A Typical School DayThis morning started out like any other. Everyone fighting over the bathroom, everyone fighting over who got the last rice cake, everyone fighting over who got the privilege of cleaning out the barn tonight. Personal insults flying in every direction on the way to school, followed by Toko's usual warm and friendly greeting as we walked through the doors, and perfectly on cue, Taang careening down the hallway towards us shouting at the top of her lungs, "I've got it Tara! I've got it!" She stopped just inches from Zutara.
"You got it?" Zutara asked with wide eyes.
"Here it is!" Taang giggled as she pulled a small scroll from her bag. The two girls ogled the rolled parchment as if it was filled with gold.
"Umm...yeah, that's my cue to leave." Tokka grunted.
"What is with you girls and reading fantasy?" Maiko asked, clearly disgusted.
"Well it sure beats reality." Zutara retorted, as she grabbed Taang by the wrist and began to drag her down the hall to their classroom.
I took Sokue by her hand and quickly walked her to her class. I pushed her through the door and gave her teacher, Ursandao, a wave of the hand before setting off to find my best friend Sukka. We had some serious business to attend to. I found her standing up against the wall just outside the cafeteria door, a huge grin across her face.
"I take it he's in there?" I whispered.
Her eyes continued to grin as she bit her bottom lip and nodded yes. Just the thought of him gave me butterflies in my stomach. I leaned forward, hoping to get a glimpse of his beauty, when Sukka grabbed my arm and pulled me to the wall next to her.
"The ‘Okkas have him cornered." She whispered through her teeth.
The Okkas. Jinokka, Yuokka, and Tylokka. Not only did all three girls have similar names but they also shared another trait. An obsession with boys. Any boy was up for grabs as far as they were concerned, whether he had a girlfriend or not. And apparently age was not a factor either.
"I wish they would leave him alone." I whispered to Sukka.
"Don't you just hate them?" Sukka asked.
"I can't." I sighed.
"Oh yeah, I forgot..."
Maybe here is where I should mention that Tylokka and Yuokka happen to be my cousins. Yeah, that's right, they are my uncle Sokka's pride and joy. Twins are rare on Kyoshi Island, especially twins as beautiful as those two. Since they are the same age as Maiko, I've never been that close to them. Whenever they come to my house I usually avoid them. Boys seem to be the only thing on their minds, so they get along better with Zutara. Maiko can't stand them, but then again, Maiko can't really stand anyone.
Sukka peered around the doorway, but quickly threw herself back against the wall. "Here they come!" she announced with a whisper.
Then, one by one, the ‘Okkas came through the doorway and into the hall where Sukka and I stood with fake smiles plastered on our faces. Before leaving, Jinokka turned and winked to someone still in the cafeteria. Jinokka seems to be really popular with the boys; one time I overheard a couple of them whispering about scoring with her on a first date. The whole thing confused me a little, because she didn't seem like the athletic type. But, leave it to boys to think that a ballgame would be the perfect place for a first date.
All three girls walked right on past us without so much as a wave hello. We were still watching them disappear down the hallway when it happened...
"Hey girls."
We both turned slowly toward the melodious voice. The voice of Haruki. In our minds, the most beautiful boy in school, scratch that, the most beautiful boy on all of Kyoshi Island. For the first time since Sukka and I began watching him, he had spoken to us. Before either one of us could think of a good response to his brilliant greeting, he had already smiled, turned, and walked away. Sukka quickly grabbed my arm.
"He...called...us...GIRLS!" Sukka shouted.
"I know!" I shouted back.
Just then the warning bell began to chime.
"We better hurry!" Sukka announced through her smile.
As we walked briskly to our classroom we both glanced towards Tokka's class, knowing that somewhere in that same room Haruki was taking a seat at his desk. As we reached our classroom, our elation was abruptly snuffed out as we noticed that the adult standing at the front of the class was someone that we had never seen before.
"Oh great...another substitute." Sukka frowned.
We made our way to our desks and took a seat as the unknown adult announced: "My name is Fengzula. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, your normal teacher, Hakursa, has left for an unknown destination. I will be your teacher until they return."
Hakursa has always been a wonderful teacher. Kind, patient, and caring. The only problem is that he tends to disappear without warning for long periods of time, leaving us with a substitute. So far this sub didn't sound too bad.
"I will tolerate nothing short of perfection from my students. Arriving late to my class, incomplete homework, a disrespectful attitude toward me or any of the other pupils, or an outburst of any kind and you will be immediately sent home."
Never mind. I was wrong...
End Chapter Four.I realize that Sokue and Yuokka are the same ship. Some ships like this one have more than one name and have the possibility of having one part of the ship be a little more dominant, leading to a different type of character. Thanks for reading!
Also, thank you SMBH for pointing out my misspelled name, it is now fixed!
