Part Six
Shamde Olie politely knocked on the door of a one-room apartment that belonged to the newest residents of Naboo. When the Queen had personally called her, she had been honored and when she learned that she was to help settle in two great heroes, she'd been shocked. Her Majesty had a great deal to say about this young Obi-Wan Kenobi's situation, along with Anakin Skywalker. And, despite the Queen's dry recital of facts, there was no denying the underlying opinion that her Majesty had about the Jedi and what they'd done to the pair.
Shamde brushed that aside however. The reason why she succeeded as a social worker was because she listened to what the family had to say. Not what others believed, and she'd been doing social work for a very long time.
The door was opened by a blond boy that Shamde smiled at. "Hello," she greeted. "You must be Anakin Skywalker."
"Yup! You the social worker Padme, er, Her Majesty said would be coming?"
Shamde smiled. "Yes."
"Not a reporter in disguise?"
She laughed outright. Obi-Wan's rescue the previous day was certainly the talk of the planet. Though Nabooan reporters didn't usually dig through a citizen's personal life the way the paparazzi of Coruscant might, she doubted that either of these two knew that.
"Would you like to see my credentials?" she asked.
Anakin shrugged. "Obi-Wan's at the market. Just needs something for whatever that good smell is."
Shamde did indeed smell something good coming from the tiny kitchenette of the apartment. "Well that will give us a chance to talk."
"Okay, come on in. If Pad- er, Her Majesty trusts you that's good enough for me."
Anakin brought her in, took her coat and seated her at the table like a mini-gentleman. A kettle had evidently been warmed and he brought it over with a set of three cups. "So how's this go? How do I help Obi-Wan get us all settled in and stuff?"
She sipped her tea and sat back. "We'll get to that 'stuff' when Obi-Wan arrives. For now, I just want to talk."
"Okay. 'Bout what?"
Shamde smiled. Children were always the most informative. "How things got to be the way they are," she replied, because all the help would be meaningless if she didn't understand where they were coming from.
The next ten minutes was Anakin excitedly talking about the adventure he'd been on to come to arrive at Naboo. Though Shamde had been preparing herself for it, given what Queen Amidala had said, her heart was still aching as young Anakin talked so freely about what it was like to be a slave. The fact that his mother was still a slave was a cause for worry ("Mister Qui-Gon did everything he could to free her! Watto wouldn't allow it, the dopa maskey koochoo!") The fact that this bright youngling could touch the Force was something that Shamde would have to research ("It's really wizard! I haven't even found the word in Basic for it! Some strange cross between connected and incredible and alive and big and small and..."), especially since the Jedi spent a lifetime learning it and this Obi-Wan would be teaching Anakin about it. The question was when. And how. ("We do stances and kata and forms and stuff! It's all based on using a lightsaber. I wonder when I'll get my own. Obi-Wan lost his facing that monster and I don't think either of us like using Mister Qui-Gon's 'less it's an emergency like yesterday.") But her primary goal for this meeting, aside from information gathering, was to ensure that they at least had some basics taken care of.
They clearly had a place to stay, already well taken care of. Though having only been here for under a week, there was still a vague sense of home in the room with a few plants and neat clutter of Anakin's tinkerings. Food didn't seem to be a problem yet, given that wonderful smell from the kitchenette. Obi-Wan's job would be steady and that gave them a solid foundation to work with. She was going to have to start explaining various programs available if their income didn't match expenditures. Possibly ram it down their throats, if the Queen's information was correct. Anakin needed to get enrolled in school (Her Majesty had several suggestions) and the legal guardianship needed to be finalized.
Shamde, born and raised on Naboo, didn't quite understand about this decision of Obi-Wan's to be a legal guardian instead of just adopting. When she carefully brought up the subject to Anakin, the boy just smiled.
"He's not used to the idea of being my brother yet. He thinks he'd just be trying to replace my mom and he doesn't want to do that. He won't ever replace her, but he doesn't get that yet." Anakin looked around conspiratorially. "He's my new project!" he confided. "He doesn't know much about family so I'm going to turn him into the best big brother anyone could ever have!"
Shamde couldn't quite help chuckling at that.
Anakin suddenly straightened. "Olie? Like Ric Olie? The guy who taught me some of how a Nubian starcraft works?"
"Yes, he's my cousin. He's spoken very highly of you and how you're such a good student."
"Wizard!"
"Hello there," came a new voice. Shamde turned with a pleasant smile and suddenly found herself wishing she was ten or fifteen years younger and not married. Aaah, to dream.
"Hello yourself," she replied, standing. "I am Shamde Olie. I'm the social worker that Queen Amidala has sent to make sure you settle in well here on our peaceful planet of Naboo."
Obi-Wan gave a small bow. "Welcome. I'll be with you in just a moment." Anakin immediately went over to help with the small bag of groceries, a system between them already in place to divide chores, it seemed, as they wordlessly set about taking care of the food.
Interesting.
Not even roommates could agree on such division of chores that fast. Something to think about.
Obi-Wan easily slid back to the cooking unit, stirring the pots that were producing such mouth-watering scents. "I'll admit," he said, turning to her, "I'm uncertain what you can do for us. We have things under control. I've been looking at schools for Anakin and he and I have been discussing the pros and cons of each one. We have our starting point."
Oh, he was going to be one of those. The kind that always thought they had everything under control. The kind that didn't ask for help. Shamde had her work cut out for her. She absently wondered if there was a frying pan handy to knock some sense into him before some sort of problem occurred and shattered his confidence.
But she was a professional and let none of that show. Instead, she smiled brightly. "Have you gotten the paperwork yet to become Anakin's legal guardian?"
"No. I haven't had the chance. I've been working an extra shift to make sure we have enough credits for the front-end purchases we need."
"Well it's a good thing I'm here then. I can also take care of enrolling Anakin, once we've decided on a school, especially since you do need to worry about all these front-end purchases."
Obi-Wan glanced away, ostensibly to start dishing out that divine-smelling soup. "I don't want to impose-"
"It's my job."
"Only because the Queen insisted."
"Only 'cause Padme's nice," Anakin corrected, bringing each full bowl to the table.
Obi-Wan frowned, but let the subject drop.
"Now normally, Mister Kenobi, I'd ask you to send Anakin to a different room so I could talk to you one-on-one, but..."
All three glanced at the small room they were in. Obi-Wan blushed. "Well, I..."
"I congratulate you on getting accommodations so quickly and that are quite nice. Theed is an expensive city to live in and if you'd gotten a place with more rooms, it might have had several issues that were unsafe."
Obi-Wan glanced away.
"Now, let's talk about schools."
They sat around the tiny table, Obi-Wan generously feeding her with the delicious soup, despite her polite rebuttals of her husband's good cooking awaiting her. While all the schools they were looking at had a good general education of core subjects, there was some debate on special classes.
"I'm a pilot! I should have classes to help me be better!"
Though Obi-Wan agreed to play to Anakin's strengths, he steadfastly wanted a school with good classes on diplomacy. "A Jedi avoids conflict. You'll need classes where you can learn to talk your way out of a conflict or help others reach a middle ground."
When Shamde suggested a good school that turned out both politicians and security forces alike, Obi-Wan frowned horribly. From the questions she asked, she gathered that he really didn't care for politicians. As a Jedi working to the whims of the Senate, Shamde could imagine where his prejudice came from. They finally all agreed on a piloting school that had a strong set of classes in diplomacy, since their pilots tended to be more for envoys rather than fighters.
"I'll handle the filework for this, especially since you haven't gotten your papers yet for your guardianship."
Obi-Wan nodded and both he and Anakin escorted her to the door.
"Mister Kenobi," she said, turning around. "I realize that you're taking Anakin as your ward. I'm sure you have your reasons why. And, as a Jedi, I have no doubt that you have a strong moral fiber especially towards honesty. However take my advice. Just refer to Anakin as your brother. One you didn't know you had until your father passed away. From my understanding, this is true from a certain point of view. It will go a long way to making people accept you more easily. Otherwise they'll ask a lot of pointless questions that will dredge up things you likely don't want to talk about."
Obi-Wan looked distinctly uncomfortable, and Shamde resolved to make sure to corner him and speak to him privately on the way home from work some day.
"I'd also advice you to look into grief counseling, once you've established a routine."
"I am a Jedi. I release my feelings to the Force."
Shamde shook her head. "Maybe. But I'm sure in your Order you had someone to go to if you struggled. You'll need a support network here as well. At the Temple, it was your Order. Here, it's usually friends and family. But a lot of us are grieving and don't know how to handle it after the occupation. You won't be alone in needing help with your grief."
Obi-Wan shook his head. "I thank you for your consideration. But I will be fine."
Oh yes. Definitely the type to need a frying pan to the head.
Sighing she said her good-byes and left.
Anakin shifted nervously. This was... different than anything he'd been a part of before. It was making him anxious. He was extremely grateful that he and Obi-Wan had done their kata and forms that morning. In fact, he was getting to like doing them at dawn and the work they did to coax their bond to grow. It was invigorating and soothing at the same time. (Though he still preferred sleeping in...) Obi-Wan told him he was a quick learner and Anakin worked hard to make sure it stayed that way, especially since Obi-Wan was now working two shifts and didn't have as much time with him. Anakin made sure to be there during Obi-Wan's lunch break and there for when his first shift ended so they could walk home together. Then came some intensive study (and dinner. Who knew Obi-Wan was a decent cook?) before they sat down to meditate, Anakin's least favorite time of the day. Once Anakin was in bed, Obi-Wan headed off to his second shift, which was shorter, but meant that Obi-Wan averaged only five hours of sleep a night.
Anakin was envious of how alert Obi-Wan always seemed to be despite all of that. But today was different. Obi-Wan had taken the morning off of work for this, after the two of them poured over their finances to see if they could afford it. So after their morning exercise, they'd showered and cleaned up nicely and come to the school that they both agreed would likely be best for Anakin. Shamde had met them there and set about introductions and Anakin had started to get antsy.
All his life, he'd never been in such a... formal meeting. He'd met with other podracers, slaves, customers, people at the market, all sorts in different situations. But this was dressing to impress, sitting down at a conference table and asking the people across from him if he could be allowed to come here.
It brought up all his insecurities. Anakin was just a slave, and despite how hard he worked at everything he did, nobody back on Tatooine ever really saw him as anything else aside from his mother, Qui-Gon and other slaves. He didn't know the first thing on how to impress these stiff-looking people. They might as well have been speaking another language for all he understood their customs. Obi-Wan understood this so much better than him, but Obi-Wan was a Jedi and had been taught this kinda stuff. Anakin hadn't and neither of them had thought to go over with him what to do for this. His mother had tried to drill manners into his thick skull, and Obi-Wan had clearly picked up the drill, but all Anakin could really think of that would be appropriate at this moment would be to sit still and shut up.
He squirmed again, completely uncomfortable and uncertain.
Obi-Wan saw this out of the corner of his eye before he reached out, hesitated, and put his arm around him. Anakin let some of his tension ease off. His new brother was there for him. Obi-Wan was clearly clueless on some of the things that brothers did, but he was putting forth the effort, so Anakin had to match that.
Be calm! he told himself. Obi-Wan said that Jedi always handled things calmly and thoughtfully and if he let his insecurities overwhelm him, he wouldn't be able to do anything.
Pushing them aside, however, was a monumental task.
There was a faint tingle in the back of his mind and Anakin automatically looked up to Obi-Wan. His brother wasn't looking at him, just smiling at the people in front of them and it dawned on Anakin that Obi-Wan just did something to the bond. He closed his eyes, tuned out his surroundings with the same ease he did when tuning out Watto's badgering, and felt something coming from the bond. It was... Anakin wasn't sure what Obi-Wan was trying to send, but it was warm, hesitant, and made him smile. Anakin focused on that feeling of smiling and tried to stuff it into the bond. For some reason, this was more difficult than when Obi-Wan had called for him to help save that lady trapped in the rubble, but Obi-Wan had explained to him that there was some deep meditation going on at the time, mostly on his brother's part, that had likely made it easier.
"Mr. Kenobi," the principal Arani Kim said, leaning forward. She was seventeen, a clear example of someone that Naboo considered an adult due to emotional maturity, much like with Padme. "If you don't mind, I do have some questions before we get started."
"That's quite understandable," Obi-Wan nodded. "I'm afraid the two of us are rather unusual and I completely understand that you might want to iron out a few details before proceeding."
Clearly Obi-Wan was going to be handling this complex-speech stuff. Anakin was ever so grateful for that.
"Our first concern is that you don't have an ID chip for young Anakin here. In fact, your records show that you've only just attained legal guardianship, not adoption."
Shamde smiled firmly. "I believe I gave you a supplemental in regards to the special circumstances involved."
"Yes," Arani said, "quite extraordinary circumstances."
"Documented circumstances," Obi-Wan replied. "I understand that my meeting Anakin and becoming in charge of him has been unusual. But he is my responsibility. Milady Olie has informed me that Anakin's ID chip is in the middle of being verified. I wanted to ensure he started his education, especially since it has been so haphazard up to this point. I assure you that his is a very bright youngling and quite eager to learn."
Anakin nodded enthusiastically. "Uh-huh! Slaves weren't allowed much education beyond reading and writing. Sometimes numbers and stuff depending what your jobs were."
Arani looked to Anakin, her expression softening from firm to sympathetic. "You really were a slave?" she asked quietly.
Anakin shrugged. "My old ID chip was buried in my body and set to explode if I left bounds. Or if Watto ever got really mad, he had a control to do the same thing. I like the idea of having an ID chip that I can carry outside of me."
The principal looked away for a moment, as people usually did when Anakin talked so frankly about being a slave. Anakin frowned. "I'm a person. So what if I was a slave?"
"Anakin," Obi-Wan said quietly, yet in that firm voice that Anakin was coming to know meant he was pushing it. Since his brother was the better choice for handling this meeting, Anakin sat back, red-faced and embarrassed that he let his mouth run off again when he'd promised himself that he'd be good and just sit still and shut up.
Arani wiped her eyes briefly before looking up with a professional smile. "And your father left you there in slavery?" she asked.
Obi-Wan froze. He always did whenever Qui-Gon was mentioned, even indirectly. Anakin didn't blame him. There were times when something reminded him of his mom and he just froze up with worry about her.
"He..." Obi-Wan worked to swallow and said, "He didn't know about Anakin. Not until we arrived on Tatooine. Once he met Anakin and realized... he did everything he could to free him and his mother."
"I have the supplemental material that Ms. Olie provided," Arani replied. "I realize that this must be hard on you. Discovering you have a brother and then losing your father in almost the same week."
Anakin frowned. He wanted to be quiet and let Obi-Wan handle things because Anakin was sure he'd mess it up somehow. But this principal was talking like he wasn't even there.
Arani sat back, glancing down to her datapad again. "I assume that immunizations are also on the way."
Obi-Wan and Anakin both stumbled. "Immunizations?" they asked simultaneously.
Shamde slid a datachip across the table. "Here they are."
As one, Obi-Wan and Anakin both turned to their social worker. "They are?"
She smiled sweetly. "Yes. While you've been at work, Obi-Wan, Anakin's been tested for placement and he had a good check-up, complete with immunizations. He's doing just fine."
"Trust Her Majesty to take care of all the little things," Obi-Wan muttered. "Despite the fact that Force-sensitives don't get sick easily."
"Very well," Arani took the chip. "Everything is in order and Anakin can start school at the beginning of the week. All we need to do is set up a class schedule for him." She slid forward a datapad. "Here's a list of the classes we offer. The placement testing provided will set you up well in your general courses, but you should choose some electives."
Anakin glanced through the list. "Whaddya got for mechanics and piloting?"
Arani smiled. "We have some good introductory-"
"I don't need introductory! I built my own podracer and won the Boonta Eve back on Tatooine! I'm the only Human to ever win!"
"Padawan," Obi-Wan interjected. "What have I told you about boasting?"
Anakin turned, "But..!"
Obi-Wan put a hand on his shoulder. "Anakin, you have a right to be proud of your accomplishments. But shouting about them, telling anyone you meet, can lead to a type of pride that will do more harm than good in the long run."
"But she's not just someone on the street!" Anakin protested. "They're going to teach me here, so they need to know what I can do!"
"You are correct. But how you say something is as important as what you say." Obi-Wan pulled away, but smiled encouragingly. "Could you explain to our esteemed principal why beginning classes are well below your skill level in a more factual and polite manner?"
Anakin scowled, embarrassed at getting talked to like this in front of others, but turned to do as told. With a deep breath he started to explain the tasks and assignments that he did for Watto, his extensive work with engines, droids, and mechanical repair, before he started talking about podracing and getting excited again. Obi-Wan didn't call him on his passion for racing, and Anakin made sure not to mention his win so proudly, instead focusing on scrounging up parts for building a podracer from essentially junk.
Arani nodded, taking notes throughout. Once Anakin was done, she took the datapad from them and scrolled down to some classes before passing it back. "You have extensive knowledge of machinery, but only piloting one or two types of craft. I'd recommend our advanced piloting class. Anakin would be with students aged six to around fourteen, many of whom will get plucked into the Security Forces fighter pilots. As Anakin advances, we can look at other courses to expand his knowledge base."
Obi-Wan turned to Anakin. "Is that acceptable for you?"
Anakin nodded, glad that Obi-Wan wasn't just going to decide for him like this principal seemed inclined to do.
"Very good," Arani noted the course. "Any other electives?"
"Diplomacy," Obi-Wan replied, scanning down the electives. "All types. Negotiations with hard powers, soft powers, informal diplomacy, paradiplomacy, cultural diplomacy, small state diplomacy, citizen diplomacy, mediations and how to conduct them." His new brother glanced at him. "Did you ever try to act as a go-between if any of your friends back on Tatooine were angry with each other? Or if another group of younglings had issues with you and your friends?"
Anakin thought back. "My friends and I didn't really argue or disagree much. Our owners would keep us too busy for any disagreement to get too far. And if Greedo and his gang started making trouble we always finished it."
"Did you ever need to speak to Watto on behalf of your mother?"
"Not really. He told us what to do and we did it. There wasn't much choice for that."
"So you don't have much experience looking at many sides of a problem and finding a solution?"
Anakin shrugged, sort of embarrassed that he didn't. "Not really," he mumbled, looking down. "...sorry for the trouble..."
Obi-Wan hesitated again in putting a hand on his shoulder, though not as long as the previous time. "I'd say this is a good thing, Padawan," he said gently. "It gives you a clean start and we don't have to worry about any unlearning of bad examples."
Arani was scrolling through the electives. "We do have some good introductory classes, but nothing that quite covers the degree of diplomacy you're looking for," she said. "I'd suggest our introductory class and a second class for mediation that's for students looking to go into professional law or mediation."
Obi-Wan nodded, "That will be fine." I'll handle the rest...
Anakin blinked, not expecting to hear something so clearly, especially since neither of them were in "deep meditation" like Obi-Wan had been before. He glanced at his new brother, but Obi-Wan seemed unaware that Anakin had heard anything at all.
"Excellent," the principal smiled. "We can go on a tour, if you'd like."
"That sounds excellent."
Anakin was about to agree, before he noticed the time. "No way! Obi-Wan! You need to get to work!"
Obi-Wan looked down to him. "But this is impor-"
"It's important for me to know my way around, it's important for you to make sure we have food on the table! That foreman guys is a total gaggalak mursto!" The stupid jerk docked Obi-Wan his pay that one time for not hauling any debris because his new brother was too busy saving a person. "I don't want him to overwork you like Watto used to when things didn't go his way and then not pay you!"
Obi-Wan blinked, as did the Shamde and the young principal lady, but while the girls looked away Obi-Wan's eyes seemed to soften a little. This time, the hand that reached for his shoulder was much quicker to respond and he held Anakin's eyes for several moments. "I can earnestly tell you that I doubt such a situation will befall me, but in deference to your sense of urgency I will leave." He stood up, everyone else slow to follow suit. "However," he added, "I expected a fully formed picture in your mind so that you can give me the tour when we meditate tonight."
Anakin blinked briefly, mentally working through the translations of Obi-speak to normal-speak.
"... Does everything have to be a homework assignment with you?" Anakin demanded.
Author's Notes: We have a friend who majored in social work, and very simply put: if you ever find yourself in need of one, use them. These are some of the most helpful people in the world and in our opinion they are unsung heroes. I wish we could say more on the subject, but our friend is the only social worker we know.
Education, we could write novels on. In fact, we wrote a long Naruto fic called Team Time to show how education really works. Teachers do a lot that the average person doesn't see and, like social workers, are unsung heroes. We teachers have a tremendous influence over a child's life, and we work hard to ensure it's positive, even if it's just creating boundaries for kids to live in.
Anyway. We played the real life joke on Obi-Wan again. Did any of you ever think about immunizations when you were kids?
We picture Anakin as a student and are slightly terrified. He's the one that teachers will talk about in the faculty room, and it will be no different here. We feel sorry for his teachers, and we feel sorry for Obi-Wan when he has to deal with it.
Of course. looking up Huttese on wookiepedia to find insults for Ani to throw around was quite fun. ^_^
Next chapter: A few months go by and Padme realizes there might be trouble brewing.