Disclaimer: I'm only gonna say this once: I don't own star wars or any planets and what not.
A/N Sorry if this chapter (and the next couple) aren't very star wars-ish, but they hafta be written. Unless this thing becomes a flashback fest. Which it won't.
It was another cold night in district number 7 on Corellia. All the complexes and buildings were silent, at least relatively speaking. (the cantinas were never quiet) Yet somehow, Sheena Rydos, a 14-year-old native of Corellia, couldn't sleep.
She tried everything her brain could think of. Everything from reading a book to listening to music (Her favorite band, the Logorus) to just counting Nerfs. Nothing was working. Sheena looked at the chrono on the wall. She couldn't make out the flashing digits. Then again, it was (most likely) really early in the morning and her lights were off. She flicked the switch by her bed and jumped out. Her short brown hair was a mess, branching off in almost fifty different angles. She almost fell down as her dark green eyes tried to adjust to the new light. She righted herself, at any rate, and walked over to the chrono. The device read 400. Four in the morning. Already. Sheena yawned and trudged back to her bed, pulling the covers over her head.
She lay there for a long time, or at least it seemed so. She was about to fall asleep for good, when suddenly, an angry voice was heard from down the hall. Then another voice, only louder. Then the first again. Sheena recognized those voices very well. Her mom and dad were fighting again. Now she'd never get to sleep. She slammed the pillow over her head, trying to drown out their voices, but it seemed to only make them louder. She gave up with the pillow, and she quietly sneaked her way towards her parents' room, just a bit down the hall .She stopped at the door and peeked through the keyhole. Yup, they were fighting alright.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Carlos? You can't possibly be serious about this load of sithspit!" Sheena's mom yelled.
"Well guess what, Deary, I am! I swear it. And don't start with that sithspit nonsense, VERA!" Sheena's dad shouted.
"What is wrong with you! That empire you love SO much will get you killed. If I'm lucky."
"Thanks for the encouragement, deary. I could really use some from you. I'll make sure to die JUST FOR YOU!"
"Well thank god! You'd finally do something right. For once."
"Oh, and YOU'RE a pillar of inspiration! You're the one who got fired from every job she ever had!"
"Least I'm not some imperial scum like you!"
"At least I can actually do something with my life."
"Something that will get you killed! As much as I'd LOVE to see you shot in the face, Sheena needs you to stay here!"
"Her? Our kid? Pfft. Only cause you can't even take care of her right! She'd be lucky if she doesn't wind up on the streets cause of you!"
Sheena frowned inwardly. She felt like crying, but she couldn't, or she'd get yelled at again. Although this almost counted in her little book. This happened almost every week in her house, but they'd never mentioned her before. Something was wrong, and if a 14-year-old can figure that much out, you're really in trouble.
"Well when she does, it'll be your own damn fault! You helped raise her, so when she winds up wrong, it'll be your fault too, CARLOS!"
"Well it's also you're fault, VERA! You're the one she listens to all the damn time!"
"Least you won't be around to fail more, Carlos!"
"Well, luckily, you still will, VERA!"
"Not like it matters. After all, she'll wind up screwed anyway!"
"Like a schutta like you could teach her anything important!"
"At least she won't wind up like a huttspawn. She would if she listened to you, CARLOS!"
"Well it doesn't matter now."
"Good thing you're pea-brain wrapped around that piece of information, YOU NO GOOD PIECE OF SITHSPIT!"
"Least I'm better than some PATHETIC SCHUTTA!"
"At least its better than BANTHA BRAINED NERFHERDER!"
"Ya know what! How bout you take this!" Carlos grabbed his own hand and ripped off a ring, drawing blood. Sheena's eyes widened as she looked into the room.
Carlos flung the ring down as hard as possible. It bounced once, and landed a few feet away. "And shove it up your self important ass!"
Sheena tiptoed down the hall towards a shadowy part of the hallway. She did NOT want to be caught, especially after all this. Moments later, her dad stormed out of his room and down the stairs. He swore loudly as he slammed the front door and he marched his way to the lift.
A split second later, and her mom ripped her ring off too. This one didn't bounce.
Sheena started to sob down the hall She knew exactly what was going on, and what would happen next. She just didn't want to admit it to anyone. Even herself. Ignorance was her best bet. Just pretend she didn't understand or even know what the words meant. Seeming stupid had saved lives before. They always fought. And they always made up. But not this time. She guessed that much.
Still, she wasn't as quiet as she thought, and by some unknown force, found herself crying in her parent's doorway. Her mom was on the bed, staring straight ahead. Her mom looked up and sat there a moment before she started to talk.
"Oh..Sheena. Lemme guess. You heard mom and dad's fight just now?" Her mom asked sighing. Sheena nodded. "Don't worry about any of that rot. If we're lucky, dad won't bother us anymore. Dad won't yell and keep you up anymore. We don't need him, do we? We'll be fine by ourselves, won't we Sheena?"
Sheena nodded. "Of course mom. But don't we need dad? Everyone's supposed to have a dad too. So why don't we have one now?"
"Because your dad isn't worth the slime he's made out of. He's not worth crying over." She looked up at the clock. "Sheena! Do you know how late it is? Go back to bed, hun. Everything will be fine in the morning, hun. Don't worry."
Sheena nodded. "Yeah, mom. Goodnight." She gave her mom a quick hug and marched herself to bed.
For the moments or two she was still awake, she could have sworn she heard tears from her mom's room.
Sheena woke up rather early, for a weekend. She trudged out of her bed and put on a thick blue dress and some tan pants underneath those. Oh, and boots. Always boots. She trudged to the kitchen in a daze and sat at the table. Her mom appeared from 'nowhere' a moment later, and poured her some juice and plopped a plate of runny eggs and some crispy strips in front of Sheena. Her mom sat down across from her and dug into her own breakfast.
"Morning, hun." Her mom drawled as she took a sip of her caffa.
"Morning, mom." Sheena said back, smiling. It then occurred to her that something was…different. She looked around the kitchen when suddenly it hit her. "Hey mom, where's dad? He didn't leave for real did he? You were joking right?"
Vera shook her head and smiled brightly. "Of course. Dad's gone for good. At last. Daddy filed the divorce papers last night. He won't be back ever again. But no need to worry, hun. Things will work out. We don't need daddy do we?" She gulped an egg as Sheena messed with her eggs. They ate silently for a little while.
"Oh would ya look at the time. I'm gonna be late for my job interview. I gotta run, hun. You'll be fine here alone, right Sheena?"
Sheena looked up confused for a second and nodded glumly. "Yes mom. Don't worry. Good luck with the job thingy mom."
"Alrighty, hun. I'll be back at 1800, maybe a little later. You're sure your fine here by yourself?" Vera got up, grabbed her keys and put on her coat. Sheena nodded again, this time smiling. Vera smiled back, and walked out of the apartment.
Sheena picked at her eggs for a few more minutes before she dumped them in the trash. She wandered aimlessly through the apartment. "But dad's supposed to be here too… Why isn't he here?" She shook her head and messed with some random junk on the table in the vid room. "So I've got almost 9 hours here…nothing to do…AW and it's a weekend! Aria ain't up till noon. Neil ain't up till then either. Might as well watch a vid." She muttered to herself, and finally plopped on the couch. She watched a nice two-hour comedy. One of her favorites too.
When the movie finished, she flipped off the lights and player. She grabbed a set of spare keys from the desk and wandered out of the apartment and into the cold light of apartment complex number 5.
Apartment complex number five contained about 100 rooms, ten per floor. It was part of a cluster of 6 apartment buildings owned by the same corporation, PlexCorp. They also operated about twenty other complexes and clusters like this one They operated primarily in this sector but had a bit of offworld dealings, especially in Coruscant, their secondary base of operations. They have hit hard times recently, due to involvement with high-ranking members of the Imperial Elite, but nothing to stop the flow of credits into swelled bank accounts.
The lights were always slightly dimmed, the windows were never the brightest, but they were good enough.
Sheena's two best friends, Neil and Aria, lived in the same complex as Sheena. Aria lived on the same floor as Sheena, while Neil lived one higher. Sheena's room number was D-6. Aria Sombe and her family lived in room D-9. Neil Rayard and his family lived in room E-4. Sheena walked over the couple rooms to Aria's apartment. She knocked on the door. A live feed of the inside appeared on the door. The older, slightly balding man on the screen started talking.
"This is the Sombe Residence, Alak Sombe speaking. Who's there?" The voice announced in a bark.
"It's me, Sheena Rydos. Is Aria home?"
"Aria? Oh yeah." The man turned to the room behind him and shouted. "Aria! You're friends outside the damn door! Well hurry over!" A 14 year-old girl wearing a green shirt, a jean skirt, and some nice boots ran over. She had a long red ponytail which flapped behind her, and nice light blue eyes.
"Yeah what is it again? OH Sheena! I'll be there in a minute! Pops, I'll be out the room! Be back at some point." Her dad mumbled some words. She pressed a few buttons and the door slid open. She ran out of the room, the door closing behind her. She ran over to Sheena and shook both her hands.
"Sheena! How's it hangin!" the girl smiled.
"Same old crap. Well not exactly. But anyway! Aria! How are ya today! Anything fun happening?" Sheena smiled back.
"Oh of course not. Just the same old loada crap as usual. Dad being drunk, stayin out in the Cantina. Can't wait till I can get drunk on ale. Can you!" Aria laughed at herself while Sheena snorted.
"Oh yes. I just can't wait till I come home at four and smell like a pile of puke. The smiling, the yelling, the barfing into a toilet. That's the life for me!" Aria laughed. Sheena chuckled.
"Oh yeah I can tell. Sheena! The drunk to end all drunks! You'll be famous!" Aria said while smirking. Sheena stroke an overly dramatic pose.
"Yeah. Rather be famous for eating random people than as a drunk." Aria smiled brightly at that one.
"Well ain't that nice. So anything important happen to you, Sheena!"
"Yeah. Something big actually. But we gotta get Neil first. Comin, Aria?" Sheena smiled as she started walking towards the lift.
"Of course I am!" Aria called as she ran to catch up to her friend.
Sheena and Aria dashed through the hallway to room E-4. Neil's room. The front door had the blessing of bright light above it. Guess his dad knew how to change a light bulb.
Sheena knocked on the door. Another live feed into the room. A woman with long black hair and brown eyes appeared. She smiled a bit. "Hello. This is the Rayard's apartment. So what are ya doin here and this early on a Saturday, too?"
"Oh hi Mrs. Rayard. It's Sheena." Sheena waved to viewer
"And Aria! Don't forget me, Sheena! Hey Mrs. Rayard." Aria waved at the viewer too.
Mrs. Rayard smiled a bit bigger now. "Oh it's you two. Lemme guess, You wanna talk to Neil?" The girls nodded. "S'alright. Doubt he's up, but let's see." She stepped out of view.
"How long do ya think this will take?" Sheena said yawning.
"Got me. Force knows why you decided to wake up early Sheena!" Aria said as she started to slump against the door of apartment E-3.
"Not my fault that my mom decided to wake me up." Sheena leaned against the door too.
About ten minutes later, the viewer turned back on at E-4. The girls rushed over and waved again. Mrs. Rayard was on the screen.
"He's getting up now. Just chill there." She walked off a bit and sat in a big plush chair of screen.
A 14 year-old boy with a messy mop of black hair and blue eyes stepped into the viewer's range. He was wearing a long sleaved black shirt and a 'half' a blue shirt on top of it. Or something similiar. (like I know fashion) Oh, and black pants and some boots. As usual. (but anyway) He trudged slowly to the door. When he got there, he smiled slightly. He opened the door and walked to the two girls.
"Morning guys. What's so important that you had to wake me up?" He said slightly grumpily.
"Mornin, Neil. I have no idea. It was Sheena's idea. Blame her!" Aria said as she smiled. Sheena looked shocked.
"Me! Why are ya blaming me for? Oh, hey Neil!" She waved a bit. Neil waved at the two of them.
"Well you're the one who woke me up so it's your fault, Sheena!" Aria yelled, still smiling.
"Well…it's important." Sheena said as she sighed.
"Obviously. Otherwise I'd still be sleeping." Neil said, leaning against another door.
"Right. So that means…we're goin outside? To the meeting place?" Aria said as she started walking. Neil started walking, too.
Sheena shook her head. "Mom's gone. Job thingy. So my apartment's empty. Let's go there." She said as she started walking towards the lift.
"It's empty? But what about your dad? Isn't he there?" Aria said as she dashed after Sheena.
"I assume she'll explain." Neil said as he ran next to Aria. He punched the button that raised the lift.
"I will...try." Sheena said as the three entered the lift and followed her into her room.Sheena threw her keys on a table as the others walked in. She flipped on the light and walked into the sitting room, with a table in the center and a few fluffy/plushy/poofy/ bean bag chairs sat around it. Sheena plopped into one of the bean bag chairs. Aria looked around as she sat in a fluffy chair next to her, and Neil took a plush chair near both of them.
"Well," Sheena began as she wiggled in her seat nervously. "My mom and dad fought again last night. New record. Twice a week. Woulda fought today I'm sure. But not anymore…" She took a deep breath and sighed. "They divorced. Split up. Dad won't be back here, ever. All over the stupid empire and what-not. They yelled at me too. Dad left her, for story purposes. Mom acted tough…but she's not…I don't know what happens next…"
Neil sighed angrily. Aria looked absolutely livid as she stood up and started to pace around the room.
"That's sithspit. All of it. Parents don't split up over something as stupid as the Empire! There's something wrong with them, both of them, to let something that petty get between them. I bet it's a cover! Force, parents are supposed to stay together! Not split up at the first sign of trouble! They HAVE to stay together! It's just…ARGH!" She shouted as she threw a pillow into Neil's face. Neil caught it as Aria rambled on. "I mean you can't just leave someone and a kid behind! They should stay together! Honestly! This is bad news, Sheena! But luckily, it seems like you'll stay here!" Aria shouted as she sat back down, ranting about the 'problems of a divorce'.
Neil started to tap his fingers on the table, a bit bored. "I don't think it matters all that much. She's still here. All that counts. But…that's wrong. They didn't love each other. They shoulda split up. Which is worse? The split or the fight?"
"The fight…." Sheena said to herself. But by now, the two of them were on the warpath, and it wouldn't matter what she said. They'd both still argue.
Aria got up again and shouted, "Well they're both wrong! They are wrong for fighting and wrong for spliting!"
Neil tapped his fingers. "If they hate each other so much, they should split up. Less fighting."
Sheena had just hung her head and held it in between her elbows.
"Yes, but they shouldn't have been married if they fought so much!" Aria spat back.
Sheena held her head tighter and tighter till she thought it would pop. "It's not like it's any of your business," She muttered to herself very quietly.
"Well. Maybe they didn't always fight." Neil muttered again.
"Right. They just magically start fighting one day!" Aria said as she spat.
"Maybe they didn't for a while cause it'd make Sheena sad." Neil offered.
"Why can't I just argue for myself! But honestly...I'm kinda glad dad's gone…I really am…" Sheena muttered into her knees. They both looked over to her, then continued arguing.
"Things change. People change. All you can count on. They just changed is all. Not a crime," Neil muttered.
"They both changed evilly then! Force, you agree with me Sheena, doncha! That they shoulda stayed together, right!" Aria said as she plopped again.
Both Aria and Neil looked over at Sheena.
Sheena messed around in her seat. "Umm… I….I don't know what they should do."
"See! She sided with me, Neil! I'm always right!" Aria shouted happily. She did a little victory dance.
"She didn't side with any of us." Neil said quietly.
"Well. She was gonna side with me…till you talked!" Aria said as she pointed at Neil.
"Whatever you say." Neil sighed.
"You're such a killjoy!" Aria groaned.
"Well…it don't matter anymore. I feel so much better now. Thanks, guys." Sheen said out of nowhere.
"You're welcome!" Neil and Aria said at the same time, causing all three to chuckle.
"Well that was fun. Can I go back to bed now?" Neil said as he yawned dramatically.
"Oh of course, Your Highness! Everything revolves around you, don't it! Poor baby didn't sleep til Noon for once!" Aria said shaking her head.
"Like you don't either. You sleep later than me," Neil said quietly as he smirked. Aria turned bright red.
"No I don't, Neil." Aria stuck her tongue out.
"What's the point of this? It doesn't matter." Neil said as he leaned back in his chair.
"That's just what you say when you start to lose, Neil!" Aria said triumphantly.
"Of course. Whatever you say," Neil said rolling his eyes.
"She has a fair point, Neil." Sheena said smiling. She just loved these cheap arguments. Aria got up and struck a heroic pose. Neil just rolled his eyes again.
"You always side with her," Neil remarked.
"I doubt that. She just sided with you!" Aria said boredly.
"Well who cares about sides!" Neil said smirking.
"You do! You mentioned them first!" Sheena said smirking.
"Prove it." Neil said calmly.
"I'd love to." Sheena said proudly.
"I'll help ya Sheena. You're bad at proving stuff!" Aria said happily.
"Oh no I don't! I proved that the cheese was a week old!" Sheena said even prouder.
"Only cause you saw the ants!" Aria smiled. Neil chuckled to himself.
Out of nowhere, Sheena cracked up. She just started laughing and laughing for no apparent reason. She almost slid out of her chair. The other two stared at her for a moment, before they too started to crack up. And the three friends spent the rest of the afternoon laughing and watching movies. Because nothing makes you forget your troubles more than spending time with your friends. And the three of them never mentioned the divorce ever again.
A/N so tell me what ya think. Edit: I made them a bit older They started seeming a tiny bit too…mature for ten year olds.