ON THE RUNWAY

CHAPTER ONE: AVATAR JUNIOR HIGH PART 1

The sun rose out in the fields and with it rose a certain young fire bender.

Zuko was always an early riser. As a fire bender and unlike his uncle, he rose with the sun.

Yet waking up for school is different. Zuko hated many things, and waking up to school. But it was at least something I could almost live with. Though hellish, it is still better than father, or Azula. He thought.

The pre teenager got up and rubbed his eyes to drive sleep away, he tried to suppress a huge yawn (But he failed with that misrebly), and then he looked at his alarm clock, it was 6:00a.m. His uncle told him that the school program starts on eight o' clock. So this meant he still had time before going to the creepy hellhole.

In Zuko's opinion, school was a place for psychos, lunatics, and nerds who would do home work for fun. To make things worse he now was going to a new school what was its name again...yes Avatar Junior High.

The thought of being surrounded by all of the options above freaked Zuko out, and being surrounded by new ones was not or isn't going to be any easier.

Zuko pushed all of these thoughts away and went to take a bath so that he at least would not smell like a skunk in his new school.

As he entered the bathroom, Zuko caught a glimpse of himself on the mirror, he sighted and then walked to it examining his features.

The fire bender stared at his reflection on the glassy surface as if staring at a foreign picture. He felt so strange he just was not himself; at least his face was not.

Zuko reached to the left side of his face and touched the burnt flesh there.

It now was scarred, a big reddish ugly wound that he would never get rid of, given to him by who? A gift from his beloved father of course. Zuko remembered the time he got it, when he was ten or eleven, now Zuko was thirteen or at least he was told so.

When the scarred youth finished his shower, he emerged from the steaming bathroom and stood in front of his closet.

The young fire bender wanted to see what would he wear for today. It was not that he cared for his outer appearance that much as the scar ruined it any way. So he grabbed a red tunic with golden highlights, a black pair of pants, and a red jacket.

He combed his ebony black hair and left a few bangs to shield his scar. After that, Zuko went to make himself some breakfast. He wished that he could practice fire bending, but alas, his uncle was asleep. Zuko didn't Want to wake up the old man because he knew that his beloved uncle had been toil for him for the past year or so.

The least of a thank you is to let him sleep after he had spent sleepless nights in the hospital with him, and his first chance of a straight full goodnight sleep was now from this week, after Zuko was released from the hospital and his health was better.

The second reason was that he didn't want to fry the furniture, and the third reason was that if he did practice he would just sweat again and he would need to shower again.

Zuko prepared some cereal and started eating his food silently, and as he did all the painful memories rushed back to his young mind.

He felt an emphatic pain in his head, so he quickly grabbed a container from his pocket and swallowed some pills as he uncle had told him to do at such conditions, so slowly the pain in his head faded away and he continued eating his breakfast silently trying not to think of the painful past.

After the scarred youth finished, he went to the family room and started reading in one of his text books, the cover said ''History through Ages.''

Almost an hour passed beforethe other fire bender woke up and got down to see his nephew on the couch, and saw him reading silently.

"Good morning Zuko.'' he said.

"Morning uncle.'' Zuko said in a monotone, but filled with different emotions.

"I see you are wide awake, have you prepared for your first day, nephew?''

Zuko simply nodded not tearing his eyes from his book, and Iroh tried not to sight. He felt sympathy for his nephew, he was still a kid, but he was living a life that adults would not bare. Iroh tried to look at the good side. His nephew still had a small part of him that did not change, he still loved reading about wars and different battles. The ex-general remembered how when Zuko was five he would wait for him to come, and would beg him to tell him a story about a battle. Zuko would always ask his mom for such stories and the minute he learned to read he spent hours reading adventure and war novels, almost everything else is now buried deep deep inside. He guessed that some old habits didn't die easily.

Iroh, then, went to the kitchen and got back with two cups of tea, hopping Zuko would join him, but once again he set his hopes way too high.

Zuko sat in the front seat, while his uncle drove the car silently, to Avatar Junior High.

It wasn't that far, and as Iroh drove, Zuko looked from the window to the different landscapes, this was the new town, the place where he can live for a few months before he has to move or die. Finally the two fire benders reached the school and Zuko looked at the enormous building, and different students getting in and chatting or whatever. He moved his bangs so now they shield the scar again.

Zuko followed his uncle to principle Long Feng's office; he sat in the reception room while his uncle talked to the principle.

"Yes of course Mr. Roku'' he heard the principal say.

Then Iroh got out, he waved good-bye to his nephew,

"Have a nice day Zuko.'' He said and then walked out flashing him the Iroh trademark sheepish grin.

Principal Long Feng got out of his office followed by two kids.

The first was a boy, a rather slim young boy probably less than a year older than he was; he had floppy black hair, and blue tattoos, that proved to Zuko that he was an air bender. Alongside that the boy had deep silver eyes, and a goofy smile. He wore a yellow tunic revealing more tattoos on his hands, and blue jeans.

The second kid was a girl probably the air benders age. She also had a slim body, black hair with several bangs all messy around her face, her eyes... they where a strange milky green and they never focused in a way that almost creeped Zuko out.

Zuko thought she was studying him, she was probably blind, he thought. She wore a green baggy shirt, with yellow pants, and bare feet.

"I trust you are Zuko Roku?'' Long Feng's voice echoed through Zuko's ears cutting his thoughts.

Zuko just nodded.

"Very well, , in this school there are rules, I heard you used to fight a lot, there are no fights here, discipline and hard work, understood?''

Once again, Zuko just nodded preferring to adopt silence in this usual before-you-start-in-my-school lecture.

"This is Toph Beifong, and Aang Gyatso. They attend most of your classes and both are great students. They will guide you along the school, if you have any problems I hope you just tell me, a nice day to you Zuko Roku.''

And with that the principal was gone leaving the three kids alone. Silence fell on the room like a heavy wet blanket.

Zuko didn't like this, now these kids will probably just follow him around and bug him with different questions. He most certainly did not need an escort.

"Come on we'll be late'' said the green eyed girl finally as she pushed the two boys out of the reception room.

Soon they were out in the hallway making their way to whatever class they had now.

"Well I'm Aang and this is Toph, you're Zuko right? It's nice to meet you!'' Aang said as he tried not to gawk at Zuko's scar failing miserably.

As Zuko bit the urge to glare or mutter a sarcastic comment that would blow the goofy kid away Aang spoke.

"How'd you get it?'' Aang asked.

Toph glared at him so did Zuko.

"It's none of your business, now leave me alone'' Growled Zuko

"Sorry I did not mean it that way...''mumbled Aang.

"Go away, both of you, leave me alone.''

"But you don't know how to move around here, and our first class is English. Trust me Mr. Pakku does not like late students.'' said the girl Toph.

''I do know how to move around here.'' Zuko said, and he turned to a corner

"See,'' He said stubbornly walking through the hallway.

"The English class is the other way Sparky'' said Toph with a smirk that said I told you so.

"I knew that.'' Zuko growled, and then he paid attention to what she called him.

"Sparky...?''

"It's your nickname, you're a fire bender and for other reasons too, later I'll tell you why it's sparky.'' Toph said as in a matter of fact tune.

"Yeah, mine is Twinkle toes, 'cause when we met I kept using air bender to jump from place to place,'' Aang explained happily already forgetting Zuko's rude behaviour.

"But your blind, how did you know I was a fire bender?" Zuko asked.

Toph shrugged, "I see with my feet, now come on English this way." She said.

Zuko did not really know how any person could see with his feet. Where there any eyeballs there? Wait, perhaps that is why she is always bare foot, he thought.

All these were nothing but expectations and hypothesis, but one thing for sure; this will be a very hard long day.

Pretty short, so consider it as a prologue, enjoy!