Jedi Voyage #5 - The Academy Of Fright

Chapter Six

  "Today we shall consider the geopolitical effect of the great Lali Plague," Professor Win Totem said. Then she sat down with great dignity, right on a custard turnover.
  The class exploded with laughter. It went on a little too long, Anakin noted. The constant anxiety the students felt led them to grasp at any relief.
  The tall professor with the regal bearing stood and regarded the ruby-colored stain on the back of her white septsilk gown.
  "Ferus Olin," she rapped out. "You are responsible for this!"
  Ferus started. "I assure you, Professor, I am not."
  "Ten more demerits for lying," Professor Win Totem barked. Her blue skin flushed an angry purple. "You are the only one who could have done it. I asked you to distribute the notes before class."
  Anakin watched as Ferus clenched his hands. He knew what Ferus was thinking. Ferus and Reymet had distributed the notes together. They did everything together now. Flattered by Ferus's attention, Reymet had become his tagalong. But Reymet couldn't resist playing his practical jokes, and Ferus was getting blamed. Anakin also knew that Ferus could not point the finger at Reymet. He was trying to befriend him. Besides, if Ferus told on Reymet, he'd be a tattletale, what the students called a womp fink.
  Reymet's face was pure innocence. He shook his head with concern as he studied the stain on Professor Totem's gown.
  Totem turned his back to the lesson. Anakin hid his grin as he bent over his datascreen. It served Ferus right. He had grabbed the assignment to watch Reymet. He deserved the consequences. Anakin couldn't imagine two people more unlike each other than Ferus and Reymet. He knew that the secret pleasure he got from watching Ferus being blamed for a practical joke wasn't very Jedi-like, but on the other hand, he couldn't wait to tell his friends Tru and Darra that Ferus had gotten demerits for putting a custard turnover on a teacher's chair.
  Out of the corner of his vision, he saw Marit eyeing him curiously. He had been playing a waiting game with her. After he'd discovered that his stone was missing, his first impulse was to rush after her and demand it back. It was his most precious possession, and he hated being without it.
  But he had stopped himself. What would Obi-Wan have done?
  Take a breath and think, Anakin.
  So he asked himself why Marit had taken it. She must have known that he would immediately realize that she had it. Did she want to provoke a confrontation? Did she want to see what he would do?
  Anakin had decided to wait. Not the easiest course of action for him. Not at all. But he was puzzled and intrigued by Marit, and he wanted her to feel the same. Let Ferus chase after Reymet. Anakin's instincts told him that there was more to Marit than he knew.
  So even though he felt her eyes on him, he didn't turn. Nor did he acknowledge her when Professor Totem had them break into groups and Marit joined his. He didn't respond when she tried to catch his eye, even during the most boring stretch of the professor's lecture.
  She would come to him, he knew. After the class, she would find a pretext to talk to him. He was driving her crazy because he had waited her out.
  Better to wait to catch your prey than strike too soon.
  Obi-Wan had counseled him again and again on the virtue of patience. At last he was beginning to understand why his Master pushed it. It worked. Sometimes.
  The class ended. Anakin headed out the wide carved door. He left the hallway and accessed the brushed durasteel doors that led to the courtyard. Even though it was overlooked by windows, it felt removed. It was a gloomy, dark day, and he had it to himself. Students avoided isolated places now. They traveled in pairs or groups and went directly to their classes.
  "All right, I give up the battle," Marit said from behind him.
  He turned. "I didn't know we were in a war."
  She held up the stone. "You know I have this. Don't you want it back?"
  "Yes," Anakin said. Even in the gloom, the river stone shone, its shiny black surface like a mirror full of reflected light.
  "And you didn't report me?"
  "No."
  "This stone is important to you. I can tell. Why?"
  "It was a gift," Anakin said.
  "From your father?"
  Longing burst inside him. He did not have a father. Shmi had been very clear about that. He didn't understand it, but he accepted it. He did not think about his lack; he never had. But unexpectedly the ache would well up in him and take him by surprise.
  Then he thought of Obi-Wan, and the ache went away.
  "Yes," he said. "Are you going to give it back?"
  She held it up, fingering it thoughtfully. "I'm not sure yet."
  It would be so easy for him to use the Force to get it back. Instead, Anakin moved. His kick barely grazed her fingertips, but it dislodged the stone and sent it flying straight toward him. He reached up with one hand and caught it.
  Marit blinked. She looked down at her hand, still outstretched but now empty. "I didn't even see you move. How did you do that?"
  Anakin slid the stone back into the concealed inside pocket of his tunic. "Lots of practice. Now it's your turn to answer questions. Why did you take it?"
  Her dark eyes glinted. "Because I wanted to see what you would do."
  "A test," Anakin said. "Did I pass?"
  Marit only smiled and changed the subject. "I saw you in the flight simulator the other day. You were pretty good."
  It was the one area where he had not hidden his skill. It was hard for Anakin to sit in a cockpit and not fly fast and expertly. "Thanks."
  "I'd like you to meet some friends of mine. Will you come with me now? It's our free mod."
  Anakin nodded. Marit may not have answered his question about passing her test, but she didn't need to. He had passed. The question was, for what purpose?