Chapter 5

Korra's POV

I stepped onto the bus and walked toward the back once I saw Mako and Bolin; carrying my bag in a ghetto fashion with one strap slung over my broad right shoulder since the other strap was ripped and torn. I saw Mako who was smiling and scooting over so she could sit next to him. I slid into the cold bus bench, sitting next to him, Bolin in the seat next to us.

The bus began to roll away once I was seated, cars instantly stopping to let the bus through.

"Hey, where'd you get those sweet ass sunglasses?" Bolin asked me, leaning in closer so he can get a better look.

I pulled away from him slightly so he couldn't see my eyes completely through the black tint and figure out I was crying. I adjusted the sunglasses between my thumb and forefinger. "Uh… Varrick lent them to me." I stated tersely, successfully concealing my reluctance to reply to his curiosity by hiding the truth in my eyes behind the shaded, transparent black disks.

"Why would Varrick, the new social studies teacher might I add, just give you expensive looking sunglasses?" Bolin asked with great confusion laced in his unique tone.0

"He- He uh… Um… I- He told me he was excited to meet a student from the South Pole, where he once lived…" I lied, which Bolin seemed to buy, but I felt Mako's amber eyes burning holes in the back of my skull.

"Well, anyways." Bolin began, changing the subject much to my thankful pleasure. "I was wondering if you could stop by our house for some Cookies and Dr. Pepper 'er somethin'." He suggested with a wide grin on his face that was so enticing it almost made me except his offer. Almost.

I do have priorities to stick to, and the first thing on the list of those priorities is the part-time job I mustn't lose. It's around 3:15 and I need to be at the café I forgot the name of -but recognize the appearance- by 4:00.

"I'm sorry, Bolin." I apologized sincerely. "I can't come now." Saying these statements made Bolin's expression drop which made me feel really bad. But I don't want to lose him as a friend over this. But why would he do something as drastic as ending a growing relationship over some trivial rejection? AUGH! Stupid anxiety! All I know is that I need to calm down my nerves and keep Bolin happy. "But…" I started, causing Bolin to look up at me, hope glimmering in his bright, green eyes. "I don't have anything planned for tomorrow at…" 'Let's see, when do mom and I have to go over budgets…?' I thought to myself. "I can come by tomorrow at 4:30." I suggested after thinking through my mom's schedule for budget clean-ups and revisions. "How does that sound?"

He smiled at me brightly then looked over to Mako. "How does that sound, Mako?" Bolin practically shrieked at his brother.

"It's perfect, Bo." Mako agreed with a smile. "So how'd you like your first day of school, Korra?" He asked innocuously, receiving a low sigh from me. He frowned at this. "Oh… I forgot about the fight and the de- ten-tion…" Mako said slowly in realization as his eyes widened. "Holy shit! We forgot to go to detention!" He exclaimed, also causing Bolin and I to become scared.

"Oh, man!" Bolin hung his head in his hands, running his fingers through his short, slicked locks. "Uncle Toza's gonna kill us!"

"Well, we'll just have to take the punishment…" Mako sighed as the bus pulled up to his and Bolin's stop. "Let's just hope that the principal hasn't called him yet."

"Yeah…" Bolin agreed with his brother, the minor panic in his eyes slightly dissipating. "Well, see you tomorrow, Korra." Bolin and Mako waved good bye as they stepped of the bus and onto the sidewalk.

I stared at them walking until the slight jolt forward of the bus, indicating that it's moving forward, shook me out of my stare.

Once the bus pulled up to my stop, I walked up to the front and asked the bus driver what the time was. He lifted up his left arm and took a quick glance at his silver wristwatch. "It's 3:27." He said before I gave him a quick 'thank you' before exiting the vehicle.

I dashed down Dragon Flats Ave, trying to make it to the café before 3:45 at the least. I clutched the ripped strap of my threadbare back-pack while fluently dodging pedestrians who shouted obscenities at me, trashcans and recycling bins that people have carelessly left in the center of the sidewalk, and bizarre debris such as a plastic dear missing a leg, a bed mattress with a yellow stain on it, and what I hoped was a pile of wet grass mixed with dirt and not vomit.

I soon made it to the café by 3:40, roughly 3:45, and reported to the manager's office. I knocked on the door and heard a "Come In!"

I walked into the small office (I truly don't feel like describing it, so just envision the office however you'd like. M'Kay?) and saw a short man about my height gestured me toward his desk and sit down. The nametag on his desk said 'Jerry Jones.'

"Alright, Korra." Jerry began in an authoritative tone as he leaned forward, making himself comfortable by placing his elbows on the desk while his hands were folded and positioned restfully under his grey-whiskered chin. "You will start off with taking people's orders, alright? There's an apron for you in the kitchen with all the supplies in the pockets; if not then ask Jane, she'll be your leader until you get a handle on things." He shot straight off with telling me what my job was, which made me kind of nervous. I know I took the job to be the new waitress, but I think it'd be too much for my anxiety. "So here's your name tag." Jerry continued, handing me a laminated, clip on tag that said 'Korra Jin' in decently sized script. "Any questions?"

"Yeah um…" I began, feeling nervous as I shook my leg and played with my fingers. "I'm a little nervous." That was a lie. I'm majorly nervous. "Do you have any pointers for a rookie?" I asked, giving him a nervous, toothy smile as my brows furrowed, showing my fear.

"Well you can't worry about how people treat you, you just gotta be as nice as you can so you can get the biggest tip they'll give ya'." He told me, not really helping my self-confidence boost. "Just ask Jane, she'll help ya'; real good at motivating people."

"Thanks, Mr. Jones." I said before getting up and walking to the door. I grabbed the handle before he called out to me.

"Hey!" I turned around to see him smiling. "We're all one big family here. Don't worry, we got your back, kid." He stated genuinely, causing my anxiety to melt just a bit.

"Thank you, Mr. Jones." I said once again.

"And call me Jerry." He added before I walked out to begin my shift.

After work, I lugged my broken bag home and walked through the door of the apartment building, climbing the stairs since I didn't trust that old-ass elevator to do it for me.

I stuck the key to the apartment into the lock and twisted it, hearing the satisfying sound metal knocking against metal that seemed to distract me because I found myself locking and unlocking the door just to hear the sound it made (true story).

Once I finally decided to walk into the apartment, I found my mom sitting at the kitchen table, paying bills. She was going through piles and piles of envelopes and letters, sorting all the pieces of paper within paper into piles of junk-mail and bills. Thankfully there was more junk-mail.

"Korra, would you sit down please?" My mother said gently, though I winced because I know she's going to lecture me about how 'fighting in school is bad, especially breaking a girl's nose.'

I took the seat next to her as it creaked when I sat down. I was thinking over what to say, but couldn't think of a single word that I could say without it sounding sarcastic and bitchy as I spoke. So I just stayed silent and waited for her to speak; leaning forward and crossing my arms on the feeble wood of the kitchen table, waiting for the talk to begin so I can wait dreadfully for it to end.

"I got a call from Principal Nathans today, and he told me that a girl named Eska told him that she was trying to be your friend then you beat her up for it." She began with a frown.

'That lying fucking BITCH!' I thought to myself as a rebuttal automatically drove its way through my sealed lips. "SHE LIED! SHE WAS MAKING FUN OF ME!" I screamed in defense, slamming my fists down on the table, causing our neighbor to bang on the wall and yell "SHUT THE HELL UP! COPS IS ON!"

"Korra, honey, please calm down." She kept her gentle tone with me, knowing I would blow up even more if she reiterated my current behavior. She knows this because I punched a hole through the drywall at our (former) home in the South, breaking my middle finger; though it was funny walking around town with a cast on my right hand, unintentionally flipping everyone the bird. But that's not the point.

"Korra, just tell me why you did it and I'll leave you alone." She compromised, desperate to try anything now that my uncontrollable temper was… Well… Out of control.

"Mom, you aren't seriously considering this situation right now, are you!?
I asked her with a baffled expression, my tone rising an octave or two. "Do you NOT believe me that I fought IN SELF DEFENSE!?" I yelled the last part, causing her to wince at my rage.

"Honey, that's the reason I'm talking to you." She declared, causing my face of rage to form into one of a puzzled child.

"Huh?" I simply stated, now curious of where my mother was getting at.

"I know you fought in self-defense because your father taught you to fight fair; to fight with dignity and respect to others when battling, no matter how injured they deserve to be…" She smiled at me as I cracked a slight grin myself, looking down at the floor so I can let it grow without her seeing it. But she walked over to me and lifted my chin up, forcing me to let my smile shine in her eyes. "Although you're fighting them with respect, you show that you have real strength and self-control… Ring a bell?"

"Yeah… Dad told me that when he first started teaching me Tai-Chi." I said, fondly remembering the memories we had together as a true family before we were separated and forced to leave.

"Now help me revise the budgets, I just got a raise." She changed the subject to money and sat back down in her spot at the table, piles of envelopes nearly toppling over.

I sat down next to her and began going through the papers with her. "And I now get a paycheck, which I collect on the first Saturday of every month." I mentioned, quite proud of myself, as I received a smile from my mother to let me know that she's proud of me, too.

Now all we need is dad to fill in the empty chair that represents our broken hearts; our broken souls. Though our minds deceive us of his presence, he truly is there… We just can't see it yet.