Flirting With Disaster

                                                     The Start



Katara watched the scenery moved by. The country was beautiful, but not here. This isn’t her home. She glanced over at her brother, Sokka, who was busy playing his handheld video game. She rolled her eyes and looked up front at her father. He was driving. They were moving to a new state, new city, which also mean, a new school, and new friends. Katara sighed and watched the scenery again. They were moving to some state up north from their home state of Georgia. All she could think about was her friends back home; Mayla, Kirsine, and especially, Haru, her would have been, boyfriend. All she could think about, all she cared about...

Then, her fathers voice broke her thoughts.

“There it is kids, New York city.” He said, smiling. Katara and Sokka both looked out their windows. The late afternoon sun shone on the buildings, making them look like silhouettes. Katara had to admit, New York was beautiful.

“Wow...” Sokka breathed. He looked over at Katara and took her hand and smiled as if he was saying; We’ll get through this. She smiled back at him and watched the skyscrapers go by. Before she knew it, they were pulling up to a smallish house. She got out and looked up and down the street. On one side, there was another small house. The other way, there was a mansion. They walked up to the building and went in. There was a small lobby-like room and an older woman. She looked up as they drew near and looked past them, then looked back in annoyance.

“You must have a room to park outside.” She said, looking at all of them. Her father, Hakoda, looked at her in confusion.

“Uh, that’s why we’re here. We’re the Johnson’s.” Hakoda said slowly. The woman looked up at all of them and what they were wearing. Hakoda was wearing ripped up jeans, a dirtied up white t-shirt, and a flannel shirt. Sokka was wearing something similar, minus the flannel shirt. And Katara was wearing cut-off jeans and a t-shirt that was tied back, showing a small bit of her stomach. The woman looked a little disgusted.

“Ah, yes..hmm...let’s see, let’s see...” She muttered as she scanned through her computer. Sokka, once again, focused on his game, Hakoda filed out some papers the woman had handed to him, and Katara walked around the lobby, looking at photo’s hanging on the walls. It wasn’t a bad place. In fact, it intrigued Katara. There was a picture of an old couple standing in front of the building. She looked at little closer, then back to receptionist. They were the same women. This must have been her own home at one point. She smiled and walked back to her father, who was just finishing the papers.

“Here’s your room key.” The woman handed him a key. “And your room number is...45-A.” Hakoda took the key, nodded to her in thanks, and started for the elevator, followed by Sokka and Katara. But Katara stopped and started to go back to talk to the woman, but she wasn’t there. Katara sighed and went up stairs with her father and brother. They were on the 3rd floor of the building. Hakoda opened the door and they all walked in. It was a nice room. There were three bedroom, one bathroom, and the kitchen and living room were a nice size. Katara walked into one of the rooms and there was even a balcony that faced the Hudson River. She called dibs on it. They began to unpack. Even a few of the other residents in the building helped bring in the furniture. It took them about 4 hours to get the furniture in. Everything else was boxes full of stuff. They all decided to call it a night and ordered pizza.

Katara was sitting on the couch when the buzzer rang. Sokka was doing something in his room and Hakoda was in the shower, so she answered.

“Hello?” She said into the intercom. A young boy answered her.

“Hi, I have a pizza delivery for the ‘Johnsons’?” He asked. He sounded a bit nervous. Katara figured it was his first time delivering.

“Yeah, come on up.” She said, buzzing him in. She sat back down on the couch until she heard a knock on the door. She opened up the door to a boy, about her age. He had kind of short black hair. He wore cut off shorts and a red t-shirt that had an arrow on it. He smiled nervously and held out the pizza box.

“Here you go, the total is...$5.95.” He said. Katara smiled and handed him the money. She took the pizza and began to walk away, when the boy suddenly spoke.

“You’re new in town, aren’t you?” He asked. Katara turned around and looked at him, a bit surprised.

“Well, yeah, I am. How did you guess?” She asked him.

“Your clothes, actually.” He replied, laughing a little. “Don’t worry. Most people around here judge you by what you wear. I don’t. My names Aang. I’m a sophomore at Hudson High.” Katara smiled at his kindness.

“My name’s Katara. I’m a sophomore there too. My brother, Sokka, is a junior.” She said back. Aang smiled and turned to leave.

“I guess I’ll see you there.” He called over his shoulder. Katara walked over to close the door.

“Yeah, you will.” She said back.