May the Force be Ever in Your Favor

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    “You’re dead, Rey!” The testing instructor yelled from the balcony above, looking down on the simulation taking place from below.

    Rey threw down her blaster in annoyance, smacking her hands to her head and stifling a scream. The instructor shrugged sympathetically, but raised a slender hand in a gesture to leave so the next tribute in line for the training simulator could take a turn.

    It’d been two days, two ENTIRE days since she’d passed out in front of Snoke because Ben had supposedly knocked her out, and she’d gotten not one whisper of an explanation as to why. Luke hadn’t contacted her, Ben hadn’t sought her out, and not even Snoke had said anything to her since that day. All she remembered was waking up in the penthouse suite after the interviews and being told, “Good evening, sleepyhead! You’ve been asleep for DECADES!” by Thane after her eyes had opened.

And here she was now, training for the Games that she would most likely perish in because she just couldn’t focus.

    As she trudged out of the room with her shoulders slumped and head tilted towards her pacing feet, however, she didn’t happen to see Jude directly in front of her.

   “Sorry.” Rey snapped as they collided, not even able to muster a false, apologetic tone for her friend. In fact, the two had barely talked for the past couple of days- Jude had probably just assumed Rey needed a nap after the excitement of the day and hadn’t questioned her since.

    Rey didn’t really have a motive behind her anger at Jude. It wasn’t her fault, of course. Not in the least. But, while Jude excelled at almost everything in the Training Center, Rey was stuck rehearsing her shooting and practicing in the simulator every chance she got. Why couldn’t she just master it and move on like her friend had so easily done?

“Rey? What’s troubling you?” She asked, tilting Rey’s head up from her angry stance so the two could look at each other clearly. “Did something happen?”

How exactly could she respond to this inquiry? Of course something happened, but Jude couldn’t know anything.

Rey straightened up and attempted a smile. “No, nothing’s wrong. Those damn simulators, am I right?” She added a small laugh to further convince her.

“Oh.” Jude sighed in relief, a noticeable weight lifted off her shoulders. “As long as nothing’s wrong with- between us, dear friend.”

    The tone of her voice made Rey feel guilty, as Jude seemed candidly glad about not being the cause for her mood fluctuations. And for that reason, Rey couldn’t talk to Jude about everything happening to her.

    “Nothing's wrong.” Rey falsely assured her, offering a consoling hand to her friend’s shoulder. “Stressed, is all. In fact…” Rey started off slowly, venturing into unknown territory with her bold follow-up question,  “it's been a long day- want to come back to the penthouse with me and grab a drink?”

    Unfortunately, Jude reacted just the way Rey had dreaded- a nervous laugh and a stuttered explanation of how she needed to keep practicing with all of her training.

    What had she expected? Jude wasn't going to indulge into any contraband beverages. Alcohol was strictly prohibited in the Coruscant Training Lodging, unless being consumed by staff. Tributes weren't allowed to drink, it was almost as taboo as purchasing death sticks.

    Rey suppressed a sigh and said her goodbyes as she made her way back to the elevator that would take her upstairs. Oh well, a drink by herself in the kitchen wouldn't be too bad, she could watch reruns of the prior Games and learn strategy to win the upcoming ones. Of course, she'd never drunk before, and wasn't quite sure where Thane kept his alcohol, or whether it was any good or not, and didn't want to get caught and punished…