"First Class"

With the sun rising on the planet that never sleeps, another class of hopeful youngsters was meeting each other for the first time in the Jedi Temple. It was so exciting for most of them seeing so many new things and meeting so many new people. All of them between three and four years old, a class of twenty kids were sitting on the floor of a circular classroom. They each had brand new, light brown Jedi tunics and large, grey universal helmets. Some of the kids were so small that when they walked they practically looked like a walking helmet. It was this frequent occurrence that awarded all Jedi Initiates the nickname 'buckets.'

The class of Jedi initiates were sitting on the floor as one at a time stood up to talk to the class. Jedi Master Jocasta Nu sat off to one side to watch over and guide the day's lessons. This was an introductory session where each student was to share with their peers what species they were, what planet they were from and what made their planet special. Among the hopeful Jedi was Ahsoka Tano who recently was brought to the Jedi Temple by Master Plo Koon. She was energetic and eager, but also quite shy. Some of the kids who spoke were funny and others were boring. At the moment, Ahsoka was interested in hearing more about Ryloth as a young, pink twi'lek girl spoke.

"I don't know why, but it has something to do with how the planet spins." Ahsoka listened intently as the very young girl was sharing with the class. "Anyways, the sun never moves in our sky. It makes one side too hot and the other side too cold. We live right in the middle between where the two sides of the planet meet because it's nice there. It's like a ring of twilight that goes around the planet and that is how we got the 'twi' part of our name, twi'lek." The girl bowed and the classroom full of toddlers clapped.

Ahsoka began fidgeting nervously on the floor where she sat. She felt Jedi Master Jocasta Nu's eyes gazing at her. Sure enough, the elderly Jedi librarian called her name. "Ahsoka. How about you go next?"

A fairly shy and high-pitched voice slipped out from the cowering form of a three year old togruta girl. "That's alright, Master. I'm happy to wait while others go." The little twi'lek girl who had just finished returned to her seat on the floor next to Ahsoka and offered a kind smile.

Jocasta smiled gently and sat back in her chair. "Oh, I very much doubt that. I think you'd be better off sharing now than dreading your turn any longer. Step forward, young one."

Reluctantly and after an awkward moment of hesitation, Ahsoka Tano stood up and faced what would become her Jedi Youngling classmates. Seeing all of their eyes looking at her, she froze. Ahsoka just stood there, shaking a little from nerves. Most of the other kids only had one or two vague memories from their homes and families. Togrutan memories were very sharp though. Ahsoka didn't need to research her home for this assignment. She remembered and she longed for the comforting embrace of her mother. A few of the kids started to giggle at her shyness, but Jocasta reprimanded them quickly. The little twi'lek girl who spoke previously was sitting right at Ahsoka's feet. She leaned forward and grabbed Ahsoka's hand. "Hey, it's not so bad. Just talk to me, not the whole class.

Ahsoka found some confidence in those words and took a deep breath to speak. "Hello. My name is Ahsoka Tano. I'm a togruta from the planet Shili."

A few of the boys in the back of the class started laughing. A human boy spoke up amidst the laughter. "Your planet's name is Silly? Ha ha ha! Is it bright pink and covered in candy trees!?" Master Jocasta quickly silenced the outburst, but Ahsoka's confidence was wounded already. The twi'lek girl squeezed Ahsoka's hand to bring Ahsoka a bit more confidence.

Once Jocasta had quieted the boys, she motioned for Ahsoka to continue. Again, Ahsoka named her planet. "Its name is Shili." She waited just in case there would be any more heckling, but Jocasta had successfully put the fear of the Force in those boys. So, Ahsoka continued. "My planet is not like most of yours. While it does have technology, it is also very wild. There are big monsters that hunt at night when everyone's sleeping. Most animals on my world are meat eaters… my people included."

Ahsoka waited for someone to make a remark, but they all looked a bit hung up on the 'monsters at night' bit as if they were listening to a scary story. "What I mean is, my people only eat meat. We don't eat fruits or vegetables like most of you. That's why we have sharp teeth." Ahsoka pulled at her cheeks to reveal pointier teeth than those of her classmates accompanied by two little fangs. A few of the kids gasped at seeing the more animalistic side of the little girl.

Once they all had their reactions, she continued with the assisted bravery of the twi'lek girl holding her hand. "While my people do have sharp teeth, we are gentle and kind. We value life and art. There are still the monsters though that hunt at night and sometimes they hunt us." Ahsoka removed her initiate's cap to reveal her two little round montrals and tried to hold back her smile as the students were so captivated by the description of her planet. She was enjoying them seeing her in a new light. It was like they respected her more. "My people have these montrals… or horns, to hear them coming. We don't have ears. I don't really know how they're different, but I hear through these and they are very sensitive. My people can hear the monsters coming and get ready for them."

The kids were, for the most part, captivated by her story and eagerly awaited to learn more about her world. She couldn't think of anything else though. "Umm… that's it. The end." Ahsoka bowed slowly as her classmates clapped in approval. She then shot straight down to the floor as quick as possible hoping that the attention would be redirected to the next student.

Jocasta Nu smiled and applauded Ahsoka's turn sharing about her planet. "Well done, little one. Very well done. Now who's next?"

As the Jedi Master went about selecting the next person to share, Ahsoka leaned towards her new friend, the pink twi'lek girl. "Thank you. You really helped."

"You seemed to be doing just fine once you got started. Maybe you have more confidence than you think." The twi'lek smiled. "I'm Rava by the way."

"I really liked them looking at me like I was tough." Ahsoka giggled.

"Well, maybe you are." Rava smiled and joined in the soft giggling. Jocasta shushed them and motioned for the next child to begin speaking. Ahsoka and Rava shared each other's confidence for the remainder of the class. Together, no one could bug them at all.

Later that day, Ahsoka was escorted back to her class' dormitory after one of her many aptitude tests. She and her class were still technically not younglings yet. There were tests to be run still and until that time they all lived in larger rooms that contained several bunk beds. They would get their own rooms once they were finished being initiated into the Jedi Order.

Ahsoka had anticipated entering her dorm to find a bunch of fairly rowdy kids like herself, but it was mainly empty. The kids must have been going through their own aptitude tests. She found her way to the girls' side of the dorm and started hearing familiar voices. It was the boys that were giving her a hard time during class. Ahsoka cautiously made her way towards them while making sure to stay between bunk beds as much as possible.

She followed the voices to the back corner of the large bunk room and immediately started feeling agitated. Surrounded and trapped in the corner, Rava was being teased by three boys. Two of them were human and one was a zabrak. The most outspoken and clearly the leader of the three was the tallest human boy. He was the one who called Ahsoka's planet 'planet Silly.' He was poking Rava and teasing her about being a twi'lek. "Come on, Rava. You said your people were good dancers! Dance for us!"

Rava didn't say anything. She was just making herself as small as possible in her corner and hoping that it would all be over soon. The boy continued poking. "Can you make those stubby little headtails move? Or was that just a lie when you said tailheads could do that?" The other two boys were laughing and taking their own turns poking Rava; trying to find tickle spots to make her laugh despite the bullying. The term 'tailheads' was all Ahsoka needed to hear. Being a loose-fitting derogatory term that applied to togrutas too was well more than enough for Ahsoka to intervene. Coupled with the situation of her new friend being the target of the bullying, Ahsoka took a deep breath and steeled herself for a confrontation.

Ahsoka charged towards the boys from behind and forced herself into the corner standing between Rava and her foes. The leader, Vix, was amused. "Hey look! It's the Silly Girl who sleeps with monsters!" The other boys laughed to appease their leader, but cautiously given the look on Ahsoka's face.

"Leave my friend alone!" Ahsoka shouted and shoved the boy back a few steps. Her action didn't have the intended effect. The boy recovered and then bore a sinister grin as if he was going to enjoy a good fight. The other two were ready to back him up.

Rava whimpered from behind Ahsoka. "Just leave us alone! You're not acting like Jedi at all!"

"Quiet!" The leader boy shouted while pointing his finger. "We're not Jedi yet! You're next after Silly!"

"You wouldn't last two minutes on Shili." Ahsoka growled. She had heard more than enough. With as intimidating of a growl as a three year old girl could muster, she made herself look as big as possible and grimaced her face. She made sure to show her fangs amidst her pointed teeth and practically roared at them. "You want to mess with a monster!?"

The boys had gotten more than they bargained for. Ahsoka scared them senseless and they bolted out of the room as quick as they could. Ahsoka kept snarling and growling for a little bit after they'd left just in case they peeked back inside. As soon as she was sure that they were gone, she plopped down on the floor and laughed so hard tears began falling from her eyes. Amidst her giggles she looked back at Rava who was coming around to face her. "Did you see their faces!? And these are just my baby fangs! Ha ha ha ha!"

Rava was shaken by the experience, but it didn't take long for her to join Ahsoka laughing it away. As the giggle-fits subsided, Rava turned to Ahsoka and looked at her in a new light. "What happened to being shy?"

Ahsoka stopped laughing and thought seriously for a moment as she wiped her eyes. With a smile, she took Rava's hand. "I guess I just needed someone to believe in me." They both smiled for a moment, and then began giggling again. "Besides, those faces were worth it!"