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On with Chapter 2!
Anakin Skywalker, fencing champion from the backwater slum city of Tattooine squared his shoulders and held his head high as he walked into Master Yoda's academy for his first day of class.
I can handle this. He told himself. He pushed open the double-doors and walked into the complete-and utter mayhem that was MYA first thing in the morning.
There was a tall, elderly, standing ramrod straight at the entrance to what Anakin assumed was the main office.
Anakin walked over to the man, hesitating slightly. "Excuse me, sir?" He asked.
"Hello, my boy, how can I help you?" The man asked cheerfully.
"Could you tell me where I can find the main office? I need my class schedule, and I'm supposed to help someone with the morning newscast."
"Right through this door, young man." The old man said, moving to allow Anakin to pass.
"Thanks, Mister…" Anakin trailed off when he realized he didn't know the man's name.
"Palpatine. Principal Palpatine." The older man supplied. "You wouldn't happen to be Anakin Skywalker, would you?" Palpatine asked quietly.
"Yes, sir, that's me." Anakin said, fighting to keep the annoyance out of his voice.
"A pleasure to meet you Anakin." Palpatine replied, shaking Anakin's hand warmly. "My advice to you would be to try and stay out of trouble. We have several very…how shall I put this? Dedicated principals at this school, and a zero-tolerance policy for, bullying, and the use of death-sticks, or alcohol on school property."
"Thank you for the warning, Mister Palpatine. I don't plan on causing any trouble. I just want to lay low, and finish school, and then move to the other side of the world where nobody cares if you're famous." Anakin sighed as he walked past the man.
The school office was relatively small, with only a few faculty members in it at the moment.
The secretary, whose nametag read: Taun We, greeted him pleasantly. "Good morning! You must be Anakin Skywalker. We've been expecting you."
"No kidding," Anakin quipped, slightly irritated at how well-known he was on his first day. This was supposed to have been a fresh start.
"Anyway, welcome to Master Yoda's Academy. Here is you schedule, and the newsroom is in the back, second door on your left. Nelvin Dooku told me you would be helping him out with his newscast this morning. That's very nice of you." Taun We rambled.
Dooku? Nice name. Anakin thought, smirking inwardly. He took his slip of paper from the secretary. He looked briefly at his schedule, frowning for a fraction of a second. I'm going to be so lost. He thought. "Thank you, miss. Have a nice day." He said, his deep, masculine voice drawing an amused smile from the woman.
That boy is going to have his hands full; he'll have to fend off the girls with a stick! Taun We thought, chuckling to herself.
Anakin walked dutifully back into the newsroom, where Nelvin was waiting for him.
He glanced quickly around the small room, seeing a camera, a few students present for the studio audience and Nelvin-grinning like an idiot.
"Skywalker! You finally showed! I was beginning to worry that you were gonna ditch me." Nelvin drawled.
Anakin groaned. "Didn't I just tell you not to make a big deal out of all this?"
"Relax, it's just an interview." Nelvin persuaded.
Anakin scoffed, his blue eyes hardening. "I'll believe that when I see it. I'm warning you now: If this blows up in my face, I'm coming after you." With that, he sat down at the desk across from Nelvin, in front of where the camera was set up. He took a small microphone from Nelvin and clipped it to his shirt.
The student behind the camera checked his watch and then held up a hand.
"We're rolling in five, four, three, two…" He pointed at Nelvin.
::Audio-Video Recording::
Nelvin (enthusiastically): Good Morning MYA! Welcome to this morning's newscast. We have a special guest with us today. Please welcome Anakin Skywalker!
(Audience applauds. A few whistles are heard)
Nelvin: So, how are you doing this morning, Anakin? It's great to have you with us.
Anakin (waves to camera): Um, it's good to be here. I'm fine, just trying to get settled in you know. This place is huge!
Nelvin (chuckles): Yeah, it is, but you'll know the place like the back of your hand before too long. Speaking of hands, I hear you're pretty good with a sword.
Anakin (smiles nervously): Well, I don't know about that. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion.
Nelvin: That's not what I hear.
Anakin (irritated): Oh really?
Nelvin: Yeah, you were on the news and everything last year. Didn't you win "Fencer of the Decade" or some other fancy award? And weren't you hired for a few leading roles in some films last year?
Anakin: It's not really an award; it's just something our school does back home, apparently I set some kind of record. It's nothing too impressive really. The films were just TV productions; I'm not a silver-screen type of guy.
Nelvin: Well, anyways, we're glad to have you with us. Have a great year man.
Anakin (smiling): Sure thing man. Thanks for having me on the show.
(Anakin stands up, waves to the camera and leaves.)
Nelvin: Well, that's all the time we have for this morning; and now we will have a word from Principal Palpatine. Take it away sir.
::Recording Ends::
Anakin stood just behind the camera's operator as the newscast finished, glaring at Nelvin.
"'Just an interview' huh?" He growled.
Nelvin smiled benevolently. "It's just business my friend. When people realize that we have a celebrity attending out facility, I stand to make a lot of credits. I'm sure you understand."
I knew I shouldn't have trusted him. Nobody is that friendly to the new kid. Anakin berated himself mentally. With an ice-cold glower at Nelvin, he pasted a smile on his face. "Yeah, I understand. I hope for your sake, that I don't need to take drastic action to remove myself from the public eye. The results would be rather…unfortunate for you I'm afraid." Anakin said politely, and then excused himself.
As he walked back into the office, he caught sight of the girl who'd run him over in the hall the previous Friday.
"Hello," Anakin said, smiling.
"Yo," Padmé replied, fixing him with a hard brown gaze. Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, covered mostly by her sideways white ballcap. She was wearing a baggy green concert hoodie, dark denim skinny jeans, and Vans skate shoes. She was using her skateboard as a footrest, occasionally practicing a kick flip. "Can I help you?" She sneered.
Anakin flinched, taken by surprise. "No, I was just saying 'hello', sorry to have bothered you." He said politely, and excused himself. He paused. "I don't suppose you could tell me how to get to room 97?"
"Go out the office door, take a left, then a right, then another left, and it's the fifth door on the right-hand side." Padmé deadpanned.
"Thanks," Anakin said as he turned to leave.
"Whatever," Padmé dismissed him with a wave.
Anakin made for the exit.
"Other way," Padmé interjected, rolling her eyes.
"Oh…I knew that." Anakin chuckled, embarrassed.
"Just go," Padmé groaned, and shoved her earphones in her ears.
"Thanks for the…help." Anakin trailed off when he saw that Padmé was completely ignoring him. He glanced at the clock, then at Padmé, and then at the clock once more before he hurried out so he could be on time for his next class.
Love it? Hate it? Think Padmé's a jerk? Click the review button and drop me a line! Reviews mean updates! See you next chapter!
~Ink