to about eye level. As he did this a large boulder rose out of the ground. This time instead of having his feet together when he sent the boulder flying he took his left foot from behind himpivoted on his right footand stomped his leftfoot on the ground and punched the rock with his left hand sending it flying through the air this time instead of sliding on the ground. But just like before it smashed against the cliff wall into a million tiny pieces. "Now you try," Master Mamoru instructed straightening up. He stepped aside waiting for her.
She stepped up slowly wondering if she'd made the wrong choice. This was all so new to her. She stood exactly as Master Mamoru had. "You need to be solid. Remember that. It's one of the most vital things to remember as an Earthbender. Another thing. You seem very unsure of yourself. Confidence and attitude are also two very important qualities of an Earthbender. Your confidence needs to be rock solid. After you begin to become a more experienced Earthbender you will become more confident. Many of my former pupils were the same way so don't feel like you are alone. Do you understand?" As he finished speaking she let the words sink in. She then thought to herself, Be confident. Be rooted. Be a rock. As she thought this she began the move. Her form was perfect. Her movements were perfect. Almost everything about what she was doing was perfect. The rock started to rise from the ground, but it never broke away from the earth.
She dropped her hands and hung her head in shame. The piece of rock sticking upfrom the ground dropped back into the ground when she dropped her hands."I've failed," she said sadly. "You haven't failed unless you've given up. And don't expect to get every move right the first time. No one is that good. Not even I am," Master Mamoru responded. He gave her a smile. She picked her head up and looked at him. She suddenly felt better. She smiled back and got back into form. This time she was more confident. Still smiling she repeated the steps just as she had done before. This time the rock rose from the ground and broke away, but when she punched at it instead of flying through the air it shattered. "Well, it seems as if you've just learned a defensive move all on your own. Just one thing about that move.The time you will use that move is when fighting another Earthbender.You use the same form and movements though. You just need good timing.I was going to teach this to you next, but I guess I don't need to now. " He laughed. Keiko, determined to master the move by the end of the lesson tried again. This time the rock smashed against the wall just like it was supposed to. "Yes!" Keiko yelled triumphantly. "Good job," he commented with a smile. "Well, that's three moves that you've learned in one day. I think that's enough," he said. "I expect to see you here tomorrow after the regular lessons have ended."
"Yes, Sefu Mamoru," she replied with a bow."And don't tell any of your friends about this. It's our little secret," he smiled and bowed back. She ran off down the trail to that lead to thebottom of the mountain. She made her way as fast as she could down the mountain. She jumped over rocks, down small drops, and slid down steep parts of the trail. Once down the mountain she ran as fast as she could to the village. She made it to the market where she saw Tomo with his mother. When Tomo's mother saw Keiko she waved. "Hi Keiko."
"Hi!" Keiko waved back. She made it through the crowded village to her house. She burst through the front door startling her mother. "Keiko!" she yelled surprised. "TodayIlearnedallaboutEarthbendingandMasterMamorusaidIwasreallygood-and..." Keiko said as fast as she could. "Quiet!" her mother said. "Your father is in the back room talking with Master Mamoru right now."
"Really? What about?" Keiko asked curiously. "I don't know. It seemed important though," she replied returning to patching Keiko's clothes. "I think you should go play until your father is finished talking with Master Mamoru," Michi said without looking up from her sewing. "Okay," Keiko said heading for the door. "Be sure to be back for dinner," Michi told her. "I will," she said walking out. "I mean it this time!" She called after her. "I will!" Keiko called back annoyed. Keiko headed towards were all the boys were playing Hole Ball. Hole ball is a simple game in which the objective is for your team to get the ball and throw it in a hole guarded by the Guard (usually the biggest person on the team). As she walked over she said, "Hi everyone! Do you need an extra player?"
"Yeah," one of the boys said. "You could be an extra for my team."
Extras are the people who replace other players who get hurt or have to stop playing for some reason (her most common position because extras were almost never needed). Awww! she thought. Not again! She sat down next to Tomo. "What did Master Mamoru want to talk to you about?" he asked her. Right as she was about to tell him what happened she remembered what he had said. "And don't tell any of your friends about this. It's our little secret."
"He just wanted me to tell my father something." The game went on and for the first time in a long time someone had to go home because they didn't do their choresso Keiko got to play. She went out and she waited for the round to start. "Oooo look at the tough little girl," one of the boys taunted. " 'Look at me I'm a pretty little girl who wears makeup and dresses,' "the boy mocked. "Why don't you go home and play with dolls like a good little girl," he insulted. The boy and his friends laughed as he continued to mock her. She gritted her teeth together in anger.
The boy who was going to toss the ball up said, "Round up!" and tossed the ball into the air. Everyone on the playing field started running waiting for the boy who caught it to toss the ball to them. This boy was on the team opposite of Keiko. He looked around for someone who was open and spotted the boy who had been making fun of Keiko.She saw this and started running for the boy who had insulted her right as the boy who had the ball threw it to him. As he was about to catch it Keiko jumped. She caught it and started running for the goal. The boy who didn't catch it was outraged so he started running after Keiko. She was dodging people and getting closer to the goal. The boy was gaining fast. Right before he tackled her she jumped as high as she could. He went right under her. She pushed his back with both feet and threw the ball as hard as she could towards the goal. The ball flew right passed the Guard and into thehole as did the boy that tried to tackle her. "We win!" all her teammates yelled picking her up above their heads. The boy glared up at her from the goal and, covered in mud, crawled out. "You were saying?" she asked laughing at the boy.
He stood up and rushed over to Keiko once they put her down. Her back was turned to him sohe walked up to her and pushed her on the ground. "Get up and fight!" he yelled angrily. She got up quickly and punched him in the stomach. Seeing this, everyone encircled them and started chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" The boy stumbled back and straightened up. He lunged at her and suddenly a wall of earth sprang from the ground. Immediately the crowd shushed. "What is going on here!" the familiar voice of Keiko's father yelled. "What are you two thinking!" he bellowed lowering the wall of earth. "He started it!" Keiko yelledaccusingly pointing a finger at the boy. "No I didn't!" he screamed back. "She attacked me!" He yelled. "Get real!" she screamed back. "Quiet!" Shu yelled. They both quieted right away. "I am very disappointed in both of you!" he said angrily. "Especially you, Keiko," he growled. "Dad, come on! He..." she tried to say, but was cut off. "I don't want to hear it, young lady! You go home now and go straight to your room. I'll deal with you later." he said. "But..."
"Now!" he boomed. He turned to the boy. "I'll bet your mother will be delighted to hear what you've been up to today." Keiko turned and started walking away. She looked at Tomo and his expression read, I feel sorry for you. Keiko looked away and continued walking home. As she walked she looked at the mountain in the back of the town. A small light shined off of the mountain and right in her face. She tried to see what it was, but it was too far away. She decided it was nothing and continued home. How could he do this to me! Keiko thought as she angrily kicked a rock down the street. I was just defending myself. She began to ponder what kind of punishmentshe was going to recieve. A whipping? A grounding? Or the worst of them all. Extra chores. She shuddered and walked through the front door and went straight to her room. She sat down on her chair and put her hands on her chin and her elbows on her knees. Aw well. It was worth showing that kid that girls aren't weakor inferior. She smiled and waited for her father to come home. After about five more minutes of waiting her bedroom door opened and her father came in. She stood up and said, "Dad it's not my fault I was just..." He put up his hand for her to stop. She stopped and sat back down. "I talked to some of the other kids and they told me he had been bullying you and it was just self-defense," he told her. Whewww. She thought in relief. "So I'm not in trouble?" she asked hopefully. "Well not exactly," he said. Uh oh. She thought, all relief vanishing. "You just have to make peace with Jiang."
"What!" she yelled jumping upin surprise. "I'm not making peace with that jerk!" she yelled again. "I knew you'd say that," Shu said. "Okay I'll make this decision easier for you. You have to do extra chores until you do."
"I'll do it," she said without hesitation. I knew that would work. Shu thought as he led Keiko to Jiang's house. This punishment might not have been so bad for some of you, but Keiko's dad knew that extra chores were the best way to punish her. Jiang's house was two houses over so it wasn't that long of a walk. It was also the biggest house in the whole village so it was more than noticeable. Shu knocked on the door and Jiang's mother answered it. Keiko was looking down. Jiang's mother gave Keiko a dirty look then looked up at Shu. "Yes?" she asked in the most fake sweet voice ever. "Keiko has come over here to say something to Jiang," Shu answered. "Okay. Jiang!" she called to her son. "I'm coming, Mother," he called back. Once he made it to where his mother was he whispered, but still loud enough for them to hear, "What does SHE want?"
"She has something she wants to say to you," his mother replied just as snoodily as he had asked. Jiang's father was the richest man in the whole village so the whole family was a bunch of snoods. Keiko hesitated and so Shu told her, " Go on." He nudged her. "Sorry," she said quickly andwithout the faintest hint of remorse in her voice. "What are you sorry for?" Shu asked her. "Sorry for..." Before she said "for fighting with you" or "for pushing you in the mud" she smiled, looked up at him and said, "For kicking your butt." Shu nudged her again so she sighed and rephrased it. "For fighting with you, being mean to you, taunting you and pushing you in the mud," she muttered through her teeth. "Shake hands." Shu urged her again. "Dad, I know," she whispered in annoyance. She shook hands with him. He smiled a fake, snoody smile, exactly like his mothers, and his mother slammed the door.
After a couple seconds they started walking home. "Well, I can't blame you for beating that kid up," he smiled at her. She laughed and smiled back as they walked home. They walked through the front door to their house and saw Michi cooking dinner. She walked over and stood next to Shu. He sighed. "We have something we need to tell you," he told her. This time he was serious. "I think you should sit down," he told Keiko. She sat down and her parents right after her. "I talked to Master Mamoru today and he said that he started giving you private lessons because of your amazing skill," he sighed again andthen said, "I'll just get right to the point. He says that you need a better teacher than him so he wants you to train at the Earthbending Academy in Ba Sing Se'." Keiko's mouth dropped open in amazement. "Wha... what?" she said still dazed. "This is the most amazing thing ever!" she said standing up in excitement. She started laughing and so Shu finished and said, "He said that if you go to the academy you can never come back." Immediately she stopped and said, "Huh?" Michi started crying. "If you go to the Academy you can never come back here." Keiko asked, "What did you say?"
"We said yes."
"But what about my life. My friends. My family," Keiko asked, her voice wavering."Whycan't I ever come back if I go to the Academy?" she asked, tears streaming down her face. "Because it will be a new place. You are going to haveto start over. Master Mamoru said to do this we can never see you again. We want you to have the liffe we didn't so we said yes," Shu saidtrying to hold back his tears.Keiko looked from her mother to her father and then burst into tears and ran out the front door. Blinded bysadness she didn't even see where she was going. She went up the mountain she had seen the shining light on. She ran up and climbed higher and higher. She finally stopped near the top and fell to her knees and started yelling, "I don't want to do this! Why did they say yes! Why! I was happy! I don't want to go!" She then heard a voice that said, "What was that?"
"I don't know," another voice answered. Keiko stopped crying and started backing up. Suddenly someone grabbed her arms and said, "Spying on us are you, little girl?" Theytied her hands behind her back (very badly by the way. FireNationsoldiers are horrible at tieing knots) and started dragging her op the mountain.She turned her head around while they dragged her and noticed that the two men were soldiers. She lookedat the strange shape of their helmetsand noticed they weren't just any soldiers. She gasped. They're Fire Nation Soldiers!
Well there you have it. Chapter 2. Leave a review!