Sorry this is so short!
Zefel is waiting for me when I leave the younglings
Zefel is waiting for me when I leave the younglings. She usually lets me come to her, so I know that this is important. She looks at me with wide, blue eyes, and I know what she will say before she starts. I have seen her with Kep Osirai many times over the past three days and I know that they spend the time when I am with younglings talking together.
"Kep thinks he should take a mission from the Council again, and he wants me to come with him," she tells me.
I grin. "I was wondering how long it would take for him to ask you. And if you refused, I'll dunk you in one of the pools in the Room of a Thousand Fountains."
"I did not refuse!" she says angrily, as if she hadn't the last time she was asked.
"Good. Great! That's wonderful!"
"He's going to get permission from Master Yoda right now. I thought I should tell you before the ceremony to make it official." She isn't smiling.
"Aren't you happy?" I ask.
"Yes, I am, but it'll be strange to have a male master." She snaps, "Akite!" I have let my worries about her feelings for him show on my face. "He's thirty-something. You're disgusting."
"Hey! It's a valid worry!" I slump a little and admit, "I wish someone cared about me."
"I know," she whispers. "It's not fair. I wish you were coming, too. Oh, Akite, what'll I do without you?" she cries. "What would I do if something happened to you? Or Fang? I'd die!"
She starts to cry. I want to tell her that this is exactly why the Masters have forbidden "attachment," but she has already suggested that she doesn't want to be a Jedi, and I don't want to risk that again.
We are in a hallway, where anyone can see us – and would, if there were more Jedi at home. She doesn't seem to mind. She just stands and cries.
Well, if she's shaming herself, I might as well join her. I put my arm around her shoulders, then give in and hug her completely. "It'll be all right in the end," I whisper to her. "Really. You'll be okay, and this whole messed-up galaxy will stop fighting and straighten itself out someday." I see a vaguely familiar adult Zabrak start down the hallway, notice us, and turn away hurriedly. Oh, well. I can be weak occasionally. "Maybe not in our lifetime, but it has to happen sometime. It always does." She won't stop crying. "And I'll always be your friend." I let go of her. "Okay, Zefel. You're going to become Kep Osirai's apprentice, and you can't let the Council see you like this."
I take her back to my room to have her wash her face and smooth her short hair. I'm not sure it's long enough to have a normal padawan braid, but I don't say so.
"Okay, Zefel Torela. Go find your master, and enjoy getting to do the padawan-master ceremony a second time. Don't let the Council see you cry, no matter what. Good luck. I hope you and Master Osirai get along well."
She tries to smile. "Thanks, Akite."
She turns and walks out my door. I really hope she does well. I'm going to miss her.