"Ready for history?" Poe asks as the first bell rings.
"Ready as I'm gonna be." Finn pulls the massive textbook out of his locker and follows Poe down a flight of stairs. Birds warble to one another. His last school was entirely indoors, with beige walls, gray lockers, and white tile floors that his shoes squeaked against. The outdoor campus of Jedi Academy almost makes all that happened the past year worth it to Finn.
"Mr. San Tekka's pretty cool," Poe says as they enter a classroom that has a gigantic white sheet of paper running around it. A timeline of major world events, Finn realizes.
"Happy morning to you both," greets an elderly man. Mr San Tekka.
"Happy morning," Finn echoes as Poe grabs a seat. More students pile in.
"Mind if I sit here?" a girl asks. Her brown hair pulled up, she clutches her books to her chest as she gestures to the seat next to Finn.
"No," Finn stammers. "No, please. Take a seat. Sit here. That's cool. That's great."
As the late bell rings, Finn and Poe's neighbor slips into the classroom, hair way to nice for how raggedy his clothes look. Ben scowls when he sees the only seat available is next to Poe, but he takes it.
"Welcome back," Mr. San Tekka begins. "And a general welcome for our two new faces, as well."
Finn slouches in his seat and sees the girl next to him flushing as well. Oh. They're both new.
"We'll be building towards your exams at the end of the year. Finn, Rey, it might be best if you briefly visited with me after class," Mr. San Tekka informs them and then goes on to delve into the curriculum and what they plan to study. "For the rest of class," he announces. "I want you to work in pairs. I'm going to hand you a puzzle that will test your historical knowledge. Only when you get one question right will you be able to move on to the next. The first pair to get it finish all of it—correctly—earns both my respect and a bag of Lindt truffles to split."
Rey turns to Finn with an eager smile. Finn glances at Poe and shrugs, turning back to Rey.
Poe makes a face as he swivels, slowly, towards Ben.
"I'm Finn," he says, pointlessly.
"I'm Rey," she says in a British accent, smiling as Mr. San Tekka hands them a piece of paper. "I think we're at a disadvantage here."
"Probably," Finn acknowledges as he scans the paper. The first question seems fairly easy, though, and Rey smirks.
"So who talks first?" Poe asks as his gaze shifts from the paper to Ben, who seems to have developed a taste for eyeliner over the summer. It's not a good look. "I talk first? You talk first?"
"Do you know any of the answers or not?" Ben demands, glaring at the stupid sheet of paper.
"Some of them," Poe says. "Maybe. I had a busy summer, all right?"
"Then just give it to me." Ben grabs it and starts scribbling.
"Hey, no—why are you being such an asshole?"
"Because I don't want to do all the work."
Poe's jaw drops. "You might wanna rethink that, buddy. Saying I had a busy summer isn't the same as saying I don't remember jack shit. What, are you just jealous because you spent your summer staring at a computer screen?"
"I wouldn't be jealous of your summer," Ben retorts.
So he did hear. Poe bites his lip. So many feelings well up inside him. He'd like to deck Ben in the face. Tears sting. And there's the need to shrug it off and laugh as if nothing matters. He opts for the last one, snickering.
Ben's eyes widen as if that was the last response he expected.
"Hey," Poe says as he snatches the paper back from Ben. "At least I have people to care about."
Ben's jaw clenches, and for a moment Poe wonders if he's about to sock him. Instead, Ben yanks on the paper, and it tears in half.
Finn and the new girl—Rey—glance at them, both with their mouths hanging open.
"Good job," Poe snips.
Mr. San Tekka drops a spare copy on their desk. "Poe, Ben, see me after class," he orders.
Great. Poe glowers at Ben.
"We're done!" Rey exclaims, holding up their paper like a trophy.
Mr. San Tekka's eyes widen as the class goes silent.
"Well," Mr. San Tekka says, eyes scanning the page. "You've won the truffles."
Finn holds out his hand for Rey to high-five.
"The rest of you," Mr. San Tekka says. "Step it up."
Ben grunts. Poe winks at Finn and mouths good job.
When class ends, all four of them loiter. Mr. San Tekka gives Rey and Finn some advice for catching up with their particular curriculum—"But," he says. "You both seem like you're going to be just fine."
"I'll see you in math," Finn calls to Poe as he and Rey leave.
Mr. San Tekka turns to Ben. Poe pretends to study his history book, but he's listening.
"How could you taunt him about something like that?" Mr. San Tekka asks, calm and kind. "Your mother would be appalled."
"My mother isn't here," Ben retorts.
Good God. If it were any other teacher, Ben for sure would have a detention by now.
"Speak about them however you wish. They're still your family."
Ben crosses his arms and huffs.
"Are you doing all right?" Mr. San Tekka asks. Poe lifts his eyes to see the teacher surveying Ben with his brow creased.
"I'm fine. Can I go?"
Mr. San Tekka sighs and nods. He beckons to Poe. "I'll give you a late pass," the teacher assures him. "I just wanted to ask how you're doing."
Poe shrugs. "I'm…" He doesn't want to say fine. "Doing okay. You know. Some days are better than others. It's good to be back here, away from home."
"And your father?" Mr. San Tekka's eyes are old, swimming with history and compassion as he searches Poe's face.
Poe sighs. "I don't know. I mean, he says he's okay. He's got friends. He told me not to worry and to just focus on college applications and all."
"Sounds like Kes." Mr. San Tekka's lips part in a smile. Scuffles echo outside the door. "One moment!" he calls to the sophomores preparing to barge in. "I know I told you this over the summer, but I am so sorry for your loss, Poe. Your mother was a wonderful woman—like a daughter to me when I taught her. If you need someone to talk to, I'm always willing."
"Thank you," Poe manages, trying to unstick himself from the sorrow grabbing at him. "Actually, there is one thing you could do."
"What is that?"
"Write my recommendations?"
Mr. San Tekka laughs. "Send me a list of schools and the forms."
"I can't believe it! I've never won anything in my life!" Finn exults as he and Rey head back towards their lockers.
She giggles. "Neither have I!"
"We newbies can show all these prep kids how it's done," Finn jokes.
Rey snorts. "Where are you from?"
"Not far from here, actually. Like five hours south. A small town." He glances away. "You're from the UK, right?"
"Yup."
He grins. "Do you miss the tea and crumpets?"
She rolls her eyes. "I miss a lot of things." And she does.
"Like what?" he persists. "Got a boyfriend back home? Got a cute boyfriend?"
Rey casts him a dark look. Her windpipe feels like it's being spliced apart from the inside as she tries to breathe, just breathe. "None of your business."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to—"
"It's fine." Rey frowns as a nasally voice echoes through the halls.
"Hey, I want that." A boy with red hair and the same girl who was rude to her the night before tower over a pale, chubby kid with orange curls who's got to be a freshman.
The girl snatches what looks like a thumb drive from the small kid.
"Give it back!" The freshman lunges at the girl, who shoves him with a laugh.
"Oi!" Rey throws her books to the ground and charges at them, pushing the girl away from her, not giving a damn how much smaller she is. "Give it back to him!"
"Yeah," adds Finn from behind her. Rey's heart softens towards him.
The freshman puts his hands on his hips. "Yeah, Phasma," he says. "Give it back."
"Make me," snips Phasma.
"Okay then," Rey says as she grabs the girl's hands, twisting the thumb drive out of her hand. Phasma yelps. The redheaded senior boy backs up and runs.
"Coward!" Phasma hollers after her companion.
"Him?" spits Rey, spotting the emo kid—Ben—watching from the corner. Watching her. "Pick on someone your own size!"
"Listen here, little British girl—" Phasma starts.
"Leave her alone," Finn snarls, stepping up behind her.
"Buddy!" Poe shouts from across the quad, running over and slinging his arms around the freshman. Phasma stalks away.
"You all right?" Rey asks the kid, holding out the thumb drive.
He nods, taking it. "Thanks."
"This is my friend," Poe announces. "Beebee-Ate. We got paired up in a mentor thing last year."
"If they bother you again," Finn says. "Just let us know."
Beebee-Ate grins, looking at Poe like he's the sun.
"You should both join us for lunch," Poe suggests. "Beebee-Ate and Rey. Our table is the coolest table."
"What exactly makes a table cool?" Rey asks, raising her eyebrows.
"The people, of course." The bell rings, and Poe swears as he dashes towards his locker.
"Off to maths!" Rey charges away, barely making it into the classroom. She opted for higher level maths, and of course Ben is there, rolling his eyes as she takes the seat next to him.
What the hell is his problem?
She glowers back at him until the sour look on his face starts to ebb. She can't believe he and Poe fought over that pathetic game Mr. San Tekka assigned for them. It's like he's a five year old, but five times the size of a five year old.
Rey tunes him out and focuses on maths.
When the bell rings, Ben turns to her. "Fighting's taken pretty seriously around here."
"How about bullying?" Rey retorts, slamming her notebook shut. Classist jerk.
He cocks his head and studies her. Rey doesn't like it. She doesn't like him looking at her. "Fair point," he concedes, surprising her.
"Does Phasma just hate everyone?" Rey asks as they leave the classroom, him sticking to her side even though she cannot figure out why. It's not like she's being friendly to him.
He scoffs. "Is it possible to like anyone in high school?"
Rey pauses atop a stairway. "Of course it is."
"How do you like it?" he asks. "Jedi Academy. So far."
Rey climbs down the stairs, talking over her shoulder. "Well, see, I like the people so far. Most of them. My roommate, Jess, is nice. Finn and Poe seem pretty cool, and so does Beebee-Ate. The only problems are Phasma the bully and a boy who acts like he hates me but is still following me to my locker."
"I'm not following you," Ben snaps, turning on his heel and heading back towards his locker, which they've already passed. This time, Rey studies him even as she digs through her locker. He glances at her, face flushing.
He's not in her music or philosophy class, but Rey spots him again at lunchtime. Briefly, she considers inviting him to join her, but he plugs in his headphones as if to send the message that he just wants to be alone.
"What's his problem?" she asks Poe.
"Ben Solo? Don't you know who he is?" Beebee-Ate chatters.
"No?" Should I?
"His uncle is Luke Skywalker. The Dean," Beebee-Ate states.
"Wait, seriously?" Finn asks.
"Yup. And his mom's some kind of important diplomat—or she was. Over the summer her husband got caught in some kind of illegal activity—like smuggling—and she had to resign. It was all over the news." Beebee-Ate sighs dramatically. "Well, he didn't get caught. It just came out and he didn't deny it."
"Pretty much," Poe confirms when Rey and Finn look to him for confirmation.
"So is his dad in jail?" Rey questions. That, she might be able to relate to. She glances back at Ben, the possibility of a black mark for a parent connecting them too strong to dismiss.
She can''t imagine having all of her history public.
"Nah, it's not that kind of thing. Like, it happened years and years ago, and presumably he stopped," puts in a heavy-set boy who introduced himself as Snap Wexley. "But it just came out over the summer."
"So, Rey," Jess says, changing the subject. "You going to try out for soccer?"
"We call it football," Rey says as she swallows another bite of chicken. "But, sure."
"All right!" Jess pumps her fist.
"You should try out for the boy's team!" Poe exclaims to Finn. "It'll be fun. Snap and I are co-captains."
"I don't think I'd be that good," Finn admits, poking at his rice with a fork but not actually lifting any of it to his lips.
"We can practice together," Poe says.
"Can we have a co-ed practice?" Rey suggests. "Because it's been awhile since I've played." And by awhile, she means that she only played in phys ed classes, because her mother stopped paying for Rey to participate in any team sports years ago.
"Yeah!" Poe's almost beaming. "We could start today after school, or tomorrow—"
"Tomorrow doesn't work," Finn cuts in. "I—uh—have an appointment."
"Today then?" Poe suggests.
And so Rey finds herself on the athletic field after school, kicking around a battered old football with people she's pretty sure she can call friends. Beebee-Ate loiters on the sidelines, teasing them when they miss. Rey kicks a ball straight past Finn's head.
"Not fair!" Finn yells, but he's grinning.
Rey laughs until a voice calls out from the top of the stairs that lead to the field. "Rey Kenobi!"
Artoo. The woman beckons to her. Rey jogs over.
"Dean Skywalker wants to see you in his office," Artoo informs her.
Rey blinks. "Am I in trouble?"
"Of course not." Artoo smiles. "He'd just like to speak to you."
"We'll meet again later this week," Poe reassures her. "It's fine."
Rey trudges along behind Artoo, sweat dropping from her brow. It's hot.
"Hello, Ben," Artoo chirps, and Rey's head snaps up to see Ben skulking past. His eyes widen when he sees her.
"I'm off to meet with your uncle," Rey informs him. Artoo pauses.
Ben picks at his fingers. "Poe told you he's my uncle?"
She nods, and she can almost hear him wondering, what else did he tell you?
"Seems like he ruined your afternoon. Get used to it," Ben says as he pushes past.
"Ben Solo!" shouts Artoo, but he marches towards the teacher's lounge. "You get back here!"
"I have to see Mr. Snoke!" he yells as he disappears around a corner.
Artoo blows out her breath, jaw jutting out and looking surprisingly ferocious. Rey makes a mental note never to cross this lady. "Come along," she says at last, heading further down the hallway.