i've received a good number of requests asking for more frequent updates - i'm flattered that you are all taking time out of your schedules to read and review me (& especially review me), & i promise i will try my hardest to produce at least a chapter a week. keep in mind & heart that i am a university student (as i suspect a few of you are as well, or if not, then mothers or fathers, or working people of the world) & as such do not be so hard on me if i am late; i am entering professional school next year; the fact that i still write fanfiction - & enjoy it - is both remarkable & a little embarrassing, but i am not so prudent to not laugh at myself.
it was mentioned that 'pro-bending' is an invention reserved for korra. to this review i answer with a throaty, hearty: duh. i like it. this is why it's in this universe as well - i see no reason for it not to be, & it fits the demographic & the sport need.
my laptop had a stroke. if any of you love me, you will buy me a new one & ship it to scorpiaux on the double (i am mostly kidding) - to make up for my broken technology, you can all make my day by submitting a review? xoxo.
With Jet off her chest, and the morning sun painting her sheets butter yellow between the blinds, Katara felt Tuesday speckle over her in tight, bubbling rivets. Her shoulder was asleep, the pins and needles sensation reaching down to her elbow. She grimaced and tossed to her back, then stretched backwards into the mattress, then tangled her slim fingers through her hair, pulling it up and out, then finally – with some difficulty – sprung up from her bunk and reached for her toes.
Her body tensed, numbed, and relaxed. The wood floor here was warm from the sun, and Katara's bare toes kneaded at the polished floorboards appreciatively. The waterbender smiled to herself and, feeling generous and restless, decided to take a quick shower before hitting the gym. Meanwhile, Suki remained still and quiet in her top bunk throughout Katara's gymnastic stretches, yawns, and squeals. The thought of waking up the older girl to join her for the morning occurred to Katara, but she knew better than to tempt Suki's irritability. The Kyoshi native was certainly not a morning person.
The bathroom in Suki and Katara's suite was well-organized, albeit rather small for two. They had lucked out in renting the cheapest apartment in the newer Juniper Residencies. The 'bigger' option called for 300 extra gold pieces each semester, a sum that totaled six semester credit hours. "That's absurd," Suki had suggested, rolling her eyes in disgust. She tossed a different pamphlet to Katara and raised her eyebrows, as if indicating something on the paper. "They're already robbing us blind at this school by making us pay three silver pieces for a fucking sushi tray at lunch. Why don't I just sign off my firstborn son while I'm at it? Spirits."
So they had taken the plunge, in some respects, by renting out a single instead of a double suite, and sharing the bedroom and the cramped bathroom. The deal was just too appealing to pass up. In truth, the only reason either would need a double suite would be sex. But both Zuko and Sokka had their own rooms, and Katara and Suki never brought boys over to a shared space. To quote Katara, doing so would be "unethical" and, in Suki's terms, "just plain nasty."
In the shower now, Katara counted on her fingers. Her period was a few days late, but this wasn't out of the ordinary. She often went weeks in the past without a single cycle, bloating up so that her pants and kimonos bulged unevenly, refusing to go to classes for days at a time, weeping at her disfigured hourglass shape, hiding under the blankets in tears and hysterics, complaining of tight-fitting bras, then finally caving and drinking barrels of spicy, green parsley tea – the only really effective remedy although it made Katara gag. The circus act often lasted a week. Those were the days Zuko was careful and alert not to jab her temper.
Three, four, five. Five days late, the waterbender thought. She would have to make some parsley tea later this evening. The prediction put knots in her stomach, but she was in too good a mood this morning to let it phase her. "Then there's Zuko," she said to herself, and rolled her eyes at her own misfortune. She wasn't going to deal with him today. Suki – as always – was right; they had enough drama between them to pass for an occupation, and she needed a day off. Out of the shower now, still beaded with droplets of water, Katara reached for her cell phone and, in one expert movement with her right hand, removed the battery. "He can leave a message," she said to herself, and strolled back to her bedroom, humming softly to herself, blue towel wrapped loosely about her hips.
Ozai was sending Zuko away to the Boiling Rock Graduate Program at the end of this term. She knew his application had been denied – twice – but his father, being the dean of Four Nations University and among the more prosperous producers of industrial benders in the world, had used his charm and intimidating figurative girth to, quite literally, twist a few arms.
Zuko would be among the lower rung of the new class at Boiling Rock, but he would still be enrolled. Sickening, she thought, that Fate would force her crush and her friend to be brother and sister. Even more sickening that Zuko's father was holding all the puppet strings. At least Azula would get into Boiling Rock on her own credentials without daddy coming to the rescue.
Still, Mai found it did little to dwell on it. She needed her anchors again, the pieces of reality that kept her grounded and sane. After all, she reminded herself, she wasn't even enrolled in Four Nations – she just worked here – and although she couldn't stand Azula's domineering personality, monotonous voice, merciless judgmental opinions, and blatant close-mindedness, truly – truly, truly – she was lucky to have her for a friend. She was even luckier to have Ty Lee. The three had known one another for years, and although Azula and Ty Lee were fortunate enough to enroll as full time students – either by birth right or scholarship – Mai still considered it a good idea to have physically stayed with them, otherwise they would have grown in opposite directions.
Besides, Mai's high school grades were self-deprecating; she almost didn't graduate. In high school she had found a niche as the cold, aloof quiet girl who was beautiful enough not to care about outside opinion, unfeeling enough to befriend the meanest student in the class, and a tad confusing and mysterious – sharing an esoteric friendship with a pretty, flexible, popular girl. Mai, swirled up in her own enigma, cared as much about her grades as she did about her image. Needless to say, neither worked in her favor. She was at once a genius and a flunk, a beauty and a prude, quiet and distant. Not surprisingly, Azula and Ty Lee were her only lasting acquaintances. A borderline schizophrenic and a trapeze wannabe maybe weren't the best pickings, but they were something.
Yet the real reason she had accepted the apprenticeship at the Four Nations Security Base, Mai knew, wasn't because of her mushy, nonexistent buddy system with Ty Lee or Azula at all. It was all for Zuko, Azula's awkward older brother. As far back as Mai could remember, she had felt the need to stay close to him. As she aged, this need too developed, and now, at twenty-two, Mai teetered between obsession and infatuation on a daily basis. Whenever she saw him (twice a day, once as Zuko made his way to his first class and again as he parked his car behind Cedar for lunch), Mai felt as if her meaningless, bleak outlook on life was all a farce. Something fierce and sparkly existed in Zuko; she just needed to figure out how to crack it and take hold of it, hold it in her hands, between her fingers, until she felt that warm fluttering all the time, not just at 10 am and noon.
They spoke – sometimes. They talked of little things that were general enough not to be interpreted negatively or positively. The weather. Azula. Grades. How-is-your-semester. He often forgot she was not enrolled and would ask about her own grades. She corrected him in the beginning but then learned to nod and answer, "Fine, you know" instead of embarrassing herself with his forgetfulness each time.
She found she could not meet his eyes when they spoke, and feared that this gave the impression that she was not interested in talking to him. Despite the fact that he was the top pro-bender on the team, Zuko had maintained several awkward tendencies from his childhood years. Mai guessed he was no longer a virgin but he did virginal, inexperienced things. When standing still, he swung his arms at his sides, clashing his fists together. He rocked on his heels. He threw his fingers through his hair, drenched in sweat after a match, revealing a few stubborn, fresh pit stains. His painfully off kilter characteristics only endeared him to Mai further. She couldn't look at him or his general direction, afraid to blush and give herself a way, or say something that could be interpreted with some sort of opinion – positive or negative. Afraid he would look at her eyes and see himself in there and just know. Thus, after a few more one-sided conversations, Zuko gave up communication with the girl who didn't look at him, and would leave the gym without so much as a wave or a nod of recognition.
Mai was destined to go unnoticed. And now that Zuko was preparing for his orientation at Boiling Rock, Mai felt more helpless than usual. She wouldn't be able to follow him that far. Just the thought of not having Zuko around – and simultaneously losing Azula and Ty Lee – drove Mai to a bleaker disposition than usual. She sat slumped in her chair at her usual gym post, her back curved inward and her nails tapping the counter in an agitated manner. In her black and red uniform, and with her eyes dangerously narrowed, she certainly looked the part – Head Security Official indeed, and not a force to be reckoned with. As if on cue, Ty Lee cart-wheeled to Mai's desk near the door from the inner gymnasium, her hair tied up with a bow. She squeezed Mai into a tight, sweaty hug.
"Do you ever shower after dance?" Mai asked, wrinkling her nose. "You know it's free."
Ty Lee beamed with her eyes closed. "Oh, stop!" she replied cheerfully, bending forward and grasping her own ankles. "I don't like to shower in public. I'm going straight home after this."
Mai knew the real answer, and she suddenly regretted making that remark. Their freshmen year, Azula and Ty Lee had both enrolled for a dance class that met early in the morning. Ty Lee, predictably, had no problem stripping down and showering in front of an audience when the class was dismissed. She had no reason not to; her body was perfect, full. She was confident and comfortable. Azula, however, out of some self-consciousness or jealousy, couldn't bring herself to do the same. She had pranked Ty Lee bad the second week of class, burning up all of her clothes while Ty Lee was in the shower, singing loudly to herself. Later the gymnast was forced to trek back to the freshman dormitories with nothing on but a towel, barraged by whistles and hoots from girls and boys alike.
Now Ty Lee sprung back up and bowed to her friend. "When is your shift over today?" she asked suddenly. "You know it's Zuko's birthday. We were thinking of going out."
Mai felt her drumming fingers freeze in midair. His birthday. It was the one date she had never pushed herself to pursue, afraid she'd obsess, afraid she'd remember it forever. But now she knew. Tonight. And she was invited.
"Well?" Ty Lee stood expectantly, her hands on her hips.
"I – I don't know," Mai stammered, feeling her face flare up and hating herself for it. "I'm off at six. Do you want me to meet you guys at Omashu's?"
Ty Lee clapped. "Great! Yes! And no, not Omashu's. We're going big tonight." She closed her eyes briefly and sighed, leaning her weight on her arm, standing lopsidedly on Mai's counter. "Zuko's bringing some of his hot pro-bending friends. Older guys. We're going to Rough Rhino's near Kai Zhu. I'm driving!" Ty Lee yanked out two small keys from her pants pocket and dangled them in the air as proof. "This is great!" the girl said again, hugging Mai tightly. She sat on the counter then in front of her friend, her legs crossed, the slight mix of feminine sweat and rosewater perfume hovering before Mai's nose. She was smiling, her dimpled chin as sweet and round as an almond cookie. There was so much light in this girl, thought Mai, envying the ease with which Ty Lee lived life and pushed others to live theirs.
What else was left to do but wonder what to wear?