The Galactic Adventures of Paige and Poe: A Star Wars Story

Chapter 7

He got it the next time. And the next. He tried another scenario. He got it again. Paige soon left him to himself so she could practice on her own. The next thing they knew, it was late, and they found themselves shutting down at the same time.

Poe caught up to Paige in the equipment room as she put away her gear. She didn't even look at him when he came in. "Hey, uh," he cleared his throat. "Thanks for helping me with the 360 today."

"Don't mention it," she said softly, and surprisingly kindly.

Poe huffed out a tired sigh and, strangely regaining confidence, he said, "Boy, it's been a long day and I am famished. Have you eaten yet?"

She finally looked at him. "I haven't eaten all day."

"Well, you wanna get something to eat?" The words spilled right out of Poe's mouth. He wondered what he was even saying.

"I'm probably just not going to eat today," Paige replied. "I'll probably just go straight to bed."

"You're not going to eat for a full day?!" Poe gasped. "You're going to kill yourself!"

"I've done it before."

"No, no, no," Poe stated firmly. "You gotta eat something. Let's go somewhere. On me."

"I don't have to eat anything, Poe. Besides, it's late. Nothing's going to be open."

He stared blankly at her for close to 2 seconds before light returned to his eyes. He lifted two fingers clasped in the shape of a gun. "I know a place."

-----------------------------------------

"The Allday Allnight Diner!" Poe announced enthusiastically as he and Paige parked their speeders side-by-side in front of the tiny restaurant, its neon sign only half on, with the first letter A blinking.

"Hmm," Paige said, wrinkling her nose. "I wonder why it's called that."

Poe chuckled into a toothy smile, one that stretched from ear to ear, revealing the dimples in his cheeks. "You wanna know the story behind this place? I grew up not too far from here. I used to go with my parents all the time. It used to be called Kudzo's Diner—Kudzo, the owner, he still owns it today. Anyway. For the longest time this was the only place to eat around here. Then Jenwa's opened and The Lightwing and all these other fancy places opened all around it. Kudzo was worried about the competition, so he asked himself, 'What's the one thing that my restaurant had that theirs didn't?'"—Poe stretched out his arms—"All-day, all-night service! So he changed the name, and business went insane. Eventually, Jenwa's closed. The Lightwing moved. But Allday Allnight—Kudzo's—is still here."

Paige, who didn't really know what to think about Poe's story, only grinned. "Okay?" she smiled. "Well shall we go inside?"

"Yes!" Poe exclaimed, hopping out of his speeder. "Now I know it doesn't look like much, but the bantha burgers are excellent."

"I am looking forward to it..."

Poe opened the old diner door and let Paige in first, before following and calling out with open arms, "KUDZOOO!"

A hefty, friendly Crolute behind the bar looked up from wiping the counter and lit up at the sight of one of his favorite old regulars. "Poe Dameron! It's great to see you, my boy! And looking good in that Academy uniform too."

Poe adjusted his jacket proudly. "Thank you, thank you."

"Oh!" Kudzo said, turning his attention to Paige. "And I see you've brought your lady."

"Paige Tico," she politely introduced herself, shaking the Crolute's hand. "But I'm not his lady."

"No?" Kudzo blushed, embarrassed. "Oh, I see. Just a friend."

"Ehh, not even a friend..." Paige's voice moved to falsetto. "Acquaintance?"

"Er, classmate..." Poe shrugged.

Kudzo only nodded, trying to understand. "Oh. Okay. Well, what can I get for you two?"

"Two bantha burgers, please. Combo," Poe said. "Uh..." He turned to Paige. "What do you wanna drink?"

"Um, what's good?"

"I do have something new today," Kudzo said. "Blue. Milk. Shakes. Have you heard of this?"

Both Paige and Poe shook their heads. "I've heard of blue milk, but I've never had it," Paige said.

"Well it also comes from the bantha," Kudzo explained. "I added a little enderonne spice to it and blended it up into a shake. Customers seem to like it. Do you kids want to try it?"

The kids shrugged. "Sure!"

Kudzo headed back to the kitchen while Paige and Poe took counter seats. They sat quiet for a bit, up until Kudzo returned with a pair of pale blue milkshakes, both topped with a perfect swirl of cream and a blue-striped paper straw. They thanked him, then looked down upon their pretty treat.

"Okay, here goes nothing..." Paige said. They took the first sip.

"Oh wow," Poe remarked.

"Okay," Paige nodded, "this is pretty amazing." She lowered her head for another sip.

"Probably even more amazing for you because you haven't eaten all day."

Paige responded with a chuckle. Poe waited a beat, then proceeded with a conversation. "So," he began, "what's your story?"