Element Academy

Conflicted...Page

Page feels like the worst friend on the planet, but a part of her can't help but feel that for once no one is making fun of her for being the one who doesn't belong. For once, Page is the cool kid in the area, the one everyone wants to talk to...that is except maybe Crystal who may never want to speak to her again. For once, Page is excelling at something and it's something beyond cool!

Then there is Talula and Crystal. Crystal had Page's back at the airport and during the "rock floating" incident. Talula though, she is one of the coolest people ever! Sure she says "like" too many times in one sentence, but before the "bender comment" she was telling Page how she wanted to be bending practice partners with her! The two of them are the most gifted benders in the beginners course that has ever been seen, and both Sonya and Nick have said so themselves. During practice, she feels on top of the world, like nothing is wrong in her life, and anything is possible!

...And then came dinner. Page saw Crystal waving, but Talula reminded her that she had promised to sit with her during dinner. Then there came the "bender comment".

Page didn't think Crystal could get that mad and then there was the water rising. What was that?! Did Crystal really have all that power simmering beneath the surface? One thing was for sure, it scared the living daylights out of Page to see all the water in the room, in the rice the barrels of water and everything, rise up with Crystal and quickly fall when she turned to leave. The look of betrayal that Crystal had on her face when Page couldn't find the will to move when she was done yelling at Talula, still made Page look down every time that look popped in her head.

Mahoney and some dude from the table Crystal was sitting at both ran after her when the triangle rings for the end of the meal. The rule is that you aren't supposed to leave until the bell rings, could Crystal get in trouble for leaving? Page doesn't know...

Instead, she just watches the two boys run out the room calling Crystal's name, but Page is sure Crystal has probably already retreated into the girl's wing of the water tribe rooms where neither of the two boys are allowed to go. She sighs as Talula with the smoothness of water, cooly shakes of what just happened and goes back to enjoying her last piece of sushi.

Page has lost her appetite. She picks up her box and throws it away. All around her, people are bending and showing off their newly formed talents. Demetri holds Page's hand, seeing how she's upset. He says some words of encouragement and they work to an extent.

All of a sudden, one of the many girls within the crowd start to scream that a stone ring is rising out of the pond. And one is! It isn't very large, maybe the size of her head and from the dimming light of the setting sun, it has the same kind of scratches like the ones on the floor of the exam room tracing around it and down the pole its connected to.

More experienced benders and non-experienced alike gape at the rising stone, unsure of its meaning. One of the old ladies from the morning breaks the trance and calls for everyone to go to their rooms and that the senior benders are to have a meeting tonight about the stone. What is it?

Page looks at Demetri but he just shrugs before heading off to the air bender's wing. With one last wave goodbye, Page follows the other water benders down to their wing.

Everyone is talking about the ring. What could it be? What could it mean? Is it good or bad that it started rising? No one seems to have an answer about what it could mean.

Page does her best to be normal and grabs her things for her nightly shower and is joined by Talula. She walks into the big bathroom area listening to Talula's theories about what the ring could mean; she thinks it's tied to prophecy or something. That it probably has something to do with her and how she has the potential to bend all four of the elements. When Page asks what she means, Talula explains about a four candle meditation and how all four of the candles ignited for her and how she is the only one to have that happen.

Page is blown away by the idea, could Talula possibly be the Avatar? They joke about it as they enter into two stalls next to each other so they can continue talking. As they go in, Page sees from the corner of her eye Crystal walking out of the room, probably hoping not to be noticed.

After that, it's almost time for lights out. Page notices that Sonya seems more distracted than she's ever seen her. She has only been here two days now, but Sonya has always seemed so relaxed and calm. It is weird to see so her tense and what not.

Page turns to say something to Crystal, but she has her blanket wrapped tight around her and over her head. Page is suspicious that she is just hiding, but she notices that Crystal is also shivering. Page hopes she is not getting sick. Could lifting all that water make a person sick? Maybe she is just tired? That's probably it.

Sonya calls an early lights out since she has to go to the senior bender's meetings. Turns out, she's head female water bender. Go Sonya!

So the lights go out as the moon is just beginning to rise in the sky. Page looks over at the room and can't help but to feel the emptiness of not having that many girls in the room anymore. They had to combine the other girl's beginner groups into the one room and even still it didn't fill the room all the way.

Page's mind begins to wander as she dreams of what it would be like if it turns out that she is the Avatar...