Falling Into Place
You mean to tell me that girl I met this morning was the Avatar?! Instantly, I felt my cheeks start to burn. I can’t believe that I...What do you think she’ll…Crap she’s coming this way… I sat up straight, trying to at least look not as flustered as I was. Korra took the empty seat beside me, dropping her bag down beside her seat. Seeing as there wasn’t a screaming Varrick or a barking dog to interrupt my thoughts, I was able to get a better look at her. She was dressed in blue jeans and a light blue tank top, whose color matched her Water Tribe armband that was wrapped around her right bicep. The way it wraps tightly but not too tight around her bicep must mean she probably exercises a lot, I noted. It took me a minute before I realized she was staring at me confused.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
Shit. Caught in the act of…wait was I just checking her out?! “Oh, uh…s-sorry. I didn’t realize you were the one who was going to be our new student when we met this morning,” I said, praying that she didn’t catch my beginning stutter.
She smiled. “That’s ok. I wasn’t really being polite this morning; it wasn’t until after I got Naga back into my mom’s car that I realized I hadn’t introduced myself to you and your friends this morning,” she said.
“Naga’s your dog right?” I asked, oblivious to the fact that class had already began.
Korra nodded. “Yeah; I call her my little polar bear becasuse she’s as white as one. By the way, I’m Korra, but I can see you already know that from my earlier introduction,” she said, embarrassment playing on her cheeks as she started to blush as she extended her hand.
Embarrassment looks cute on her. I mentally slapped myself. Get ahold of yourself, Asami. She’s just new and really friendly. “Hi Korra. I’m Asami,” I replied, shaking her hand.
We smiled at each other before a clearing throat interrupted our conversation. We looked forward to find Mrs. Vols looking disapprovingly at our class-interrupting conversation. We both looked down at our laps as we offered our apologies. She smiled then returned to talking to the rest of the class about the syllabus.
Once I knew we wouldn’t be given another glare of disapproval from the usually kind Mrs. Vols, I turned my attention back to Korra. “Sorry,” I whispered.
She looked at me confused, whispering back, “Why? We’re both technically at fault.”
I smiled. Humble, too. “If you’d like, I can show you around later. Get you more familiar with school and Republic City,” I continued to whisper.
She smiled back. “I’ll take you up on that offer.”
With that, we turned our attentions back to Mrs. Vols, but I couldn’t help shake this weird feeling in my chest. Something about this new girl, something about Korra, left me feeling weird. I didn’t know what it was, but it felt like we were supposed to be here, supposed to meet somehow. I’m just psyching myself out for no reason. Just first day jitters, that’s it.
The rest of my morning flew by, and before I knew it, it was lunch time. I was walking towards the cafeteria with my lunch, prepared that morning by yours truly, when I felt a familiar person jump onto my back. Instinct dictated that I catch them, and familiarity allowed me not to drop my lunch onto the floor. I smiled when Opal huffed at the failed attempt to scare me.
“You did this all last year, Opal. Did you really think that the summer would make me forget?” I asked.
“Maybe…” she replied, softly admitting defeat before sliding off my back. “So I heard someone has a class with the Avatar.”
I nodded. “First class of the day. Then I’m by myself until this afternoon when I have one of my electives with Bolin.” Just the mention of the boy’s name made Opal’s face light up.
And ensuing gushing about everything Bolin-related commenced. It lasted the walk to our usual table and the wait for Kuvira before she finally began to take more notice in her food than Bolin. I sighed in content. At least she was happy, but seriously. Somehow I need to set her up with the guy before the poor girl gets her heart broken. I had just settled into my seat, watching Kuvira and Opal discuss something home-related when I saw a familiar figure weaving through the tables.
Korra was holding her lunch, clearly looking sadden when she couldn’t find a place to eat. The look on her face was one of longing to find a friendly face. But of course, high schoolers were one of the most inconsiderable species one could find on the planet. I raised my hand, waving it at her. “Korra! Over here!” I shouted.
Korra looked at me and smiled before moving towards our table. Opal and Kuvira both gave me confused looks. It wasn’t until she was closer that I finally realized that while they knew of the Avatar attending our school, they didn’t know who exactly she was. She sat down in the open seat beside me, dropping her bag to the floor.
“Hey, thanks. I was about to go find an empty classroom or someplace else to eat,” Korra said, rubbing the back of her neck with a small smile. Why does that smile make me feel so weird?
“It’s no big deal. Korra, these are my friends, Opal and Kuvira. Opal and Kuvira, this is Korra. She’s a new student,” I introduced.
Opal smiled. “Welcome to Republic City High!” Kuvira gave a curt nod.
“Thanks. It’s nice to meet you both,” Korra replied as Opal began to drink her iced tea.
“Oh, I almost forgot, Opal. Korra’s the Avatar,” I said, knowing that I was catching my best friend off guard at the best possible time. And was it worth it.
Opal’s eyes went huge, and the next thing we knew, she had turned her head, spitting out the iced tea she had just began to drink. And who else would she managed to spit it on but Zhu Li and Varrick, who had just arrived to the table. Zhu Li looked quite annoyed; Varrick was hysterical. Even Kuvira, Miss High-And-Mighty, was stunned at the revelation. Of course I couldn’t help myself at the turn of events and began to laugh hard. What a sight it was to see Kuvira speechless and Varrick covered in ice tea. I couldn’t contain my laughter; Korra turned such a deep red that she could have been embarrassed for the both of us.
“YOU’RE THE AVATAR?!” Opal practically shouted, causing several heads to turn and look in our direction.
I didn’t think that Korra could get any redder, but she proved me wrong as she almost turned sun-burnt red from embarrassment. She looked at her hands, nodding slowly as I stifled my laughter. I hadn’t meant to embarrass her that much. I gave Opal a look, instantly shutting her up, before I put my hand on Korra’s shoulder.
“Hey, don’t let Opal’s enthusiasm get to you. She’s just very excited to meet someone as special as you,” I said, not relaying what I had just said until it was a second too late. Shit…please don’t take that as a flirt. PLEASE don’t take that as a flirt. PLEASE DON’T TAKE THAT AS A FLIRT.
Korra looked up at me and smiled gently. “Thanks. It’s just…I was homeschooled for most of my life. So this is all really new to me,” she said softly.
“Well, prepare for a huge ass change in life, new girl,” Kuvira said, leaning back in her chair as Opal started to throw apology after apology to Korra.
“Don’t mind Kuvira. She means well,” I said as Opal began to calm down and ease back on the apologies.
By the end of this part of the conversation, Zhu Li and Varrick had finished cleaning up themselves from the iced tea episode. Varrick was complaining heavily on how his clothes would have to go through some contraption he had invented to get all of the stains out. Zhu Li just rolled her eyes as she turned her attention to Korra.
“So, how about we get into a different conversation that doesn’t include Opal spitting iced tea on me again. How old is your dog?” she asked, taking a bite of her salad. I could never be a vegan; way too many greens and not enough meat.
Korra’s attitude definitely changed at the mention of her dog. “She’s two years old but still acts like a small puppy. Her name’s Naga,” she said.
Zhu Li smiled as they continued their conversation. She always knew how to relieve the tension between us. Maybe that’s why she’s always been the glue in our friendship. I began to eat my lunch, content with watching and listening to Zhu Li and Korra’s conversation, when a movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I turned my head slightly, and there was Mako and Bolin walking to their table in the corner.
Bolin was wearing khaki pants with a green shirt that looked like a casual-type of formal. He was enthusiastically describing something to Mako as they took their seats. The more and more I watch Bolin, the more I can see why Opal crushes so hard on him. They’re so alike, it’s scary. Then, there was Mako. Black dress pants with a dark grey jacket vest on over a blood red cutoff. Around his neck was a Fire Nation scarf, even though it was rather warm outside. No one knew why he wore that scarf, and he was never seen without it. He lazily nodded during Bolin’s story, slowly eating his food. It was hard not to see why all the girls would fawn over him, myself included. The way he had spiked his hair, the way his chiseled jaw was set firmly. He had a toned body, but not as muscular as Korra’s was. Wait…why am I comparing him and Korra? What the heck am I doing?!
In the middle of my silent argument with myself as to why my brain decided to do something as stupid as the comparison, Mako looked up, directly at me. My cheeks ran red, and I looked down, my food becoming the most interesting thing in the last ten seconds. A few seconds later, I decided, stupidly, to look back towards Mako, who had a small smile on his face before turning his attention to his brother.
Wow…he has such a nice smile. I hope he didn’t catch me staring for too long. I looked back at my plate, but I couldn’t find it interesting enough to finish. I could feel Kuvira’s stare digging deep into me, so I decided to finally look up at her. She raised her eyebrow, as though asking if I was going to explain later. I shrugged in response. Must have been a good answer because she turned her attention to the advanced metalbending book she had in her hands. She was always reading something in regards to earthbending or metalbending like it was her every day assignment from Su.
Opal had caught the exchange of silent conversation, whispering to me, “Everything ok?”
I nodded and smiled. “Yeah. I’ll explain later, ok?” She only nodded before finishing her lunch.
It wasn’t long after that the bell rang to finally end lunch. I packed up my things and saw Varrick dragging Korra with him as he headed down the hall that led to the science department. I couldn’t help a smile when she looked at me with a desperate look. Poor girl. She must have class next with him. Hopefully Zhu Li’s in the same class, or she’s pretty much doomed. As if reading my mind, Zhu Li raced after them, both her books and Varrick’s in her arms. I sighed. Andddd there goes the assistant. The way she follows him makes me feel like there’s more to her story.
I smiled to myself at the thought but brushed it aside as I strolled to my next class.
My shop class was the class I was looking forward to the most. The teacher, Mr. Wells, was never one to impede on a student’s clear talent, which left me to do whatever I pleased and still earn a high grade in the class. Today was more of getting my station set up for the next few days. I had already planned out which projects and schematics I wanted to work on first, but the station itself was going to take at least a day to get ready. The cleaning and prepping of the station was important, and because it hadn’t had a visitor in a few months, the cleaning was going to take priority.
I was in the middle of finishing the scrubbing of the main table when a shadow came into my view. I turned around to see Tahno and his friends standing just a few inches away from me. Of course I’d have to deal with them today, of all days. And I still have a lot of work to do on this station before the end of the period. To say that I was irritated was the understatement of the day.
“Well, well. Looky here, Sato. Why don’t you accept my invitation to dinner tonight?” Tahno asked. It was guys like him that made me thankful that Dad had insisted on self-defense classes. They could never take a hint until I knocked one into them.
“For the last time, Tahno, no. Or do we have to have a repeat of last time?” I asked, a smirk playing on my mouth.
The infuriation that ran across Tahno’s face was a spectacular image, but the conversation was interrupted when Mr. Wells came out to check to see how the rest of the class was doing. When he noticed that Tahno and his gang weren’t at their stations, he went off on a tirade on how it was important to never leave your station, that it was just asking for trouble to happen.
I smiled at Mr. Wells’s interruption; it gave me the time I needed to finish scrubbing the main table and to check the other areas of the station to see how much cleaning they’d need. Thankfully, it wasn’t long after that the cleaning finished. I pulled the list out that I had written this morning before I left; it contained all of the tools that I would need at the station for the first two projects I wanted to crank out. Only a few of the tools were actually included in the station, so I walked over to the Tool Shop to grab the rest of them. It took my three trips to finally get the station to the way I preferred, and the bell rang just as I was putting the tools away in their respective drawers. Wiping my hands on my towel, I set it on the station and grabbed my bag, heading out of the room towards my next class.
I was so focused on my next class that I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings until I bumped into someone.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to-“ I started to say before looking up at the person I had bumped into. Turns out, it was Mako.
He smiled at me. “It’s ok. I should’ve been watching where I was walking.”
I started to say something in response, but it felt as if my throat had begun to dry from a desert. I stood there, like an idiot, my mouth open as I tried to figure out what to say to him. What the heck, Asami! Say something to the guy! You’ve been practicing what you’d say to him, and now you get stage fright?!
Mako smiled at me, choosing to speak up before I had embarrassed myself even farther. “So…I was wondering if you’d like to go on a date sometime.”
I looked at him, still struggling to make a response. “Uh…uh…uh sure.” Finally, the words decide to make an appearance. ”How about…Narook’s at eight?”
The smile that had graced his face disappeared. “I…I don’t have anything near that good for wear for something that fancy.”
I smiled at him. Aw. He’s so adorable when he’s embarrassed. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it. So…eight?”
He looked at me slowly, studying me, before returning the smile. “Uh, sure. Eight it is,” he said.
I smiled, wrapping my arms around my books before I began to walk again towards my next class. A date with Mako tonight? Score! I couldn’t help the smile that lit my face, even when my next class was with Bolin. Everything was falling into place, and it was just the first day of the school year. What else could go better!