"Excuse me. Please, excuse me... is it up yet?"

Aang struggled to push his way into the crowd that Monday morning, cursing himself on how the Avatar's philosophy stated to be patient and polite with those around him, by all means. He didn't even finish his breakfast meeting with Monk Gyatso, on the excuse that he really, really wanted to be the first to know which parts he and Katara had received for The Tale of Omashu... and if fate were on his side... he desired so much to tell her the news.

Too bad the school's bulletin board was located inside the busiest courtyards of the school, and too bad Aang had already established himself as being just an amateur Earthbender, instead of having the open air let him glide above all the students towards the front. Aang couldn't remember a stronger time when he'd wished to be taller. Even by an inch.

He barely slept that entire weekend, meditating... imagining how wonderful it would be if the opportunity came, to kiss the pretty waterbender he had been so lucky to meet.

"Aang, you won't believe it... I'm Eastern Warrior #2!"

Sokka's face was beaming as he excitingly pushed the familiar airbender out of the crowd, hugging him with his lanky arms. Aang would've returned the hug immediately, had he not been too disappointed about getting pushed further away from the cast list.

"And Suki's the Wife of Eastern Warrior #2. I'm telling you... it's fate." The young water tribesman could not keep the smile from disappearing from his face.

"That's great, Sokka," the boy smiled and tried to breathe at the same time. "Um... did you happen to see my name on there?"

"Aw man... I was so excited, I totally forgot to look..." Sokka scratched his head embarrassingly, with a slight blush in his cheeks. "But hey, I'm gonna go find Suki and tell her the news! I can't wait!"

Aang sighed as the young man left out of the courtyard, then turning around to face the massive crowd of kids waiting to see their names on the list. He had no idea there were so many people interested in the-a-tre at this school, and as his eyes took note of the dozens of girls and boys clumped around the billboard, Aang's hopes of finding his name and Katara's name at the very top of the list had dwindled.

But then again, he thought... perhaps he and she would be Eastern Warrior and Wife #1? Aang cheeks began to warm themselves up again as he made his way into the crowd. That wouldn't be too bad.

As he pushed deeper into each layer of kids, the boy's heart began to beat fast, overhearing the comments that other students were making around him...

Aang? Who's Aang?

Isn't he the kid with the red bandana in Toph's class?

Wait, the tennis player and the new kid gets the leads this year? Pssh... Haru's crazy.

Aang fought the urge of leaping above the crowd in airbending style in order to hide the amount of excitement that was brewing in him. All he needed was proof... names on the list written in black and white... that everything he heard was not his imagination simply playing tricks on him.

Finally, with a short stumble to the front of the billboard, he breathlessly read through the names on the cast list with an index finger... skimming through the entire list twice before stopping to look at the two names at the very top:

The Tale of Omashu

-directed by Haru

Shu... Aang

Oma... Katara

"WOOOOOHOOOOO!" The boy had never felt more up in the air than that moment, feeling all the blood rush through his body to almost make his limbs dance uncontrollably. Kids were turning their heads at the kid who must've been Aang, seeing him tap his feet with much enthusiasm, but he didn't care. He could have had small rocks thrown at him, but Aang wouldn't have felt a thing, because all he could feel were the sweet, gentle lips of a girl who'd claimed his heart with her radiant blue eyes.

"Yep, that's me! Aang, the Eastern Warrior loverboy! Thank you, Spirits of the Universe!!"

"Aang, who are you talking to?"

The boy opened his eyes to find none other than the girl of his dreams, staring back at him amusingly. A hand was holding her cheek shyly, distracted by this young boy's antics to even look over to the list and understand his excitement. Suddenly, just looking at Katara's pretty lips and her gazing eyes made the boy ultimately to nervous to continue his happy dance, and he stopped in mid-stance, laughing himself back to normal. He gestured for her to check the cast list, too bashful to say anything out loud.

He noticed how some students crowded near them were whispering, giggling a little, as they saw the two leads of their school play have an awkward silence with one another. Katara's eyes rose surprisingly, then skeptically, but it wasn't until Aang watched her blush and smile over to him, that the boy knew she was just as excited as he.

"Wow!" Katara went over to Aang and hugged him, still adjusting to the shock. "I... I didn't think that... what was Haru thinking?"

"You're going to be a great Oma, Katara." Aang nodded to her as their hug parted.

"But I've never acted before in my life!" Katara was still blushing, playing a little bit with her hair to hide the numerous thoughts running through her head. She couldn't meet Aang's eyes, then. "I was just expecting a small part... but not... not the lead."

"Hey, this is new for me, too, but it'll be fun!" Aang kept his voice sincere and comforting, seeing how Katara had suddenly fallen under a lot of stress."I think we'll be great together."

Aang felt his hopeful heart practically skip a beat, smiling. The crowd of kids were still giggling at the two young actors, but Aang stuck his tongue out comically at them, all of a sudden feeling that he had all the power in the world... not caring what other kids thought about him.

Katara laughed at that, and Aang's eyes glistened admiringly at them. It was like all of a sudden, these two people had grown closer by the matter of seconds they stood there, seeing a simple cast list posted on the board. With a slow breath to calm herself down, Katara then shook her head amusingly, letting the blush fade from her cheeks.

"So the first cast meeting's today after school?" She said, clearly wanting to change the subject. "I have to talk to Haru about this... I usually have Water Tennis practice after school."

Aang's eyes suddenly lost their glimmer. "What? You mean you can't make it to the meeting?"

"Well, no... Water Tennis takes up a lot of my time after school. I'm going to try and balance both things out... but yikes... I mean do I get an understudy or anything?"

"A what?" the boy looked confused, but Katara immediately checked the list again. Aang watched her finger run through it sadly.

"Oh yeah, here! On Ji's playing a Villager, and she's also my understudy! She'll be around whenever I can't make it to practice."

Aang blinked. On Ji? That name must have slipped through his finger, but as he approached the bottom of the list, there it was... also written in black and white.

Villager, Oma u/s... On Ji

Did this mean that, if something happened, he'd have to kiss another girl he barely even knew? No way... he thought. Although it was the Avatar's philosophy that told him to not judge others without getting to know them, Aang could not help but see On Ji as the enemy to his desire. Only she had the power to prevent him from kissing Katara, and to the boy's mind, that was worse than any deadly deed.

Out of instinct, Aang checked the list to see if he himself had an understudy, and indeed he did.

Eastern Warrior #4, Shu u/s... Kuzon

Not only was Aang gradually learning more and more about the-a-tre and its system, but he felt secure to know that if something happened with Katara's dedication to the play, Aang would not feel so ashamed to quit as well. After all... he was only doing this to be close to the lovely girl with hairloops, right?

"Don't worry, I'll tell you what you missed in the meeting." Aang said humbly to Katara, and she grinned a 'thank you' to him, right as the first class gong sounded from the school grounds.

"Oh!" Katara flinched, remembering something else. "I forgot; I have to find Zuko before first period... sorry Aang. But yeah, please let me know how the meeting went!"

Aang's ears caught the name Zuko like a clash of thunder as it passed the girl's lips, and his face saddened slightly, realizing that their time have been cut short. He remembered that boy well, coming out of Vice Principal Zhao's office that first day... but the boy refused to wonder why Katara had promised to meet with him that day.

But the boy was still hopeful... he could practically see the opening night of the play already, kissing Katara without any trace of hesitation. It was the Avatar's code of honor to not take things with pride, nor with any sense of envy towards another human being... but the boy's feelings were so hopeful in that moment, and fate had been on his side... Aang could only see a standing ovation ahead of him.

"What's the matter with you, Twinkle Toes? Be rock-like!"

Gym class had barely started, and Aang's thoughts about Katara and Zuko had taken themselves into an unimaginable level. He wondered if it was just talking that Katara had done... or if it involved her lips pressing close to Zuko's in a very intimate way. No... he thought... it couldn't be. Zuko, the estranged, sulky kid with the scar? He didn't deserve to breathe the same air as Katara, much less be close to her...

"OW!" Aang felt a fist-sized rock hit him across the shoulder, looking over at Toph as she stood, as if waiting for him to attack her in a menacing way.

"What's with you today? You're letting me beat you faster than usual."

Aang sighed and caressed his shoulder though the thick padding he wore. "Nothing... I just... I was just thinking about that pop quiz that Mr. Pakku gave us in Math class– "

"Kid, what did I say about lying?" Toph clicked her tongue with disappointment, amazed how she didn't even need her Earthbending to see through this kid's hesitancy. "Aw... do you have a crush on a girl?"

Aang blinked. How in the world was she so good?

"I sure hope it isn't me. Blegh." Toph made a disgusted face, and laughed as she fused more gravel onto her body to approach Aang menacingly. "Though I'd sure like to see Teo kick your butt over me, fighting for me. You manly men and your fights..."

Toph aggressively approached Aang as a boulder without any remorse, but the boy grit his teeth in his calm, yet very stressed-out manner.

"It's–not–you, Toph," he managed to say between his struggling grip, part of him trying to avoid any further conversation about the matter. Slowly, he made a quick shove forward and managed to give the rough girl somewhat of a challenge.

"Hah, so there is someone you like." Toph snickered, stomping with a foot to let the gravel collapse back to the ground. "Don't worry, I won't press you on it."

Aang felt a rush of relief then, knowing full well that if Toph really wanted to know, she would definitely, physically push him until he said something. "Thanks."

"No sweat, Twinkle Toes," the girl wiped the remaining gravel from her shoulders, and got her feet in an Earthbending position, ready to stomp some flying boulders at Aang. "But just to warn you... love is really overrated."

"What? But wait a minute... you, and Teo..."

"I know I know..." Toph blushed and stuck her tongue, immediately stomping her foot and elevating a rock in front of her, "...but he and I don't make the center of our universe."

Aang narrowed his eyes and managed to leap over the rock as it came at him, letting his weight sit on the elevated rock and promptly shoving it back to solid ground with his body. Toph laughed, impressed at how this kid's had such quick study, but a lousy soft side.

"Hey, what makes you think it's the only thing I think about?" Aang questioned her, standing up from the rock in straight posture.

"Kid, I don't even have to look at you... I can practically hear it in your voice." Toph stomped another small rock for elevation, kicking it immediately with less of a warning to the boy. Aang took in a breath and dodged it by ducking his upper body.

"Ow," Apparently it hit one of the other Earthbender players from behind, and Toph quickly shouted a 'sorry, dude!' to the young man.

Aang took in another breath and looked at Toph with frustrated eyes. He wanted to admit that he did not think about Katara all the time, but as he looked back at his first week of school... how his words would stutter every time he saw her pass by the hallways, how he almost choked on his rice milk when she asked him how he liked the school so far, and how his answer to Mr. Jeong Jeong's definition of onomatopoeia was "the art of making hairloops–"... it all seemed to point to the obvious.

"Take it from someone who couldn't care less about lovey dovey crap..." Toph smiled again, but surprisingly with a blush forming in her cheeks. "Whatever happens, happens. You just gotta trust it, and go with it like gravel, because if it doesn't work out... no big deal, because you've made a friend anyway."

"Haha, really?" Aang thought in wonderment, practically teasing Toph with another question as he himself strived to stomp the ground with a small elevating rock. "So... if things ended between you and Teo... you wouldn't shed a tear, huh?"

Promptly, the boy punched his fist to the rock and launched it towards the young girl, but Toph stood her fearless ground, barely touching the rock with a single palm as it shattered to pieces.

"Watch it, Twinkle Toes," came her smile, along with an even brighter shade of blush on her cheeks.

Aang laughed, feeling much more comfortable about this kind of talk, and surprised that it seemed to come from the toughest girl he had ever met. All of a sudden those intense thoughts about Zuko and Katara talking together didn't seem to bother him very much.