When Light Meets Dark - Kylo's Sister

Lydia

"Love must be learned and learned again; There is no end."

~Katherine Anne Porter

Rey

"Just say it one more time Tattu, so that the whole class can hear."

I watched as the Gungan boy turned and repeated the sentence for the third time. His voice was loud, but it was clear from the murmuring that had risen in the room that not everyone was paying attention. My eyes skimmed over the back row and came to rest on two faces.

"Satsimmi and Kobi. Would you be so kind as to repeat what Tattu just said?"

The whole class fell silent, a couple of them turning back to smirk at the two girls behind. They had been chattering away in a tongue which I did not fully understand. That was one of the downsides of teaching a language class to foreign students, you couldn't tell if they were secretly talking about you. Well, not unless you read their thoughts.

I placed a hand on my hip and raised my eyebrows while I waited for one of them to respond. It was the final lesson of the day, although the sun was far from the horizon, and through the shutters, I caught a glimpse of the ivory rooftop of the leisure centre gleaming in the sunshine. The afternoon was hazy and warm and as I stared through the shutters I thought wistfully of being at home in my own bed. Then someone coughed and I snapped back to the classroom, and to the two girls who were still sat uncomfortably on their seats.

"Well?" I asked again.

Kobi mumbled a few incoherent words before trailing back into silence. Then Satsimmi suddenly started speaking, reeling the sentence off of her tongue without a single mistake. When she had finished, her friend turned and gave her a look of surprise and I fought to keep a straight face. She turned to her and grinned.

"Good work. I'm glad to see you know how to multitask, but I'd really like it if you saved your gossip until after the lesson." I said, hoping that she fully understood me. "And I suggest that you--" I said, gesturing to Kobi. "Keep your ears open and your mouth shut."

Satsimmi tried to look subdued but I knew that she was also itching to break out into a smile. Kobi's dark blue eyes seemed to sink deeper into her head and she stared at the ground. The rest of the class was quiet, an array of expressions on their faces. When they were all perfectly still I pressed a button on my desk and the screen clicked off. Then I leaned back against the desk and folded my arms.

"You've all made a lot of progress this week," I said genuinely. "So as homework, all I'll be asking you to do it go over your political vocabulary. And just a little tip, there's a test on Monday."

There were a couple of groans and exasperated noises which I ignored. Then a hand went up at the corner of the room.

"Yes, Jack?"

In a mix of his native tongue and Galactic Basic, he asked me if they'd get their old tests back.

"Yes, I'll send them to you over the weekend," I replied.

Almost as soon as the words were out of my mouth, a soft beeping sound resonated through the hallway. The classroom suddenly became smaller as pupils stood up from their desks, moving towards the exit or groups of friends. I could sense the same chaotic movement throughout the whole building as everyone was anxious to leave for the weekend, or head to one of the many after-school clubs. The last student hurried out of the door and I settled down at my desk to collect my things.

"Ah," came a voice from the doorway, "I was hoping I'd find you here."

I looked up and saw Lydia, the Burgan History teacher from down the hall. For a second I was taken aback by her appearance. Her blonde curls had been straightened out and she was wearing a low-cut black dress which clung to her curves, unlike her usual loose, pastel coloured outfits. As she approached my desk her heels clicked rhythmically on the floor and she leaned over it with a wide grin on her face.