Chapter 5
Mara gazed at the clear blue sky and the dense forests that were Yavin Four. She was sweating from head to toe after her jog in the hot weather. As much as she refused to admit it, she loved being here. For some peculiar reason, it just made her feel so…free.
Mara recalled her arrival three days ago: Luke had formally introduced her to all the other students and he clearly stated that she wasn't planning on becoming a Jedi because she was a "special case." Mara had no idea how he did it, but he made it sound like a compliment. Generally, it would've just sounded very degrading.
"Hey Mara," Kali, one of Luke's younger Jedi students, came up to her, interrupting her thoughts. "What do you think of the Academy so far?"
"Its all right," Mara said nonchalantly. "Not bad for Skywalker." From the slight frown on Kali's face, Mara realized she probably should address him as "Master Skywalker" and try to be respectful to him for once.
"So how come you want to be a Jedi?" Mara changed the topic.
"Oh, plenty of reasons. When I was a child, I always heard these stories about the Jedi. Since they were nonexistent during the Imperial era, I didn't know if the stories were a myth or actually true. Regardless, I still secretly adored them. So when Master Skywalker made the Academy and I found out I was Force sensitive, what would I obviously do?"
Mara smiled and nodded politely. Skywalker must wish all his students were like this, she suddenly thought.
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Later that night, Mara sat outside enjoying the cool breeze. The sky was already dark, and she could see thousands of stars twinkling in the far distance. She blissfully sighed, enjoying the lovely scene. Suddenly, someone grabbed her shoulders, snapping her out of her peaceful reverie. She gasped and whirled around, just to find herself staring into Luke Skywalker's icy blue eyes.
"Scared ya," he playfully teased. Mara's eyes narrowed dangerously. Uh-oh, Luke thought.
"Actually, I was quite aware of your presence," Mara coolly stated. "I just wanted to give you a moment of pleasure where you had the satisfaction of knowing you could succeed at something. I had a feeling that's rather rare for you."
Luke raised his eyebrows in surprise. So she wanted to play, huh? Bring it on, he thought.
"How sweet, Mara," Luke replied. Mara smiled smugly. Then he added, "It's a first." Luke couldn't help but grin at Mara's expression.
"Oh, do you like it? I always thought you were more of a…bitter kind of person." She batted her eyelashes and smiled. Luke didn't bat an eye.
"Are you flirting with me?"
"Do you want me to?" Mara came back just as quickly. Luke paused for a moment. Whoa, he thought, this was getting a bit out of hand. Aw, who cares, was his second thought. For a minute, Luke wanted to have some fun and drop his serious Jedi Master facade.
"Why not?" he challenged. Mara was taken aback and surprised. Was this really Luke Skywalker, renowned Jedi Master?
Mara tried to think of a comeback. Nothing came to her mind. She cursed to herself. What happened? She almost always won at these "games" and left the other person speechless. How could she have lost to Luke Skywalker of all people?
Luke sensed Mara was at a loss for words. He smiled and said, "You'll need to work harder on this." He got up to leave.
"Before or after lightsaber practice?" Mara called out, rather sarcastically. Luke turned around with a serious expression plastered on his face.
"First: lightsaber practice. Second: this. Third: sense of humor."
To Be Continued…
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