Chapter 4 – the kitchen inspection
Suki woke up the following morning not feeling particularly well rested. She had slept enough hours, but her sleep had been constantly interrupted, mostly because Sokka had been turning and tossing, as if Ozai Nakamura was tormenting him in his dreams, possibly turning Sokka into a real donkey and trying to brand him with a hot iron rod.
Suki fixed herself a quick cup of coffee while she waited for Sokka to wake up, but when her boyfriend continued his restless slumber, Suki decided to sneak downstairs and grab a shower. As someone who had come through the brutal foster care system, Suki was anything but high maintenance. She had very low requirements for living space and she rather enjoyed the apartment above the restaurant. It did have one major drawback, however. The space had never been intended to be used as an apartment, and as such had no access to plumbing. Always having to head downstairs to use the employee bathroom facilities was a slightly annoying drawback.
Fifteen minutes later, Suki was back upstairs and enjoying her cup of morning coffee, when Sokka finally crawled out of the little bedroom corner of the apartment. Sokka didn't look great and Suki felt mildly concerned by his pale and sweaty skin and slightly red eyes. Suki pushed another cup of coffee towards her boyfriend when he sat down with her.
"Thanks," Sokka said in a voice so parched that it made him sound like a late-stage lung cancer patient.
"You're welcome," Suki said, waiting for Sokka to continue. Obviously, that was never going to be a winning tactic with Sokka. Suki knew perfectly well that her boyfriend would never open up about something that was bothering him, unless Suki coerced or threatened him to do so. After Yue had broken up with Sokka, she had largely kept a very respectable distance, stating that no two relationships were alike and never really trying to advise Suki on how to navigate the relationship with her ex. The only thing that Yue had told her was to not allow Sokka get into his head. Over the months that Suki had spent as Sokka's girlfriend, she had come to realize just how right Yue had been with her sole warning.
"So, another crazy day in store for us, I expect," Sokka remarked, trying to sound cheerful.
"I think we should expect the entire week to be quite crazy," Suki said. She didn't like how Sokka was immediately trying to distract her with irrelevant small talk. "Did you sleep well? I don't feel very rested this morning for some reason," she said, trying to steer the conversation back towards the issue concerning her.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Sokka said. "I'm sure I'll feel perfectly fine with some coffee in my system, though."
"You kept tossing and turning the whole time," Suki pointed out. "Were you having nightmares?"
"Uh, maybe? I guess," Sokka shrugged. "I can't remember."
"I think you're trying to bullshit me now," Suki said sternly. "What's bothering you? Are you still angry at me for yesterday?"
"No?" Sokka replied. "I was never angry at you. That's ridiculous."
"Okay," Suki sighed. "So, you're starting this new day being open minded and ready for some meaningful changes?" Sokka frowned, but didn't say anything. "That's not a very encouraging reaction. I seriously can't understand why you are so hung up about things that clearly are not working."
"The dream I had last night was about my dad visiting the restaurant after all the changes we made and him hating everything about it," Sokka said, finally caving under Suki's prodding. "The disappointment etched on his face… I don't know if you can understand just how painful that felt, Suki."
"Why wouldn't I be able to understand?" Suki asked. Sokka didn't reply, turning away to avoid her stare. "Oh… you think I can't understand just because I've never had that kind of relationship with a parental figure?" Suki asked, frowning. "I can still understand how painful that kind of disappointment would feel, thank you very much. I don't struggle with basic levels of empathy, you know."
"Yeah, well…" Sokka said, sounding defensive. "Dad's approval is really important to me. He left me in charge of the restaurant while he's looking after our gran. I can't let him down, Suki. I just can't."
"Okay, first of all, it's not like he left you in charge alone. Katara is here with the exact same motivation not to let the family down. You're making it sound like you're single-handedly the last line of defense at the restaurant, but that's just not true. We all want the place to succeed and we want to be proud of it," Suki spoke passionately. "And secondly, do you really think that your dad would not want you to embrace change? Do you think he would rather prefer that you stubbornly clung to the old ways that are no longer working? I haven't had the chance to meet your dad yet, but from what you, Katara and Yue have told me, he seems to be open minded towards changes. So, while you have embraced everything else your father left you with the restaurant, you haven't embraced his open-minded attitude."
Sokka remained silent for a while after Suki had finished her rant. Suki was starting to become worried that she had possibly gone a little too far when Sokka spoke up again. "Maybe you're right," Sokka finally admitted. "Maybe I have been too paralyzed with fear of failure. I can't promise that I will embrace every proposal that Ozai Nakamura makes. But I can promise that I'll consider everything he and Azula suggest."
"That's all I'm asking for, love," Suki smiled, leaning in and giving her boyfriend a peck on the cheek.
"I'll try not to be so stubborn, especially if it stops us from fighting," Sokka smiled, pulling her into a more serious kiss. "I'm in a dire need of a shower," Sokka admitted once they had parted again. "But I could pop downstairs quickly and after that we might have enough time for a-" Sokka froze before he had finished his suggestion, his eyes drawn to something outside.
"What is it?" Suki asked, already turning towards the window to spot Ozai Nakamura's Lexus pulling into the parking lot. "They're here awfully early," Suki said, quickly checking her phone. It was only a quarter to nine and the start of the lunch service was more than three hours away. "I wonder what this is about."
"Maybe it's one of those surprise kitchen inspections that we see on the show," Sokka replied. "I don't think we have anything to worry about, right? I remember us leaving the kitchen close to spotless last night."
"True," Suki nodded. She felt fairly confident about the kitchen being reasonably clean. "Of course, they will also want to inspect the walk-ins, and I have no idea about the state of those because they are Jet's domain."
"Well, if the walk-ins are filthy and messy, I will finally have a legit reason to kick Jet's ass," Sokka grinned.
"Uh… yeah, I'm sure Katara will love seeing her boyfriend and her brother fighting on camera," Suki rolled her eyes as she picked up her phone and sent Katara a quick text to let her know that Ozai Nakamura and his daughter were already at the restaurant. Katara sent an almost instant reply that she and Jet were on their way. "Anyway, Katara and Jet will be here shortly. In the meantime, I guess I'll go and play a good hostess to our honored guests."
"Shouldn't that be my role as the owner?" Sokka asked.
"Okay, don't take this the wrong way, but," Suki grinned as she leaned closer to her boyfriend and sniffed him, scrunching her face in exaggerated disgust. "It's true that you desperately need a shower."
"Let's hope we hit the jackpot today," Ozai Nakamura said, getting out of the car. Azula hurried to follow her father, both of them closely shadowed by the camera crew. "So far, we don't have much to elevate this episode to above average. The microwave idiocy is good, but I'm not sure it's good enough to make this episode go viral. I have a plan for dealing with the microwaves, but it would really help if we could find something else that's completely outrageous."
"Kitchen inspections are usually good for that," Azula said obediently as they entered the premises using the spare key that had been left with the camera crew. Azula understood perfectly well what her father was saying. So far, The Northern Lights had not provided that single outrageous moment that would make the episode particularly memorable and Azula really needed that breakthrough moment in order to secure victory in her sibling contest with Zuko.
"I feel like there has to be more stupid shit hidden somewhere to explain why this place is failing," Ozai added. "Yes, microwaving so much of their food is awful, but I have a gut feeling that there must be more to it."
"I completely agree, father," Azula nodded. She didn't even have to pretend to agree with Ozai, not this time. Azula also felt that they were yet to discover the full picture of what was wrong with the restaurant. "We always find out the truth, though, don't we?" she summoned a quick smile as they entered the kitchen, followed by a cameraman.
"Alright, let's start with the fridges here," Ozai said, walking up to one of the several kitchen freezers and opening it. "Hmm," he frowned, looking a little annoyed. Azula joined her father to take a closer look, discovering a very tidy looking fridge with all the products neatly packed and labeled with dates. "I can hardly believe how well maintained this is," Ozai was forced to admit. "It's giving me flashbacks of Hama's Baking Company."
"I know what you mean," Azula sighed. Hama's Baking Company was probably the most famous – or rather infamous – episode in the history of the entire show. Hama was a Water Tribe restaurant owner who for some reason held a deep grudge towards her father. Her restaurant had been absolutely spotless, with fridges in impeccable order, and Ozai had spent a long time wondering why he was even called in to help, but then Hama had attacked him with a meat cleaver, revealing her plan to kill Ozai, grind him into mince and then put Ozai meat cakes on her restaurant menu. Hama was now serving time at the Boiling Rock high security prison, but Azula had heard that she was actually having a grand old time there, helping out in the kitchen, quite possibly making some prison guards disappear and baking them into meat pies.
"I can hardly imagine that donkey maintaining such an impeccable order in his kitchen, he just doesn't seem the type," Ozai frowned, slamming the doors of the fridge shut.
"That's because it's not him doing that," Ozai and Azula were surprised by the voice of sous chef Suki Arya. Engrossed in their inspection, they had missed Suki joining them in the kitchen. "That's actually my job around here," Suki continued. "Anyway, good morning, Chef Nakamura. And hello, Azula," Suki smiled at her. "We didn't expect you here this early."
"Good morning, Suki," Azula smiled back. "Yes, my father and I feel that we still don't have the full picture of what is wrong with the restaurant. Hence, this kitchen inspection. Would you like to join us for it? Would that be alright, father?"
"What? Yes, why not," Ozai shrugged distractedly. "Although we would really prefer the owners to be here for it."
"Sokka is getting out of the shower and will join us in a moment," Suki explained. "Also, Katara and Jet are on their way. In the meantime, I'll be happy to answer all and any questions you might have. I have been with the restaurant long enough to know everything."
"Well, I think it's safe to assume that all the kitchen freezers are in good order," Ozai said, quickly opening the other fridges and finding the same orderly stored and clearly labeled products. "Don't expect this to be in the show, so let me just say that at least this part of the kitchen is handled competently," Ozai said.
"Thank you, Chef," Suki said, blushing with pride. Azula felt an enormous wave of envy washing over her and trying to drown her. She had made a pair of important discoveries last night, and yet she had received far less praise from her father than what he had just heaped upon Suki. Still, once the immediate anger had passed, Azula found her respect for Suki rising by another notch. She really seemed like a very competent member of the staff, probably the most competent person in this establishment.
"Let's take a look at all this kitchen equipment," Ozai said, walking over to the ovens. "Well, this looks absolutely ghastly. It's ancient and does not appear to be working," Azula's father commented after a cursory examination of one of the ovens. He opened the oven, reaching in to examine it and much to Azula's surprise, retrieving a piece of cloth from the oven. "Is that a towel?" Ozai asked, sounding perplexed.
"Yes," Suki nodded. "That oven hasn't worked ever since I started working here. But we've been using it as an additional storage unit. You know, because the kitchen is so small and we need every bit of space."
"That's sad and ingenious at once," Ozai snorted. Azula found herself quietly agreeing with her father. "I hope these other ovens are in a better state? Although from the looks of them, they appear to be just as pathetic and rundown."
"A couple of them still work," Suki said. "But they're not very reliable. I doubt they ever reach the set temperature. That stovetop is the only one that works. Same for the broilers, only one is functional, thanks to Sokka jury rigging it."
"I suppose you're going to use the miserable state of your equipment as an excuse for microwaving so much of your food," Ozai gave Suki a stern stare.
"Well… it's one of the reasons," Suki replied, uncomfortably shuffling her feet. Azula could tell that Suki felt like they could still do better even with this failing equipment, and she was most certainly right.
"I think it's clear that this kitchen lacks the tools to succeed," Azula stated. Privately, she hoped that her father would decide to get new kitchen equipment for this restaurant. If the restaurant proved to be a success upon Ozai's revisit, it would be a feather in Azula's cap, and she strongly believed that Sokka and Suki would keep failing without better equipment. Still, even without her selfish reasons for wanting this place to succeed, Azula couldn't deny that on some level she just plain hoped that Katara's restaurant would thrive. "Why have you made no investment in fixing the equipment?" Azula decided to ask, even if she already could guess the answer. The cameras were always rolling, after all, and there was always the chance that Suki might say something interesting.
"We just don't have the money," Suki shrugged. "When Hakoda… Sokka and Katara's dad, and the original owner of the restaurant, returned to the Water Tribe, he withdrew a lot of money for his mother's therapy. He also mortgaged their family home and the bank foreclosed on the mortgage… I think it was a little more than a year ago. It's why Sokka and Katara had to move in to live above the restaurant."
"That couldn't have been easy," Azula said, hoping to keep Suki talking. It wasn't just the need to squeeze Suki for some juicy drama that drove her inquiries, however. Azula couldn't hide her genuine curiosity about this restaurant and its staff.
"It wasn't," Suki shrugged. "It was like a massive and unfinished studio apartment without any amenities at all. At least by now, Sokka has broken the space up in separate rooms, but that wasn't the case for the first few months. It made Sokka and Katara's dating life really challenging, too. I remember that it could get really awkward when I started dating Sokka, and poor Katara would have to escape to the roof terrace whenever we started getting frisky. I still feel bad that Katara moved out earlier than she should have, just to give me and Sokka more privacy."
"Earlier than she should have?" Azula asked, feeling a little confused. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, the thing is, at first Katara wasn't sure about entering a serious relationship with Jet. I think she moved in with him before she had fully made up her mind. But I guess it worked out in the end. They've been together for a while now," Suki explained. She then suddenly blushed, looking flustered. "Also, I just realized that perhaps I shouldn't have said all that in front of the camera."
"Don't worry, you didn't say anything useful," Ozai said dismissively. "That wasn't the kind of juicy drama we can use on the show." Azula chose not to add anything to that. She was perfectly aware that the editing team of the show were not above cutting the footage with Suki's candid revelations in whatever way it suited them, all just to manufacture some drama.
It was at this point that more people entered the slightly cramped kitchen, first Sokka, his hair still damp from the shower, and a minute or so later, Katara, together with her boyfriend Jet. "So, what's the verdict on the state of our kitchen?" Sokka eventually asked after a round of greetings that seemed to only exasperate Ozai.
"Sad and pathetic," Ozai commented. "But also, nothing I can really yell at you for. When it comes to the state of the kitchen and the equipment here, you have clearly fallen into the accursed circle of needing money to invest in new equipment, but not having any money to invest because these rundown and crappy excuses for ovens are failing to generate any income."
"And I bet that since the bank already foreclosed on your mortgage, you have little hope of landing another loan," Azula added.
"You nailed it," Sokka admitted. "The only thing we could mortgage is the restaurant itself, but…"
"Well, what Sokka means is that our father would have to do that," Katara said, looking a little depressed. "But that means telling him that we are failing miserably, and neither I nor Sokka can bring ourselves to tell him the truth. We don't want to break our dad's heart."
"You really shouldn't have been given this responsibility of running a restaurant," Ozai shook his head. "You two are absolutely clueless about what you're doing, aren't you?"
"I don't think we're completely hopeless," Katara replied, sounding slightly defensive.
"Yes, I don't agree with that at all," Sokka nodded, frowning. "Maybe we're not getting everything right, but I think that with some help, this restaurant could be very successful, the way it used to be under our dad."
"We'll see about that," Ozai shrugged. "Anyway, it's time to inspect the walk-in fridges. Nothing exposes the owner's cluelessness as the state of a poorly maintained walk-in."
As Ozai led the way towards the walk-in freezers further at the back of the restaurant, Azula could see several pairs of eyes for some reason fixed on Jet. For his part, Jet looked to be his usual cocky and nonchalant self. Azula didn't know what to make of this silent exchange, but before she had formed any theories, they had arrived at the walk-in cooler to begin their inspection.
"This cooler is nowhere near cold enough," Ozai said, walking up to the thermostat to take a look. "50F degrees? Are you insane? Do you know what the temperature in the walk-in should even be like?" he exclaimed angrily, glaring at both Sokka and Katara.
"Lower than that… I guess?" Katara tried, cringing. Azula had to fight very hard not to roll her eyes at that comment.
"It should be around 35F, but definitely not above 38F. This is what happens when you have a pair of donuts as owners," Ozai growled, fiddling with the thermostat.
"Well, you know. Trying to keep the electricity bill manageable and all that," Sokka said. Azula didn't miss the dirty glare he shot towards Jet, however.
"I shudder to think what we're going to find here with the temperature set as high as that," Ozai said. He was looking excited now, most likely in the anticipation of discovering something truly gross. Beckoning Azula to join him in the inspection, they began to look through the crates of supplies at the front of the freezer. It seemed as if these particular crates were full of produce that had been delivered over the past few days, so they hadn't had the chance to spoil just yet.
As Ozai began to push these recently delivered crates aside in order to free access to the back of the walk-in, Azula mentally prepared herself for the worst. Indeed, it didn't take her father much time at all to start pulling out packages of spoiled food. "Now it's all coming to light, you dirty pigs!" Ozai growled, tossing a bunch of moldy salad leaves towards Sokka. "This is disgusting!" he added, handing a box of spoiled vegetables over to Azula and giving her an expectant stare.
Azula peered into the box, spotting several thoroughly rotten tomatoes. "Gross," she said, shuddering as she looked at her father, hoping that he did not truly expect her to pick up one of the tomatoes. The nod that Ozai gave her was unmistakable, however, so Azula was forced to reach into the box and grab one of the rotten vegetables. "This is so disgusting," Azula groaned as she watched the rotten tomato literally disintegrating in her hand, leaving her palm sticky and stained. Even worse, splatters of rotting tomato landed at her feet and splashed over her red stilettos.
"I agree, and there's more," Ozai said, sounding outraged, while clearly appearing happy about these discoveries. Over the next few minutes, Azula and the hapless owners were subjected to pieces of green chicken, foul smelling disintegrating fish, something that had once been an oyster, a jar of pesto that had grown fur and many other disgusting items getting shoved in their faces in hopes to trigger their gag reflex. When Ozai finally ran out of gross stuff to throw at them, Katara was swaying on her feet and had to be supported by Jet or else she would faint, while Sokka had gone completely green in the face. Knowing that a kitchen inspection was on the schedule this morning, Azula had made sure to skip breakfast, hoping that it would lessen the chance of her throwing up spectacularly. She was currently going through very unpleasant stomach contractions, the usual precursor of vomiting.
"When was the last time this was cleaned?" Ozai yelled, pointing at the back of the cooler now that all the spoiled food had been removed.
"It should be cleaned every day, with extensive cleaning around the back every week," Katara said. Azula noticed that she was refusing to look at Jet for some reason.
"Don't make me laugh," Ozai scoffed, examining the very furthest corner of the cooler. "Agni, that's black mold over there, isn't it? Azula, come and take a look. In fact, why don't you reach in and poke around a little? You're smaller and more agile, you should have an easier time reaching it."
Azula gave her father a pleading stare, even if she knew that it was stupid of her to expect that Ozai would soften. Hoping that her suffering would at least lead to increased ratings for the episode, Azula reached into the freezer, poking around the back of the mold covered surface. With her hand still covered with the juices of the rotten tomato, the black mold stuck to it like glue, so when Azula removed her hand again, she was horrified to see it covered in large black spots of icky mold.
"Disgusting," Ozai commented, quickly clearing the path for a cameraman to approach them for a proper closeup of Azula's mold covered hand. The contrast between the ugly spots of mold and her perfectly manicured ruby red fingernails was striking and oddly grotesque.
"Can I please wash my hand now?" Azula asked, struggling to suppress shudders running through her.
"Wait a minute," Ozai spoke up victoriously, pointing at something at the very bottom right corner of the fridge. "I think I can see something absolutely filthy sloshing around there. I want to know what we're dealing with here, so please, reach in and gather a handful of… whatever that is."
Azula felt a tiny spark of rebellion blossoming somewhere deep within the pit of her belly. It tried to convince her that this treatment was inhumane and that she did not deserve this humiliation. But the fear of losing was too much. She could not stomach the idea of coming second best to Zuko any more than she could cope with the fear of Ozai destroying her career if she as much as talked back to him. The brief spark of rising protest died as quickly as it had blossomed, and steadying herself as best as she could, Azula crawled into the freezer and reached in with the hand she had kept clean until now.
Her hand immediately touched something cold and disgustingly slimy. Bile rose in her throat as she scooped up the disgusting slime and pulled her hand right back out, letting the cameraman take a closeup, knowing that it would please Ozai. Hearing the disgusted reactions all around her, Azula finally dared to open her eyes and take a look for herself, instantly regretting the decision to do so. Her hand was covered with filthy smelling brown gelatinous mass mixed with bits of congealed blood. Azula could not keep it together any longer, allowing the nausea to overtake her. She dropped on her hands and knees, shaking as she tried to vomit, but not much actually came out as she shook with dry heaves.
"Did you get it? You better have it all, or else I'll have your head," Azula could hear her father threatening the cameraman, his voice coming as if through the fog. "This was better than anything I could have hoped for! Azula, you were perfect!"
Perhaps under any other circumstances, Azula would have felt delighted about this scrap of praise from her father, but right now, Azula was too nauseated to feel anything. She probably would have remained stuck with her hands and knees in the filth, if not for someone helping her back up on her feet. Azula eventually opened her eyes again, realizing that it had been Suki and Katara helping her stand up.
"I feel so filthy," Azula groaned, looking at her outfit. Her red jacket and miniskirt had escaped most of the damage save for a few spatters here and there, but her hands and legs were covered with a mix of slime, blood and mold, and her favorite red stilettos were destined for the garbage bin. It was a small mercy that she had twenty other pairs waiting back at the hotel. "I need to wash up, please," she said weakly.
"Of course," Ozai nodded his permission. "I think we have everything we needed from this little inspection. Once again, you were absolutely perfect, Azula."
"Are you okay to walk on your own?" Katara asked quietly, seemingly ignoring Ozai for the moment. For some reason, she looked really pissed off. Having stolen a quick glance at Suki, Azula realized that the other girl also looked very angry. Azula assumed that they were probably mad about the horrible state of the walk-in.
"Yes, I'll manage, thank you very much," Azula said, trying to quickly recompose herself. She knew that her father would not like her to appear weak.
"Come with me, then," Katara said, leading the way out of the kitchen, with Suki following them. "It might be hard to clean all of this at the sink. We do have showers here, though," Katara continued.
"That sounds like a good idea," Azula spoke gratefully. Of course, the showers would probably be a little filthy when compared with the facilities of the five-star hotel she was staying at, but Azula desperately needed to be clean. "Could one of you please get ahold of my PA and ask her to get a spare change of clothes for me?" Azula asked.
"I'll get right on that," Suki said, rushing off quickly.
"I'll show you where the showers are and then I'll get you some towels," Katara said. She still sounded very upset. Azula hoped that Katara would not dwell on the walk-in embarrassment for too long, but now she was struck with the sudden fear that perhaps Katara was angry at her for the part she had played in that whole spectacle. Somehow, the thought of Katara being angry at her actually hurt Azula more than the humiliation her own father had just put her through.
Katara was aware that in light of everything that had happened, she should have felt deeply upset about the state of the walk-in coolers. Still, twenty minutes after the incident at the walk-in, that wasn't where her thoughts were at as she and Suki sat in the employee locker room together with a still slightly wet and dripping Azula Nakamura. Azula was wrapped in a large towel, with a smaller towel wrapped around her head, waiting for her PA to rush to the hotel for a spare change of clothes, probably breaking the speed limit while panicking about getting fired for taking too long.
Seeing the way Ozai Nakamura had treated his own daughter in front of the cameras had filled Katara with white hot rage and she was seriously struggling to contain it. Nearby, Suki also looked upset, although she seemed to have things slightly more under control than Katara. Katara had to wonder if due to getting bounced all over the foster care system and never having stable parental figures in her life for very long, Suki didn't see Ozai's treatment of Azula being as awful as Katara saw it. Katara had grown up with her father's unconditional love taken for granted. To her, the behavior of Ozai Nakamura was abominable, and she felt that it was her obligation to call him out on it.
Still, looking at Azula sitting next to her, miserable and shivering, made Katara pause. It was important to remember that Azula was a grown woman who didn't have to stand up for this kind of behavior. Katara suspected that Ozai probably had means to coerce his daughter into accepting this abusive treatment, but she had to acknowledge that she had no idea about Azula's relationship with her father. Katara understood that simply telling Azula that what Ozai did was completely beyond the pale and that Azula shouldn't stand for it might not be actually helpful in the least.
"So… that was something," Katara eventually tried, the oppressive silence forcing her to speak up.
"Yes," Azula nodded stiffly. "I'm sorry about that, but please don't feel too bad. Basic lack of cleanliness is a problem in most restaurants."
Katara exchanged quick stares with Suki. "I wasn't necessarily talking about that," Katara said carefully after Azula had completely misread her comment, making Katara wonder if she had done so deliberately.
"Yes, the cleanliness of the walk-in isn't really our main concern right now," Suki added more directly.
"Ah," Azula remarked. She remained silent for a while before speaking up again. "You must be referring to the borderline abusive way in which my father just humiliated me in front of everyone."
"You're aware of it?" Katara gasped, the words just pouring out in shock. "Then why-"
"Shh, Kat," Suki interrupted her, holding up her hand. "Let Azula speak." Katara bristled at the interruption before giving Suki a grateful nod. Suki knew her well enough to realize that Katara could quickly get very heated and carried away when she allowed herself to become too emotional. And as angry as Katara felt right now, it was important not to lose her head.
"I'm not sure what you expect me to say," Azula shrugged. "It is what it is."
"So, the glamor of the celebrity lifestyle isn't as cracked up as it's supposed to be, huh?" Suki asked. "They don't write about this side of your life in the tabloid magazines."
"They probably don't know what's going on," Katara said.
"I very much doubt that," Azula said. "But the thing is that as much as people love gossip, scandals and the airing of dirty laundry, there are some things that make people uncomfortable and they wouldn't rather know about them. Most people don't want to know how the sausage is made, literally and figuratively. They have their own assumptions and head-canons about my father, my family, and the whole Kitchen Nightmares franchise, and they don't want the magic ruined by the inconvenient truth. And I can't blame them."
"But that's… wrong," Katara finished lamely. She realized that she had made many naïve assumptions about what Azula's celebrity life was like, and the reality of it being very different was blowing her mind. Katara had never expected Azula to be facing such struggles in her private life, and this realization was filling her with a deeply confusing mix of anger and protectiveness.
"Katara gets very passionate about her causes," Suki smiled at Azula. "There's clearly a rant building inside of her right now." Katara glared at her friend, wishing that she could object to her truthful statement.
"I had a feeling that Katara was one of those," Azula gave Suki a quick smile, one that left Katara feeling a little annoyed.
"I'm not sure what you mean by one of those, but I can assure you that Katara takes her activism very seriously and she's not just some keyboard warrior," Suki said. "She's led plenty of neighborhood rallies in the short time I've known her and she's won her fair share of battles. Without her, the park in front of the restaurant wouldn't even be there, and in its place, there would be a parking lot. Trust me, Katara is the kind of girl you want in your corner because she can be ferocious for the right cause."
"Stop, you're making me blush, Suki," Katara laughed uneasily.
"No, Suki is right," Azula said seriously. "You are the kind of person that I would want in my corner. But this thing with me and my father? That's private and for me to take care on my own, okay? You mustn't get angry on my behalf. You have to focus on fixing your restaurant. I'll be gone in less than a week, but the restaurant will be here, and you'll be relying on it to survive."
"She's right, you know," Suki spoke softly, looking at Katara. "We have to think about ourselves, first and foremost."
"Sure, but that doesn't mean I can't also think about… well, worry about what's going on with Azula," Katara sighed. "Even if we'll go our separate ways at the end of the week, and it's quite possible that we'll never meet again." Katara couldn't tell if it was merely a trick of the light or something similar, but Azula's expression seemed to turn much sadder at those words. "I would still try to follow you on social media and express my support, what little it may mean. Or we could exchange texts, if that's alright by you. I would understand if you were too busy, though."
"I'm not always that busy. Definitely not too busy for a few texts now and then," Azula said, immediately appearing happier. "I should give you my number, though."
"Way ahead of you," Suki smirked. Azula gave her a curious stare. "Katara and I bullied Yue for your number last night."
"Devious," Azula chuckled, blushing lightly. She probably would have said more, but at that point Azula's PA announced her return by sticking her head through the doors and then passing a bundle of clean clothes to Azula. Katara and Suki respectfully left Azula alone, allowing her to dress.
"That was a little depressing," Katara sighed once she and Suki were alone again.
"I guess," Suki nodded, but she didn't look overly saddened. "Maybe I'm just a heartless and inconsiderate bitch, but I'm just so excited about her being open to staying in touch. That blows my mind."
Katara was about to reply, when she suddenly became aware of the sound of raised voices echoing from the other side of the restaurant. "What's going on there?" she wondered worriedly about the unmistakable sounds of a heated argument.
"That sounds like Sokka and Jet shouting," Suki groaned. "We better get over there."
"For the love of… why now?" Katara sighed, taking off after Suki and quickly arriving at the scene of an obviously nasty confrontation. Sokka and Jet had hands on each other, wrestling in the middle of the walk-in cooler. In the meantime, Ozai was observing the scene and almost salivating as he prodded the cameraman to keep filming.
"You literally had one job," Sokka growled, trying to get a better hold on Jet so that he could wrestle him to the ground. "One job! To keep the coolers clean and well stocked!"
"Oh, get off your high horse!" Jet argued back. He was clearly on the defensive in this fight, but he was proving difficult to handle for Sokka. Sokka may have had the advantage of strength and size, but Jet was wiry and slippery, and he kept evading Sokka's grasp. "You're the head chef and the owner. The buck stops with you on everything!"
"You would say that, you lazy good for nothing!" Sokka yelled back, finally managing to get a good grip on Jet's collar. Seeing that the fight was about to become bloody, Katara managed to shake herself out of the shock of seeing her brother and her boyfriend in a nasty brawl. She threw herself in between the two fighting boys, using her elbows to push them apart, caring little for her own safety and paying the price as she had to endure a few nasty shoves before Sokka and Jet realized what was happening, finally stopping their fight.
"What are you doing? What's wrong with you two?" Katara exclaimed. She was overwhelmed by everything that had happened this morning and the floodgates finally opened, making her burst into tears, not caring about the cameraman undoubtedly getting plenty of candid shots with her tearstained cheeks. "This is already so bad… the restaurant is failing! We have so many problems that we need to address. And you think this is the time to be fighting?" Katara sobbed.
Sokka and Jet both had the decency to look ashamed at Katara's words. Ozai Nakamura used this moment to spring into action. He quickly stepped in between Jet and Sokka, forcing the sobbing Katara to step aside. "This isn't the time to be fighting, you donkeys," Ozai berated them, acting as if he had been the one to break up the fight. "This is what's wrong with the place! It's so disjointed! You've all drifted too far apart from each other, and we need to bring you all back together if this is going to work! Do you understand what I'm saying?" Sokka and Jet both mutely nodded at Ozai, looking a little confused.
As Katara was trying to get a hold of her raging emotions, frantically wiping her cheeks, she had expected Ozai to go on, but instead Chef Nakamura fell silent. Katara turned around to realize that Ozai was looking at his daughter, Azula having returned to join them. She was wearing an almost identical outfit to the one that had been ruined, and she had somehow managed to maintain the same flawless appearance as before the incident, which to Katara felt like a miracle. She had seen just how rattled Azula had been earlier, even if she had tried to put on a brave face and be dismissive. But now, it was as if she had pushed the entire upsetting experience from earlier aside completely.
"Ah, there you are, Azula. Is everything alright? I was about to go looking for you," Ozai said. Katara was not convinced by his show of sympathy in the slightest.
"I am fine and ready to continue," Azula said. "Thank you for asking, father."
"Of course, of course," Ozai nodded distractedly. "Anyway, it is good that you are here, my darling, for we must speak with the owners in private."
"Certainly, Chef," Katara said. "But could I first have five minutes with Jet, please?" she added, grabbing her boyfriend's hand and dragging him away. Ozai didn't look pleased about it, but he elected not to say anything.
"Uh-oh, am I in trouble?" Jet asked cheekily after Katara had dragged him into the manager's office and closed the door behind them.
"Listen, I don't want to blame anyone for that fight, or get into another fight just now," Katara said quickly, trying not to get distracted by Jet's infectious smile. "Right now, all I want to know is what happened with the walk-in. Why was it in such a state?"
"Oh, I thought it was something serious," Jet laughed easily. "After our submission for the show was accepted, I simply stopped cleaning around the back of the walk-in. All that mold and slime is what happens when you stop cleaning your cooler for two months. Also, you know how Bee works at Walmart, right?" Katara nodded uncertainly. "I asked her to collect some rotten fruit and veggies from their warehouse and bring it over, just to make the fridge look even more disgusting."
"I'm confused," Katara admitted. "Why would you want us to look worse than we already are?"
Jet gave her a look like he thought that she had lost her mind. "To generate views, Kat. Obviously," Jet sighed. "We want this episode to really blow up, right? To do that, we need to somehow stand out among other struggling restaurants. And I had this idea to make us memorable by having a really gross walk-in cooler. Spirits bless Azula Nakamura for getting so sick that she threw up. Together with the fight, it might be enough to make the episode go viral."
"This is crazy… I'm getting headache from how stressful all of this is," Katara groaned, rubbing her temples. "My head is spinning so hard that I can't decide whether what you just told me made sense or not. I just wish you would have told us about your plan. Or you could have at least told me."
"Sorry, babe, but there's a good reason why I didn't tell anyone," Jet replied. "I wanted everyone's reaction to the dirty walk-in to be that of genuine anger and disgust. You would have never acted the way you did if you knew that it was all for show. And Sokka would have never fought me over that."
"That's another thing, though," Katara sighed. "Do you realize how upsetting it was for me to see you fighting my brother? You two not getting along is breaking my heart, Jet."
"Damn… in that case, I may have taken things too far. I'm really sorry, Kat," Jet said quietly, appearing regretful. "Forgive me, please?"
"I just about might," Katara frowned, softening when Jet leaned in for a quick kiss. "Anyway, I should probably go and see what Ozai Nakamura wants to yell at us next for," she said, wondering where this day that had gotten off to such a crazy and intense start was about to take them.