"Watch where you're going, Twinkle-Toes!"

Aang had only been standing at the rail for a few minutes, but yelped as a small fist punched him from the side. He instantly stepped back and saw a group of kids his age make their way into the open green field. The kids wore large traditional Earthbender helmets, some wore shoulder pads... and a few of them even had decorative black marks below their eyes for ferocity.

The littlest one – the one who had punched Aang out of the way – seemed so thrilled on the game ahead that he (or she?) didn't even look at the airbender for a "thank you." Those black paint marks under the eyes were just enough to tell Aang he didn't care.

Momo was up exploring the nearby trees of the playing field, and Ms. Li had just left Aang there to fend for himself, advising him to change out of his regular clothes for gym wear during those last few minutes before the class ended. The boy did as he was told, and was slowly getting accustomed to the thick shoulder pads that were practically swallowing his neck. It was a wonder that he'd been able to put on his helmet.

Mr. Bumi had been out there dismissing the first period students from an hour's long game that Aang had never heard of before: Football. From what Aang saw in those short minutes, Mr. Bumi (despite his old, crazy-looking demeanor) definitely took the sport seriously... and he did not hesitate to Earthbend the ground into a trembling obstacle for the kids now and then.

From what Aang could tell, there were only boys out playing in the field, and some of them took great advantage of their Earthbending ability to alter the ground and create scrimmaging obstacles for the others. It was amusing, really, seeing the non-Earthbenders jump through last-minute hills and dodge flying rocks in order to throw a football to a player. There was a Firebender out there, apparently, trying to ignite a hoop just as the football-holder was leaping to mid-air... but Mr. Bumi quickly extinguished the hoop with rubble and blew the whistle.

"Bad sportsmanship, Hide! If you're going to play with fire, be sure to warn your opponent first!"

The sulky firebender named Hide threw his fists down, and the football-carrier (a young man with a mustache) landed safely on the ground breathing from the sudden intense heat. It wasn't a few seconds before he regained himself and began to play again as if nothing happened.

Aang was tugging uncomfortably in his gym wear, yet he couldn't hold his excitement... this was his Physical Education class? His heart was jumping joyously at the thrill.

His head turned slightly to the left as he heard voices of numerous girls talking and laughing at a smaller, more intimate field. His silver eyes instinctively searched for any sign of a girl with pretty loops in her hair... but as he realized... most of the girls were dressed out of their school colors and were wearing heavy traditional make-up!

It must've been a gym class custom or something... a handful of the girls wore these beautiful commemorations of Avatar Kyoshi... one of the boy's past lives, whom Monk Gyatso had told him about on many occasions. They were practicing what looked like a combination of martial arts and dance movements, sporting some stylish fans that turned gracefully with their wrists.

Other girls were present there too, Aang noticed, as he watched one determined-looking woman practice her Firebending dart precision against a rather obscurely pale and beautiful opponent, who would leap and throw wooden darts on the Firebender's direction. Both girls seemed equally agile in their abilities... because they both would dodge each other's offenses with such graceful precision, it was almost like a dance itself.

The pale opponent's silky black hair swept left and right, dodging those flames with the most unafraid, expressionless face.

"Loosen that grip of yours, Mai... Good, Azula! Excellent posture!" came the prone, velvety voice of a female coach that observed the duel. She was an elderly, fragile-looking woman with long white hair, whose decades of life had given her a hunched back. Nevertheless, her voice kept the girls focused in the fields.

As the girl Firebender launched flaming darts with her hands, Aang could easily spot gritted teeth of fury that came with her small grin, even from his fair distance.

Now, the boy knew he would someday be the Avatar. He understood the fact that the Avatar must someday acknowledge his greatest fears and learn to face them... but as he watched the deadly determination of that girl... Aang didn't know how he'd feel about facing a Firebender like her in a duel.

As he kept staring at the fierce woman intriguingly, Aang hoped that he never would.

Without a moment's warning, the Firebender's eyes had shifted dangerously over to Aang's direction... as if through the gut instinct that somebody had been watching her. Aang's face suddenly felt ablazed from the stern look that the girl had thrown at him for a moment, and his body seemed to freeze itself with that nervousness and fear of getting caught in the act.

Suddenly, the gong sounded again, and the boy's eyes blinked, turning his head quickly back to the football field. As the first period students were leaving the fields to get to their next class, Aang encountered a familiar face in the crowd of exhausted kids. His skinny limbs walked as if he had not had a drink of water in three days.

"Good game out there, huh?" the young man with the mustache laughed sincerely, as he patted Sokka on the shoulder for good sportsmanship. Sokka just grunted annoyingly as the young man passed and ran towards the building.

"Sokka! It's me, Aang!" the young Airbender called out happily, hoping the kid would recognize him through the thick shoulder-padding.

"Uuughhh..." came Sokka's reply, from all of those intense drills he had to go through that morning. He slowly tried to flex an arm muscle as he walked near Aang. "I think I just lost an arm...ow!"

Aang winced. "Is it really that bad? You all looked like you were having fun."

"Fun!?" Sokka gave those bulging eyes another go, but Aang was ready for them. "Maybe it's fun for Benders, but I was running for my life out there... jumping, getting trampled on...ow!"

Sokka was massaging his right arm, but it just seemed to make the pain feel worse. Aang let out a small laugh.

"Maybe he just wants you to get in shape?" Aang attempted as a funny afterthought.

Immediately, Sokka's look of pain vanished and gave the boy a strong look of annoyance.

"For your information, I happen to be in completely perfect shape..." Sokka paused and thought for a moment, looking at his biceps."Well okay... maybe I could use a little more push-ups... ow!... but besides that--"

"Hey Sokz!" came a voice from afar. "Quit being melodramatic and come on! We're gonna be late for History..."

One of the older girls with bright colorful make-up had called out to the skinny boy, and Aang couldn't really tell which one of them had spoken up. They all had the same make-up and uniforms on, and were heading back into the Gothic school building for their second period class.

Aang did notice that whoever had called for Sokka had made that annoyed, overdramatic skinny kid show a hint of a blush on his cheeks.

"I'll be right there, Sukz!" the young man shouted back, and Aang saw one of the girls distinctly smile and lag behind the crowd of girls.

He was beginning to walk away, but Aang had to ask: "So... the girls don't play Football?"

"Nah, are you kidding?" Sokka was snorting a laugh, but stopped suddenly when he saw the stern look that Suki had thrown at him. "I mean... they can if they want to, but they're the lucky ones who get to dance and do flips, or practice their Bending... while we manly men try to kill each other."

Suki rolled her eyes as Sokka shouted those last words at her directions, but she smiled and shook her head in amusement.

"Oh, wait!" Sokka suddenly recalled something, and turned back to Aang.

"You're new, right? Okay, I strongly... strongly advise you not to mess with Toph out there." His voice went down almost into a whisper, then. "For the love of meat, do not call her a little girl! And don't make fun of her boyfriend!"

"Huh? Why?" Aang was about to add 'who's her boyfriend?', but he mentally was recalling the voice that called him Twinkle-Toes, and how it faintly reminded him of a young girl's.

"Let's just say she takes it personally...Ow!" Sokka had successfully staggered over to meet with the lovely Suki, whom had playfully smacked him over the head. He didn't say anything else (except whimper like an injured puppy) as he and the girl laughed and quickly headed to the building for their next class.

Aang turned his head back out into the playing field, and noticed how Mr. Bumi gesturing to the newcomer, to meet up with the other players in the field.

"Hah, well I see that someone will need to grow into that uniform this year..." came the wacky man's greeting to Aang. "Welcome of Praying Mantis! And please... call me Coach Bumi. Mister just makes me feel old."

The Airbender just smiled with a "no problem!" and leapt over the rail to meet up with his new playmates. He was thankful that not all the grown-ups were like Vice Principal Zhao.

He ran with the heavy shoulder pads bouncing on his frame, and Aang noted the other young faces wearing helmets around him, with the mixture of smiles and stern faces that welcomed him to their friendly football game.

Aang's excitement never left him. This is going to be just like Air Dodgeball, he thought, but much MUCH cooler!!!

After he introduced himself to the group and to Coach Bumi, the man asked him, "So, Aang, are you a proud Earthbender?"

The boy's eyes widened, unprepared, realizing how tricky that question was. Well, considering he was the Avatar-in-Training... how could he answer that truthfully without revealing his awkward identity to a group of judgmental kids?

"Um, I... I'm trying to be the best Earthbender I can be..." the boy's shaken voice attempted, his mind fully establishing the fact that he was ONLY an Earthbender from now on.

"Pssh, whatever, Twinkle Toes," the smallest player commented amusingly under the shade of her helmet, breaking a certain silence. "You're toasted."

Other kids chuckled, but Aang nevertheless laughed along with them, because he remembered that girl's voice well. Yep, it was definitely Toph, and he was ready to prove how great of an Earthbender he could be.

It wasn't until after Coach Bumi reviewed the rules, and lined up Aang as the opposing tackler to Toph... that the boy realized something else. This girl was blind. How in the world could he tackle a girl who couldn't even see or defend herself? More importantly... what was she doing in a dangerous game like Football?

"Wait! Coach!" Aang nervously called out, just as Bumi was about to commence the game with his hand. "I...I don't think I'm ready to tackle yet..."

"Aw," came Toph's teasing girlish voice. "Is Twinkle Toes a scared little chick-lizard?"

The boy frowned a rare glance at her, hearing a small bit of laughter from the other kids. This is crazy, he thought. He was being humiliated by a blind girl, and the worst part was that if he left he would be a coward, and if he tackled her... well... there was just something terribly wrong about that.

The Avatar must understand that the most difficult task may eventually bring the greatest rewards, came the voice of Monk Gyatso once again. Aang was mentally panicking.

But as he continued to look at Toph's fearless, determined face, the boy stood his ground and made his decision. "Nevermind, Coach. I'm good."

Coach Bumi smiled, with his left eye twitching involuntarily as he raised his arms up again.

"Earthbenders, SHIELD!"

Immediately, Toph – along with a handful of other players behind her - stomped the ground once and summoned mounds of rock and gravel to infuse onto their bodies. Aang's jaw dropped in awe, and he caught the notion that the ones who didn't infuse rock were the NonBenders... the ones who wore the extra shoulder-padding for safety.

"Non-EarthBenders, TAKE YOUR POSITIONS..."

Aang kept himself firmly on the ground, locating the football-carrier of his team on his right side. As his arms went in front of him for the tackling pose, the boy breathed calmly, staring at Toph with sincere effort.

But then a small figure at the corner of his eye caught Aang's attention.

It was the moment after he noticed the girl's hair loops, and how she was waving at him from the distance... that Coach Bumi blew his whistle to commence the game.