There was a knock at my window.

I groaned, turning onto my side and throwing the covers over my head. It sounded like a male voice calling my name, and the next thing I knew I was up letting Oh into my room.

"Funny, I thought I heard a guy's voice," I mumbled, slamming my window shut and falling back into bed. Despite the full night of sleep, I was still exhausted. The side of my stomach hurt even worse from yesterday.

"Oh, hardy har-har." Oh sat on the other side of the bed. "What were you planning on doing? Sleeping the day away?"

Throwing a pillow at him, I asked, "What time is it?"

"Past noon."

I sat up so fast my head got dizzy and I winced at the pain on my side. "Really? I never sleep in this late." My hands held the left side of my stomach and rib cage. "I must have got home later than I thought last night."

"From where?" Oh asked, turning channels on the small radio in my bedroom. "Finally got a hot date? Or even a date?" He teased.

"Right, cause I totally have guys lining up." Standing slowly, I walked to my closet. "Nothing as exciting as a date. It was just an Equalist rally."

"You hate benders?" He raised a brow.

I shook my head. "No, we had to find Bolin..." My voice trailed off. I lifted my shirt to see the side of my stomach, and saw a black bruise. It covered my entire left side torso, from waist to upper rib cage.

Oh's jaw dropped. "What the hell happened?"

I told him about last night, leaving Oh speechless. I frowned. "I sure hope Mako and Bolin didn't stop by while I was sleeping."

Oh's eyes were larger than his stomach, which was saying something. "Your life is so much more exciting than mine!" He exclaimed finally, his hands moving around making him look very theatrical.

"Exciting," I murmured. "I wish my life was anything but exciting right now." I grabbed a pair of clothes. "I'll be right back." I headed down the hall to the bathroom and changed into a dark blue tunic and tied a white belt around my waist. The tunic fell mid thigh with small slits on the sides. I put on a pair of black tights that went to my ankles and my white boots. Heading back to my room, I heard my mother and Oh downstairs in the kitchen talking.

I threw my dirty clothes from last night into my closet, grabbed my blue gauze, and headed downstairs. Mother and Oh sat at the table drinking tea, and Oh was retelling my story. Mother looked at me. "Honey! Are you okay? Why did you go do something so dangerous!" She blew up, asking a million questions at once.

Pouring myself some tea, I tried answering as best as I could. After at least a dozen questions, I just said, "Mother, I'm fine. I did what I had to do, okay? Please, just stop with the questions. My head is starting to hurt." I peered around her at Oh, and glared. He just shrugged.

"I think I have medicine for that!" Mother jumped up and went to the bathroom upstairs.

Oh and I sat in silence as I sipped my tea. I kept imagining Amon's voice saying, "The era of bending is over!" This phrase repeated itself in my head so much it was engraved on my brain. I kept thinking, But my bending has only begun. Amon couldn't get rid of benders, the very idea was insanity itself. Yet, watching it happen in front of my very own eyes made the hairs on the back on my neck stand up.

Mother came downstairs. "I couldn't find it, sweety. I'll go to the market later and get some."

I nodded. "Alright. Mako and Bolin are supposed to come by today."

"Okay, how did you convince Mako to come too?" She asked, busying herself at the kitchen sink doing dishes.

Oh sat across from me looking through the new paper Father left this morning, and I started wrapping my hands and wrists in blue gauze. No matter which way I sat, my side ached. Maybe I should wrap my stomach in gauze to keep myself from moving so much. "I don't know."

We sat there, all distracted, and listened to nothing but water swishing in the sink and plates being piled on top one another. "Do you think Fire Ferrets are going to win the championship?" Oh asked.

That's when I remembered the money they needed to get into the championship. Korra said they needed 30 thousand yuans. "Mother, how much money is in my savings?"

She stopped, thinking. "Not sure. I believe six thousand maybe."

"I need it."

"How much?" she asked.

"All of it." I finished wrapping one hand and started the next.

Mother looked at me. "What on earth do you need six thousand yuans for?" I told her about the situation Mako and Bolin were in. She gave me a doubtful look. "We'll see how today's talk with them goes, and if they still want your money we'll give it to them."

I stood up. "Of course they'll still want it! Bolin's not going to just stop talking to me after they find out the truth." I couldn't believe Mother would even suggest such a thing. I stormed downstairs to the basement, finishing wrapping my other hand down there.

As soon as I gave the first punch to the punching bag I regretted it, cringing at the pain. So instead, I rested on the couch, still flustered at my mother. Bolin wouldn't stop talking to me, would he? And Korra wouldn't either.

I remembered Korra's face from last night. She was scared. Our Avatar was scared of this Amon man, so shouldn't I be too? His voice kept playing in my head, but I don't think I was exactly scared. Maybe worried, but not scared. I have nothing for him to take really.

Oh came downstairs maybe an hour or two later. "Want to come over for lunch?" He asked. I shook my head. "You okay?"

I sat on my elbows looking at Oh. He was on the bottom of the stairs, leaning against the wall. He looks like he's gotten taller. "There was a part of last night I didn't tell you."

He lifted my feet on the far end of the couch, sat down, and let my feet lay in his lap. It felt so natural being with him since we grew up together. I held out my hand. "You have to pinky promise not to tell anyone."

He laughed, and wrapped his pinky around mine. "Okay," I whispered. "Well, Amon can take peoples bending away."

"Like how Chi-blockers can?" he asked, his smile gone.

"No, I mean gone like it's never ever coming back."

He was quiet for a moment. "Good thing you're not really a bender."

"I know" I said. "But you and your mom are. So, just be careful okay?"

Oh's hand reached into his pocket, where the small coin with the Earth Kingdom symbol engraved on it rested. He got that coin a couple years ago when his family took a trip to the Earth Kingdom to visit distant family. I remember it because they had taken me on the trip as well. He kissed the coin. "As long as I got my lucky coin, I'll be fine," He said, grinning.

I couldn't help but laugh, and for a moment things felt like they were back to normal.

Mother came downstairs. "Shai. Mako and Bolin are here."

And then the moment was over.