The next day, Jayen, Rayel, Jonas and mother went to the Holographic Zoo for Extinct Animals.  Somehow, watching holos of long-dead animals did not appeal to this particular vegetarian.  So, Natan and I went to the North Pole and went skiing.  That was so much fun; I thought I would die when I went down that last hill.  We got back before Mother did, tired and flushed and still cold.  Father was out, presumably with Senator Palpatine.  When we got back, I found a note on the kitchen counter.  It said:

To: Miss Rabé Napola,

I have arranged a private tour for yourself

and two others (if you wish) of the Jedi Temple,

two days from now at 10 hundred hours.

Most Sincerely,

Senator Palpatine

                I grinned like an idiot again.

                Oh, Natan? I said in a sing-songy way.

                Yeah?

                How would you like to go on a private tour of the Jedi Temple?

                His eyes bulged.  Would I ever!

                I smirked at him, Good.  Therefore, you are hereby invited to join mother and I on a private tour of the Jedi Temple.

                He picked me up and swung me around, laughing crazily.  I think I need to grow, so people will stop doing that to me.  The next day passed in a blur.  I think I went somewhere, but I can't remember.  On the day we were to go to the Temple, I got up early and washed and got dressed in a dark green dress with sleeves that flared at the sleeves and a dark blue, purple and gold sleeveless overcoat.  I left my hair down and braided the sides of it back.  At 0930 hours, an Air Taxi came a picked us up and took us to the Jedi Temple.

                I gasped as soon as I saw it.  It was enormous.  It rose out of the other buildings like a single giant mountain, taking up city block upon city block.  It only got bigger as we got closer.  The taxi driver took us down and to the hanger.  We got out and mother paid the driver.  I looked around in awe.  There were two larger ships in the hanger and seven Jedi Starfighters.  There was no hustle and bustle in the hanger, which was odd.

                "Excuse me."  Came a voice from my right.  I turned and saw a Jedi Master.  His image was imprinted in my mind like a searing stamp.  He was in every book I had ever read about Jedi.  He was tall and dark skinned a shaved head and his famous lightsaber hanging from his belt.  Senior Jedi Council Member, Jedi Master Mace Windu was standing less than three meters away from me.

                I was in shock.  Mother stepped in and held out her hand, "Adela Uchida-Napola."  She said as Master Windu shook it.  "My daughter, Rabé," she gestured to me and I shook Master Windu's hand.  I swear I must have looked like such a freak.  My mouth must have been hanging open to the ground.  "and my son, Natan."  Natan shook Master Windu's hand, and, of course, he didn't look like an idiot.  "Senator Palpatine set up a private tour for us."

                "Yes.  I am Jedi Master Mace Windu, and I will be giving you that tour."

                I choked slightly as mother said, "Splendid Master Windu."

                And so we went on a tour with Master Windu, and I hung onto every word he said.  It was much busier inside the Temple.  Master Windu said it was okay for me to take holopics, so man, did I take holopics.  Of the rooms, of the Jedi, of us and Master Windu.  Master Windu said it would be a kind of challenge for the students to see who would be distracted.  He showed us student living quarters, meditation rooms, some of the gardens, Master/Padawan chambers, study halls, and the mechanic rooms, all before lunch.  We ate midday meal in the cafeteria with Master Windu.  Natan and I took turns bombarding him with questions, all of which he answered, relatively detailed.

                We went to the lightsaber training rooms next.  They were huge, vaulted ceilings, a variety of different textured flooring, and different heighten fighting areas. 

                "Umm," I said, embarrassed, "Master Windu?"

                "Yes Rabé?"

                "Is there, perhaps, a refresher nearby?"

                "Yes," he turned, and called to one of the Padawans, who was warming up with his lightsaber, "Zak!"  He called.

                A tall, leanly muscled boy with short light brown hair and blue eyes, who seemed to be a year or two older than me, turned off his blue lightsaber and came over to us.  "What is it now, Master Windu?"

                Master Windu took no notice of his disrespectfulness, and said, "Could you show Rabé to the refresher, please?"

                He turned to me, "Sure, come on runt."

                My jaw dropped and before I could think, "Gee, and people say I have and attitude problem."  Came popping out of my mouth as I walked after him. 

                He laughed.  "Rabé, right?"

                "Yeah."

                "What planet you from?"

                "I from Naboo."  I said, obviously imitating his speech patterns.  "It be many stars from this place."

                He laughed again.  "Well, Rabé who be from Naboo, just remember this: don't ever be respectful to people who don't deserve it, unless you're playing them."

                "Don't you respect Master Windu?"

                "Yeah, but it's a disrespectful respect."

                I smiled fakely, "Right."  I said, drawing out the word and not believing anything he said.

                "One day you'll understand.  Here's the 'fresher.  Don't use the first stall, there's a waterproof fusion reactor in there that'll blow if you flush."  I gave him a weird look and went inside. I came out a couple of minutes later.

                "Still alive?"  I asked Zak, who was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.

                "Just barely.  C'mon."

                "So, who are you apprenticed to?"

                "Jedi Master Plo Koon."

                "Really?!"

                "Yup."

                "That's so incredible."

                "Yeah, I was lucky.  Plo's the best."  He paused, "So, what's with the dress?"

                "The dress?"  I asked, he nodded.  "Well, it's what I wear, just like you wear your Jedi Robes."

                He snorted, "That's gotta suck."

                "It does sometimes, others, well; it's nice to be underestimated."  I laughed.  "The way the smug looks dissolve into incredulity."  We went back into the lightsaber training rooms.

                "There's Plo."  Zak said, pointing to a tall Kel Dor.  "Talking to Master Windu, of course."  He rubbed his hands on his face.  "Probably about my "un-Jedi-like" behavior."

                "Both talking to my mother, of course."  I groaned.

                "Mother?"

                "Yeah, I'm here on a tour with my mother and brother, Natan." 

                "Ah."  he said as we walked over to them.  "Master." Zak said, bowing respectfully to Plo Koon.

                "Mother."  I said.  Mother smiled at me. 

                "This is my daughter, Rabé."  Mother said as I shook Master Koon's hand.

                "Pleased to me you, Master Koon."

                The skin over his protective goggles rose.  "Hmm, polite."  He looked at Zak.  "Are you taking notes?"  Zak rolled his eyes. 

                Mother laughed.  "Only around Jedi."  She said.  All the adults laughed.  I looked at Zak and we rolled our eyes at each other.  Grown-ups can be so weird sometimes. 

                Zak and Master Koon took over our tour from there, because Master Windu had a meeting with Master Yoda.  Oh, how I wish I could have met Yoda!  That would have been the high point of my life.  Master Koon showed us the Medic Area, Healing Chambers, an empty Jedi Council Chamber, the gigantic Library and the Room of a Thousand Fountains.  Zak whispered sarcastic comments and things only a student would know to me, making me laugh.  I took so many holopics; I thought I would run out of memory on my holocamera.  Then, at around 19 hundred hours, It was time to leave. 

                "Hey," Zak said to me, "Plo's got nothing but Council meetings for the next week, I could give you a tour of the Senate sometimes."

                "Oh, that would be wonderful!"  I exclaimed; my own private Padawan tour Guide!

                "Great.  Is three days from now, at, umm, 0900 hours okay?"

                "Okay.  I'll see you there."  I promised.

                So, we went back to our hotel, and while mother and Natan told everyone about the day's event's I stored all the holopics on a datachip.  They were all very amusing.  The next day, we went shopping and I bought Yané a dark blue dress in the latest Coruscant fashion.  I paused, staring at the neatly folded piles of pants, thinking about what Zak had told me about my dress.

                Honey? Mother called from down the isle. 

                Mom?  I said slowly. Mom, did you ever, ummm...

                Yes sweetheart?  She asked as she walked over to me.

                I fingered the fabric of the pants.  Did you ever where pants when you were young?

                She looked a little surprised, then started to laugh. Yes, I did.  Do you want some sweetie?

                I hesitated.  I did.  Yeah.

                Mother grinned.  Okay.  Here we go.  I spent the next hour and a half trying on pants, and getting my mother's approval on them.  It was kind of weird at first, but I'm slowly getting used to them, kind of.  We ended up buying four or five pairs and some shirts and overcoats to go with them.  I also managed to get a new pair of knee-high black boots.  I did rather well that day.

                The day after that, the ever-so-kind officials of Naboo decided to transmit my Royal Exam grades to my parents.  Needless to say, I didn't do anything that day.  Father and I got into a terrific argument, though.  I think the people on the 400th floor heard us. 

                Father grounded me, but it wasn't his anger or the punishment that made me feel bad about my decision.  It was the look of disappointment on my parent's faces when they first came to me and asked me what was wrong with my score.  I buried it deep though, when father started yelling.

                ~~~