Four Nations Boarding School

Chapter 1
A/N: This is my first story so please be considerate, this is inspired by a lot of the other stories I've read about this kind of setting so if something seems familiar then that's why. I tried my best not to take anything directly from another story so I'm sorry if you notice overlap. Enjoy and please let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters!

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Aang had been dreading this day for many reasons. For starters, it was the first time in his life that he would be living anywhere other than the Southern Air Temple. He had spent his whole life in the temple, and had grown accustomed to everything about the lifestyle, from the morning meditations on top of the mountain to the vegetarian diet, he loved being an Air Nomad. After finding out he was the Avatar, The Master of All Four Elements, things quickly began to change. Masters from every corner of the globe journeyed to the temple in hopes of teaching the young Avatar what they know about their respected elements, government officials met with him to discuss important political matters, and before he knew it he was completely alone. His Avatar duties made it impossible for him to have any kind of normal childhood, he was too busy to make friends or even just have fun, but he still loved the temple. When he became overwhelmed with his duties and training he would simply go for a flight on his glider, or lay down and take a nap in the fur of his sky bison, Appa. Even with all of the changes in his life he thought the one thing that would never change was his home, the Southern Air Temple, but now he would have to leave that too. That's why when his mentor, Monk Gyatso, told Aang that he would be leaving the temple in order to live and study at a boarding school he began to sink into a bit of a slump. After all his worrying and anxiety the day was finally here.

Aang spent that morning preparing for the journey to the school and saying his goodbyes to the people, animals, and the temple itself. He had to explain to Appa and Momo, his pet Flying Lemur, that they wouldn't be able to come with him to the school but he promised to come visit them whenever he could. After hugs and a few heartfelt tears, Aang climbed up on top of a bison with Gyatso and their trip to Aang's new home began.

After flying for nearly 45 minutes, they began to descend and broke through the clouds. Aang peeked over the edge of the saddle and took in the view of his new home. Although he was still sad about having to leave the temple, he couldn't help but smile when he saw the sheer magnitude of the campus. It was HUGE! The school consisted of several large buildings. Taking in the aerial view Aang noticed that there were six main buildings on the campus itself, with another large building off to the side.

The bison set down onto a field across from the school and Aang grabbed his belongings, as an Air Nomad, Aang was taught not to rely too much on material possessions so he didn't have to carry much. Aang grabbed his one backpack full of clothes and turned to Gyatso. Aang noticed that a tear began to form in the corner of his mentor's eye and couldn't help one from forming in his as well. Aang embraced Gyatso in a tight hug. Aang had never known his true parents, so he had always considered Gyatso to be a father figure to him and the feeling was mutual. Even from a young age Gyatso had felt a strong connection to the boy and took him under his wing. It was under his own guidance and leadership that Aang became the youngest Airbending Master in the temple's history. Gyatso couldn't have been more proud.

As Aang started to pull away from the embrace, Gyatso gripped him tightly on the shoulder, looking him deeply in the eye and began to speak to him. "Aang I want you to make me a promise," he said "I know that this is never what you wanted but I want you to promise me that you will make the most of it. I felt guilty for not letting you experience a true childhood, you were told too soon about being the Avatar and had to grow up too quickly. I know that you will miss your home but we will always be there. This is a new chance for you, a chance to start over, and a chance to do something you can truly enjoy. So right now Aang promise me that you will make the most of this opportunity!"

Aang took in the information before speaking, he had never really considered that Gyatso was doing this for his sake and his benefit, and felt a tinge of guilt for being so quick to despise the idea of coming to this school. He looked Gyatso in the eyes and stated, "you have my Avatar promise." Gyatso smiled and pulled the boy into another embrace. After the hug was over Aang stood up and jumped down from the bison and began to walk away when he heard Gyatso call him, "Aang, I almost forgot I have a gift for you." Gyatso reached to the back of the saddle and grabbed a long wooden stick before tossing it to Aang. Aang caught it and stared at it in awe. It was Gyatso's glider, it was brown with a streak of gold running down the center. Aang peaked up from the glider and looked onto the eyes of his mentor, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "Thank you Gyatso", was all he was able to choke out. Gyatso gave him a quick nod before cracking the reins of the bison and flying off. Aang stood there for a few moments watching the man fly off until he was above the clouds, at that Aang turned around and marched toward his new home.

Aang walked until he reached the entrance to the school and looked up at the large sign displaying the words, "Four Nations Boarding School", along with the symbol of each nation. He took a deep breath and walked through the gates. He was shocked by the amount of people walking through the campus, but nonetheless he walked right in and started towards the center of the campus looking for any indication of the Main Office. That's when it happened, the moment that changed everything for him. He heard the impact of several books hitting the floor. One of those books slid right to his feet, History 101, he kneeled down and grabbed the book. He noticed a girl picking up the books and walked over to hand it to her. The girl quickly glanced up when she saw a pair of dirty white converse standing in front of her. Their eyes connected and Aang saw the most beautiful pair of eyes he could ever imagine. They were as blue as the sea with an even brighter sparkle to them. They both stood there for who knows how long staring into each other's eyes.

The girl had never seen eyes quite like his before, they were a light shade of grey with the slightest twinkle in them. She couldn't help but imagine storm clouds rolling across a clear blue sky. After a moment they both snapped out of their shared trance. Aang cleared his throat and blushed saying, "Umm... I think you dropped this." Extending his arm in order to hand her the book. She looked up and flashed him the most gorgeous smile he had ever seen, he thought he was going to melt. She placed her hand on the book, and slid it out of his grasp, placing it on top of the stack of books in her other arm. She saw him smile and couldn't help but blush a shade of bright pink." What's your name?" She asked him as she stacked her book. Aang cleared his throat again before telling her, "Um, I'm Aang." She giggled and said, "Well, thank you Aang, I'm Katara by the way, it's nice to meet you." Blushing even more than before, he replied, "Yeah, it's nice to meet you too! So where are you headed?" "I've gotta go meet up with my brother and some friends, but maybe I'll see you around?" She told him. As she started to walk away she could faintly hear him say, "Yeah, I'd like that." He watched her walk away until she glanced over her shoulder and he pretended to check the time. She giggled. With that he told himself, maybe this won't be so bad after all, took a deep breath and continued on his way looking for the main office.

To be continued...