"Merits" Chapter 17 - Rough (including author's notes below, lucky you!) ;)
Written in NOTEPAD, baby! XD
Oh man, this chap is full of suck, but I need to make a back-up, so here goes...
"Merits" Chapter 17 - Rough draft.
**************************************
"I'm not sure I heard you right," Katara said evenly as her office-mate addressed her from in front of his desk, his laptop bag slung over his shoulder.
"I said I'm coming to observe your classes."
"Why?"
"I'm here to review the entire department -- you're part of the department."
"Right this way," she ground out through her teeth, and led him unceremoniously to her morning lab.
***************************************************
Zuko shadowed her every move for the rest of the week. It became a kind of mental torment for Katara, to see his level stare every time she looked up, every time she sat down, every time she turned to answer a question. While irrational, it felt like he was trying to gather more than just information about the classes and labs she taught.
And the questions he asked her, afterwards... Sometimes Katara felt like he was asking her the question about herself personally, not about her teaching methods or the way she ran her classroom.
For example, after a student had needed clarification several times on a topic she'd discussed with them, Zuko'd asked an open-ended question. In and of itself, harmless; but something about the question had made her second-guess her answer...
"Did you understand what happened?"
What are you getting at, she wondered suspiciously. "Yes, I understood the student's question, and we talked through the situation so I could find out exactly where she needed help," she'd replied slowly.
"Do you find you have what you need?" he'd asked.
"To teach?..." she'd expanded on his question, and measured the look in his eyes. "Yes, though it would help if I had two projectors, one for my laptop and one for examples -- that way I wouldn't have to switch screens all the time..."
He even started joining her on her coffee breaks, though he never bought anything.
His sudden attention and focus on her was enough to drive her crazy -- after him ignoring her for 3 weeks, and suddenly sticking to her like glue, she just couldn't figure him out. The change in him also made her angry and frustrated that she couldn't tell him off, exactly, either, since he really was just doing his job. She analysed his questions and actions, and (maddenningly) found reasonable excuses for each one. Plenty of unreasonable ones, too, but the devil's advocate was never completely absent from court.
Unconsciously, Zuko had become a demon to Katara.
However, she also couldn't shake the feeling he was trying to corner her, too. He wanted something other than data for his analysis -- he was after something specific from her. Try as she might, Katara couldn't nail down what that 'something' was.
Katara feigned a headache and left her desk (and office-mate-remora) for a bit that Friday afternoon just to get a break from the constant barrage of questions, since Zuko had turned into a student from Hell.
As she left, she closed the door shut quickly behind her to prevent him from following, then hid in the ladies room for a good fifteen minutes.
Her retreat ended up working in Zuko's favour... and Jet's.
***********************
Zuko looked up from his desk at the polite tap on the door.
"Hmm?"
"Hey, are you Zuko Sozin?" asked the outgoing man from the doorway. His usual toothpick hung from his mouth carelessly, though its owner had complete control over it at all times.
The vampire glanced casually at the newcomer, and replied after a quick appraisal. "Yes."
Jet took a step into the room, and extended his hand. "Hi, I'm Jet, Katara's boyfriend. I've heard a lot about you, Zuko."
The hunter kept his composure, but felt himself tighen minutely.
"You shouldn't believe everything you hear."
***********************
When Katara returned to her office (after her 8th coffee that day -- no wonder she was well and truly getting a headache) after a lecture towards the end of the day, she heard male laughter and the sounds of camaraderie floating from the opened doorway of her office.
Familiar male laughter. Ocean blue depths narrowed to slits as her mouth thinned to a line and she walked through her doorway.
"Hey Katara!" greeted Jet with a wide smile. He was sitting in her chair, pulled up to Zuko's desk, leaning back and relaxing while Zuko looked... relaxed, too, actually. Curiouser and curiouser. "Good news. Zuko's going to join us tonight at the 'Bomber. Hey, where are you going? Katara?"
"Coffee."
The door clicked shut with restrained fury as she left.
While Jet stared pensively at the wood panelling Katara had just closed with utter finality, Zuko smirked internally to himself; he was under her skin, and had practically felt her seethe when she'd returned from her 'headache'. Jet's appearance had also proved beneficial, as Jet had confided that Katara merely thought him a pervert and lecher, not a proper threat.
Not that I shouldn't do something to correct at least part of that, he remarked a bit belatedly, and realised he'd been so cheered by the fact she hadn't picked up on his being a vampire that he'd neglected to acknowledge that she was too blinded by his seeming lack of morality.
Turning his attention back to his 'visitor', the young-looking man wondered vaguely if Jet admired him for the same reason Katara despised him.
*******************************************
Moor's notes (to myself, mostly):
-I use pronouns too often to start sentences
-I need more action (and emphasis on physical movement) in this chapter
-I need to smooth my transitions
-I need to f*ing spell and grammar-check this thing. >_>
-This completes week 4 of the story, roughly; the end of the first month happens the night of this day in the story. (Include in this chap, or post lead-in/cliff-hanger?)
-Flesh Jet out a bit more?
-Describe the scenes, not just the characters, damnit woman! >_>
-DO SOMETHING with Toph & Sokka & Aang! (Or some combination thereof... Sokka's not getting enough love, and Aang has too much potential to leave aside. Toph has bigger role coming in next part, so she's ok for now. She gets plenty of witty dialogue, easy to write, don't worry for now...) Also, consider bringing other chars in sooner than originally planned?...
-How the f* can I fit in Appa and Momo? >_> Seriously, take a drink this weekend, mor, and think on this one.
-WRITE better, geez... This chapter's stark; and the wording's awkward, repetitive are painful. Wake up and WRITE! >_> This isn't the way this chapter is supposed to be, fix it!
EDIT 7MAY2008: Thank you, thestatesman, for correcting my error! Yes, this is part 17, not 18 -- I was counting chaps posted on FF.NET, not what part of the story I was in, sorry! ^^; (I don't have any previous chaps on my laptop, so I pulled up FF.NET and forgot I had added in a spare chapter, oops!)