Authors note: Some of the words in a different language in this story are in Cherokee & Potawatomi and will be translated at the bottom of the chapter and in the sentences.

Chapter 3 Nyaslnwe

It was ten minutes past eleven thirty by the time Katara made it to the beach.

"She was probably just lying to you Aang. A lot of them do that. They pretend that they are nice but all of those natives are just cruel." Suki, one of the employees at Surf Gear, said to Aang with her hands on her hips. She picked up her surfboard off the ground. "Let's go for lunch or something."

"Wait. There she is." Aang said as he waved to Katara who was running to catch up to them.

"Sorry I'm late." She said completely out of breath. She put her surfboard in the sand.

"No, its ok Katara." Aang smiled. "We weren't waiting long."

Suki flipped her red hair out of her face, hardly looked at her. "We thought you bailed on us."

"Why would I do that when I invited you guys?" She said wiping off her forehead. "So how do the waves look?" Katara asked looking out to the ocean. "You guys know how to surf, right?"

"I'm learning." Aang admitted, more excitedly than shyly.

Katara tilted her head. "How about you Suki?"

"Yeah I do." She picked up her board, still avoiding eye contact.

"Cool. Let's just wait for a bit before we get out there though. The waves will get better soon." Katara said as she sat on the warm soft sand.

"Why can't we just wait out in the water?" Suki asked. "We came here to surf didn't we?"

She looked to Aang, confused, and then back to Suki. "Suki are you ok?"

"She's fine, Katara. Hold on, we'll be right back." Aang took Suki's hand and pulled her off to the side. "What's wrong with you? Why are you so upset? You never acted this way to her at the shop." He asked her when they were far enough from Katara.

"Nothing, sorry I just go overboard sometimes." She rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. "I didn't have good experiences so far with natives. But, I guess, she doesn't seem too mean like the others had been to me." Suki confessed.

"She's really nice and only a little late. Obviously she didn't get a ride over here like we did. Let's just go have fun today." Aang suggested with a bright smile.

She nodded then the two walked back to Katara.

"Sorry about earlier." Suki apologized to her. "I don't know what got into me."

"It's ok. Let's just forget about it and go surf." Katara said enthusiastically.

The girls smiled to each other as Suki helped Katara off the sand. Aang, however, wasn't too excited all of the sudden. "Uh, guys. When I said I was learning I meant that I never really surfed in the ocean yet. Can you guys show me how you get on?" He asked scratching his short black hair with a big stupid smile.

The girls laughed. "We'll try."

As twelve o'clock rolled along, the girls were teaching Aang on the sand how to stand up on the board.

"You need to put your hands on the rails." Katara instructed.

He did so.

"Then push up and get your front foot chest then let go of the rails." Suki coached him before he tried himself.

"Great job, Aang! Next, you just stand up and keep your arms and shoulders for balance. Remember not to lock your knees, ok?" Katara said.

"Now try that all again and then we'll try it on the water." Suki said as she playfully kicked sand on his rented surfboard.

While he practiced, the girls decided to take a short walk to the water.

"So, who taught you to surf?" Katara asked conversationally.

"You guys aren't the only ones who had lived on a beach before." Suki joked. "My mom taught me. She used to live here when she was little."

"Really? That's pretty cool." She had remembered hearing rumors of Suki being half native but didn't want to pry any further since their people still didn't agree with intermarriage. "Are you a regular or goofy rider?" She asked to change the subject as they turned around heading back to Aang.

"Regular. What about yourself?"

"Goofy."

Suki laughed. "Its such a funny name, don't you think? I really want to watch you surf now. I've never seen a goofy surfer…," She paused, "surf."

"I don't think there's much of a difference." Katara giggled.

"We'll see."

After a bit more instructions for Aang, the three went out to the ocean.

"Remember, Aang, what we said about paddling." Suki called out to him as she led the way on her green and yellow board.

"Wait, can I watch one of you guys surf first. Just to see it up close."

The girls exchanged glances. "Sure. Suki, would you like to go first?" Katara offered.

"Yeah, ok." She smiled then paddled out.

"Aang, watch how she stands on the board and how she balances." Katara told him. "Don't worry about doing any fancy tricks. All you need to do today is practice going straight. Oh yeah, and if you feel like your going to wipe out, try go fall on your back."

"Why the back?" Aang asked with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"I don't remember why. Just fall on the back. Oh, look at Suki now. She has a wave."

He watched with curiosity and amazement. Surfing always astonished him.

As Suki got up, Aang didn't see her 'taming' the wave as some surfers had claimed to do while bragging at the shop, but he saw her becoming the wave. Her movements weren't very flexible—if anything it looked stiff—but she was graceful as she followed the invisible path the wave made to the end.

For hours the girls competed against each other while also teaching Aang. Katara was much more flexible and 'loose' and did have a different style of surfing than Suki. Katara had a connection to the water and trusted the movements without thinking about it. Suki, on the other hand, was more competitive and had to concentrate more on her balance.

"Go, Aang!" The girls cheered as he stood without falling or losing balance on his board. His ride wasn't as impressive as the others since he only kept straight but it was a great start. "Way to go!"

The tiny wave came to an end and he slowly dropped back on his board with shaky hands. "I did it! Finally!" He shouted to his friends.

"Great job Aang!" Katara congratulated.

"Oh man, that was exciting! I want to do that again!" Aang smiled.

"Can we go get something to ear first? I'm starving." Suki suggested. It was four thirty.

"Yeah we should. I didn't even have breakfast." Katara said barely noticing her hunger.

"Fine, but then we're coming back right?" Aang asked sounding like a child.

"Sure, why not?"

Anyone could tell this would be the start of a long friendship.

Sorry for the weak chapter!

For anyone who doesn't surf or knows nothing/little about it, the difference between a goofy and regular surfer is where they put their feet. Regular surfers keep their right foot in front and Goofy surfers have their left foot in front. Also, learning to surf is a bit harder than i made it seem (at least it was hard for me) but after about an hour you get used to being able to go straight without falling. Let's just say Aang really sucked.

XD

Translation:

Nyaslnwe: Get ready (for anything)