Senior Year

Dad’s main factory wasn’t far from the school, but we were still rushing.  Spending so many days driving alone had allowed me to memorize Republic City’s streets like the back of my hand.  I sped through, taking tight turn after tight turn in an effort to dodge most of the traffic on the way to the factory.  I looked at the clock on the dash.  4:45pm.  Shit.  Hopefully Dad doesn’t talk our ears off during this.  I quickly pulled into the parking lot next to the factory, parking it and turning my car off.  It was then that I finally looked over at Mako and tried my hardest not to bust out laughing.

He sat in the passenger’s seat gripping the door grip as hard as he could, a panic look full blast on his face.  When he finally realized that we had parked, he practically threw open the door and jumped out of my car.  He looked at it then at me, the panic still there.  Doesn’t he just look adorable?

“Ganna be alright, Mako?” I asked, climbing out of my car and placing my index finger on my cheek as I watched him.

He looked back at my car then back at me again. “As long as we are NEVER late to something else again I will be,” he replied, slowly closing the door and backing away as if the car was going to jump alive and eat him.

I chuckled and grabbed his hand, locking my car as I dragged him inside the factory.  Dad had a bunch of factories across the four nations and in Republic City, but this was his largest one and was responsible for putting out the latest models of Satomobiles that he came up with.  It was also where his office was located.  I ran up the stairs that led to his office, passing his assistant Ms. Teria along the way.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Asami!  Your father’s on a business call right now, but he should be done in a few minutes,” she called as we continued to climb the steps.

“Thanks, Ms. Teria!” I called back, reaching the top of the stairs with Mako right behind me.

We slowed our paces to a fast walk as we approached his office.  Mako and his observant eyes watched as we past several offices before coming to Dad’s.  Hiroshi Sato was proudly displayed on the outer glass.  I leaned against the glass, hearing Dad still on the phone, as Mako adjusted his shirt and continued to try and make himself look more presentable.  I rolled my eyes as I heard my phone go off for a text.

As I was pulling my phone out, Mako asked, “So…what’s this surprise got to do with your dad?”

“If I told you that, then it wouldn’t really be a surprise, Mako,” I said as I looked at the text.  It was from Korra.

Korra:  Hey, did you guys make it there alright?  You were in a hurry to leave, and I wanted to make sure you guys didn’t get into any trouble on the way over.

She really is too thoughtful.  I smiled at the consideration, setting my bag down on the ground.

Me: Yeah, just waiting on him to finish with a business call.  I’m sorry we rushed out like that.  What was it that you wanted to ask me?

Mako shifted in his spot as we continued to wait on Dad. “Not nervous are you?” I asked.

His cheeks turned pink, and he looked at his hands. “N-no!  W-why would I b-be?” he said, not very convincingly.  He’s so cute when he’s nervous.  But not as…stop right there, Asami.  Stop.  Right.  There.

Korra:  Well, there’s a gala that’s coming up next week.

I was in the midst of reading Korra’s last text when Dad finally opened his door, his call having finally ended. “Asami!  Sorry about that; we’ve got a new client, and I was just going over some specifics with the gentleman,” he said as he pulled me into a hug.  He looked Mako up and down before stepping out of the doorway. “Come in, come in.”

I smiled at Mako. “Go on in; I need to text Korra back real quick.”

He nodded and followed Dad inside his office.  I looked back at my phone.

Me:  Yeah, I heard about it.  All for you too!  Dad was invited, and he insisted Mako and I go.  I gotta go right now; I’ll text you back when I get home tonight!

I put my phone back in my bag and walked into Dad’s office, closing the door behind me.  Mako had taken one of the seats that sat in front of Dad’s ivory desk.  As I walked closer, I could see that Dad was still Dad; papers and contracts were all over his desk in his “organizational system”.  Yeah, right.  More like occupational mess, Dad.  I sat in the open seat next to Mako and sat my bag down beside me.

“So, you’re the infamous Mako.  Asami’s told me much about you, son,” Dad said, leaning forward on his elbows as he watched Mako.

Mako squirmed a little in his seat. “She…she has?” he asked in a soft voice.  SO.  ADORABLE.

Dad smiled. “No need to be nervous, son.  After all, it’s been nothing but good things.  Also, she let slip that you’re a bender on RCHS’s bending team.”

Mako nodded. “Yeah, but only on the junior varsity team.”

I smiled as Dad leaned back in his chair.  Surprise time it is.

“That’s perfectly fine, Mako.  I keep up with the bending scene, and I know that each competing school can bring as many teams to the championships as they can afford.  Am I correct?” Dad asked, clasping his hands on his lap.

Mako nodded. “Yes, sir.  RCHS only has enough money each year to send one team, so that’s why we have a junior varsity and a varsity team.”

Get on with it, Dad. “Well, son, do you want to know something?”  Mako nodded, his attention fully on Dad.  Dad smiled as he continued. “When I was just a little older than you, a kind man gave me the chance of a lifetime.  He invested into my ideas, and now Future Industries and the Satomobiles are a reality.”

I rolled my eyes and smiled. “Dad, come on now.  We still have to get ready for our dinner date tonight; go ahead and tell him already.”

Mako looked back and forth at us. “Tell me what?” he asked.

Dad smiled. “Well, Asami told me about your predicament and how much everyone has been training hard this season.  So, I’ve decided to sponsor RCHS to help everyone get their chance to participate at the Championship this year.”

I quickly whipped my phone back out, turning the camera on in time to catch a photo of Mako’s dropped jaw.  He stared at Dad with that expression for the next minute before finally comprehending what was being offered. “Are you…are you serious?!” he asked, jumping out of his chair.

“Yes.  I’ve even got new uniforms ready for you with the Future Industries logo on it to represent the sponsorship,” Dad said, smiling at Mako’s bewilderment.

Mako smiled that wide smile of his. “Thank you!  Thank you so much, Mr. Sato!  You won’t regret this!” he said as he pulled me out of my seat, picking me up and spinning me around.

I laughed, wrapping my arms around his neck.  As he sat back down, I leaned back. “Nice surprise?” I asked with a smile.

“The best!” he answered, leaning forward and planting a kiss on my lips.

The kiss caught me by surprise, but I happily returned it.  His lips are so soft.  It wasn’t until Dad cleared his throat did we realize how long the kiss was.  Both of us turned a deep shade of red as Dad laughed.

“Ah, young love.  Now, if I am not mistaken, you have a dinner date to attend,” he said as he walked over to me.

I smiled, wrapping my arms around him as we hugged. “Thanks so much, Dad.”

He smiled before turning his attention to Mako.  He held his hand out, which Mako quickly shook.

“Thank you very much for the opportunity, Mr. Sato.  I promise; we won’t let you down,” Mako said, another smile appearing as his free arm wrapped around my waist.

Dad smiled. “I know you won’t, young man.  Now go before you’re late,” he said, releasing Mako’s hand.

I couldn’t stop smiling, not throughout dinner nor through the romantic carriage ride afterwards.  Everything was falling into place, and it just felt so right.  This is just so…so right.

It was late when I finally flopped down on my bed that night, still buzzing from my date with Mako.  I reached over to the alarm clock, making sure that the alarm wasn’t on to ungodly wake me up tomorrow morning.  Yay for the weekends.  They are bless incarnate.  As soon as I was done, I reached down into my bag, searching for my phone.  It took a minute of pushing loose supplies out of the way before I finally found it.  I only had a few texts received:  one from Korra, three from Opal, two from Zhu Li, and one from Mako.  I smiled and read Opal’s texts first.

Opal:  Ok, so right now you’re probably telling Mako that damn surprise, so I better hear about it later tonight!

Opal:  Where are you?! Surprise now!

Opal:  I will haunt you for the rest of your life if you don’t tell me that goddamn surprise, Sato!

I laughed at how “threatening” she got with her texts as she made her demands.  Hmm.  I wonder if I should wait a day and see how crazy it drives her.  I shook my head and smile.  No, that’d just be a death sentence for me.

Me:  Calm down, Opal.  The surprise was that I got Dad to sponsor the school, so that everyone could go compete in the Championship!

Next, I read the texts from Zhu Li.

Zhu Li:  Please answer Opal’s texts.  She’s about as annoying with surprises as Varrick is in general.

Zhu Li:  Also, did you hear about those strange crimes that have been going on lately?

That caught my attention.  I reached over for my Cabbagetop, texting Zhu Li while I waited for it to start up.

Me:  Just texted her back.  No I haven’t; what crimes?

I was getting ready to read the one text from Mako when Opal’s text came in.

Opal:  What, really?!  That’s so awesome, Asami!!!!!

I smiled, texting her back as the log in screen of my Cabbagetop popped up.

Me:  I know right?  I have proof of Mako’s surprise too.

I entered the password to my Cabbagetop and leaned back as it loaded my settings.  Once it finished loading, I clicked on the icon to the Cabbagenet when I heard my phone go off for another text from Opal.

Opal:  LET ME SEE IT NOW NEED TO SEE IT PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE

I laughed, sending her the picture.  I sat my phone down after it sent and typed in the search engine:  mystery crimes Republic City.  There were so many “mystery crimes” that came up that it was hard to tell which ones Zhu Li had mentioned, and I was still waiting on her to text me back.  I was starting to get annoyed at the mention of an obviously made up fairy tale came up for the fifth time when I finally decided to look at Mako’s text.

Mako:  Hey, I just wanted to say thanks again for the surprise tonight.  I really appreciate that you and your dad want to help us get a chance to fight for the championship.  The dinner was great too ;)

I laughed when I saw the emoji.  He can be SO goddamn cute sometimes. 

Me:  I’m glad you enjoyed it, and I agree. Dinner went extremely well.

The only text that I hadn’t read Korra’s.  Unfortunately, it’d have to wait longer to answer as a text from Opal and Zhu Li rang in.  I rolled my eyes and opened Opal’s text first.

Opal:  Not shitting you, just laughed like a crazy maniac for the past ten minutes after that picture.  Mom came in to see if I was still alive.

I smiled.  Of course, she’d think that it was THAT funny when it was just a chuckle of a photo.

Me:  You’re crazy.

I then looked at Zhu Li’s text.

Zhu Li:  People have been reporting chi blockers attacking benders.  Those benders later reported that someone had taken their bending away.  Permanently.

I stared wide eyed at Zhu Li’s text.  Their bending…taken away permanently?  How was that even possible?  I shook my head.  That couldn’t be possible…could it?

Me:  How is that even possible?

I looked back my Cabbagetop and typed in: chi blockers Republic City.  The amount of articles was surprising.  Most of them were conspiracy sites as to why the crimes were happening, but the one article I saw that actually looked to be genuine I clicked on.

Chi Blockers and Disappearing Bending by Alicia Numani

In recent months, crimes against benders has been on the rise with numerous recently reporting chi blockers as the main antagonists.  In the past month alone, seven benders have reported attacks made by chi blockers, but that is not all:  they report that the leader of these chi blockers has the ability to take one’s bending away.

When asked to comment on the latest string of crimes involving the chi blockers, Chief of Police Lin Beifong had no comment.  Story will update with more information.

To read the small article was unsettling.  By the sounds of it, these attacks were gaining steam, and they were targeting benders specifically.  Mako, Bolin…Korra…they could all be targets.  I shook my head.  I couldn’t focus on that.  I knew better than anyone that those three could take care of themselves.  I leaned back against my bed frame when I realized I hadn’t read Korra’s text yet.  I grabbed my phone, opening the text.

Korra:  Hope everything went ok.  I’m glad you’re going!  I’m heading to bed early tonight, so I’ll text you whenever I wake up.

As I read the text, I couldn’t help but feel as if something was off with it.  It’s like I know that she’s not telling me the full truth.  I put my phone on its charger and closed my Cabbagetop, setting it on the nightstand.  I turned my light off and laid back on my bed, staring at my dark ceiling.  Between the weird feeling about Korra’s text and my thoughts about those chi blockers, I figured that sleep wasn’t going to come easy to me tonight.  I was wrong of course; I was out like a light when my eyes closed, though I couldn’t help as my brain strayed away at one last thought.  I hope those chi blockers don’t go after Korra.