Star Wars: The Jedi Reborn ✓

Chapter 111 - Ben Again

❶ When Luke reached the woodshed, he found it padlocked from the outside. It was obvious that Ben did not want to be found.

He opened the lock with the Force and slid the doors wide open. As the sunlight glared into the shed, Ben jumped at the sound of the doors grating.

Luke thought he felt darkness here, but then it faded. "Ben, you in here?"

"Yes," Ben said with a flatness to his voice.

"Mind if I join you?"

"If you want." Ben played with a stick, poking it into the earth and making holes in the packed dirt.

Luke sat down beside him on the ground. "So, what's bothering you?"

"Nobody likes me here," Ben whined.

"Why do you think that?"

"They won't sit with me at meals, and today Jedi Fau removed me from class."

"Ben, you were removed from class because you were causing a disturbance. Every effect has a cause." Luke bored his gaze through the darkness, trying to catch Ben's down-turned eyes. "If you had behaved properly in class and tried your hardest at the coursework, you would not have been removed."

"Well, the other kids don't like me."

"Tell me why, Ben. What is the cause? You told me the effect."

Ben crossed his arms and pouted in response.

"Is it because when you don't do your duty details, they get a group punishment for it?"

Ben remained silent.

"If you did what you're supposed to do with your full effort, you would find that the other kids would like you. They don't like having to run extra clicks every day, nor do they like having extra duty details which cut in on their free time."

Luke pointed at Ben to emphasize his next point. "Treat them right by doing what you're supposed to be doing anyway, and they'll treat you right."

"Huh."

Luke stood, his body blocking the streaming sunlight. "Well, since you chose this place, this is your new home, Ben. You don't have to clean it up. The only companions you will have are the spiders. Stay here as long as you want, but if you want to sleep in a warm bed and eat tasty food, you will need to start doing the right thing, whether you feel like it or not—starting with having the right attitude and honoring your prior commitments."

Ben pulled his arms around himself and stared at the dirt floor. "Are you done?"

"When you apologize for your disrespect to both Jedi Fau and me, you may return to the academy, but not before." Luke exited the shed, closing the doors but taking the padlock with him.

❷ Pushing Ben to the back of his mind, Luke returned to the shuttle. He retrieved the meals from the freezer and the small boxes from his gear locker, as well as the Journal of the Whills.

After giving the meals to the kitchen crew, Luke ran outdoors and hunted in the meadow for wildflowers. He left a small vase on Naluma's dresser with another note.

My love, you have no idea how much I've missed you.
I am nothing without you.
Please forgive me for the lousy greeting today.
I promise to make it up to you tonight.
Love, Luke.

Did you know ...

● The Jedi Academy's isolation makes it difficult to court your significant other. No flower shops, no restaurants, no beauty shops, no dress shops. Naluma handles the orders for the Academy, which Han delivers. She occasionally places personal orders through shops on Hosnian, which Han delivers with the Academy shipments each month. Luke picks things up when he's on missions, like vids and music chips.

● The Jedi make do for a lot of things. Instead of beef and chicken, they hunt fianna and raise zereds. The imported a couple of nerfs for dairy products during the first year, which has increased to a small herd under Wei'ahtt's tender care. [Yeah, he really was a nerf herder earlier in life.] Han still is trying to get the nerf smell out of the Falcon.

Tell me what you think ...

● What are the contributing factors to Ben's inability to get along with others?

● What do think Luke is thinking as he handpicks wildflowers for Naluma?