The Substitute

The Substitute is one of the comics featured in Team Avatar Tales.

Overview
Sokka unexpectedly becomes a substitute teacher for a day.

Synopsis
Aang, Sokka and Katara are in a dilapidated house in the Fire Nation. Sokka rises from the floor to tell them that he can't take being hungry any more, and that he will "literally die" if he doesn't get some snacks soon. Katara quietens him, telling him they would die if he gets them caught. An equally hungry Aang pats his stomach, wishing for snacks, and a frustrated Katara tells Sokka to get snacks himself if he wants them so bad.

Sokka tells Katara that her suggestion is the best idea he's heard all week, and she cautions him against going out as he is. He claims to her that he is the master of disguise, and fashions a fake moustache for himself. Aang responds with laughter, while Katara tells him he looks like a weirdo. Sokka rebuffs her by claiming that he will save them from starvation. Sokka departs, with Katara sarcastically wishing him good luck. Sokka breaks into tune about not needing luck when he has a moustache as he heads through the grass into town.

Sokka arrives at a marketplace and finds a stall selling food. He dons the persona of a loveable old man with a sweet tooth as he greets a confused vendor. He purchases two packs of mochi, two cartons of ice cream, two dozen cookies and ten fruit tarts. Sokka departs with a bag of snacks, amazed at himself, as two female Fire Nation soldiers look at him with suspicion.

The shorter of the two guards confronts Sokka with a poster with a face that looks strikingly similar to his own disguise. However, it is an advertisement for a teacher for hire. Sokka, startled, affirms that it is in fact him. The guard, impressed, informs him to come with them, as the other guard tells him that the teacher at the local school stopped showing up, and that the children could be rough sometimes. Sokka questions what can be so bad about a couple of kids, as they quickly steal all of his snacks, to his dismay. The guards wish him good luck as they depart, smiling.

He orders them to give back the mochi and cookies. He reminds himself aloud that he has to play it cool and stop the children discovering who he is, while one student remarks that his mother says that people who talk to themselves are weirdos. Sokka rebuffs everyone calling him a weirdo, saying he has a lot on his mind, as he fantasises about kissing a giant human-sized piece of mochi.

Sokka stops the childrens' rowdy behavior by suddenly asking all of them if they wanted to learn how to swordfight, with all of them raising their hands. As one student confronts him with a wooden pole, Sokka's fake moustache wis ripped off. Another student realizes Sokka isn't their teacher, and says that he'll be telling. Sokka, panicked, tells the student he can't go to jail, and he'll do anything for the student to be quiet. The student is intrigued by Sokka's notion of "anything."

Sokka returns to the marketplace with the children in tow, and orders many snacks, as the children likewise do. The vendor remarks that Sokka is a great teacher for spending all his money on the kids, which Sokka affirms. The children return to school, excited about their snacks, and promptly fall asleep at their desks in the classroom. At the end of the small day, the parents are pleased to pick up their children in school, with one mother remarking that she hasn't seen them so quiet in years, and other parents complimenting him on his skill with children and being a "miracle worker."

Sokka trudges back to Aang and Katara, with them asking what happened, and who ate all the snacks. Sokka simply responds with "children" as he removes his fake moustache and lies down on the floor of the house.