His search was unsuccessful, even after gym, which was surprisingly rigorous. As Aang made his way to the boy's dormitory, he began to devise a plan to meet the mystery girl. Most of his planning involved flattery or a flashy display on his part. Appa was a useful tool in this instance as well – his size and rarity was the best conversation starter Aang knew. Certainly the girl would notice his flying bison. He would introduce her. She would give him one of her genuine smiles again. Or airbending, thought Aang. In gym, most of the girls – earthbenders from the Northern Kingdom – had commented on his uncommonness. The virus that had infected all the other airbendrs had, for whatever reason, chosen to spare Aang. But he was not one for too much attention, and the stares and questions at the gym had suffocated and startled him. He looked forward to sleeping.
As if some greater power had kept track of his heart all day, Aang's secret wish was fulfilled. While looking at his shoes, he ran into the girl from earlier, knocking her bag to the ground with his shoulder. He shook his head and reached for the bag automatically. When he looked up to return it to her, he felt his stomach drop to his knees.
"Uh," he said, but he couldn't prevent himself from rambling. "Oh. God, sorry. Sorry, I totally just ran into you." He pointed behind him. "I just… have this thing where I'm walking and I'm thinking – you know? Do you do that? – anyway I just didn't see you at all – not because you're not noticeable or anything – you are – uh. I'm sorry." He held out a sweaty palm. "I'm Aang."
"Katara." Her hand was soft and dry, much smaller than his hand. His grip was a little too tight and he laughed nervously. After shaking his hand, she took her bag from him. "Thanks. I guess I wasn't paying attention either."
"Something on your mind?"
"The usual." Her eyes grazed his face momentarily, as if searching for an answer or determining his worth. Then she looked up and blinked. Aang wasn't sure, but it looked as though she had been crying. There were little, puffy indents just beneath her eyes. The rims of her lower lids were a little too pink. But it was dark, and Aang – forever an optimist – dismissed the idea. "School stuff. Family stuff. Boy stuff."
"Only one of those really matters," Aang said. To his surprise, she laughed. It sounded like a chirp.
"Boy stuff? You're typical."
"No," he said. "Family stuff." She fell quiet, still smiling, impressed by his answer. "With a body like yours," Aang continued, "Boy stuff shouldn't even be on the list. Have you looked in the mirror lately?" He paused but continued quickly, "Not to be too forward or anything… but, seriously, you're the best thing I've seen all day."
She laughed again – or chirped, and Aang realized he had already fallen in love with her laughter. And her smell – jasmine, sweat, and saltwater – it was doing a number on him. Her laugh kept up and he smiled with her, so glad to finally be in her presence. It occurred to him that he had been searching for her all day, and then she had just appeared, as if from thin air, right before him. The thought gave him jitters. He held on to his elbow and put his free hand in his pants pocket.
"I'm not that great," she said. "You're probably just having a rotten day." Her modesty endeared her to him and he couldn't speak. She said, "Aang sounds like an Air Nomad name. Do you have relations to the airbenders? Or were your parents just romantic and well-read?"
He blurted, "I am an airbender!" And then, to show her, he pushed both hands in the air and created a small, tight vortex. A few leaves joined his display, and it pleased Aang endlessly to see her smiling at him, clasping her hands together like a child at the circus.
"That's amazing!" she breathed. "Wow!" He heard a small beep go off in her pocket, and her face dropped suddenly. She pulled out the phone and grimaced. "Hey, I have to go," she said. She wagged her phone in her hands and rolled her eyes. "Boy duty calls. Again. But stop by the Open Mic nights on Mondays and Wednesdays. I'm always there. I want to know more about this airbending business."
He shoved his hands in his pockets again and laughed. "Sure, sure," he murmured. "And I want to know more about this boy business. What do you think? We'll trade. Deal?"
She smiled and held her hand out to him again. They shook briefly. "Deal," Katara said, and walked past him with speedy, light steps. He breathed in, his face warm, and stood still, unable to remember where he was going just moments before. He wanted to turn around and watch her leave, but he was afraid his body would deceive him again. He would end up chasing her just to be in her company.
"Today was a good day," he said to himself. He hummed an old Earth Kingdom romance song he'd heard at a play when he was a boy, and when he got to his dorm room - despite exhaustion - he found he could not sleep.