Learning

Chapter 2: Teacher, Tutor

Tutor time ended far too soon for the students's liking. They had really enjoyed this relaxed first Tutor however now their first lesson would commence. Anakin clapped his hands together as they were getting their bags and was surprised how they all jumped like meerkats to attention. His lunch had been haphazardly made although it contained an apple, sandwich and orange juice carton. It looked like a lunch for one of the kids. "I hope you all have a good first day today, I might be teaching some of you today but being in my Tutor doesn't mean that I'll go easy on you. If any that makes me expect you to work harder. Now scram!" They laughed as they ran out the room, saying goodbye. Anakin chuckled at their antics. He then noticed that the tanned girl he'd seen enter was still stood at the door. "Ah... Soka?" He tried to recall her name from the register.

She turned to him with a smile so he'd got her name right. "Yes Sir?" She had bright blue eyes that suddenly and painfully reminded him of his mother.

"I was just wondering why you're still stood at the door. You okay?" Her eyes were focused on something in front of her that stopped her from moving forward.

Ahsoka grinned. "Don't worry Sir, I'm waiting for my friend. He's new here so I thought I'd give him a hand finding his lessons." Anakin smiled at her kindness. "Speaking of lessons, I think I have you period 4. That'll be fun. Oh, Lux! Wait up!" Ahsoka called out to someone in front of her. "Bye Sir, see you later!" She waved goodbye and ran to catch up with her friend.

Anakin laughed as he returned her wave before going back to his desk. Ahsoka seemed like a nice girl, nice enough to look after her friends. He heard the sound of excited and happy chatter drift through the open window and looking up, Anakin saw Ahsoka wildly gesturing to someone beside her. 'That must be Lux.' Anakin thought to himself before taking a closer look at the boy. For some reason the knowledge of Ahsoka in his Tutor and only lesson today brought out a sense of protectiveness in him and narrowed his eyes at the boy smiling at her. Lux looked friendly enough with a face and body type that wasn't particularly strong or wild. Perhaps he was more bookish and quiet than others? This thought comforted Anakin although he wasn't quite sure why.

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Ahsoka hurried out of her maths lesson and raced towards the gym. Now she had PE which was her favourite subject so she looked forward to it immensely. Plus, Mr Skywalker would be teaching her and, while Ahsoka wasn't like some other girls who thought their new teacher was already dreamy, she looked forward to spending time with him. Barriss caught up to her as she raced down the stairs. "Ahsoka! Slow down! We'll get there on time!" Ahsoka did slow down as she reached the bottom of the stairs just so that her friend could catch her breath. "Plus, it's dangerous to run down the stairs." A noise echoed above them as the other classes came out of their lessons.

Ahsoka laughed. "Tell that to them." Then she took off jogging once more to line up outside. After they'd all been told what they would be doing this term and sorted into groups, boys and girls split up to go into their separate changing rooms. It was always very chatty in the changing rooms which Ahsoka didn't mind however everyone always took soooo long to get changed that they spent a tenth of the lesson in those rooms. This meant that she and Barriss were often one of the first ones to be ready.

Mr Skywalker was waiting for them outside the gym. "Well done girls, that was quick. Have you played hockey before?" Ahsoka nodded as Barriss tied her shoes once more. "That's good," He checked his watch. "Do you know what's taking the others so long? We need to probably start soon. Plus, this is my only lesson so I want to get something out of it." Barriss and Ahsoka laughed as he smiled at them.

Ahsoka head suddenly lit up with a question. "Sir? Why do you only have one lesson today? Is it because you're new?" She knew that not every teacher had five lessons every day however one lesson only was surprising.

Anakin shrugged his shoulders. "No idea. Maybe, or it may just be how the scheduling worked. I'm not going to question it. I get a nice easy first day." He looked closer at the dark circles already forming under their eyes. "I doubt you two and the rest of your classmates can say the same." They nodded with a smile as the rest of their group started to arrive. Anakin clapped his hands again to get their attention. "Okay everyone, we're going out onto the tennis courts for some hockey today. We'll be practising basic passes and keeping the ball under control with the stick. Now, I need two people to carry the hockey sticks for me and one person to carry the ball bucket." About a dozen hands suddenly shot up, all keen to please their new teacher. Anakin saw that Ahsoka and Barriss had put their hands up and because they were the first ones he knew he would pick them. A paler girl with platinum blonde hair also had her hand up so Anakin picked her also. "Barriss and... Riyo?" She nodded. "You two can be in charge of the sticks while Ahsoka you can carry the ball bucket." The three girls nodded and went to their tasks while the rest of the class ran towards the courts.

Ahsoka carried the bucket with ease while her friends hurried to deliver the sticks. Anakin fell into step beside her with a smile. "You're friend okay?" He asked her and Ahsoka looked slightly confused for a moment before she remembered Lux.

"Oh yes he's fine thank you Sir, Lux has geography now which is his favourite subject. This is mine. It's sweet really how nervous he is but I suppose it is intimidating to join a new school." She turned to look at him. "Are you nervous Sir?" Anakin turned back to her with a grin.

"Course not, I'm bigger and more powerful than all of you so I have nothing to fear. On the other hand, your little friend will be eaten alive by your classmates." He laughed at the shocked expression on her face.

Ahsoka walked quicker to catch up to him. "Lux isn't weak! In fact, he wants to go into politics when he's older. You can't be weak to go into that career. Stop laughing Sir! I'm serious!" She tried to swat at him with the bucket but he easily dodged her.

Anakin held his hands up in surrender however he felt pleased that clearly his earlier assessment of Lux was pretty spot on. "Okay, you're right; that's mean of me. However I easily remember being at school not that long ago and if there was a new boy wanting to go into politics who loved geography... I doubt he'd last long. Can you dispute that?" He was enjoying this discussion with her.

Ahsoka nodded vehemently. "Yes, times change. Now people are kinder to those in our year, we don't pick on them. Plus, my classmates are not wild animals. They're kind and funny people who look after one another. We've all known each other for years, you've only known a small amount of us for a day!" Ahsoka's voice had risen now but Anakin couldn't stop laughing at her indigence. "You're small-minded and stuck in the past! With a stupid name as well! Skyguy!" Ahsoka didn't know what had came over her, she had never been this disrespectful towards a teacher before! She didn't doubt that Mr Skywalker would punish her now.

To her surprise, Anakin started to laugh. "Okay Snips, no need to make it personal. However you are right, I may feel young but your generation is probably more acceptable than mine. You don't need to look so panicked, you're not in trouble. Trust me, part of why I wanted to become a teacher was so that I could remind myself of how the next generation works." Anakin grinned at her and Ahsoka felt herself instantly relax.

A thought suddenly came to her by his words. "Does that mean you don't have any kids?" Ahsoka really didn't know what was causing her to be so bold but Anakin didn't seem to mind.

He shook his head. "No, however my wife and I have discussed becoming parents for a long time." He showed her the wedding ring on his finger with a smile. "Based on what you've come to conclude about me today, do you think I would be a good parent?" Ahsoka could tell that he was nervous about her answer so she gave him a smile.

"I think you'll be an excellent parent."

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it is up very quickly after the first one because I wrote these ones during the holiday before I published the first one yesterday. Bye, bye.