Jedi Night

Chapter 11

Shopping with Red turns out to be extreme. For tees, hoodies, and jeans he takes me to a store made of mirrors, shaped like a glistening cave. The clothes are cool AF—but I'm not.

Plus, people stare everywhere we go.

He picks out styles he thinks I'll like, and I try them on. All snatched. "Why designer stuff?"

He thinks about it. "The effort. Fabric, cut, details. They can be loud or quiet, like people. The designer is saying something."

Holding up a dope green hoodie with a moonscape print, I see what he means. "In a way it feels like The Force got in." I should tell the truth. "I liked them all, they're lit. But I'm not cool. Plus, I'm messy. They'll end up trashed."

"Designers would like you in their stuff. You see it as art. They want their label out in the world till it's worn to shreds by someone who loves their work." 

I never thought of clothes that way. Like a signature explosion.

"We'll take it all," Red tells the droid.

Everything is getting delivered to the hotel, so no bags to carry around. This works cause if I saw how much we bought I'd have a heart attack.

Next up, shoes, beanies, caps. Ridiculously expensive underwear, and then uniforms. I apologise to Red for boring him but he seems chill.

Hardcore shopping turns out to be tiring yet still better than staring at the roof of the hotel room, wondering why my parents hate me so much.

Red insists I need aftershave. I've never had one so I let him choose. He's into scents. Lemon, mint, and a flower that seems familiar...

Finally, a cheap store. I draw the line at luxury toothbrushes. 

The house we're moving into is furnished but I grab towels and a pillow anyway,  thinking about my old stuff at home. Old and comfortable.

I can feel Red's piercing gaze. "Bet you weren't expecting to move out this week."

Does the connection tell him when I get sad? Or am I that easy to read?

"We can buy what we need later," he says. "Let's get this delivered too, and walk back through the park."

I nod, grateful. Changing your life is exhausting.

Outside, I buy a pumpkin pancake, and offer him half.

"Is this our vegetables?" He says with a grin. "Sugar's a vegetable, right?"

Taking the pancake, he tries to squash it into the shape of a pumpkin, and suddenly we're both laughing. Everything is more fun with Red.

When I look up, dad is across the street staring at us.

I freeze, like everyone at that Jedi meeting. Except I'm frozen by fear, not The Force. Can't walk toward him, but can't walk away.

"What do you want to do?" Red's calm voice helps with the panic.

Dad turns and walks away before I can decide. Gulping in air, I stagger as if I've been punched.

Red swears, dragging me down the street. I follow him in a daze. Stopping at a small underground bar, he leads me down the stairs.

The place is dark and smoky. I wait for someone to ask us to leave but nobody does. A few Jedi at the bar bolt when they see Red. He ignores them, pulling me into a booth.

Sitting down, I take deep breaths. Dad hates me. So what? No big deal. Lots of parents don't like their kids.

Red puts the crushed pumpkin pancake on the table. I must have dropped mine on the street.

Just like my parents threw me away.

A woman older than my mom comes over. Her arms are covered in Jedi tattoos, and she's working a brave orange eyeliner.

"What can I get you, Enforcer?" Peering at me, she says, "You okay, kid?"

When I don't answer, she glares at Red. "What did you do?"

"Leave him alone!" The words come out loud. Why does everybody act like Red wants to murder me? "He would never hurt his Emissary. I just had a shock."

Taking in my defensive expression, she nods. "Something sweet. Sorry Enforcer."

"No worries." Red points. "I'll have a glass of that." A crystal bottle on the wall floats to the bar.

When she's gone, he says, "You don't have to fight for me."

"I'm your Emissary. When they insult you, it makes me mad."

A small smile. "Be ready to get mad a lot."

Taking salt from the dispenser, I pour it the table. The grains remind me of stars as I move them around. When I was little, I'd pretend I had enough Force to change the shape of the galaxy.

"My folks hate me." Red's words hang in the air between us.

"How could anyone hate you?" Good one, Jak. Of course people hate him, he's an Enforcer.

Stretching an arm along the back of the booth, he says, "Nobody wants a really powerful kid. Or a powerless kid. Most want kids they can control, just powerful enough to be useful."

He's right. "Did you leave home when you were a teen?"

"Before that. The Council took me and kept sending me places. I think they wanted to break me."

The matter-of-fact way he says it can't hide the hurt. Or maybe it's the connection that makes me feel it.

"I wish we'd been born in the same place." Moving the salt around, I add, "I got told off for playing with my food, but I was making stars. Reminding myself one day I'll fly away."

"Flying away isn't enough. Trust me, I've been to different systems." Holding his hand out, he says, "What we need, is a whole new universe."

The salt rises off the table into new shapes. Tiny planets form, spinning around each other. He made a universe for me. I smile, and Red smiles back.

"So that's how it is," says the woman, looking relieved. She puts a drink in front of Red.

I'm about to ask what she means when she places a bowl in front of me. WTH?!

Crushed ice covered in blue syrup, and a whole heap of sweet stuff piled on, like a rainbow threw up on it.

"Um, thanks."

When she's gone, I ask Red, "Is this an Offworld thing?"

"More like that lady putting everything sweet behind the bar in a bowl thing."

"Wild." I eat a cherry that looks like plastic. Chewy, but okay. "Nice of her, when you think about it."

I try everything, convincing Red to eat some too. Halfway through, I feel better.

Or I'm high on sugar. "You know, it's important to have purpose in life."

"Sure." He sips the golden liquid. I want to ask if I can taste, but decide not to push my luck.

"Red," I blurt out, "You have to let me help you."

"I know," he says, surprising me. "And I have a plan."