Anakin chewed on the ration bar his uncle Luke had provided for breakfast. He was determined not to get into any more trouble, being confined to your quarters was one thing, but being reduced to eating ration bars was another. Did his uncle really consider these to be meals? After all he was a growing boy. His appreciation for the food at the dining hall would be much greater after this experience. Boredom was also beginning to sink in. It would have been nice to sleep in, but Master Luke had shown up bright and early with a stack of assignments from the classes he had missed the day before and the classes he would miss this morning. It seemed to him that his teachers had given him extra work, probably part of his punishment.

Finally it was time for lunch, Anakin could leave his room. Tahiri was waiting outside of his room when he opened the door. "Good to see you, can I walk you to lunch?"

"You don't know how happy I would be to accept." Anakin said falling into step with his best friend.

When Anakin sat down with a tray overflowing with food Zekk couldn't help himself. "Master Skywalker must have had you eating ration bars for meals. Was the crime worth the time?"

"Not really", Anakin mumbled trying to ignore the comment. He was not going to let himself be provoked. Not ten minutes after being released from his room.

Jaina could tell that the comment had hurt her brother. "Don't let him bother you Anakin, the only reason he knows what you've been through is because he's been there himself. One time Zekk started a major food fight in this dining hall and Uncle Luke made him eat his meals in his room for three days."

"That wasn't completely my fault; Jacen and Tenel Ka were too busy flirting with each other to move up in line. All I did was give them a push, not my fault the food flew off Jacen's tray."

"You escalated the problem later on though", Jacen pointed out. The comment about him flirting with Tenel Ka had made him blush and he wasn't about to let it slide. "It would have been one thing if people were just throwing food, but you were reprogramming the droids to throw food as well."

Zekk grinned. "I am good."

Anakin was enjoying this story, but it just didn't make sense. He was good with mechanics and computers, however he couldn't imagine being able to reprogram a droid during a food fight. "How did you reprogram the droids in such little time?"

"Well it wasn't the first food fight in the dining hall and I had been seeking revenge on quite a few people, so the droids had been reprogrammed previously I was just waiting for a good time to put them to use."

"Sounds like we missed a lot before we came to the academy" Tahiri said chiming in. "Anakin can you and I go someplace and catch up before we have to go to our afternoon classes, I have something to talk to you about".

"Sure", Anakin said picking up his tray and heading towards a more private table. "So what's up?" He asked after getting comfortable.

"I just don't understand why you did what you did, that's all".

"Oh," even after spending 24 hours in his room thinking about it Anakin really didn't have a good explanation for his escapade. "I just wanted to get their attention, be a part of their group, you know what I mean?" Anakin could tell Tahiri was hurt and he knew why. "Don't take this the wrong way, you're a great friend, it's just that sometimes I wish that I was more popular around here."

"Anakin you are popular, your uncle runs this academy."

"Yes, but I wanted to make a name for myself, I'm tired of living in other people's shadows. My brother and sister have made names for themselves here and now I feel like it's my turn." This wasn't an easy thing to explain, Tahiri didn't have anything to live up to, her parents weren't heroes of the rebellion.

"There's a difference Anakin, Jacen and Jaina have made good names here, what you did just got you in trouble."

That hit home, Anakin hadn't thought of it that way. What could he do to make his siblings and their friends look at him as someone they respected. After all that was what he was truly after here. It was time for class now; he would have to decide just how to become respected later on.

After his classes Anakin went back to his room to discover his Uncle Luke waiting by the door. "I trust you enjoyed your afternoon", he said in greeting. "Unfortunately, you are not quite off the hook for your little misadventure and I have arranged for you to do some work for me this evening."

Anakin suppressed a groan and took a look at the list his uncle was handing him. To his surprise the chores consisted of things he actually liked to do. There were several ships in the main hanger that needed routine maintenance, and there were a few cleaning droids that needed upgrades. "When do you need me to get started?" He asked almost a little too enthusiastically.

"As soon as you finish your evening meal, I would prefer if you started with the droids, they are more urgent than the ships." Luke didn't feel the need to remind Anakin again that this was a punishment, he knew these were things the boy enjoyed, however he also knew Anakin had not meant to get into so much trouble. Hopefully the time in his room had been enough of a reminder to think before acting.

Evening meal passed without incident and Anakin made his way to the supply room where the cleaning droids he needed to work on were kept. The upgrades were very basic. Anakin began to wonder what he could do to make the droids better for his uncle, perhaps this could be a way to start building a reputation. He decided to add extra cleaning fluid to the droids and have them use extra wax. The next step was to have them wax this evening and into the morning so people would notice right away how much of a difference he could make.

Zekk headed to the gym the next morning nursing a cup of caf and wishing he were more awake. Usually he would have entered through the gym, but today he was running late and went strait through the locker rooms. Everyone else was already out in the gym, he noticed that it was louder than most mornings and peaked out to see what was going on. Apparently several students and masters were having trouble walking. Zekk could not help but laugh, all of these fully trained Jedi Knights were landing on their faces. Immediately he was able to recognize that the floor was covered in wax. He just couldn't stop laughing, surely everyone had figured out the problem now, and most of them were using the force to walk into the hallway or the locker room. The amount of concentration it took and the look on their faces was enough to send Zekk into hysterics. Than he saw Anakin standing in the corner with the most worried look on his face.

"What's going on kid" Zekk asked as he finished making his way across the slick floor.

"This is my work" Anakin looked absolutely miserable.

"You did this? This is great; I didn't know you had it in you."

"Really?" Anakin asked. How could it be great that he had caused so much trouble for people early in the morning, when he had only been trying to impress them? In his point of view he had been thinking too much of himself and not about others. He was feeling miserable.

"I mean Master Skywalker will probably come down pretty hard on you, someone could have gotten hurt here, but you should at least enjoy the prank."

"Yea" maybe it was just a mistake, but no harm in letting Zekk think it was something he meant to do. He decided than and there that when his uncle asked about the incident he would claim it was his fault. Even if it had not been something he meant to do. He would take the punishment if he could gain Zekk's friendship.

Luke got the call while he was out in the hanger trying to figure out why Anakin had not gotten to the work out there the night before. A few of his teachers in the gym wanted to know who had the floor in the gym waxed just before morning classes. It wasn't long before Luke put two and two together. He called Anakin into his office.

"I asked you to simply upgrade the droids; I have a feeling you were trying to impress me by making them do more than I had requested." Luke knew his nephew, there could be no other explanation.

To his surprise Anakin made a guilty face and began to confess. "Uncle Luke, I.actually kinda did this on purpose, no one got hurt though and it was a lot of fun to watch".

Luke could tell Anakin was making this up, he didn't want to punish the boy for something he didn't do, but he could not allow him to lie to him either. "Anakin, are you sure you did this? This second prank of yours is going to cause a much harsher punishment than the first." Luke was not making a threat here, he could not allow for these types of pranks to be pulled by anyone and if Anakin wanted people to believe it was a prank he had to be punished as if it were a prank. "On the other hand if you want to confess to me that you're lying and you explain why you would make up such a tale, I can let you off with a warning."

Anakin knew his uncle was giving him an excellent opportunity, trying to make his life easier. He had already made his decision though, so he didn't hesitate. "I understand that I need to be punished, I'll take whatever it is you decide to give me."

"For now I want you to return to your quarters, I will bring you something to eat and let you know what I have decided as soon as I have some time to think this through". Luke did not hide the anger in his voice. How could Anakin be doing this? What was his reason for taking a punishment Luke in his heart knew the boy didn't deserve. He needed some time to think this through. Hopefully calling in some of Anakin's friends and talking to them would give him some perspective and what was going on with his nephew.

Tahiri wondered why she was being called to talk to Luke. Perhaps it was about Anakin she hadn't seen him this morning. Luke looked concerned and she began go voice things before he could even speak. "Is Anakin sick? Where is he? Can I see him?"

Luke smiled "Anakin is fine; at least he is fine physically, but he has gotten himself into trouble, or at least he says he caused the trouble and that is why I need to talk to you."

"What kind of trouble?"

"This morning the gym floors were waxed and I had asked him to upgrade the droids as part of his punishment for the incident with the snake. I believe he was trying to make the droids do more than I had asked him to; he often tries to outdo what you ask mechanicly. That would also explain why he did not get to the ships in the hanger I asked him to work on. He claims to have done this on purpose as a prank, yet I can see on his face that it's not true. Do you know why he would behave this way?"

Tahiri could sum that up in one word "Zekk" she said, "he gave kudos to Anakin for the bit with the snake and I have a feeling he would have enjoyed this. When Anakin got out of his room Zekk and the others gave him a lot of attention and told him about the time Zekk had reprogrammed droids to throw food. If Zekk saw this he probably assumed it was a prank and gave Anakin the idea that he had done something entertaining."

Luke thanked Tahiri for her time and contacted the teacher who had Zekk in his next class so the student could be sent to talk to him.

Looking a little confused would have been an understatement for Zekk's composure as he entered Luke's office. "It wasn't me" he offered.

Luke smiled. "I know who I assigned the droid work to, I'm just wondering if you asked Anakin what happened or implied what happened."

Now Zekk was really confused, "What do you mean?"

"I don't believe Anakin would have reprogrammed the droids, it's not like him. However, Tahiri was saying that after the prank he pulled with the snake your past pranks had been brought up. Is it possible that you saw this and implied it was a prank so that Anakin would want to take the blame for it?"

"Maybe", Zekk said. "I didn't mean to, but it is possible. In fact if I recall the conversation correctly you're right I just assumed it was a prank. Do you think I got him in trouble?"

"Ultimately it's his decision to make. If he wants this to be a prank and he wants to suffer the consequences, I'm going to make that his decision. Thanks for coming in, I'm at least restored in my nephews motives, I would like you to talk to him about this however, let him know that you have changed. You have changed right?"

Zekk put on his most serious face, "Of course, I haven't pulled anything here in a couple of months."

"Let's keep it that way", Luke said shaking his head. "Go ahead back to class and remember to talk to Anakin, it's important to me."