The Hidden Truth

Because I had never done kitchen duty before, I was given the job to set the dinning hall up. I was to put the linens on the tables, organize and lay out the silver wear, get the plates and glasses out, and put the fresh, hot food, out on the serving tables. I didn’t mind the work for it was easy. Cooking would be a bit hard, seeing how I barely know the names of most foods I eat and have never cooked with them. Once I was done, I was told to hang around the kitchen and eat there. For some reason, the kitchen staff wanted the helpers out of the way and away from the view of the people eating. I grabbed some food, a wall to lean against and starting digging into my food.

“Hey”

I looked up from my plate of food to see a small, young looking girl, to realize I had met her before. She had on an off white tunic and pants, short blond, fine hair that glinted in the light. Her figure was small and under developed. She wore a lightsaber on the right hand side of her black metal belt. There was something about her that ringed a bell, but I could not place a finger on it. I thought for a minute, before the answer came to me. I asked her if she was the same girl who showed me to my class on my first day. She beamed a yes.

“I’m Lyn Offee”

I blinked for a second and wondered where I had heard that name. It took me a second to remember reading about a young Jedi Knight who died in the Clone Wars with the same last name. I asked her if she was related to that knight.

“Yes I am. I’m Lyn Racqel Offee. My family was very lucky to escape the massacre of the Jedi by the evil Emperor”

Funny, my middle name was the same! My mind instantly took flight of a thousand different, hopeful ideas and questions. I asked her where was she from.

“I am from the outer rim. My family moved as far away as they could when they were connected to the Jedi”

I told her I too was from the outer rim, although not revealing I was from Earth. It would be too hard to explain a planet that wasn’t even mapped on the charts. This was really cool how we so far had a lot in common. I asked her how old she was and how long she had been here.

“Well everyone presumes I’m fourteen, but really I’m eighteen. I know I’m short and my body doesn’t look like it has caught up with my age, but really I am. As for how long, I’ve been here for a bit over a year. When I discovered my Jedi heritage I got the courage to connect this academy and ask if I could join. Master Skywalker researched my family and personally came to my home to pick me up. He was very interested to read some of the old data pads the family had managed to find from the Emperor.”

Wow, this was great. She was so interesting, so different. There was no hint of popularity in her. She may have been a few years younger than me, but she acted nearly my age. Maybe she could be my first friend.

“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’ve forgotten your name”

I told her my name was Karen Racqel Nightingstar. I told her part of my past, how I was the first Jedi of my family, how I was interested in Jedi for years and discovered on my own, my Force sensitivity. Lyn was taking my every word in. She seemed to like me as a friend. I got a hint from my abilities; she was lonely like me and was glad to have found someone similar to her. This was a great sign.

“Hey, do you want to sit down at one of the table and finish dessert? I don’t think the cooks would mind”

I nodded and followed her into the dinning room. Several people nodded and greeted her as she walked through the aisles. Maybe, she only felt lonely and didn’t know how many people knew her. I knew how that felt. One generally doesn’t know what one has until it is taken away. I looked around the hall, recognizing a few faces of students and teachers. I spotted my master, alone at a table near a dim wall. He gave the girl I was following a questioning look. I could not help, but smile at the thought I made a friend. Mirmo seemed to understand my smile and looked at me approvingly.

We were still talking long after we had finished our dessert. My master came up to us, asking who my new friend was, how was she doing, and what were we doing. I told my master we were about to go to my room to work on some homework together. He smiled, told me good luck as if he didn’t think we would get anything done, and left us to continue our chatter. He was right in that little work got done. We ended up talking about most everything from lightsabers, to forests, to guys. My master had the ill timing to come in the middle of a pretend cat fight, a literal one at that. Lyn and I were hissing, growling, and playfully batting hands at each other. When the door opened, we both turned and hissed at Master Mirmo. Mirmo stood still, obviously surprised and unable to figure out what he had done to deserve this. Lyn and I broke out in uncontrollable squealing giggles. Mirmo smiled at our silliness and said he would leave us to act in our beastly ways. We stayed up late that night, not wanting to end the fun. Eventually, our yawns brought us to our common sense and we parted ways.