A red and gold radio played loudly throughout Shi-Hua’s family street market called Four Nationwide. The sun shone brightly through the protective glass between the openings of the metal gate in the early morning. The shop was empty and closed, and would remain that way until her parents returned.
She was awake at this time, like always. Sitting in the shady part behind the counter on a stool with her arms crossed over her chest and her feet propped up next to the register, she listened attentively to the news while looking out the front entrance, watching cars drive passed and people walk by.
The shop was located in a partially busy part of the city. Busy enough to bring many customers wanting to buy their merchandise, which were really popular in the city. They didn’t sell usual fruits and vegetables from a farm they owned in the outskirts of the area. They sold food from all four nations bringing diversity to peoples’ homes from one little shop. And that turned out to be their slogan.
Her parents were very into the whole idea, caring for the shop and advertising as much as they could, but Shi-Hua really couldn’t care less. She was grateful for all she had because of the store, but hearing the slogan repeatedly and listening to her parents brag about groceries made her head hurt occasionally. Sometimes she would be forced to work while her parents were on their annual trips, and that meant talking to strangers, which she wasn’t too fond of. But that only happened if there was still more left to sell. Luckily for her, it wasn’t one of those times. All she needed to do was keep the store clean and take care of herself.
She sat there for some time listening to some music, traffic reports, weather predictions, breaking news, and other boring stories that the radio station believed was important to inform the citizens. After feeling as though she’s heard everything twice, she decided it was time for her walk. She got up, pushed the stool underneath the counter, walked around, and headed for the radio. But before she turned it off, a new report caught her attention.
There was a little clearing of a female voice before words were spoken. “Hello? I’m Korra …your new Avatar.” Shi-Hua stared at the radio questioningly while a line of questions were asked about her intentions. “Uh, yes,” Korra’s voice came on again. “I am definitely here to stay but honestly, I-I don’t exactly have a plan yet. See I’m still in training. But… look, all I know is Avatar Aang meant for this city to be the center of peace and balance in the world and I believe we can make his dream a reality. I look forward to serving you. I’m so happy to be here. Thank you Republic city!”
She quickly turned the knob and the shop filled with silence. She sighed and grabbed her key from a hook above the radio. “I guess that’s a little interesting,” she muttered, before heading out into the street.
“Good morning, Shi-Hua,” the owner of the shop across from Four Nationwide, who was an elderly woman, greeted.
She gave a small wave without making eye contact and continued walking.
“Always unsocial…” the shop owner whispered quietly while she watched the girl head down the street.
Shi-Hua barely looked up from her feet while on her walk. Her heels clicked against the pavement, but that was barely heard above the sounds of Satomobiles whizzing passed her and conversations people had. Most of the time no one even noticed her and she was fine with that.
Those who did notice did a few things. Some greeted her, some waved, and some just stared. But it didn’t matter which one they chose, she did the same thing to all of them; wave without looking up or caring who the person was. And every time she did that, each person would say the same thing, “Always unsocial.” Of course she would hear them, but she knows it’s true and she doesn’t mind people pointing it out.
Like every day, she passed Air Temple Island and the statue of Avatar Aang. She walked through the Central City Station and the statue of the former Fire Lord Zuko. And she went around the outside of the headquarters of the Metalbending Police Force with the statue of Toph Beifong. The girl would walk for hours, sometimes until the sun set off into the west. That was her clock and her signal to go home from her travels all around the city. But today was different. There was always that one day of the week where she wouldn’t go home right away. Instead she went to the Pro-bending Arena.
Shi-Hua could already see the building from her current spot. It was large and brightly lit, looking beautifully golden in the water with beams of light shining out into the darkening sky. She thought it was odd that a quiet girl like herself would enjoy being in such a noisy place, but it wasn’t the arena that she was a fan of. It was two people inside.
When she got there, she snuck in through the back when no one was looking. Unfortunately, it involved a bit of swimming and climbing but there was a spot where security was very poor that she was familiar with, and she wasn’t going to waste her money when she was only going to watch a match that would only last a few minutes.
Climbing up and through a window, she ended up in a long, wide, empty hallway. She began heading down it, looking up for once. Stopping by an open doorway, she saw an old man cleaning up what looked like a training room.
“Hey Toza,” Shi-Hua called out in her normal speaking voice. The man turned to face her.
“Ah, Shi-Hua, you’re here again,” he stated, welcomingly.
“Need any help?” she offered kindly, leaning against the doorframe.
“No, that’s alright. I’m still capable of doing this dirty work. Besides, the brothers’ match is about to start soon and you wouldn’t want to miss that. Go on,” he urged gently.
“Alright, then. See you around, Toza.”
Shi-Hua walked further down the hallway until she found the doorway she wanted. She peeked inside the room to see the boys were there and was a little surprised to find a girl with one of them.
“Hey, Shi.” Her nickname was called from a corner of the room from one of the boys. He had spiky black hair with golden eyes and was wearing his pro-bending uniform.
“Hey, Mako,” she greeted, stepping into the room. “Hey Bolin.” She turned to the other boy wearing the same uniform but had less spiky hair and green eyes.
“Shi!” Bolin spun around and grabbed his old friend. “Korra, this is Shi, or Shi-Hua. She’s our good friend.”
“Hi there.” Korra smiled.
But just like with every other person, Shi-Hua simply waved and barely made eye contact.
“I just came to wish you guys luck tonight, and watch your match.”
Mako walked passed her. “Well you came at the right time. Come on Bolin, let’s go.”
“Okay, I've got to go,” Bolin told Korra. “Wish me luck…not that I’ll need it.” He joined up with his brother and their other member, Hasook.
Korra chuckled. “Good luck! Knock ‘em out!”
Shi-Hua stepped up to one of the railings and looked down below. The playing field was hexagonal, split into two sides: one red, one blue. Each side was split into three zones. A large body of water surrounded and flowed underneath it. Seats under the large, intricate, glass-domed ceiling were filled with fans from all over the city and maybe from outside. Their cheering echoed throughout the entire building.
“So how long have you known Mako and Bolin?” Korra tried to make conversation but was shut down by the girl when she didn’t bother to answer.
She watched the battle down below intensely with the orange eye that wasn’t covered up by her hair. She witnessed Hasook take most of the beatings from the Tigerdillos. For most of the match, it seemed as though the Fire Ferrets were going to lose. But a twist occurred when Mako singlehandedly took down all three opponents with his firebending in the third round, winning the match for his team.
Shi-Hua cheered silently for a moment and then turned to Korra who was staring happily at Mako.
“Hey, do you mind telling the guys that I congratulate them?” she asked. “I have to get going.”
The Avatar raised an eyebrow. “Um…sure.”
She muttered a ‘thank you’ before walking out of the room.
“It was nice meeting you!” Korra yelled out to her. “…I guess.”
A loud cheer erupted from her right side and then Bolin appeared next to her. “Yes!” he exclaimed. “One more win and we’re in the championship tournament!”
“That’s great.” She smiled. “Oh, that Shi-Hua girl had to leave, but she wanted me to tell you congratulations.” Korra paused before speaking again in a sincere voice. “I’m not trying to sound rude or anything but… is she always like that?”
“What do you mean?” Bolin looked confused.
She tried to find the right words to say. “Is she always… unsocial?”
He thought for a moment. “When she’s not with us or Toza…pretty much.”
It turned out that Shi-Hua hadn't left yet and was standing against the wall outside of their door. She heard what Korra said and came to realize that even people who had just met her could see what type of person she was in a snap. But like always, she didn’t care what they had to say.
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Chapter notes: If you were wondering what Shi-Hua's outfit looked like...
Chapter end notes: A/N: Yeah, I changed some dialogue of course and I didn’t bother writing the pro-bending match scene because I didn’t change any of that and you are able to watch it in one of the episodes. That okay?
Reviews would be very nice! Thanks for reading!