16 The Gift(3)

I didn't help Naomi in the shop that day, mostly because she didn't let me. After that conversation, I think she started to feel useless, and guilty about me helping so much in the shop so I went to Kai's house to start preparing for the modifications on my gear. I need to buy the necessary materials and components since I couldn't make all the things I needed with the tools in the workshop. I would first need to take another look at the schematics before that I decide on what parts to buy. Some of the designs were pretty old and needed a revamp so on my way there I looked at my notebook to see which one needed some adjustments. Yes, I could just search in my mind for them but it was easier for me with my notebook in front of me, I think it's a force of habit. When I got there I had already made most of them and only needed to ask for a second opinion from librarian Li's part.

When I got to Kai's house and knocked at the door Kai's father answered.

"Ooo hey, I didn't expect you this early in the morning, Ethan. Just a minute I'll go wake up Kai."

"Ah, uncle Li it's no problem I actually didn't come here for Kai. Last night I was looking at my through my old notes and made some adjustments on the old designs since I made some of them a long time ago and since then I learned a lot."

"Well, I'm on my way to the library if you don't mind coming I could look at your improvements. I wonder what new things you're going to show me today, hahaha!"

Li liked to look and talk about my "projects" a lot since they were so unique and innovative. Well most of them were plagiarized from my world and in the technology department, it was a few decades ahead. Since I liked watching documentaries about all different sorts of creation from how first TNT came to be to the use of hydraulic pistons in day-to-day life so I had a lot of crazy ideas for this world. Since I watched a lot of documentaries about chemicals and chemistry I wanted to try so many things and sure enough, I did. Turns out these words laws about dangerous substances are very lax so I made myself a chemistry lab and this is where the fun began. I made prototypes for a lot of cool things like flashbangs, HE grenades, TNT, smoke bombes, different kinds of narcotics, of course, some of the things I made needed to be kept even from mister Li. Although I know that at first he would be amazed by those things he would see how dangerous they are and would stop me from creating them.

So while we walked Li looked at my designs and asked a few questions about the improvements and gave some suggestions at some of them. By the time we arrived at the library we already worked out the kinks and the only thing I needed was to complete a list of the stuff I need. It took only a few minutes and after Li took a look at it he said in about a week or so he could get them.

I left happy from there and went aimlessly into the town to take a stroll. Seeing Bolin and Mako I greeted them and we talked. Apparently, they have been thinking to try to enter the pro-bending circuit. I encourage them since I knew that they needed this opportunity and I even said I was going to give them some of the starter money to enter. I stayed with them till after lunch and then I went to meet my other friends.

We didn't have any lessons with Li today since he was busy with my list so we just hanged out at Kai's.

I got home only at dinner where I talked with Naomi about who I want to invite to the party and what do I want to eat. When it finally came to what kind of present I want I told her I would like a keepsake made of platinum because it has very high durability. I wanted to have something to remember her about when I went to explore the world.

My original plan of joining the air acolytes was scraped. I could meet the avatar through Bolin and Mako and besides the air acolytes would restrict me way too much. I decided I would stay to help Naomi as much as possible.

A week or so passed with nothing interesting happening. Since Li was frantically looking for the parts we did self-study, before we left Wu told us to take a small break but still do light training for a week because we were going to start going into missions so we needed to be in top shape. At home, I could barely help without my grandmother saying that I was helping too much. Since no new ideas for my tools came to mind I could only hang out with my friends, draw and read. Which if you think about it is exactly what Naomi wants for me a normal life. But since I was so used up to having all my time occupied by activities that needed my full focus I was bored. I was so bored that I painted my room walls with air benders flying through the sky, I started to polished the furniture, to my granny's exasperation and all in all things I would never do otherwise. The only interesting thing I did was to assemble and disassemble the gear Amon gave me, I did it so many times that I grow bored and stoped after the tenth cycle.