Fun fact : Hayden Christensen was chosen as Anakin Skywalkerr out of the 1500 candidates who auditioned for the part. Lucas is quoted as saying that he chose Christensen because he "needed an actor who has that presence of the dark side" that was essential to solidify the story that Lucas was trying to tell: the tragic fall of Anakin Skywalker and the rise of Darth Vader.
Chapter 3 A choice to make
Today was incredible. I had rode with Padme to the race tracks and I was so excited. Skits had came to give moral support. Before I had stepped into the pod, Qui Gonn had told me, "May the Force be with you." That phrase boosted me and I had strapped in and put on my helmet before checking the controls. However, trouble came when the race started. Sebulba had sabotaged my pod, causing it to stay where it was. But luckily I wasn't the only one with engine problem. A guy nearby had engine problem too and he was banging his controls. After flipping some switches, I managed to take off into the dirt and managed to catch up with some of them after a while.
The race was intense. Mountains shrouded us and we had to duck down cliffs and caves, being in darkness for minutes at a time. Some people weren't so lucky and were killed during the first lap of the race. To make things worse, Sebulba decided to turn things up a notch and sabotaged whoever came near to him. I stayed a distance from him for the first few laps before managing to catch up with him. We raced, my heart pumping and my body awash what adrenaline. I had never reached this far in a race before and I forced my pod to its limit.
Soon, me and Sebulba were neck to neck and he kept slamming into me, knocking me off course a few times but I still caught up to him. During the last lap, my engine caught fire and I trailed back for a while, the engine smoking and Sebulba laughed as he sped in front of me. During those few moments, I had flipped every switch I could think off before the fire died and I caught up with him again. This time he got so angry that he slammed into me and we got hooked together.
For a while we were literally neck to neck and as he tried in vain to break free, I fired up my blasters and I took off. I caught a glimpse of him yelling as his pod fell apart and he crashed into the ground, cursing. As I raced into the finishing line, people got up and cheered as I waved and stopped my pod where the others were. Mum was so happy and I yelled as people screamed my name.
After the race, we managed to get a few buyers for the pod and I rushed home with Qui Gonn and showed my mum the money and she had gasped in surprise as we never had so much money in our entire lives. Then Qui Gonn had broke the news to me. He had struck another deal with Wato before the race had started. If I had won, I would be free. So now I was free and for the first time in my whole life, I could choose to be whatever I wish. Mum had smiled as I chattered with glee and Qui Gonn had gotten down on one knee and gently on one knee and took me by the shoulders. "Anakin, training to be a Jedi is a difficult task. Even if you succeed, the path ahead would be rough," he said and I had replied, "But I want to go. Its what I always dreamed off." I spun around and looked at Mum, who was looking at me with both happiness and sadness.
"Can I go Mum?" I asked and she took my hands in hers. "Anakin, this path has been laid out for you. Its your choice whether you want to follow it," she said and I nodded. "I want to do it," I said and Qui Gonn had patted my shoulder and told me to go pack. As I cheered and ran to my room, a thought had come to my head. "What about mum?" I asked and they had looked at each other. "Wait, you're coming with us, aren't you mum?" I asked and Qui Gonn shook his head. "I tried to free her but Wato won't let it," he said and I hung my head. A life without Mum, I can't bear the thought.
"Anakin, don't worry. You can do this. Now go pack," she said and I ran to my room and threw my stuff into a back pack before saying a goodbye to C3PO, promising him that Mum wouldn't sell him. As we walked away from my home, I had turned around and saw mum standing at the entrance of the house. Qui Gonn gave me a nod and I had ran to her, collapsing into her arms and sobbing. "I can't do it, Mum. I just can't," I had cried and she had wiped my tears away. "I will come and free you mum. I promise," I said and she had hugged me. "Go, my son. Be brave and don't look back," she had whispered and she had spun me around and released me to Qui Gonn.
For a while we walked in silence before breaking to a jog and I spotted a silver ship as we entered the sand dune that outline the city. "Qui Gonn, wait! I'm tired!" I had called as Qui Gonn shouted for me to drop. I slam into the dirt just as a loud sound roared on top of me and I saw a dark figure leap from a speeder and lighting a red lightsaber, fighting with Qui Gonn. "Get to the ship! Tell them to take off!" Qui Gonn yelled and I ha ran and told a very surprised pilot to take off and they managed to rescue Qui Gonn and take off into space.
Me and a young man dressed in robes had ran to the holding bay and found Qui Gonn gasping on the ground. "Are you alright?" I asked and Qui Gonn shook his head. "I wasn't sure what he was. But he was well trained in the Jedi arts. I suspect that he was after the queen," he said and he introduced me to the young man, whose name was Obi Wan Kenobi and the Padawan learner of Qui Gonn. He was serious yet friendly guy with a braid of hair down his side, marking him as a Padawan learner.
For the next few hours, I had roamed around the ship, peering into rooms and cargo holds before making my way to what seemed like the ship's common room. Jar Jar was in a chair, snoring and I curled up in a bench lining the wall of the ship, shivering. I never knew space would be so cold. As I sat there shivering, Padme had came in. She was dressed in a long dress covering her entire body and she had a head scarf, showing only her face. She turned on a hologram message and a man appeared, begging her to contact him before logging out.
She had turned and saw me shivering. She took a blanket and draped it around me and I had taken out a pendant and given it to her. I had intended to give it to my mum a while ago but since I couldn't give it to her, I decided to give it to Padme. Her face was sad as she explained to me the political situation of her home planet of Naboo. After a while, she led me to a room and tucked me to sleep. Since I wasn't used to space travel, I spent my time writing this journal. Hope that tomorrow we'll reach our destination safely.