Aang fought hard to rid himself of the butterflies in his stomach, as he approached the dark office of Vice Principal Zhao.

"Have a seat, young man," the overpowering figure said to him, in a voice that was anything but friendly. The boy noticed the sinisterly red tapestries and ancient maps that hung behind the man's desk, and how they strangely contrasted to the brightness of the rest of the place.

There was a small fireplace that stood on the right side of the office, and Aang's eyebrows thought why in the world a person needed a fireplace in a school office. Was this man a firebender? And even so... didn't he just punish that other kid for firebending inside school property? Questions seemed to come at him from all directions, and in the back of his mind, Aang felt the light laughter of a girl with loops on her hair...

"So," the man named Zhao placed a rough hand on his beard to study the boy with the blue arrow, "Let me guess... our Principal, Avatar Roku invited you to attend our school this year?"

"Um..." Aang wasn't sure if this was a trick question, but he tightened his stomach to keep his voice from shaking. "Th-that's right, sir."

"Damn it..." Zhao muttered under his breath, as if the boy had disappeared from the room. "Why doesn't he tell me these things?"

He slammed an enraged fist down on his desk, and Aang flinched to the edge of his seat, utterly terrified. Suddenly, the Vice Principal realized who he had been cursing to, and regained himself in his professionalism... but his eyes still carried a certain flame of disgust.

"Alright, fine then," the man exclaimed, more to the air in front of him rather than to Aang. "If he's going to try to make my life a living hell, then so be it..."

Aang's eyebrows arched confusingly, trying to make sense out of what the Vice Principal was exclaiming to him. By the look of his scrunching, purple face... it seemed that this man was planning to start a war!

"...Ha! Let him bring ten thousand airbenders to this school, and I'll show him who can run this school..."

Vice Principal Zhao had his nails clamping the very delicate wood of his desk, staring at the boy menacingly as if he were going to eat him alive.

"Sir?" Aang attempted, his knees shaking with fear. "I– I promise that I won't be any trouble... Monk Gyatso would kill me if I made a bad impression on--"

"Monk Gyatso?" The man caught the name like a small fish to a serpent. "...from the Southern Air Temple?"

"Yes, sir. He's my mentor," the boy spilled as much information as he could, hoping that the man would stop sneering at him.

Strangely, the man did not seem to be unhappy with this answer, and Zhao raised himself back to his side of the desk, with a thoughtful-yet-skeptical glance to the boy.

"Of course..." Zhao wondered out loud, "so you're not just another airbender, then. You're the avatar in training..."

Aang nodded nervously, taking hold of one of his arms for warmth in that cold stare. His mind went back to those pretty blue eyes that had studied him not so long ago...

"Well, that is something we'll both have to keep in mind then, won't we? Now that you're matriculating into a regular educational institution..." Zhao began to put some random papers together on his desk, sitting himself down as if anew, and looking at the boy with dangerous grin.

"I'll let you know right now, Mr. Avatar, that I take pride in the culture of my school... and being the medium to the spiritual world does not mean that the rules don't apply to you as well..."

Zhao took a small, thick pamplet from his drawer and practically tossed it over his desk for the boy to catch clumsily.

"I suggest you start reading the Praying Mantis Code of Conduct the second you are dismissed from my office. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes, sir!" Aang abided, holding that pamphlet to his chest as if his life depended on it.

Just then, as if the Vice Principal had been warming himself up for this during the entire meeting... his voice broke into a long, tireless recitation of certain regulations that Aang devastatingly tried to catch with his ears. The man got up and walked in a slow pace behind his desk, while his firm voice kept talking.

"You will have six periods of class each day, consisting of Mathematics, History, Science, Physical Education, Literature, Cultural Enrichment... as well as one elective, one study hall, and one half hour for Lunch. You may provide your own lunch if you so wish, since I'm well aware that airbenders are under a strict, regulated diet. How very convenient..."

Aang took that comment quite personally and dared to frown a little, but the man dismissed it and continued to speak once again...

"There is no running along the school hallways, no straw-chewing during passing periods, absolutely no public displays of affection, you must always arrive to your classes before the second gong, pets are not allowed on school property--"

"What?" Aang struggled to question that rule, thinking about Momo.

"You heard me correctly, Mr. Avatar" the man replied, with a hint of sarcasm.

"But... but Momo's my friend..." the boy was desperate, hugging that pamphlet with all his might. "Could I please talk to Principal Roku about--"

"Absolutely not!" It was as if Zhao's life purpose had ultimately been threatenedor insulted by hearing those words, and Aang held his breath nervously, not daring to finish his question.

"I'm the one who sets the ground rules here, young man," Zhao stated in a hiss. "Don't even think about challenging them."

"Then... then would it be okay if he stayed outside the school? Could I see him during lunch?"

The man winced and rolled his eyes at the young boy, clearly trying to find way out of this regulation. He was utterly getting tired of this ridiculous argument. "Very well."

Those words seemed to bring back a glimmer of hope in the airbender's eye, and Vice Principal Zhao could not feel more disgusted by it. He took another long breath and added more important rules to his speech, then.

"I will not allow weapons of any kind to enter into my school, and all lockers will go through a random checking procedure a few times throughout the year. All students will be under a strict dress code consisting of khaki pants, black shoes, white or black polo shirts, and long-sleeved button down shirts. They may also choose to wear their proud nation's colors: red and black for Fire, blue and white for Water, green and brown for Earth, and... oh I don't know... yellow, orange and dark gray for Air."

The boy nodded, involuntarily checking his own clothes to make sure that he was on dress code. Zhao stopped his pacing then, suddenly moving his interest towards the airbender's blue arrow on his forehead, as well as the arrows visible on his hands.

"Tattoos," the man hissed, "are strictly forbidden, and will not be seen during school hours. They are to remain concealed by a hat or a bandana for the remainder of the academic year."

Aang's eyes widened at that, moving a hand up to touch his bald head and the proud arrow that marked him as a young airbender. "But I... they're... they're a part of my culture!"

"Young man, that's an old excuse for me," Zhao scoffed almost with amusement. "Do you have any idea how many students would want to go off and get tattoos of their own, if I let one ridiculous airbender reveal his markings?"

The boy could believe what was happening. He wasn't allowed to airbend, or allowed to show his blue arrows... it was like all of a sudden his own proud identity could not be recognized by the school! The kids could look at his clothing colors, the way that he ate, and just see him as a strange kid from a foreign place... and Aang didn't think to positively about that.

As it turned out, the boy did not fight this regulation for very long... because he realized that all he had to do was dress up in dark khaki pants, wear a white collared shirt, eat a bowl of fruit for lunch, and maybe... just maybe, he'd fit in with the rest of the students. That's all he had to do, and they wouldn't see him as an odd airbending little kid... or even worse... a future great and powerful Avatar.

"Yes, sir, I understand," Aang complied, with a slight bit of sadness, yet determination in his voice.

Almost immediately, Vice Principal Zhao nodded his head and took out something else from one of his drawers. Slowly, he revealed a long piece of dark red fabric, which Aang assumed would become his head bandana for the day. With a slight bit of hesitation, the boy reached out and accepted it, wrapping it around his entire crown in a tight not.

"Excellent," the man concluded, and sat back in front of his desk, jotting a small note on a piece of paper. He seemed to write rather quickly, because the next thing Aang knew, he had handed the boy the paper, and there on his hand was his class schedule for the year:

Mathematics - Mr. Pakku

Physical Education - Mr. Bumi

History - Ms. Ursa

LUNCH

Literature - Mr. Jeong Jeong

Study Hall

Science - Mr. Mechanist

Cultural Enrichment - Ms. Wu

"Now..." the vice principal continued after a few seconds. "The first period is due to finish up shortly, so I'll let Miss Li escort you out to the fields for your second period class with Mr.Bumi."

"Okay, well thanks for everything, Vice Principal Zo– Zhao. Sir!" Aang tried to save himself from embarrassment and severe punishment, as the man looked at him square in the eye.

They both got up from their seats and walked back over to the entrance door. As Zhao opened it again, Aang felt the warm welcoming of a bright light, and he couldn't help but breathe it in.

"I advise you not to forget about the most important rule of all..." Zhao began to say as a warning.

"Oh I know..." Aang was willing to take a deep breath and make a last good impression on the Vice Principal. "...there's no bending allowed inside the school, right?"

Although the man did not seem to think highly of it, Aang was happy when he saw him nod once as a response. He looked over at Miss Li still seated at her secretary's desk and said, "please take Mr.Avatar out into the fields for his Physical Education class--"

The boy winced; he could not bear to hear himself be regarded as Mr. Avatar for the entire length of the school year, and he had to say something...

"Sir?"

The man threw a harsh look at the boy, wondering how the boy dared to interrupt him.

"I... I just wanted to say..." the boy shut his eyes tightly. "Couldyoupleasejustcallme Aang?"

Zhao couldn't feel more annoyed, and yet the secretaries Lo and Li looked as delighted as ever. The man sighed and didn't say a word, but Aang knew far too well from Monk Gyatso that in a respectable figure's language, that would always mean a 'yes.'

"Miss Li... please escort Aaaaang over to the outdoor practice fields for his Physical Education class in a few minutes."

"My pleasure, Mr. Vice Principal!" came Li's jolly little response, and after one last disgusted look at the new student, Zhao shut his office door tightly.

Momo was still seated properly on a chair, waiting for his friend, and stared oddly at the knew bandana that Aang was sporting. The boy sighed and looked down at the Code of Conduct for reassurance of what he had to study. His first homework assignment ever.

Even if he couldn't be with him throughout the entire day, Aang was glad that he would be able to see his winged lemur at some part of the day. It made the whole concealment of his identity not seem that bad.

The boy smiled hopefully, as he couldn't wait to run into that pretty girl named Katara again.