Today's story is just silly. Please don't think about it too hard. (I should probably up the rating for this one but I'm lazy and I'm preeetty sure none of you are children.)
Day Thirteen
They Were Roommates
Katara hummed pensively and tapped the end of her brush against her cheek as she considered the problem before her. She needed a good premise. Something that would grab her reader's attention and hold it. Suki had told her once that that was the most fundamental part of writing a good romance scroll. Katara knew that if she wanted to impress the older girl, she needed to get this right.
She was, after all, on a mission to prove herself.
She frowned down at the paper as she scrounged around in her head for a good place to start. What did she know about romance scrolls? Absently, she began penning a list of words she associated with the genre.
Silly; smutty; contrived; tasteless…
Ugh. She let her head fall in her hands and groaned. Why had she agreed to do this again? Oh, right. It was because she'd gone and boasted to Suki that anyone could write romance.
"Oh? Then prove it," the Kyoshi captain had challenged, a smug glint in her eye. "If you can write a romance story on par with something by Kasumi Kurea or Xifani Maya then I'll submit that you're right. Hell, I'll even go into town and get you a whole box of those cakes you've been wanting."
The promise of cakes caused Katara's resolve to strengthen. She'd been wanting to try one of the popular Red Lion Teashop's famous almond cakes while she was in the Fire Nation but the cakes were so tremendously sought after that the shop always sold out immediately after opening. You had to wait in line for an hour early in the morning to even get a shot at them and even then there was no guarantee you'd make it before they were gone. Katara was no morning person and she hated standing in line so she'd given up on ever getting to try one. But here Suki was offering to acquire a whole box of them. Writing one silly little romance scroll was the least Katara was willing to do in exchange for a favor like that.
All romance scrolls were fundamentally the same, she reasoned as she continued to tap her cheek. Girl meets boy. Girl and boy exhibit immediate sexual tension. Girl and boy share a torrid and tawdry night of flowery lovemaking. Drama happens. Girl and boy spend a chapter either secretly or overtly pining for each other. More lovemaking. Girl and boy either live happily ever after or go their separate ways and never see each other again.
So, how does girl meet boy? she pondered as she stared down at her paper. Suddenly, her eyes widened and a smile grew on her face. She had the perfect idea. Dipping her brush into the pot of ink beside her paper, she began to write.
Su Yun was a girl who thought she had it all. She was from a well-to-do family, had a wonderful boyfriend, and had just been accepted into the prestigious Ba Sing Se university. But everything changed the day she met her roommate…
o0o
Zuko brought his hand to his mouth to stifle a yawn as he walked through the silent halls of the Fire Nation palace. It was very late and he'd only just finished finalizing some important documents for next month's summit in Omashu. He'd wanted to get them finished as quickly as possible so that he could spend time with his friends who had all gathered to celebrate the summer solstice in the Fire Nation.
He'd been en route to his room to get some much needed sleep when he passed the library and saw lamplight pouring out from the crack where the door wasn't completely closed. Curious, he opened the door the rest of the way and peeked inside. At first, he didn't see anyone. The library was dark save for the lamp at the entrance which illuminated the doorway with its soft glow. Zuko was about to assume that the bookmaster had simply forgotten to douse it when he'd left for the evening, but then a small flicker of light caught his attention from far across the chamber where the private scholars' rooms were located.
Who in the world would be up at this hour? he wondered as he ran a tired hand through his shaggy, unbound hair.
His curiosity getting the better of him, Zuko padded silently across the darkened chamber to the place where whoever-it-was had set up their late-night work station.
What he found caused him to scrub his eyes with his palms to make sure he was seeing clearly. Katara sat hunched over the alcove's work desk with her back to him madly scribbling away at something with a writing brush. All around her feet, crumpled up balls of paper littered the floor. Curious what she was writing so furiously at such an hour, Zuko stepped closer and picked up one of the paper balls. Uncrumpling it and smoothing it out as best he could, he began to read.
Su Yun gasped in ecstasy as Li Dao's strong hands ran up and down her back. His touch was intoxicating and Su Yun arched into him as he peppered kisses down her neck and toward her chest. "Li Dao," she breathed her gorgeous yet insufferable roommate's name as one of his hands cupped her heaving bosom. "We can't. I have a boyfriend."
Li Dao silenced her protests with a scorching kiss. His hand continued to knead her sensitive breast and she gasped again when his thumb flicked over her nipple. "Mmm, Li Dao…" she moaned into his mouth. "Don't stop!"
Zuko's good eyebrow rose higher and higher as he continued to read. What in Agni's name was Katara doing writing porn in the library in the middle of the night? Since when did Katara even write?
Deciding to reveal his presence to the swiftly scribbling girl, he cleared his throat.
Immediately, Katara stilled. He saw her hand tighten on her brush and she turned around almost guiltily.
When she saw him standing there with the crumpled-up paper in his hand, her face turned a deep vermillion. "Zuko!" she said his name with a surprised squeak. "What are you doing here?"
Zuko cocked his head and brandished the paper demonstratively. "I could ask you the same thing." Bringing the paper to his face, he cleared his throat and read, "Su Yun let out a long moan of pleasure as Li Dao's throbbing member nudged the delicate petals of her womanly flower."
Immediately, Katara lunged from her seat and snatched the paper from his hand. Her face was burning brighter than Sozin's Comet. "It's—it's not what you think!"
Zuko crossed his arms over his chest and waited for her to explain.
"It's a challenge," she explained, her face still flaming. "Suki said she'd buy me a box of Red Lion's almond cakes if I could write a passable romance scroll."
Zuko blinked at her in surprise. "Wait. Let me get this straight. Suki asked you to write porn in exchange for some cake?"
Katara awarded him with a scowl. "It's not porn, it's—well, okay, it is porn, but the point isn't the porn, it's the whole story." Embarrassedly, she collected the stack of papers she'd assembled and tapped them on the desk to straighten them. "The story has to be good or Suki won't fulfill her end of the bargain."
Zuko nodded, bemused. He couldn't lie; his interest was piqued. "So, you just have to write a good story?" Taking a step toward her, he pointed at the stack of papers. "Mind if I have a look?"
Katara looked hesitant to hand her work over to him, but she must have decided that whatever was contained in those pages couldn't be any more embarrassing than what he'd already read because she handed the stack to him with a sigh.
Pulling a chair from a nearby table, Zuko sat down and began to read.
Ten minutes later, he lowered the stack and hummed.
"Well?" Katara asked nervously. "What did you think?"
Zuko hummed again as he thought of how to phrase his thoughts. "It's not bad," he told her evenly. "But there are a lot of plot contrivances that don't really make sense. The biggest one is the premise. First of all, who was in charge of pairing Su Yun and Li Dao as roommates? Ba Sing Se University has separate lodgings for men and women so it doesn't make sense for them to be put together. And if they're living elsewhere, then wouldn't they have to have agreed to live together beforehand? Also, why is Su Yun even going to Ba Sing Se University? Her passion is fashion. She'd be better served at a trade school, not an academy for scholars. And for that matter, what is Li Dao doing there? From what I can tell, his only hobbies are brooding and working out."
Katara wilted at his criticism. Her head fell and she shoulders slumped. "I thought it was pretty good…"
Suddenly, Zuko felt bad. He hadn't meant to sound so critical. "Like I said, it's not bad. Most of it is pretty solid, actually. I just think the premise could use some reworking."
Katara pulled herself up in her seat and offered him a wry smile. "Alright. I guess it's back to the drawing board, then." She stood and raised her arms high above her head, stretching her back. "But first, sleep. I think I'll have better luck if I come back fresh tomorrow."
Zuko stood as well. "Same. I'm beat." He waited while Katara gathered up her work and tossed out all the discarded papers strewn about the ground. When she was done tidying, he said, "Well, good luck. I'll be looking forward to reading what you come out with."
Katara blushed and nodded. "Oh, and Zuko," she appealed to him, sounding slightly nervous. "Don't tell anyone about this. Please."
Zuko smiled and gave her a single, definitive nod. "Sure."
oO0Oo
To be continued in Day Sixteen
