You must have been dropped on your head as a baby if you think I own Star Wars.
Obi-Wan Kenobi slowly walked through the halls of the Jedi Temple, clutching his latest failed math exam tightly to his chest. He dreaded showing it to his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, and the later he reached their shared quarters, the later he would have to break the bad news.
Even though the teenaged apprentice walked as slowly as physically possible, he still eventually ended up standing outside his door, looking at the gleaming brass nameplate that read Jinn / Kenobi. Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan stepped into the small living area, leaving his sweaty fingerprints on the handle.
Qui-Gon was sitting in his favorite chair by the window, looking out at the Coruscanti sky. As the sun set on the city-planet, more and more lights gradually flicked on, illuminating the planet almost as much as the sun did. Speeders and transports filled the air, whizzing around each other in a fast-paced dance and carrying alien beings to their various destinations. Obi-Wan softly cleared his throat in order to gain his Master's attention. At the slight noise, Qui-Gon turned his head away from the skyline to acknowledge his Padawan.
"Did you get lost on your way back from class, Padawan?" Qui-Gon's light tone held a trace of dry humor that made Obi-Wan wonder if the older Jedi already knew everything. Why does it seem as though he knows all the happenings of the galaxy without being told?
Obi-Wan colored slightly. "No, Master. But… umm…" He would just have to say it. "I failed my math test today," he blurted out, mortified.
Qui-Gon closed his eyes for a minute, and just as Obi-Wan began to wonder if his Master had heard him, Qui-Gon spoke.
"Well, Padawan, did you try your best?"
Obi-Wan was completely caught off guard by his Master's question. "M-My best? But, Master, that doesn't matter, really. I failed. And Padawan Almeria got a perfect score, and –"
"That maybe so, but I am not Padawan Almeria's Master. I am yours, and right now, I have already accepted that you failed the test. I would like to know why you failed. Did you try your hardest? Are you feeling sick?" At this point, Qui-Gon finally made eye contact with his student, face clearly showing concern. "This isn't like you, Padawan. I need to know if some thing is wrong." Qui-Gon motioned for Obi-Wan to sit down in the chair across from him.
As he sat down and handed Qui-Gon the exam, Obi-Wan began. "Nothing's wrong, Master, and of course I tried my best. But remember that long mission to Voban? The one that lasted a month?" When Qui-Gon nodded his head, Obi-Wan continued. "Well, while we were there, the rest of my class learned the material that was on the test. I used my datapad to study, but it's really hard to learn new material from one of those Force-forsaken devices. And I didn't understand the practice problems, and then when we got back to the Temple, Master Praxxon had already started to build on it, and I didn't understand any of the problems, and then we had the test. Obviously, I failed it," he gestured at the piece of flimsy.
"Ah, so that's how this came about." Qui-Gon leaned back in his chair. "But, Padawan, when you realized you were struggling, why didn't you come to me for help? They don't just give the title of 'Master' out to any random being off the streets, you know."
"Oh really?" Obi-Wan asked, smirking. "So how'd you get to be a Master, then?"
Qui-Gon chuckled affectionately. "Brat."
Obi-Wan sighed, bringing his attention back to the main problem. "Well, it's just… You're always so busy, Master, and I didn't want to add the extra burden."
Qui-Gon was shocked. Is that what he thinks he is? A burden? "You could never be a burden to me, Padawan. I am your Master, and this is my job. I wouldn't trade you in for Padawan Almeria, or any Padawan in the galaxy, for that matter. Now, come. I will make sure you understand these problems before tomorrow's makeup test."
Qui-Gon sat Obi-Wan down at their small table and brought out fresh flimsy and pencils. Then slowly, painstakingly, the older man showed the younger one how to execute each problem. They worked until the sun had completely disappeared from view, and the skyline was illuminated only by the dazzling lights of the city, like so many jewels in a puddle of ink. Even the incessant traffic of Coruscant was slower at this late hour. Once the pair had worked through all the practice problems Master Praxxon, the mathematics teacher, had given over the past weeks, they went over the questions Obi-Wan had missed on the test. Qui-Gon made up more and more equations for the boy to solve, correcting him on his mistakes and praising his accurate answers.
Finally, both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were satisfied in Obi-Wan's math skills and ended the study session. As Obi-Wan was about to go to his small separate room, a thought suddenly struck him. "Master, how did you know how to teach math so well?"
Qui-Gon gave a small smile. "You know I'll kill you if you tell anyone this, but I used to struggle with math. I can't recall how many hours Master Dooku stayed awake with me through the night trying to drill what I thought were useless numbers into my head."
Obi-Wan laughed a little under his breath. "Master? Thanks."
Then, Qui-Gon gave a real smile. "Any time, Padawan. Any time."
The next day, Obi-Wan sat down to take the makeup test, trying desperately to quell the jittery feeling in the pit of his stomach. Taking a deep breath, the teen flipped his exam over and began, remembering Qui-Gon's lessons from the previous night. He was surprised to find that the problems were easy, nearly fun, almost like little puzzles. By the time Obi-Wan handed in the answer sheet on which he had marked his answers, he felt quite confident.
After class, Obi-Wan watched as Master Praxxon's eyes traveled down the sheet of flimsy. The aged Master held his pen tightly, searching for errors. Finding none, he gave the exam back to Obi-Wan with a smile and a "Congratulations, Padawan Kenobi. You didn't miss a single question. Well done" The praise brought a grin to Obi-Wan's face. He bowed respectfully to Master Praxxon, then raced back to his quarters. This was one test he couldn't wait to share with Qui-Gon.