New Student (Zukka fic)

Part Five

"Hey Suki, look! It's a poster for that party I was talking about! It's tonight, wanna go with me?" Sokka exclaimed, pointing enthusiastically at a poster on a bulletin board.

"I don't know...I'm been kind of swamped lately. Professor Piandao hands out so many assignments these days that I've been seeing math equations in my sleep! I think I'll sit this one out," Suki complained, rubbing the bags under her eyes.

"Oh, come on! So what if you have a few late assignments, it'll be fun!"

"Sokka, not everyone is as lazy as you. Some people actually care about whether or not they pass their subjects. When was the last time you turned something in on time? Be honest," Suki lectured.

Sokka scratched his head nervously. "That's not really important. I did them, shouldn't that count for something?"

She sighed, shaking her head in disbelief. "I'm not going, and if you're smart, you'll do the same." She hurried off, meeting up with Yue in the distance.

"Sheesh. When did she start sounding like Katara?" Sokka muttered to himself, heading back to his dorm.

...............................

Back in the dorm, Zuko was hunched over his desk, scribbling furiously at a worksheet. His usual  A in Algebra had dropped all the way down to a B-minus, so he'd begged Professor Pakku for as many extra credit worksheets that he could allow. He was going to finish all of it tonight, so it wouldn't be on his mind the next day.

Suddenly, the door swung open loudly, followed by the sound of someone humming the Captain Boomerang theme song. Zuko knew instantly who it was.

"Hey, Sokka."

"Hey, Zuko."

After their pact a few weeks ago, they had decided to be civil with one another, but that didn't mean they had to be friends. Sokka didn't bother him, and Zuko returned the favor.

A few hours later, Sokka burst into his room. "Hey, Zuko...so, there's this party going on tonight and Suki doesn't want to come, and I was wondering if you want-"

"No."

Sokka spluttered in surprise. "What? Why? You don't have any schoolwork due tomorrow!"

"I do, actually. My grade slipped down to a B, so I asked Professor Pakku for a bunch of extra credit work. I need to finish it by tomorrow."

"Seriously? You're freaking out over a B? That's a really good grade, why do you need extra credit?"

"Because I need an A. This is the only class that doesn't have one, and I need to mantain my GPA."

Sokka rubbed his face in exasperation. "You really need to get your priorities straight, Zuko. What's the point of going to college if you're not going to live a little?"

"Um, to succeed in all of my classes to earn a degree which will enable me to determine my entire future?"

"Are you even listening to yourself? That just sounds wrong. Come on, it'll be fun, I promise! We'll go over there for an hour, and if you hate it, you can head straight back. Deal?" Sokka compromised, extending his hand.

"I'm guessing if I say no you're going to pester me for the rest of the night?" Zuko replied, rolling his eyes in disbelief.

"Yup!"

Zuko sighed. There was no getting out of this one. "Fine. One hour, and I guarantee you, I'll be counting the seconds until then."

"That's the spirit!"