Chapter 7
Gracelin was under the speeder intently working. I have got to get this thing fixed. I have to work today. She was trying not to cross any wires and remember right where she had taken everything from.
Suddenly there was a knock from the top of the speeder. It startled her and she jumped and hit her head. She rolled herself from under it, and was rubbing her head. When she saw who it was she wished she would've hit her head harder.
"What do you want, Solo?" Gracelin said as she laid down on the board and rolled back under the speeder.
"I came to apologize. What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to fix this Force forsaken thing!" She called from under the speeder.
"Why don't you let me do that?" Jacen said as he grabbed her ankle and rolled her from under the speeder.
"Because it's my speeder." She rolled back under the speeder again.
Jacen smiled to himself and removed his outer tunic. He grabbed her ankle and pulled her back out. "But you're getting dirty."
She pushed herself back under, "yeah, well it's got to be done. Plus, I'm already dirty so there's no use in you getting down here."
Jacen rolled his eyes and once again pulled her from under the speeder. "I thought you said at breakfast, that you had to work today."
"I know that's why I'm trying to hurry and finish this. But someone won't leave me alone and let me fix it." She then rolled back under the speeder.
"Why don't you let Greyton or Ramey fix it?" He said as he pulled her from under the speeder again.
She pushed herself back under. "One, because its mine. Two, if I keep getting others' help I'll never be able to do it on my own. Three, they always seem to mess up. And four, I'm a better mechanic than both of them."
He pulled her out again, "just let me work on it."
"I swear to the Force, you do that again and I will shove this wrench where the sun don't shine." Gracelin threatened.
"That's not very lady like." He teased.
Gracelin rolled her eyes and rolled back under.
"Come on, Gracey, let me do it."
"No, give it up Solo!"
"But I feel bad, you being under the speeder and me just sitting here talking to you."
"Then, go inside and leave me alone."
"I should be working on the speeder."
This time Gracelin rolled from under the speeder. "Are you saying that because you are a guy you should be working on the speeder instead of me?"
"No! Not that! I just… I don't know."
Gracelin pushed herself back under. "Go away Jacen and let me finish."
"Come on Gracey."
"Go!" Gracelin replied back. After she saw his feet reach the porch she started thinking. Did he just call me Gracey?
The next morning Gracelin got up at her normal time. She went into the refresher to take a shower. Not a sonic one but a real one. She put Kristea's band's music disk into its player and stepped into the shower.
She listened as her lyrics were sung by her best friend. She soon began to sing along. She heard the bathroom door open and close. Jaina.
She continued to shower and sing. She hated it when other people heard her sing. However she knew that Jaina would be staying with them and she would eventually hear her.
Gracelin shut off the water. "Jaina, hand me that towel that's on floor, please." The towel was handed to her. She wrung out her hair and pulled it to her left shoulder. She dried off in the tub and wrapped the towel around her. "Jaina, you know your brother has real nerve to…"
She was cut off when she pulled back the curtain to see Jacen leaning against the closed door. "Jacen!" She screamed. "What are you doing in here!"
"I came in here to brush my teeth. I thought that you were Jaina, until I heard you sing. You're pretty good."
"Jacen, get out!"
Jacen was about to when he noticed the bruise on her shoulder. He nodded toward her right shoulder. "What happened?"
When Gracelin realized what he was talking about, she pulled her hair to cover the shoulder and the bruise. "Jacen, get out." She said more as a statement or a plea this time. She wouldn't look him in the face either.
Jacen walked out, thousands of things going on in his mind. He walked to Gracelin's room and went in. Jaina was lying on a small bed on the near wall. He walked over and sat on it. "Jaina, get up. Jaina, I have to talk to you."
"What?" She replied sleepily.
"Do you think," He paused, "do you think that maybe, Nomi or Greyton have hit Gracelin?"
That woke Jaina up, "what makes you say that?"
"She has this bruise on her shoulder. And when I asked her about it she wouldn't look at me and told me to go away."
"I couldn't see them doing that. Did she do anything to make you think it was them?"
"No, but something is going on. Somebody did hit her, should we tell Luke?"
"Not yet. I think we should try to talk to her first."
"Okay." Jacen said before rising from the bed and returning to Ramey's room.