Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

The next day, Aang awoke to the sound of the train whistle blowing, making him quickly sit up in his seat as the conductor's voice came over the intercom. "Ladies and gentleman, welcome to San Jose, California!"

Realizing that he had finally reached his destination, Aang shook whatever sleepiness he had left off and stood up, making sure to quickly gather his things as he prepared to debark from the train. He was still waking up, but the excitement from knowing he was finally somewhere that he could prove his merit and hopefully fulfill his dream of being a professional basketball player proved to be enough to get him moving.

Stepping off of the train with his things in hand, he took in a deep breath of the warm summer air and looked around. The city was beautiful. He had heard many things about California, but now he was actually getting the chance to see it for himself. A sudden thought occurred to him, however, as he watched the people come pouring out from the train and begin dispersing.

Where were Katara and Sokka? Had they gotten off at a previous stop, or were they somewhere among the crowd around him? Dearly wanting an answer, he tried his best to find either of them, but he had no luck. There were simply too many people for him to be able to find them. It was about as possible as finding a needle in a haystack.

Letting out a disappointed sigh, the young man decided not to let this get him down. Though he would love to know that they were still here, he had faith that if he was meant to see her again, he would. God had always been kind to him before, and he had faith that He would help him see her again somehow.

Taking this thought to heart, he turned around and began walking towards the main street, hoping to find a suitable place to rest while he would be in town for the competition. Fortunately for him, his parents had been kind enough to contribute some of their own money towards his trip, so he would not have to worry about not being able to afford a room or food while he was here.

Enjoying the sights of the city as he searched for a place to stay, his eyes eventually landed on what looked like a modest hotel. He certainly wasn't looking for anything flashy, just somewhere nice and clean where he could sleep comfortably after a long day of practice.

Being satisfied with what he saw, he made his way inside and got a hotel room, being glad that there were any rooms left after seeing just how many people had come to town with him on the train. Unlocking the room with the key he had been given, he stepped inside and was relieved to see that it was just as he had suspected. A nice, quiet room that was not overdone and would suit him well.

Setting his belongings down on his bed, he decided to take a moment to stretch out. Though his seat on the train had been rather comfortable, it was not a proper bed, and he was glad that he would be able to stretch out the kinks in his back that he had acquired over the three day train ride.

Looking up at the ceiling as he enjoyed a moment of quiet, his thoughts once again brought him back to the beautiful woman on the train. He had been hoping that she would get off at the same stop as him, but he had no idea if she had or not. If not, then he supposed that he would just have to keep hoping and praying that he would meet her again somehow, someway.

He knew it didn't make much sense, as he barely knew her, but there was just something about her. Despite not being happy with how she and her brother had been treated, he had loved seeing the fire in her eyes as she defended them. It was clear that she was a very passionate woman. More than that, she also was kind and understanding, and not afraid to fight if need be, if the way she had held him at knife point when she didn't recognize him on the train was any indication.

She was truly unique from what he had seen, and he wanted badly to know her better. But, for now at least, he would just have to focus on why he had come all this way. He was here to show the world that he could be a great basketball player, and he would do his very best to fulfill his dream and become a professional basketball player.

Checking his wristwatch to see what time it was, his eyes widened considerably as he saw that it was almost time for the opening warm ups for the competition. Scrambling to his feet, he quickly dug into his bags and scrounged around for his basketball uniform. Finally finding what he had been looking for, he put it into a smaller travel bag along with his running shoes and made his way out of the hotel.

He could not miss the warm ups, as this was where the competing athletes would be introduced to the talent scouts, and Aang would need to make a good first impression to be able to hopefully keep them interested in him as a potential recruit. If he missed this, his chance of becoming a professional basketball player would be hindered significantly.

Knowing that he didn't have a lot of time, Aang quickly made his way through the city streets, occasionally stopping to ask for directions since he didn't have a very good idea of where the exact location of the competition was being held. Fortunately for him, people were very kind and helpful, managing to point him in the right direction toward what appeared to be a large building in the center of the town.

"Wow," he breathed as he looked upon it, being amazed at the sheer size of the building. He had grown up in a fair-sized town, but he had never seen anything quite like this. Staring at it in awe for a few moments, the sound of someone speaking brought him back to reality as he turned to look at them.

An older man stood at the gate of the building, shouting to all who would hear. "Attention, all athletes! The All-American Sports Competition will commence in ten minutes! Begin making your way inside now!"

Heeding his advice, Aang shouldered his bag and began making his way inside, feeling his nerves begin to eat at him as he realized that this was really it. His chance to become a professional basketball player. If he messed this up… Well, he'd rather not think about that.

Shaking these thoughts from his head, he got into line and awaited his turn. The older man who had made the announcement appeared to have gone to the door, a list in his hand which Aang could only surmise was a list of names of people who had been invited to participate in the competition. He dearly hoped that the invitation he had received hadn't been a mistake.

Looking around to keep his mind distracted from this thought, he became surprised to find that there was another line on the other side of the building, but he couldn't help but notice that this line consisted of only colored men and women. Looking back behind him and seeing only white men and women behind him, he once again became disgusted as he realized what was happening.

He knew that they were in the south, but he had been hoping that maybe here things might be different. It did not appear to be so, as he could see clearly that the two groups of people had been distinctly separated. Taking on another frown as his disgust grew, Aang muttered to himself. "Separate but equal? Yeah, right."

"Young man?"

Looking up in surprise, he saw that the older man at the door was waiting for him and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, sir," he apologized as he moved forward.

"Don't worry about it, my boy," the older man told him kindly. "What is your name?"

"Aang Thompson, sir."

"Aang Thompson," the older man muttered thoughtfully as he searched the list in his hands. "Ah! Here you are!" Reaching out his hand for a shake, Aang shook it back as he continued. "Welcome, Mr. Thompson! We're excited to have you here."

Smiling, Aang replied. "Thank you, sir. I'm excited to be here as well."

Giving him a good pat on the back, the older man ushered him in and said. "Good luck in there, young man. I'm looking forward to seeing how you do."

"Thank you, sir," Aang smiled back at him before heading inside, being glad to have met the older man. His initial nervousness and disgust from seeing the segregation outside had all but disappeared, and he felt that he was ready to show the talent scouts what he was made of.

Taking a look around as he walked in, he became amazed at how the already ginormous building somehow looked even bigger from the outside. He supposed that this would be necessary to be able to host so many different sporting events at once, but it was still a true wonder that he had never imagined seeing before.

And from what he could see, there were many different sports that would be participated in during the competition. He could see a basketball court, what appeared to be a makeshift baseball field, a football field, even competitive swimming pools. Though he found himself excited to participate in the competition, he had to admit that he was excited to see other people excel in other sports as well.

After some time walking, he finally found what he was looking for: The locker rooms. For the entirety of the competition, each athlete would be given their own locker to keep their belongings in while they competed, which Aang was rather grateful for. He was currently wearing some very nice clothes, and he would not be very happy if someone tried to steal them while he was competing.

Going inside, he looked around and tried to figure out where his locker was, being that no one had told him how he could find it. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that each locker seemed to have the name of a fellow athlete, and it appeared that it was set in alphabetical order. Judging by just how many athletes were around and that his last name was more towards the end of the alphabet, he could only assume that his locker would be closer towards the end of the room.

Making his way there, he searched for a few more minutes before finally finding what he was looking for, being relieved and making a mental note of where exactly it was so he could hopefully find it more easily the next time. Quickly taking his athletic clothes out, he put them on as quickly as he could and put his nicer clothes in his locker, making sure to put on the lock that he had brought with him for this very purpose so no one would attempt to steal it. He wanted to believe that no one would try, but he knew that it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Attention all athletes! Please begin making your way to your designated sports for your introductory warm ups!" a voice over an intercom spoke, making Aang's eyes widen as he saw that he needed to get moving. Making sure that his lock wouldn't budge, he quickly stood up from the bench he had been sitting on and made his way out of the room, accidentally crashing into someone in his haste to get to his designated area.

"I'm so sorry," Aang began to apologize to the person he had just bumped into. "I-" His breath caught in his throat as he got a good look at the person he had crashed into, a look of recognition in his eyes. "Katara?"

The girl smiled as she finally got a good look back at him, having been angry for a moment, but whatever anger she felt for those few seconds all but evaporated as she realized who had bumped into her. "Aang? It's so good to see you!" she exclaimed excitedly as she hugged him, making him blush as he hugged her back. After a few moments, she reluctantly pulled back and flashed another brilliant smile at him. "I knew we were both going to California, but I didn't think we'd both be at the same competition."

"Yeah, me neither," Aang agreed with a laugh, a thought occurring to him as he realized that she was entering the competition, too. "I didn't know that you played sports."

"I didn't know that you did, either," Katara shrugged simply with a grin. "There's a lot that we don't know about each other."

"Maybe we should change that," Aang suggested as casually as he could, making Katara laugh as she saw that he was trying to play it cool.

"Maybe we should," she agreed easily, making him smile as they looked at each other. A thought occurred to Aang as he remembered that she had not come here alone.

"Where's your brother?" he asked curiously as he looked around. "Is he competing, too?"

"Yeah, he's going to be playing basketball," she informed him, making his eyes widen in surprise.

"Really?" he asked, clearly not having expected this. She nodded, making him laugh as he thought about it. "Wow. Well, I guess I'll get to see him play firsthand."

Realization dawned in Katara's eyes as she listened to him, a smirk coming onto her face as she looked back at him. "You play basketball, too?" He nodded, and her smirk only seemed to grow wider as her eyes lit up in amusement. "That's great! Now you'll get to see how pouty he gets when he loses," she joked, making him laugh once again.

"Well, I hope not for his sake," he chuckled as he looked over to the basketball court, a sudden thought occurring to him as he looked back at her. "What are you competing in?"

Watching as she undid some clasps in the robe that she was currently wearing, his eyes widened as she showed just enough so that he could see what appeared to be a swimsuit underneath. "I'm a competitive swimmer," she finally answered him as she let him look for a few moments before reclosing her robes.

"Wow. That's great!" Aang said cheerfully, trying his best not to think about what else he would be able to see if she wasn't wearing those robes. Focusing his attention back on her, he suggested. "Maybe I can come watch you compete if our matches aren't at the same time."

Smiling, she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and looked up at him. "I'd like that. And maybe I can come watch you and Sokka play," she offered, though she wasn't going to tell him that she had very little interest in watching her brother try to one up everyone.

"I'd like that, too," he told her, making her smile once again as they looked into each others' eyes. Before either of them could think to say anything further, some young athletes passing by called out to them tauntingly.

"Would you look at that? It's a negro lover!" one of them laughed as he walked by, making both Aang and Katara look at him with highly displeased looks.

"She's not a negro!" Aang stepped forward and defended her with a deep frown on his face, not liking that these people didn't like that he was talking to her only because she had a different color skin than he did, remembering what she had said on the train to the old man as he continued. "She's Inuit!"

"What difference does it make?" another taunted as they continued walking by, clearly not being afraid by the icy glares the two were giving him. "She doesn't belong here, and she knows it. None of them do." This one moved up to Aang and pointed a finger forcibly at his chest. "You should know better than to talk to them."

Aang's anger was building, but he knew that he couldn't let it get the best of him. Instead, he replied to him without moving a muscle. "She does belong here. Everyone here belongs here except the ones who put others down over something that they can't control," he added pointedly, making the guy laugh as he backed up.

"Whatever you say, negro lover," he said with his hands in an air of fake surrender, making Aang's teeth grind as he smirked before turning around and yelling over his shoulder. "Have fun talking to your negro while we show the talent scouts what we're capable of!"

Aang just scowled back at them, but his companion did not appear to be in the same state of defiance as he was. Katara, who had been angry when they had first been taunting them, had slowly taken on a look of sadness as Aang had defended her. She was used to the stupid comments and ways that people would treat her and her brother, but now Aang was getting insulted just for talking to her. She didn't want that for him, even if she too wanted to get to know him more.

Noticing that Katara had remained silent during the entire exchange, and despite not having known her very well at this point, he knew enough to know that something was wrong since she hadn't spoken a word of her own during that time. Turning around to her, he saw the look on her face and gently asked. "Katara, are you okay?"

Forcing herself to snap out of it, she let out a shaky laugh and held back the tears, not wanting him to know what she had been thinking. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Those guys were just… jerks," she lamely replied, being unable to think of anything else that wouldn't reveal her thoughts.

Aang could tell that she appeared to be hiding something, but he decided to give her some grace. Obviously, the jerks' words had gotten to her, and she didn't need to be pressured for whatever it was that she was keeping from him right now. "Okay," he said with clear uncertainty, but then took a step closer and gently cupped her face in his hand. "Just don't listen to them. They're just a bunch of jerks who don't know any better. You and every other person in this building deserve to be here. It doesn't matter what they say, because although I don't know you as well as I want to, I can already tell that you're an amazing person, Katara."

Katara couldn't help but look at him with misty eyes as she listened to him, unable to keep herself from asking. "You really mean that?"

"Of course I do," he answered easily, giving her a gentle smile as he looked into her eyes. "I already really like what I know about you, and I can't wait to get to know you more." Looking at the court where he was supposed to be, he gave her a smile and slowly removed his hand from her face. "Speaking of which, why don't we meet somewhere later after we're done here so we can get to know each other more?"

Katara was conflicted as he suggested this, wanting to get to know him more as well, but also not wanting him to be pulled into her world for merely talking to her. Despite her inner turmoil, she could see the hopeful look in his eyes and knew that she couldn't say no. Not that she wanted to, anyway, but she couldn't help her reluctance knowing that the more time they spent together, the more Aang would be punished for talking to her.

Pushing these thoughts aside for the moment, she finally looked back up into his eyes and nodded her agreement. "Okay, that sounds nice. Why don't you meet me…" she paused as she looked around, seeing what appeared to be a large fountain in the middle of the building and being satisfied with it. "Over there?" she suggested, making him smile as he nodded his agreement.

"Okay, that sounds like a plan," he smiled at her, hearing a whistle blow behind him as he knew that they were running out of time. "Good luck, Katara. I'll be crossing my fingers for you."

Unable to hold back a smile at this, Katara replied. "You too. So, I'll see you later?" she asked hopefully, even if there was still a part of her that wasn't ecstatic about dragging him into her world the more time that he spent with her.

Aang nodded, his bright smile diminishing as he looked at her. "I'll see you later. Have fun!" he told her before taking off into a sprint, amazing Katara at how fast he was as he ran to get to his designated area. Watching him until he was out of sight, Katara sighed and tried not to think too much about the jerks who had insulted them. She had a competition to focus on, and she would get to talk to Aang more later. Leaving these thoughts for another time, she turned around and began walking towards her area, knowing that her inner turmoil would have to wait.