3
The bar was crowded for the usual happy hour two buck pitchers and half off hot wings promotion. All the servers and bartenders remained perky and unfazed when tables began cheering wildly for the hockey match on the large projection screens. Despite that the players on the ice would never hear the cheers from the sports bar, but that didn't stop the fans' merriment. A player from the red team punched someone in green and as the bar got up again to start shouting so did Sokka. He was up and out of his seat, hollering and cursing with the rest of them when the red player got put in the penalty box for two minutes. Katara rolled her eyes, somewhat annoyed by her brother's reaction yet couldn't help but find it amusing that he was so passionate. She chugged the rest of her beer that she was babysitting for the last hour, the warm and sour hops not going down smoothly.
"Do you want another one?" Sokka asked as he settled himself down on his bar stool.
She tapped her fingers against the scuffed table top as she decided, "Eh, I'll have either an AMF or a Long Island-whichever one is better here."
His brows shot up in surprise, "Geez, you weren't kidding when you said wanted to drink tonight."
"Well, why do you think I asked you to dive?" She teased. Resting an elbow on the table, she cupped her face in her hand, she felt drained, "But seriously-all I want is good drinks, good hot wings, and good company."
Katara's phone buzzed and her brother noticed a similar grin, "While I'm flattered that enjoy my company so much, little sister," he joked, "but wouldn't Aang be better company?"
"Oh, we're just getting lunch," she said as she texted back her reply. After a moment, she punched him in the arm, "Besides, he still thinks I have a boyfriend because someone stole my phone and told him that."
"And you've had plenty of time to tell him the truth," he pointed out. He laughed more at his sister's reddening complexion, "Hey, at least he isn't going to be a monk anymore. Maybe that text did more good that I thought."
But that type of thinking was dangerous and it reminded her of all the things she wanted to forget again-move on from. Remembering the confirmation of what couldn't be, her chest constricted and she felt sick to her stomach, only to now to have something be an option. She felt like she couldn't breathe-his confession when they met last month rang in her ears (I was happy that time) becoming bile in her throat.
She took a deep breath, trying not to get angry at her brother, "Aang did not quit his vocation for me." Rubbing her temples, she cut him off, "I don't want to talk about this anymore."
Sokka backed off, knowing what buttons not to push. The bar was in an uproar again, cheering and chanting for their favorite as the refs called a tie-breaker. He flagged down the waitress to order more drinks and hot wings and Katara's phone buzzed again, flashing that Aang texted her back with a confirmation for a time and a date. And the question Katara had been burying since she heard about Aang bubbled out of her mouth.
"Sokka, what am I doing with my life?"
The waitress dropped off the wings and drinks, but neither of them reached for the food.
He swallowed thick, "What do you mean?"
"Maybe Aang has the right idea-maybe what we're doing isn't what we're supposed to be doing, you know?"
Her brother pressed his lips into a firm line, "But you want to be a doctor. That's why you have that internship at the hospital before med school."
She nodded her head with agreement, she did have an internship at the hospital, "But what if I'm not meant to be a doctor. And Aang wanted to be a monk so badly, he even-" He even severed our friendship, she wanted to say but that still stung to say aloud.
"Katara, you are so smart and you care about people. Of course this is your calling!" He pulled her into a brotherly hug, "And besides, you're not Aang. You're Katara and you got your head screwed on right."
She shook her head, "I know I'm not him, but he just got me thinking, Sokka. What if I'm not doing the right thing? Doctors aren't personal enough with their patients and nurses can't make enough decisions. And it drives me crazy..."
Silence fell over the two of them again. Sokka gingerly ate some chicken as she slowly sipped her drink-a Long Island. Like her drink's name, her days were long and she just felt unsure now with all the added stress. The bar exploded with yelling as the local favorite hockey lost. On the screen, the green team's fan danced and scream with excitement with the win, but the atmosphere in the bar matched that of the siblings table: tense.
Her brother laced his fingers together on the table and looked at her seriously. After a few seconds, he tossed out, "Okay, so you might not want to be a doctor," he stated. "You really liked politics-remember all those protests? That one for that neighborhood gentrification was insane."
She nodded her head again, feeling her hands absentmindedly play with her hair as she remembered her protesting days when she was in college. They started off small, usually about how wages were unfair to university service workers and also lacked benefits. But she joined them because she wanted to do the right thing and make things just for those that deserved it. But the protest that her brother mentioned, the one of the neighborhood gentrification was both the worst and best time of her life.
It all began when she joined a campaign for better renters' laws. It didn't take long for her to become invested after meeting the families in her university community who were losing their homes. The mother that led the fight told her about their rent had tripled in such a short amount of time; that people were being evicted because they fell behind on payments; that improvement of their neighborhood didn't include the families that gave it culture.
Katara remembered all the sleepless nights she spent making signs, writing speeches, and encouraging the other volunteers. All the benefits and fundraisers to help the families that were affected by things modernizing without them. She remembered all town and council meetings she sat on to persuade people in authority to get a law on the yearly ballot so that landlords couldn't raise prices so quickly and for better treatment for renters.
It was a long and grueling process but it was so worth it once the law passed and future families would be getting better treatment. Renters finally had more stability and agency with their landlords. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start. And she still got emails and thank you notes from many in the community. They had also been some of the happiest people for her when she told them that she wanted to be a doctor-so proud that she was going to do something great with her life.
She banged her head on the table, "But I still like medicine…"
"Oh my god, Katara," she heard her brother face palm himself. Lifting her head from the table, she saw the bright red mark on his forehead, "Look, you still liking medicine is a good sign. Figuring out your life takes time."
"Can I just have some fortune teller come and tell me my entire future? And I mean everything to the point where they tells me that I'll die peacefully in my sleep after the birth of my third-great grandchild?" she whined.
Her brother resisted the urge to smack his forehead again, "No one can predict the future." He pulled her into another hug, "But whatever you want to do, just know I got your back."
She hugged him back, a little harder than she intended, but they both just laughed. They both finished up the their food and drinks. They chatted about how Sokka was now shadowing one of the best engineers at his firm-some man they call "the Machinist"; about Toph's new blind self-defense class; how Zuko was finishing up his MA in Social Work; and about how Suki went up a new belt and was now a qualified teacher of her martial arts' type.
Sokka paid the tab and the pair were making their way to the door. The two turned around when someone called Katara's name, but she was pleasantly surprised when she saw who it was.
"Sangok!" She exclaimed happily as she hugged him, "What are you doing down here in the city?"
He bashfully grinned, "I'm just celebrating with some cousins. I just got transferred here!"
Sokka bobbed his head with approval, "Congrats, man. What do you do?"
Reaching into his back pocket, Sangok fiddled with a business card holder, "I'm a new junior accountant for MSF!"
Both siblings looked at each other, wondering if the other one knew what he was talking about.
"Oh!" Awkwardly, he cleared his throat as he handed him his new business card, "Sorry, it's Médecins Sans Frontières or Doctors Without Borders…"
Katara ran her thumb over the raised letters on the card stock, impressed by the minimalist design, "That is so cool," she breathed.
Sangok smiled, "Thanks, I'm really excited." Some voices from the bar called for him, "But I got to go, but it was great running into you both! Maybe we can eat some good tribe food together, soon?"
Sokka grabbed his hand and brought him into a man hug, "Sure, dude. I can always eat stewed sea prunes."
Katara gave him another hug, "Thanks for the business card. They look great."
They parted ways and Katara slunk down into the passenger seat, enjoying the plush leather in Sokka's sports car. Her brother turned on the radio to some classic rock and he began singing away to a song she didn't know. She ran her fingers over Médecins Sans Frontières, her heart pounding in her chest as if it was some sign. She relished in the thought, My name is Katara and I work for Doctors Without Borders, her heart racing even faster as it felt like it could be her reality. As Sokka drove, she thought about all the people she could help-that would really need her. How was it that she never thought about MSF before? She always felt like she needed to work in a hospital, but this business card proved that there was something else out there…
Her phone buzzed again and she opened the text message from Aang.
Katara? Is Friday good? :)
Her heart kept racing, but this time it wasn't about feeling giddy about a future. As imaginative as she felt moments ago, she didn't know what else to say.
Yeah. Sounds great.
Sometimes instead of fast forwarding to the future, she just wanted to hit pause.
Thanks for the reviews everyone! I'm glad you guys are enjoying this story. I try to keep things real, you know? And as you can see, Katara does NOT have a boyfriend haha. But yeah, I think she would be really interested in working for MSF. They're a cool organization and do good things.