Chapter 6

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Chapter 6 There's that same girl. She comes into the tea shop every day. And she's always staring at me. She must suspect that I'm Fire Nation. What other explanation could there be? "Uncle, we have a problem. Don't look now, but there is a girl at the corner table. She knows we're Fire Nation." "I've seen that girl in here a lot," Uncle replied. "Seems she has quite a little crush on you." "What?" A crush? What is he talking about? I'm sure she's a spy and— "Thank you for the tea. What's your name?" It's the girl. She's talking to me! Think fast, Zuko. I have to use the name on my fake passport. "My name's Lee. My uncle and I just moved here." "Hi, Lee. My name's Jin. I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime." "He'd love to," Uncle said, answering before I even had a chance to think. "Great!" Jin said. "I'll meet you in front of the shop at sundown." Oh, great! Now Uncle's pushing me into a… a

date! Thanks a lot. I don't want to go on a date. I don't know what to talk about. Everything I can say would just be a lie anyway. I certainly can't tell this girl the truth about who I am. Why did Uncle do that? I really don't want to go. But when the shop closed, Jin was outside waiting for me. She took my arm and we started walking through the city. We stopped at a restaurant and ordered some food. "So, how do you like the city so far?" Jin asked. "It's okay." What am I supposed to say? "What do you do for fun?" "Nothing." Fun. I'm not a child anymore. I don't have time for fun. This really is not going well. Then the waiter came over. At least that stops me from having to talk for a few seconds. "Excuse me, sir. Would you and your girlfriend care for dessert?" Girlfriend! What is he talking about? I just met this girl. I don't even want to be here! "She is not my girlfriend!" I snapped. Great. Now I'm making a scene. She probably hates me for shouting that out. When is this evening going to be over? "So, Lee, where were you and your uncle living before you came here?"

How do I answer that one? Keep it vague. "Um, well, we've been traveling all around for a long time." "Oh, why were you traveling so much?" Think of a good lie. Something she'll believe so she'll stop asking all these questions. "We were… part of a traveling circus." Dumb, Zuko. Really dumb. "Really? What did you do? Wait. Let me guess… you juggled." Sure. That's as good a lie as any. "Yes. I juggled." Now can I go home? "I've always wanted to learn how to juggle. Can you show me something?" She's handing me three clay pots. I can't juggle. I'm just going to break this stuff. I tossed the pots into the air and tried to catch them, but they crashed down all around me, smashing to bits. "I haven't practiced for a while." She's going to know I'm lying. "It's all right," Jin said, smiling. She was nice enough not to give me a hard time. "Hey, I want to show you one of my favorite places in the city," she said. "I'm so excited for you to see the Firelight Fountain. The lamps make the water sparkle and reflect in the pool in the most beautiful way."

We came to a large fountain. The water was shooting into the air and splashing down into a large pool, but the lamps all around it were dark. "I can't believe it!" Jin cried. "The lamps aren't lit." She looked so disappointed. She really wanted to show me this and now the evening is turning out badly for her. I shouldn't do this… but she's been so nice to me. It'll be okay if she doesn't see me do it. "Close your eyes and don't peek." When Jin's hands were securely covering her eyes, I performed a simple Firebending move, sending a flame from lamp to lamp until they were all lit. She is right. The water does sparkle, and it is beautiful. It also feels so good to Firebend again, even this little bit. "Okay, now you can look." Jin opened her eyes and her face lit up almost as brightly as the fountain lamps. "Oh, wow! What happened? How did they light? What did you—" She stopped asking questions and her smile just got bigger and bigger. She was so sweet I'm sure that she didn't even think that I might be a Firebender. I did do the right thing. She looked so happy. That kind of makes me feel happy, too. She leaned in to kiss me. I don't know if I should kiss her. I—wait, I almost forgot. "I

brought you something," I said, holding up a coupon between us. "It's a coupon for a free cup of tea." That made her smile some more. "Lee, this is so sweet." "Don't thank me. It was my uncle's idea. He thinks you are our most valuable customer." "I have something for you, too," she said. "Now it's your turn to close your eyes." Okay, my eyes are closed. What's she going to do? I wonder if—oh, she is, she's kissing me. I can't let her do that. I can't get involved with this girl. Everything she thinks she knows about me is a lie. And that's all it could ever be. I could never let her know the truth. I have to pull away. "What's wrong?" Jin asked. Now I've made her feel bad. I really didn't want to do that. "It's complicated." I can't stay here with her anymore. "I have to go." I hurried back to the apartment. "How was your night, Prince Zuko?" Uncle asked when I walked in. I don't want to talk about it. I stepped into my room and slammed the door shut. I don't know. I actually like this girl. But I can't let this develop into anything. It would be based on lies, and I can't have