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Description
I was just sitting in my room when everything changed. Just reading a book, being peaceful and all that shit. But the noise I heard next…if I had ignored it things wouldn't have turned out so painful in the future. I couldn't have known what events were gonna be set in motion when I ran to my window and peered out at the rusty old car parking in the driveway of the house next door. It looked like what might've been a Land Rover, but you couldn't really tell with the thick layer of rust and dirt that covered the car. Then, the people in the car stepped out, and I realised the clapped-out old banger of a car was just the tip of the iceberg with this family's weirdness.
Firstly, They were dressed like they came straight out of old-age Asia: long flowing kimonos, armour, top-knots, the whole she-bang. I opened my window a bit, and their voices drifted into my room.

"Right, I'm taking the horse and cart next time. Earth dwellers call THAT decent transport?" A small dark-haired girl in red armour was complaining to whoever listened. A woman I took for her mother looked down at her with a slight smile. This woman had a top-knot the same as the others, and a kimono-esque dress that trailed along the ground as she walked.

"Azula, I'm sure it will get better. Your father's just getting used to driving, aren't you Ozai, dear?" She put her hand on the man I gathered was her husband's shoulder. He was the most strange looking of all. Long, flowing black hair, a black top-knot and the weirdest beard I had ever seen. It was like one of those strap-on beards ancient Pharaohs used to wear yet…this man's was real. He was wearing what looked like a dark red dress, and leathery armour. I supposed they would call it a robe, not a dress, though.

"Ursa, would you please wake Iroh and Zuko up? I need them to help with the bags." Ursa nodded, and reached back into the car.

"Come on, sleepy-heads. We're here, and you need to carry the bags." Soon enough, a boy about my age with a long black ponytail crawled out of the car, followed by a rather large man with, yes, ANOTHER top-knot and a pointy beard.

"Looks like you have to carry my bags, Zuzu." Said the girl called Azula, dropped her bags on Zuko's foot. "Good luck with that, wimp features." Zuko hopped around, clutching his foot.

"Ow, ow, OW! What do you have in that bag, Azula?!" The fat man chuckled.

"I'll get that for you, Prince Zuko." Prince? Perhaps a nickname? They couldn't be royalty…could they? I turned my attention back to the strange family as Ozai and Iroh loaded the bags out of the back. I was half surprised the two of them didn't trip over their long dresses…whoops, I mean robes. The boy, Zuko, was dressed in a slightly less feminine version of Azula's armour, complete with pointy shoes. Confused, I watched the men stagger inside with their heavy loads, and as the door shut behind them I had made up my mind. If only I hadn't...

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Ding Dong!

The door swung open, and I came face-to-face with the fat man. Except, he wasn't in his robes, he was in a red shirt and some rather large trousers to compensate for his round belly. The top-knot was gone, and in it's place his long grey hair way scraped back into a neat pony-tail. I noticed the beard was still there, though. I shook my head, blonde pigtails flopping, and smiled a bright smile.

"Hi! I'm Chloe, and this is my mum, my grandma, my granddad and my little sister Izzy." I said perkily, pointing to each of them in turn, and to my 1 year old sister asleep in my mother's arms.

"Sally," my grandma said, shaking the fat man's hand.

"Ray," said my grandad, doing the same.

"Claire," said my mum, and nodded because of the lump she was holding in her arms.

"We just wanted to welcome you to Evergreen, so we baked a cake and put a packet of saffron tea in here!" I smiled, handing the box I was holding over. A smile crept over the man's face.

"Saffron tea? Out here in England? Well, thank you there, young Chloe, and your family." The man grinned broadly. "My name is Iroh, and I appreciate the welcome." My parents began to turn to go when Iroh called out. "Don't go yet! Please, come in!" He stepped aside and my family filed into the house.

The rooms were un-remarkable, but hanging everywhere were these banners with Red emblems on them. They looked kinda like flames, and they matched the shapes that were on the top-knots of the family. I knew I wasn't imagining things.

"Ursa! Ozai! Azula! Zuko! We have guests! Come on down!" Iroh called out. "They brought saffron tea. SAFFRON!" First the boy trotted down the stairs, the one I recognised as Zuko. Then came Azula, the dark-haired little girl. Then Ursa drifted gracefully down the stairs, smiling.

"Welcome to our house! I'm afraid we haven't quite finished unpacking yet…" She sighed.

"We could help. We don't mind." Said my grandmother.

"We don't?" whispered my granddad. My grandma elboed him in the ribs, then turned to my mother.

"You take Izzy home, Claire. You need a rest." My mum smiled and walked out the house. My grandma turned back to Ursa. There were heavy footsteps and we looked up to see Ozai descending the stairs.

"Whatever you're selling, we don't want it." Ursa chuckled uneasily.

"They aren't selling anything, Ozai, dear. They're our neighbours." She turned to my grandma. "He's not normally like this. It was a long, uncomfortable drive here." My granddad smiled.

"We've had plenty of those. My name is Raymond, this is my wife Sally. The woman who just walked out was our daughter Claire with her daughter Izzy. And this blondie is our granddaughter Chloe." I smiled brightly. Ozai nodded.

"You've already met my brother, Iroh, I take it? Anyway, my name is Ozai, this is my wife Ursa and these are our children, Azula and Zuko." Zuko waved half-heartedly and Azula sniffed. My grandma clapped her hands together.

"Right, what boxes do you want where?

*********************************************************************************

While the adults were off shouting about boxes, I sat on the sofa with Azula and Zuko.

"Soooo…where did you guys move from?" I said, trying to start a conversation.

"Tokyo, Japan." Replied Azula, without any enthusiasm.

"That's so cool! I've always wanted to go to Japan! What's Tokyo like?" Azula shrugged.

"Once you've seen one city, you've seen them all." I faltered a bit.

"Oh…" an awkward silence descended like a pair of ill-fitted shoes at Christmas until Iroh came bustling in with a pot of saffron tea and the cake I baked.

"Who wants snacks?" He smiled, giving us each a cup and plate of cake. We sat there, drinking our tea and eating our cake until Zuko tried to start a convocation.

"So, Chloe…how long you lived in Evergreen?" I smiled.

"Just two years. It's such a boring place though, why would you want to move here?" Azula set her cup down on the table beside the sofa.

"Exactly what I said! I said 'If you're gonna move to England, move to London. Then you see celebrities and get bombed and it's interesting!" but noooo. They want to move somewhere like Evergreen!" I nodded.

"Trust me, I'm exactly like that! Give me the chance; I'll get out of here. With or without family!" Azula's and my eyes met, and we grinned. Zuko glanced back and forth between us.

"Azula…why have you got the evil grin on? Should I be worried?" said Zuko, edging away from his younger sister. I laughed and set down my plate and cup on the floor.

"Have you guys seen you garden? It's huge! I've seen it from my window, it's got lots of trees and stuff. It'll be great for hide and seek!" Azula shot up.

"Race you two outside!" I set off running.

"You're on!"

"Wait for me!" cried Zuko, trying desperately to catch up with us.

*********************************************************************************

And then it was decided. Azula and I were inseparable after that. Zuko too, but Azula and I were best friends. Seriously, we even did the carving thing in one of the trees in her garden saying: Azula & Chloe = BFFs. We talked about dumb family members, pain-in-the-ass siblings, freaky parents, everything. Azula, Zuko, and Chloe. We were the happiest trio of friends you could come about. We even found a broken panel in the fences between our gardens, and would creep through each day to surprise each other. I forgot completely about the weird clothes and the top-knots. The banners in their house were just decoration as far as I cared. My 8 year old mind was too involved in playing hide and seek and having cart wheel competitions. Then one day, I was playing catch with Azula and Zuko in the garden when Ozai called us in.

*********************************************************************************

"WHAT?!" I shrieked, distressed. "You can't leave in two months! I've only just gotten to know you guys!" Iroh put his hand on my shoulder and I sat down, on the verge of tears.

"It's not forever, young one. We'll be back next year." I clenched my fists.

"But that makes it worse! I have to wait the whole year for you guys to get back." Tears started running down my face, now that I knew I wasn't going to see my best friends for a year. Ursa got up and put her arm around me.

"Don't worry, Chloe. We will be back. That year will be gone in a flash. You'll see. Hey." She lifted my chin up and wiped my tears away. "Don't cry. It's not forever." I nodded, and smiled weakly.

"Not forever…" I echoed.

Description
I was just sitting in my room when everything changed. Just reading a book, being peaceful and all that shit. But the noise I heard next…if I had ignored it things wouldn't have turned out so painful in the future. I couldn't have known what events were gonna be set in motion when I ran to my window and peered out at the rusty old car parking in the driveway of the house next door. It looked like what might've been a Land Rover, but you couldn't really tell with the thick layer of rust and dirt that covered the car. Then, the people in the car stepped out, and I realised the clapped-out old banger of a car was just the tip of the iceberg with this family's weirdness.
Firstly, They were dressed like they came straight out of old-age Asia: long flowing kimonos, armour, top-knots, the whole she-bang. I opened my window a bit, and their voices drifted into my room.

"Right, I'm taking the horse and cart next time. Earth dwellers call THAT decent transport?" A small dark-haired girl in red armour was complaining to whoever listened. A woman I took for her mother looked down at her with a slight smile. This woman had a top-knot the same as the others, and a kimono-esque dress that trailed along the ground as she walked.

"Azula, I'm sure it will get better. Your father's just getting used to driving, aren't you Ozai, dear?" She put her hand on the man I gathered was her husband's shoulder. He was the most strange looking of all. Long, flowing black hair, a black top-knot and the weirdest beard I had ever seen. It was like one of those strap-on beards ancient Pharaohs used to wear yet…this man's was real. He was wearing what looked like a dark red dress, and leathery armour. I supposed they would call it a robe, not a dress, though.

"Ursa, would you please wake Iroh and Zuko up? I need them to help with the bags." Ursa nodded, and reached back into the car.

"Come on, sleepy-heads. We're here, and you need to carry the bags." Soon enough, a boy about my age with a long black ponytail crawled out of the car, followed by a rather large man with, yes, ANOTHER top-knot and a pointy beard.

"Looks like you have to carry my bags, Zuzu." Said the girl called Azula, dropped her bags on Zuko's foot. "Good luck with that, wimp features." Zuko hopped around, clutching his foot.

"Ow, ow, OW! What do you have in that bag, Azula?!" The fat man chuckled.

"I'll get that for you, Prince Zuko." Prince? Perhaps a nickname? They couldn't be royalty…could they? I turned my attention back to the strange family as Ozai and Iroh loaded the bags out of the back. I was half surprised the two of them didn't trip over their long dresses…whoops, I mean robes. The boy, Zuko, was dressed in a slightly less feminine version of Azula's armour, complete with pointy shoes. Confused, I watched the men stagger inside with their heavy loads, and as the door shut behind them I had made up my mind. If only I hadn't...

*********************************************************************************

Ding Dong!

The door swung open, and I came face-to-face with the fat man. Except, he wasn't in his robes, he was in a red shirt and some rather large trousers to compensate for his round belly. The top-knot was gone, and in it's place his long grey hair way scraped back into a neat pony-tail. I noticed the beard was still there, though. I shook my head, blonde pigtails flopping, and smiled a bright smile.

"Hi! I'm Chloe, and this is my mum, my grandma, my granddad and my little sister Izzy." I said perkily, pointing to each of them in turn, and to my 1 year old sister asleep in my mother's arms.

"Sally," my grandma said, shaking the fat man's hand.

"Ray," said my grandad, doing the same.

"Claire," said my mum, and nodded because of the lump she was holding in her arms.

"We just wanted to welcome you to Evergreen, so we baked a cake and put a packet of saffron tea in here!" I smiled, handing the box I was holding over. A smile crept over the man's face.

"Saffron tea? Out here in England? Well, thank you there, young Chloe, and your family." The man grinned broadly. "My name is Iroh, and I appreciate the welcome." My parents began to turn to go when Iroh called out. "Don't go yet! Please, come in!" He stepped aside and my family filed into the house.

The rooms were un-remarkable, but hanging everywhere were these banners with Red emblems on them. They looked kinda like flames, and they matched the shapes that were on the top-knots of the family. I knew I wasn't imagining things.

"Ursa! Ozai! Azula! Zuko! We have guests! Come on down!" Iroh called out. "They brought saffron tea. SAFFRON!" First the boy trotted down the stairs, the one I recognised as Zuko. Then came Azula, the dark-haired little girl. Then Ursa drifted gracefully down the stairs, smiling.

"Welcome to our house! I'm afraid we haven't quite finished unpacking yet…" She sighed.

"We could help. We don't mind." Said my grandmother.

"We don't?" whispered my granddad. My grandma elboed him in the ribs, then turned to my mother.

"You take Izzy home, Claire. You need a rest." My mum smiled and walked out the house. My grandma turned back to Ursa. There were heavy footsteps and we looked up to see Ozai descending the stairs.

"Whatever you're selling, we don't want it." Ursa chuckled uneasily.

"They aren't selling anything, Ozai, dear. They're our neighbours." She turned to my grandma. "He's not normally like this. It was a long, uncomfortable drive here." My granddad smiled.

"We've had plenty of those. My name is Raymond, this is my wife Sally. The woman who just walked out was our daughter Claire with her daughter Izzy. And this blondie is our granddaughter Chloe." I smiled brightly. Ozai nodded.

"You've already met my brother, Iroh, I take it? Anyway, my name is Ozai, this is my wife Ursa and these are our children, Azula and Zuko." Zuko waved half-heartedly and Azula sniffed. My grandma clapped her hands together.

"Right, what boxes do you want where?

*********************************************************************************

While the adults were off shouting about boxes, I sat on the sofa with Azula and Zuko.

"Soooo…where did you guys move from?" I said, trying to start a conversation.

"Tokyo, Japan." Replied Azula, without any enthusiasm.

"That's so cool! I've always wanted to go to Japan! What's Tokyo like?" Azula shrugged.

"Once you've seen one city, you've seen them all." I faltered a bit.

"Oh…" an awkward silence descended like a pair of ill-fitted shoes at Christmas until Iroh came bustling in with a pot of saffron tea and the cake I baked.

"Who wants snacks?" He smiled, giving us each a cup and plate of cake. We sat there, drinking our tea and eating our cake until Zuko tried to start a convocation.

"So, Chloe…how long you lived in Evergreen?" I smiled.

"Just two years. It's such a boring place though, why would you want to move here?" Azula set her cup down on the table beside the sofa.

"Exactly what I said! I said 'If you're gonna move to England, move to London. Then you see celebrities and get bombed and it's interesting!" but noooo. They want to move somewhere like Evergreen!" I nodded.

"Trust me, I'm exactly like that! Give me the chance; I'll get out of here. With or without family!" Azula's and my eyes met, and we grinned. Zuko glanced back and forth between us.

"Azula…why have you got the evil grin on? Should I be worried?" said Zuko, edging away from his younger sister. I laughed and set down my plate and cup on the floor.

"Have you guys seen you garden? It's huge! I've seen it from my window, it's got lots of trees and stuff. It'll be great for hide and seek!" Azula shot up.

"Race you two outside!" I set off running.

"You're on!"

"Wait for me!" cried Zuko, trying desperately to catch up with us.

*********************************************************************************

And then it was decided. Azula and I were inseparable after that. Zuko too, but Azula and I were best friends. Seriously, we even did the carving thing in one of the trees in her garden saying: Azula & Chloe = BFFs. We talked about dumb family members, pain-in-the-ass siblings, freaky parents, everything. Azula, Zuko, and Chloe. We were the happiest trio of friends you could come about. We even found a broken panel in the fences between our gardens, and would creep through each day to surprise each other. I forgot completely about the weird clothes and the top-knots. The banners in their house were just decoration as far as I cared. My 8 year old mind was too involved in playing hide and seek and having cart wheel competitions. Then one day, I was playing catch with Azula and Zuko in the garden when Ozai called us in.

*********************************************************************************

"WHAT?!" I shrieked, distressed. "You can't leave in two months! I've only just gotten to know you guys!" Iroh put his hand on my shoulder and I sat down, on the verge of tears.

"It's not forever, young one. We'll be back next year." I clenched my fists.

"But that makes it worse! I have to wait the whole year for you guys to get back." Tears started running down my face, now that I knew I wasn't going to see my best friends for a year. Ursa got up and put her arm around me.

"Don't worry, Chloe. We will be back. That year will be gone in a flash. You'll see. Hey." She lifted my chin up and wiped my tears away. "Don't cry. It's not forever." I nodded, and smiled weakly.

"Not forever…" I echoed.