Emona was spending the evening in one of the many restaurants of Ba Sing Se's middle ring. She very much enjoyed taking in the city's nightlife, as something interesting was bound to happen in a bustling metropolis like Ba Sing Se. If Emona had to guess, she'd probably say there was no city in the world  bigger than Ba Sing Se. To be fair, she had never been anywhere else but the Earth Kingdom, and the only major city here was Omashu, but still; she couldn't imagine either one of the Water Tribes building a city this big out of ice and snow. Perhaps the Fire Nation capital was as big, but she had no desire to go there. The Fire Nation has always sounded way too hot for a relaxing trip, and if there was one thing Emona always wanted to do, it was to relax.

This evening, however, relaxation wouldn't come as easily. Her friends had already left a little while ago, as they had all been caught sneaking back home in the middle of the night one too many times. In that regard, Emona was very fortunate. Her parents were never really strict with her and always gave her the freedom she needed. She never really had a curfew, nor were they ever stingy when she asked for money. Emona loved having all of this freedom. It allowed her to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, and that was just how she wanted her life to be. What could possibly be better?! As long as she stayed out of trouble, she'd be alright.
She looked around the restaurant, scanning the rest of the patrons. They all seemed so unbearably fancy and self-important. That was the one thing she really disliked about the Earth Kingdom capital - the middle and upper ring citizens mostly thought so highly of themselves, just for living in privilege. The fact nobody seemed to see a problem with this was annoying to Emona. She, at least, didn't think of herself as better simply because she had more money or nicer things, and neither did her parents. But then again, her parents were artists, so they tended to tread off the beaten path quite frequently anyway. They had lived in the inner ring for years now and were still down-to-earth, fun and simple. That was what Emona herself wanted to be like when she grew up, too. She was 17 already. Only a few more years and she'd have to go to university... or try and become Earth Rumble Tournament Champion. Whichever came first.
Suddenly, she noticed someone out of the corner of her eye; someone who seemed as bored by this elitist atmosphere as she was. This could get interesting, she thought to herself before she got up from her seat and approached the stranger who was sitting behind the bar. >>Hey,<< she addressed them, with a slightly challenging tone in her voice, >>five gold pieces says I can eat more bean curd puffs than you!<< A bet was, after all, always sure to be interesting, and five pieces wasn't a small amount of money to wager on something like bean curd puffs.