Lessons in Love/Chapter Eleven
She had changed her mind. Regardless of what Dorme thought and what Obi-Wan had told her, she wasn't 'too nice.' She had planned on visiting Chermira this morning in order to give them her blessing; to convince Chermira that she and Anakin belonged together.
On second thought, she owed the young lady nothing. She owed Anakin nothing. They could deal with their personal problems. She had plenty of her own.
One of which was on the horizon this very morning. She had a class to teach, and was entertaining thoughts of avoiding Obi-Wan. Padme had asked Anakin to take care of the situation, but she couldn't trust him to do that. The man was actually quite untrustworthy. She had decided, it was ridiculous to try and avoid an inevitable confrontation. She needed to explain. Hopefully, Obi-Wan would listen.
Padme arrived earlier than usual and stood in the hallway which adjoined her building to Obi-Wan's. She was nervous but determined and took a bold step forward. The hallways were empty at this time, but would soon be filling up with students. If she was going to do this, she needed to hurry. Inside his classroom, however, behind his desk was a stranger.
"Good morning! I'm Kit, Kit Fisto. I'll be filling in for Mr. Kenobi today. Are you a student? Can I help you find your class?"
The substitute was of the Nautolan species with large eyes, long tentacles, and an enigmatic smile. He seemed friendly, but she didn't have time to make a new friend this morning.
"No, thank you," Padme answered quickly and simply. "I'm looking for Professor Kenobi."
"I believe Mr. Kenobi has taken ill and won't be coming in. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
She might've answered, but wasn't sure. Not getting to talk to Obi-Wan this morning was disappointing and Padme walked back down the hallway toward her own room, her mind focused on alternative options.
Which is why the sudden appearance of a rather exuberant young Calamarian who attended her Tuesday class made her jump. Her name was Yulna and she was a chatty thing.
"Oh my gosh, Senator Amidala, did you hear? I just happened to come in early to go to the library before class. I was up with my little sister last night real late. She's been having these bad dreams lately and I didn't get a chance to write that paper you assigned. I thought I'd do it this morning. But when I got here, I noticed there was this huge crowd in the west parking lot. Everyone was out there, you know?"
No, she didn't know. She actually always parked on the east side. "What? Slow down Yulna and tell me what happened."
Her student literally slowed down her rate of speech. "There. Was. This. Crowd. Outside..."
Seriously? "Yulna, please get to the point."
"It was a fight. There was this guy. I think he was drunk. He was trying to fight Mr. Kenobi! Can you imagine?"
What!? "Yulna!" Padme gently grabbed the Calamarian by the shoulders. "Was he hurt?"
Her student seemed surprised by her level of concern, narrowed her reptilian eyes and leaned back. "Kinda. I mean, Mr. Kenobi didn't put up much of a fight. I think the drunk guy got in maybe one or two hits, but that was all. He could hardly stand up."
She already had a very strong suspicion but lacked hard evidence. Padme had to ask, but released Yulna's arms first.
"Did the drunken stranger have a moustache? Was he wearing all black leather? Was he taller than Mr. Kenobi?"
"How did you know? Were you out there? I didn't see you out there. But it was crowded, so I actually couldn't tell who was there and who wasn't. It was pretty exciting though. An actual fight on campus! Involving a professor! That doesn't happen very often. I can't wait to…"
"Thank you, Yulna," Padme interrupted. "You'd better get to the library and get that paper done."
"Oh yeah! Bye Senator!"
Her student was actually in for a surprise. She'd have another week to complete the assignment. Padme didn't take off work very often, but she was today.
Her alternative options had drastically changed, although there was one constant: She must speak with Obi-Wan, especially now.
Padme double checked the address on her personal datareader. This area of Coruscant was unfamiliar to her and was considered the more dilettante section of the city. She had already passed multiple inking parlors, abstract art galleries, as well as some unconventional looking eateries.
If the location was correct, Obi-Wan lived in a flat above a yoga studio. "Yoda's Yoga" was painted on the front door. Along the side of the building was a staircase that led up to another door, which had been painted a variety of hues. Padme approached it and knocked. When it opened, her eyesight drifted down. And then down even further.
Expressive, large green eyes set between a pair of wide, pointed ears greeted her.
"Help you, how can I?"
Well, that wasn't grammatically correct now, was it?
"Hello. My name is Senator Amidala. Does Obi-Wan Kenobi live here?"
Those big eyes seemed friendly, but they were slightly disconcerting at the same time; as if the owner of them was capable of reading her mind or something.
"He does. Come in, you may."
Padme followed the being who was quite short in stature, taking in the apartment at the same time. There was a mixture of furniture here, accommodating to him as well as Obi-Wan and it occurred to her that the two of them appeared to be very good friends; possibly even roommates.
"Stay here, you shall. Notify Obi-Wan, I will."
She did as she was told, choosing to sit in one of the larger chairs. While she waited, Padme took note of an interesting but intriguing collection of paper books, antique religious items, and several things she couldn't label.
A door opening drew her attention away from the uniqueness of the space. When Obi-Wan entered, Padme stood slowly to greet him, immediately noticing the developing bruise on the side of his face.
"Oh my stars, are you all right? I heard what happened. Obi-Wan, I'm so sorry!"
He stared at her for an uncomfortable minute before motioning for her to sit back down. He joined her, but across the room, she noticed.
"I'm fine," he answered solemnly.
"When I discovered you cancelled classes today, I assumed the worse."
"Assumptions are often hijackings of the truth," he stated flatly. "I'm fine. I just didn't want my students to see me like this."
What else could she say? What could she do to make this better? "I'm so sorry," she repeated, understanding how lame that must sound.
"Padme…."
He had said her name before in such a way that warmed her body from the inside out, but this time, it sent an icy chill down to her toes.
"I work hard to maintain a peaceful life of solitude and intellectual contemplation. I think you are a beautiful woman and I enjoy your company, but this," he took a moment to point at his face, "is not what I expected. It's not what I need in my life right now."
He took a breath and seemed to have difficulty with what he was wanting to say.
"I know this wasn't your fault, but your... situation is not something I'm willing to become involved in. It's too….chaotic, which has a negative impact on my chakra. Do you understand?"
Yes, she understood. She understood she must hire a hitman to permanently rid herself of her ex-husband! This was so unfair!
"Yes," Padme answered sadly. "Again, I'm sorry you had to go through that. I actually didn't believe Anakin would ever do anything like this."
"I hope we can remain friends," he announced upon standing, telling Padme, her visit had come to an awful end.
If that was the best she could get, it would have to do. But she wasn't happy about it. "Surely, we can manage that," she replied with false pleasure.
He walked her to the door and wished her well, and that was that.
