Saga The Ultra Stressed Jedi Students: Return of the Exchange Program - Once Again Up and Running!

Gasek huffed as he walked down the ramp wishing the ship hadn?t broken down on the way and that he had gotten here a day early but he was here a few days late and would have to live with it.

I walk to the receptionist?s desk ?I?m here for the exchange program.?

?Name??

?It should be under Treth, Gasek Treth.?

?Hmm you?re late??

?Well the ship broke down and we had to get it fixed?

?Ok well here use this to get to the dorm?

?Thanks?

When I got to the dorm I toss my bag onto a bed and look around at the empty room wishing again I had gotten here early so I know my fellow exchange students.

I pull out my data pad and look at the schedule and notice the picnic but I decide instead to go to the mess hall and eat something instead.

I quickly navigate my way through the halls and am soon sitting down in a corner with a muffin and some tea and my best datapad and start scrolling through different blogs and my mail.

But soon I pull up the latest project I?ve been working on and soon I?m engrossed in lines of code and I don?t notice someone enter the mess hall and sit down near me.

?So padawan are you not going to the picnic??

Realizing someone was talking to me I look up.

?No sir I?m not going and I?m not a padawan but I am an exchange student though I just got in just a few minutes ago.?

?Well I suggest you go it will be lots of fun I?ll be there as soon as I can.?

?I?ll be bringing my famous chocolate truffle bombs which is kind of ironic with me being a doctor myself? he adds laughing in his deep infectious laugh.

?Oh? I answer not really caring what they were and just wanting to get back to coding.
?What?s your name son??

?Gasek Treth sir?

?Well it was good to meet you Gasek and I better see you at the picnic?

?I?ll think about it.?

 

"Silence, please!!"

Everyone jumped. Including Sela.

Everyone stared at Master Zamtoe who had his arms raised, blue hands in the air. Zamtoe had always been so polite and so ingratiating that hearing him speak so loudly and so forcefully shocked the crowd into silence. They were all clustered together in a flat grassy part of the gardens, a jumble of tables, boxes, a half-erected canopy and a few fretful droids nearby. Sela remained silent, her arms still wrapped around a big bowl of blue cookies, Zamtoe's contribution to the picnic.

"Thank-you." Zamtoe beamed at the people who had only a moment ago been yammering for attention. "Now, one at a time." Zamtoe began pointing at each problem.

"Knight Kirsh'of?" Zamtoe pointed at a huge blonde Jedi. "I'm sorry but the caretakers are correct, the tables are in the wrong place. They're too close to some young plantings, but it looks like you have plenty of help." He pointed at the Padawans and Initiates around a scowling Kirsh'of. There was a pause.

"You could start now," Zamtoe suggested. "The droids can show you where the tables need to go. But I'm sorry all the droids are programmed for gardening; they don't have any heavy lifting appendages," he called after the group as they moved toward the misplaced tables.

"Now, let's see, all of you who brought things," Zamtoe pointed at the others, Jedi, Padawans, Initiates, and exchange students, holding bins of cakes and bowls of salads and small tanks of liquids to be mixed into punch. "You can all wait under the mimi trees, over there, until everything is set up in the right place. I'm sure it won't be long. Who has the plates, cups and utensils?" There was a pause.

"I think they're in the boxes by the tables," Master Aaqu spoke up.

"Ah," Zamtoe said, "When the tables are read, could you and Kaagi and Ben lay them out before the food. And then all the rest of you can arrange the food on the tables."

"What are the rest of us supposed to do?" Knight Krishna Skywalker called out.

"Aaaah, I'm so glad to see you here," Zamtoe clapped his hands together. "You and your student, Kiriath, can greet the others."

Zamtoe moved on to the next person, ignoring the rolled eyes and sour expression from the dark haired Knight. Sela had heard about Master Krishna's unsociability and she was surprised to see her at the picnic.

"Gasek Treth, is that your name?" A brown haired boy nodded. "You're late for the exchange program? Well, since this is a get-acquainted picnic this is a perfect time for you to meet everyone and I'm sure that there will be some available Masters here who can mentor you. But we'll do that after we have everything started."

"I think there's another late one coming," Knight Ca'es called out as the bulk of the group moved toward the trees.

"Well, we will find someone for that one, too," Zamtoe reassured them. The crowd dispersed, except for one.

"Aaaah, Professor Kurzandiak, I heard you had found something interesting," Zamtoe addressed a dark haired and impatient looking woman in a gray suit. Sela had seen her around, usually with some odd floor droids. She obviously wasn't a Jedi.

"Yes, I've been looking in your Archives and I was convinced that there was something here before these gardens so I got permission to send in tunning droids down and there is one small area of ancient flooring that was deliberately, and rather callously, deeply covered up under this garden. Here." She gave him a portable screen. Zamtoe tapped the controls and hmm'ed to himself.

Zamtoe's expression froze, his face turned a paler shade of blue.

"Oh, no!" he whispered. He tapped the screen a few times. "Oh, no!"

"What is it?" Sela asked, wondering what was buried under the garden. Zamtoe turned and looked back.

"Oh! You're still here. Go over there with the others. And could you please ask Master Tobias to come to speak with us?"

"Why? What is it?"

"Oh," Zamtoe exhaled. "Just a little problem with the floors."

Not believing him, Sela warily move

 

Just trying to catch up... The first part take place during the study group night, I think, the second the morning of the picnic, and the third during the picnic. I was in an odd mood when I wrote the first and second part, so they're both kinda... odd IMO. And the third part I just quickly wrote so it tied in with what ardavenport wrote, so that's weird too. Let's just say that all what I wrote is weird.

*<><><><><><><><><><><>*

While these goings-on were going on, Kiriath was holed up in Krishna?s small quarters. The close black walls offered a strange sense of calm, a feeling she had not felt in a long while. She had sailed through her assignments with ease, and was just beginning to relax when Krishna stormed into the room. Kiriath deftly caught the datapad flung at her, placing it on the ground before her before turning her attention to the dark Knight, who was now pacing the small area.

?What do you know about this picnic?? Krishna asked after a moment, eyes closed.

?It wasn?t my idea, if that?s what you?re getting at.?

Krishna laughed darkly, sinking onto her haunches and watched the student. ?I thought that wasn?t the case, but surely you know that all are required to attend??

Kiriath?s eyes widened slightly. ?Required? I hadn?t heard that.? She stood to her feet slowly, arching her back, letting out a few pops before folding her arms across her stomach. ?Is there no way of getting out of it??

?Not unless we both plan on waking up tomorrow morning with high degree fevers,? Krishna said dryly. ?Trust me when I say this picnic is not my idea of fun.?

?I don?t believe in fun,? Kiriath said stiffly, picking at her cloak sleeve.

?You obviously haven?t stayed around me long enough.? Krishna pulled back her lips into a wolfish grin. ?Now that I think about it, this picnic doesn?t sound like such a bad idea. We can make our own version of ?fun?. I have some ideas that will show you a Jedi?s other side.?

Kiriath glanced up, careful to hide her interest. ?Oh??

?I am not your average Jedi,? Krishna said. ?In fact, you may find I am just the opposite of what people think a Jedi truly is.?

*<><><><><><><><><><><>*

Most of that night and part of the early morning hours Kiriath skulked the Temple halls, being careful to slip into shadows when she sensed a Jedi near. She had trained herself years ago to need no more then four hours of sleep a night, she didn?t want to butter herself up with Krishna?s customary six.

As the glowlights began to intensify from the soft pale glow of the evening hours, more and more Jedi began to crowd the halls, making it harder for Kiriath to walk unnoticed. Pushing back her hood and letting her hair fall down her back, her mismatched eyes searched out the nearest mess hall to duck into. She instantly knew she made a wrong choice in her decision when she saw two exchange students, Stave and Sera, and their masters waiting in the line for food. Not in the mood to concentrate on keeping her shields up while she ate, she quickly backed out of the room, right into the waiting figure of Krishna. The Knight quickly pulled her into the shadows of one of the many massive pillars that lined the walls of the hall.

?Here,? Krishna said, shoving a small packet into Kiriath?s waiting hand. ?Try to get to the picnic before many other people and empty this into whatever drink you find. The results will be fantastic.?

Kiriath nodded silently, tucking the packet into an inner pocket. ?What will you be doing??

?I have other things that need my attention,? Krishna said evasively before turning to go. ?Oh, Kiriath,? she quickly added, ?don?t drink what you pour the packet in.?

?I wasn?t planning on it,? the gir l muttered, watching the Knight slip back into the crowd.

*<><><><><><><><><><><>*

"You and your student, Kiriath, can greet the others."

What? Kiriath frowned and cursed under her breath. Krishna didn?t seem too pleased either. The Knight had just arrived at the picnic, trying to slip in beside

 

The floor emblem is interesting.... I wonder what it really means and why Dalrim is so interested.

Spiked punch! This will be amusing.

 

Will Kit get blamed?

Joint post with Alexis.

---

"Guess I'll see you at the picnic," Awin said as farwell to Stave.

"Yeah." Stave shrugged as he went into Ieron's apartment without another word. He felt a little guilty treating the big guy so rudely. He could tell other student was not a bad guy. It wasn't his fault Stave didn't like to be babysat.

He went to sit at the table to do at least some of his homework before having to go to the picnic.

Ieron wandered out of her room looking disgruntled. "Did you realize we have to [i]make[/i] something for the picnic?" she asked without preamble. The Jedi Knight went into the kitchen, and Stave could hear her opening and closing cabinets. "Oh! I also got a message from whoever it is that assigns quarters. They'll have a two-bedroom available for us tomorrow afternoon," she said, popping her head into the room with the table before disappearing again.

Stave got up and peeked into the kitchen. "What are we making?" He hoped it was something that didn't require confusing looking spices.

He found her staring at all the cabinetry, all of the doors flung open. Many of the cabinets were empty, and the few that had anything in them were mostly boxes of food that needed minimal preparation. "I have no idea." The Jedi turned to him. "What do you want to make?"

"Um... do we have nutbutter and jelly... and bread?"

Ieron glanced at him, her brow furrowed. "Do you think that'd be enough?"

"Well, if we have a whole loaf, we can cut the sandwiches into four triangles and that would make it look like more." Stave shrugged. "It's not like we're the only ones bringing something, right?"

"I guess that's true. And I certainly don't have any better ideas," Ieron added, looking dubious. She pulled out the nutbutter and jelly and produced a loaf from the cooling unit. At Stave's questioning glance as to the location of the bread, Ieron felt her face grow warm. "It lasts longer," she said, not looking at him. "I usually eat in the cafeteria anyway."

Stave tried to hide a smile behind his hand, but his eyes twinkled with merriment. "I guess you're as bad a cook as I am then?" He couldn't fully suppress the laughter in his voice.

"I can make a couple things from scratch," Ieron shot back. "But only if I have the recipe right in front of me and it's not that complicated," she amended, laughing at herself. "At least I haven't starved to death yet."

"Well, even [i]I[/i] can't ruin nut-butter and jelly sandwiches." Stave commented dryly as he opened the loaf of bread. He didn't mention the time he accidentally used regular butter instead of nut-butter. Thinking back on it, he decided regular butter with jelly tasted rather good. "If we don't have enough nut-butter, we could use regular butter."

Ieron made a face. "I've heard of nutbutter and butter sandwiches - but never butter and jelly sandwiches." She and Stave made a small assembly line for the sandwiches, with Stave putting on the nutbutter, and Ieron applying the jelly. Soon, they had a small stack of sandwiches ready to be cut into triangles.

Stave looked around for a moment before asking, "Um, what are we going to put these on?"

Ieron glanced at him, uncomprehending, for a moment. "I have no idea." She rummaged around for a few minutes before producing a flat baking sheet. "This'll have to do because I don't have anything better."

Stave shrugged. "It's better than carrying them to the picnic in a backpack."

They cut the sandwiches and placed them on the baking sheet. "Okay, now do we have something to wrap it with?"

"That I have!" With a flourish, Ieron produced some colored plastic wrap that was tinted an odd shade of green. Once she'd covered the sandwiches and the baking sheet, they both stood back to admire their handiwork.

"Well, at least the wrap won't be on the sandwiches when people are taking them," Ieron offered after they'd stared at it in silence for a long moment.

"Now that would be interesting... if we had rice paper, we could wrap

 

Hhehehehhe! Everything is so good to read. Just what I needed in my last week of school

I have a real problem when American's write Jelly though as I always think of what you guys call Jello and not what we call jam. So the idea of a peanut butter and jello sandwich is always a tad disturbing.

Kithera

 

Even I with my penchant for experimenting with food would blanch at a peanut butter and jello sandwich. Here in America, we consider jam and jelly as two different things (at least I do)... jelly being made from the juices of the fruit, and jam being made from the whole fruit.

 

Ewwww....

I just think of a difference in quality - jelly is cheaper and less good (both in taste and for you) while jam is not. Jam is what your grandmother would give you once she's done canning.

 

I pretty much never say jam, (unless I happen to be in one). I always say jelly.

 

Ben was rummaging through the boxes until he found them. He said ?yes, they even packed the matches.?

Kaagi grinned when he was putting the last plates and utensils on the tables. ?Matches and now for some wood? and he went to a copse of trees and began to gather some fallen branches.

Aaqu asked when Kaagi came back ?master Adin, what?s the meaning of this??

Bones Barani said pointing at a sack of white fluffy balls ?roast those above a fire.?

Aaqu said ?I knew it, master sweet lover Bones Barani is at it again, bringing chocolate truffle bombs and a big sack of those marsh mallows. Yoda should see that or the master of the healer?s ward.?

Kaagi said with a grin ?Yoda no objections he has, but master healer does. No trouble though in his office he is in old folks home.?

Ben was hollering with laughter. He had heard his father Tad talking about master Yoda and his strange backwards speech and now that young healer was doing that. He asked ?when will we make the fire??

Kaagi said ?after the main course.?

Ben said ?and don?t make it big because that will have dad and his firefighters here in no time.?

Aaqu said ?yes getting everything wet and dirty.?

?And a clean Kaagi? Bones said with a big smile.

Kaagi gave a shrug with his shoulders and said ?why is every Jedi complaining about my dirty looks.?

 

Maryah Tate took a deep breath as she stared at the massive building in front of her.

?I can?t believe I?m actually here,? she whispered to herself. ?The Jedi Temple, now all you have to do Maryah is walk in there like you own the place. They invited you, so you do belong.? Her feet refused to budge, she wasn?t sure if it was nerves or the fact her feet were already aching horrendously from the high heeled shoes she was wearing. Both were distinct possibilities. After a few more moments of immobility she forced herself to take the first steps up the stairs. She tightened her grip on her small carry-sack and kept her eyes on the door, refusing to give up any of her momentum.

Once inside she was overawed by the sheer size of the place, it looked even bigger on the inside than it did from outside.

?Can I help you?? rang out a woman?s voice from her left. Maryah turned towards the speaker, and stared. What, in the names of all the Gods, was the speaker? Maryah had never seen any species with horns growing out of its head.

?Can I help you?? repeated the woman, slower this time, as it had apparently taken Maryah far too long to respond.

?Yes, please,? she squeaked when she was finally able to say anything. Her free hand reached up to twist a lock of her purple hair as she stepped closer to the desk. She cleared her throat, ?I?m here for the exchange program.?

?You?re late,? declared the woman.

?I know, but I didn?t get the acceptance letter until a week after it was sent, my Ma and Pa just wouldn?t get the comm unit fixed, and then I had to wait four days to get a transport off-world, then when I finally found a transport to bring me to Coruscant... well I think it just had to go the whole way around the Outer Rim, before meandering its way here.? Maryah managed to get out all in one breath before gasping for more air. ?Can I still participate? Please??

The woman seemed even more annoyed after that little announcement, and Maryah wondered what she would say if she knew about the note she had left on her pillow when she had crawled out of the window in the middle of the night to actually catch that first off-world transport. She felt her face flush as she remembered what she had written.

Dear Ma and Pa. I am going to the Jedi Temple exchange program. Don?t know if I am coming back. Love, Maryah.

?Did you hear me?? asked the woman startling Maryah, ?Do you have your letter admitting you to the program??

?What? Oh, yeah, the letter!? She reached into her carry-sack, and grabbed her datapad. ?Here it is.?

?Thank you. Maryah Tate?? asked the woman looking from the datapad up to Maryah?s face.

?That?s me,? she replied happily.

?Very well, Maryah, I?m going to have an initiate show you to the dorm room where you can drop off your things, then she will escort you to the Room of a Thousand Fountains. There is a picnic currently going on, it should be a good chance for you to meet your fellow exchange students.? With this she handed two datapads back to Maryah.

Maryah stared at the second, shiny, datapad. ?Ma?am, I think this is yours. It sure ain?t mine.?

?That is your datapad for the duration of your stay,? there it was, that very slow speech again, ?It has maps to the Temple, your class options, as well as other helpful information.?

?Oh, well thanks.? She bent down to replace the datapads in her carry-sack, gently wrapping the new one in a shirt. It would be a shame if that one got as dinged up and dirty as hers was.

It seemed like it took forever to get to the dorm room, where Maryah set her carry-sack down on what looked to be an unoccupied bed. Her initiate guide leaned against the door looking bored as she did so.

Then it seemed to take forever and a half to get to the Room of a Thousand Fountains, this place really was huge. It also seemed like she spent half the time running to keep up with her guide, and she could already feel a couple of blisters forming on her feet from the strange shoes. When they finally did reach the room, Maryah felt h

 

I'm not sure what exactly what it is the punch is spiked with, but I'm guessing it could release inhibitions... which with the hostility between the initiates and exchange students, could make for interesting times. Sorry for the short post... I'm tired.

---

Koria had eaten and was about to begin singing with Jecca when she saw a girl fall over near the entrance to the room. She smiled as she saw Awin go to help her. She then turned with a questioning look to Jecca who nodded. They then began singing an old ballad in harmony. After the first couple of songs, she could not help but notice that there were a few initiates in a knot just glaring at them. She whispered to Jecca, "Let's do 'Saber Singing Jedi'."

"But you said that it wasn't appropriate."

"Forget what I said, you were right, if they can't handle spoofs, then they shouldn't be Jedi." For some reason, Koria felt more and more rebellious as the picnic went on. She felt like she could do and handle anything. Taking another sip of the punch, which had an unexpecting zing to its taste, she nodded. "Let's do it."

Jecca began playing the intro on her guitar, her fingers plucking out the whimsical tune she and Koria had reworded their first day at the Temple.

[i]"I'm a saber swinging Jedi,
a peace keeping Jedi do or die,"
a real live follower of the Force,"
born in the Jedi Temple creche..." [/i]

As they sang, Koria altered the kata she'd learned in class into a swirling dance. She stopped when a doughball hit her in the face, immediately glaring over at the group of initiates. She picked up her half-empty cup of punch, her third cup since the picnic started, and was about to go over and splash it in an initiate's... the one who was looking a little [i]too[/i] innocent... face.

Before she took a step, however, a cupcake soared over the intiate's head and hit his friend in the ear. Soon, food was flying all over the place in a chaotic free for all.

 

Gasek watched as the new girl came walking in and was about to go help her when she tripped but stopped when he saw Awin go over to her and help her up.

I started to phase out what was going on around me when I heard some of the exchange students I was pretty sure start singing and it sounded a little mean,

Suddenly I saw doughball come flying across a few tables and hit the girl who was doing a little dance and I realized what was happening so I ducked and sure enough less than 30 seconds later food was flying everywhere and as quick as I could I made as small a target as possible and scurried for the most sheltering table but along the way I was hit with several wayward shots that missed their intended target.

When I reached shelter I had at least 2 punch cups that had splashed on my back a bowl of pudding that hit my side and a particularly irritating doughball that was stuck in my ear that wasn?t coming out easily.

After about a minute I peeked out wondering why the masters hadn?t stopped the food fight and saw that the masters were throwing about the same or more then the padawans and students and they were by far making more hits then said students and
padawans.

I ducked my head back in and about 10 to 15 seconds later everything went dead silent I peeked my head out to see what was happening and my oh my what a sight to see it looked as if everyone had been frozen in place some had just been hit some were about to throw something but all heads were looking towards a doorway with a look ?oh crap? on their faces.

I myself looked towards the doorway and saw master Yoda standing there with punch streaming down his face and the cup that it had come from sitting comically on one of his ears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So What do you guys think ill let you take it from here

 

Bones Barani was hollering with laughter as one doughball came sailing towards Kaagi?s hair and got stuck in the long raven black strands. ?Hooligan Jedi, Yeah, yeah, yeah, Kaagi is a hooligan Jedi and dirty as always.?

Kaagi retorted ?bones, a hipbone connects a thighbone, connects a shinbone and the ankle. And who repairs them? Bones our bone-hunting orthopedic surgeon? He picked up another doughball and it went sailing towards Bones.

Aaqu said ?good that Obi-Wan doesn?t see this. He has made them and he would comment again about a doughball disaster.?

Ben Henny asked ?shall I make a fire??

Kaagi said ?oh if it adds to the mess you can do it?

Bones saw one of his chocolate truffle bombs sailing towards one of the girls and shouted ?nooh, those are only for the adults.?

Aaqu said ?not for me, you know I don?t like that liquid inside them.?

Bones said ?yep I kn..? and the rest was drowned by another dougball that hit his mouth dead centre. ?Yummy. Obi-Wan sure is a good cook.?

 

I had hoped to have the foodfight break out to something more serious... after all, everyone is supposed to be drunk(?) from the punch, and there's quite a bit hostility between the initiates and exchange students... but I did love the image of Yoda standing there soaked in punch and a cup over one ear.

---

The only two people who did [i]not[/i] come to an immediate halt when Yoda stood in the door were Koria Rimstar and Leeon Slym. Unnoticed to everyone else, the initiate had accidentally slapped the exchange student with the back of his hand... she had been behind him throwing a bowl of pudding that wound up hitting a kid she didn't recognize as he scurried through the crowd, and Leeon had pulled his hand back to throw a cupcake at Stave and dropped the would be projectile as his knuckles connected with her cheek. Enraged, Koria pushed the younger Twi'lek. Soon, they were fighting amongst the trees, and now were grasping each other's shoulders, trying to get an upper hand on the slippery bank of a pond.

"Stupid, half-breed! You don't belong here!" He hissed, baring his teeth.

Blind rage took over Koria, and she abruptly let go of the boy's shoulders to grab his lekku.

Leon's scream of pain echoed through the otherwise quiet fountain room, even as Koria swung him by the sensitive appendages into the pond. She dove in after him, pummeling him with her fists in the waist-high water. "I may be a half-breed, but at least I'm not pretending to be a Jedi!"

The exchange student's shouts were joined the keening wails of the initiate as he covered his head and lekku with his arms.

"Koria, that's enough!"

She struggled as someone grabbed her from behind, pulled her away from her opponent and back onto the shore. The hands turned her around and she was suddenly facing Tobias. "Master McCal!" She exclaimed breathlessly, feeling exhilarated by the rush of adrenaline from the fight. When she looked into his eyes, she saw anger and disappointment in an otherwise impassive face. Swallowing, she looked away to see a couple of the other masters helping Leeon out of the pond. He was still keening wildly as he held his lekku, and he crumpled onto the grassy slope. Other initiates and exchange students gathered, some whispering quietly to each other, others standing in stunned silence.

She suddenly felt very ashamed.

 

Oh, bloody hell.

 

So, does that mean you like it? I was gonna have the initiate she fought be the female ringleader and they fight in the mud, on the bank of the pond, but thought that was a bit too... much.

 

LOL. I poke my head in here from time to time, and you all never disappoint with the craziness. Koria's a little spunky, eh?

Good job, all. Keep up the good writing. It's a little hard to keep tabs on a round-robin, but I do make it in here occasionally. Thanks for the adventure!

 

Thank you very much to Alexis_Wingstar for looking over this!

***

Her face flooded with unbearable heat as Maryah began to struggle to her feet. ?Nothing like a dramatic entrance to get attention,? she muttered to herself.

She hadn?t quite managed to get her feet under her when she saw an arm reaching toward her, accompanied by a question, ?Would you like a hand??

Maryah looked up to see who was asking, catching a glimpse of ice blue eyes before completely losing her balance and tumbling back to the ground. ?My pride?s already taken enough of a beating,? she began, ?I better not injure it more by proving to everyone that I?m completely incapable of standing up on my own, it?s not exactly the best first impression I?ve ever made. Not that I?ve had to make a lot of those, everyone I know has practically known me since the day I was born.? Maryah winced suddenly, ?I just said that all out loud didn?t I??

?Yes, you did,? responded the boy. ?I?m Awin Cor, and I?m still willing to help you up.?

In response she reached up to grasp the pro-offered hand. Once she was firmly on her feet she said, ?I?m Maryah Tate. Thank you for the help.? She paused to brush a lock of vibrant purple hair out of her eyes. ?Look I hope your ears are still attached after my ramblings...? she shrugged nervously, ?I tend to say every little thing that enters my head. Half the time I don?t even realise I?ve said anything out loud till people start staring at me funny. And here I go again just talk, talk, talk.?

He grinned, laughter trying to escape. ?You?re fine, Maryah.?

She looked down at the ground, easier than craning her neck see the face of the much taller boy, and tried with all her might to resist the urge to pull down on the hem of her skirt, which now seemed much too short compared with the conservative garb most of the others, especially the Jedi, were all wearing.

?I would?a been better off wearing the new homespuns Ma made me for my last Lifeday after all,? she muttered.

 

This post brought to you by TMJ and I. We hope you have as much fun reading it as we did writing.

---

Tobias stood, water pooling in his boots, as he surveyed his wet exchange student. Koria's face was bright with her exertion, and the Jedi Master watched as her expression changed from wild excitement to quiet horror. He tried to collect himself, disappointed in her behavior, very much aware of how quiet it had become around her. Looking up to take in the group watching on, he gestured over to where the scholar had been showing them the tiles. "Please go over there and wait while I sort this out."

Koria nodded wordlessly as she looked down at the grass between her soaked boots. She couldn't look her mentor in the eyes, and she dared not look at the gathered throng. A couple tears ran down her cheeks as she slowly made her way over to where Tobias told her to go. What she really wanted to do was go apologize to the initiate, but she knew now was not the time. She sat on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest. With her forehead pressed against her knees she wept silently, sure that she was going to be sent home.

Once Tobias had the picnic back in some semblance of order, he herded a sullen Leeon, who had finally stopped crying, over to where Koria was waiting. The initiate's eyes were swollen from crying, although his lekku looked undamaged. Tobias wasn't overly surprised to discover Yoda was lingering there, silently observing the two younger people. "All right," Tobias said, looking between Koria and Leeon. "Who wants to go first?"

When she saw Tobias and Leeon approaching, she stood. She bit her lip nervously as they stopped in front of her. The Jedi Master barely finished speaking when she blurted out, as she looked at Leeon, "I'm so sorry, are you okay?" Her concern was completely genuine and eeked out in the Force. She was well aware of how sensitive lekku were and was secretly relieved that that was one feature she did not inherit from her mother.

Leeon glanced at both Masters McCal and Yoda before replying, "Yeah, I'm okay." He gave Koria a dark look as he fingered the injured lekku. Koria suspected that it might bruise, but nothing more severe was wrong.

"I'm sorry," her voice was quiet as she apologized once more. "Not that you're okay," she added quickly, "I'm glad you are, but that I hurt you." She blushed knowing she sounded idiotic.

Yoda flattened his ears at this exchange, narrowing his eyes as he regarded both the initiate and the exchange student. "Explain what happened, can one of you?" he said.

"She pushed me." Leeon looked sullenly from Yoda to Koria, fixing her with a murderous look before turning back to the small Jedi Master. "I was throwing a cupcake when she shoved me. Then she attacked me, so I defended myself."

"I shoved you because you hit me, you little creep!" Koria almost yelled, "And you attacked me, not the other way around!"

"Liar!" Leeon yelled back. "First you and your [i]friends[/i] invade our home, then you make fun of us, then you attack us then lie about it!"

Koria's face turned scarlet with anger. "We were [i]invited[/i] here! And that song was just a joke! You're the ones who treated us like crap from day one!"

Tobias moved to intervene, but Yoda shook his head. The two continued yelling at each other for a few more moments until their anger ran out. "Feel better, do you?" Yoda asked, glancing from Koria to Leeon.

"No," Leeon replied and, for a moment, he looked like he was going to add on to his statement. Instead, he chose silence.

As soon as Yoda spoke, Koria looked down at her boots wishing she could just disappear. She regretted her own actions, yet she knew she wasn't entirely to blame. Leeon wasn't the innocent victim he was pretending to be and it burned her up inside. Then she realized the argument the two of them had was heard by all, revealing the rivalry between the initiates and the exchange students. Swallowing, she looked up at Tobias, feeling all befuddled, her mind going around in circles

 

Ok heres my next post i hope you guys like and i'm trying to soon have him get talking with the other students.

---

Gasek was just starting to edge out of under the table when the fighting started and he felt his gut drop as he recognized how they were acting.

Crawling back under the table farther out of sight as way to often he did when his dad had one of his none to frequent (aka just about all the time) alcoholic binges so being out of the way meant that he wouldn?t get hurt but it didn?t stop him from getting into fights with who ever got in his way and the more he drank the more he would want to fight and it would go on like that until he passed out.

He sat listening as a few tempers went out of control started making him wish he could see his sister again but he knew he couldn?t see her because when his mom left she took his two sisters and he got stuck with dad because his mom didn?t care as much about him as she did about his sisters meaning it didn?t matter as much if he got left with dad.
Suddenly he felt him going for his data pad but he realized that he had left it in the dorm room when he had went and changed for the picnic.

Waiting till the fighting died down he peeked out to look what was happening he saw the girl who had gotten hit by the cupcake telling one of the Masters what had taken place between the students and the padawans during the few days the students had been at the temple.

Slipping out the back of the table he went as quietly to one of the other doorways and quickly hurried to the dorm room not wanting to be even in the room because with dad it didn?t matter if you hadn?t done anything you just had to be in the room and you would get blamed for something you didn?t do.

The worst time he had gotten blamed for something he had just walked in the door from school and gotten grabbed by his dad and gotten used for target practice luckily once he had gone from the room my neighbor had taken me to the hospital but I still have the scars from that day.

Once Gasek got to the dorm room he sat down in his bed and tried not to cry, mad at himself for having this weakness I mean you could do other things to him and he could tough through it no problem but this one always made him cry.

Looking around I see someone else?s bags sitting on one of the other beds.

?Hmm, it must be the girls who came in after me.?

Sighing I pick up my data pad and start decoding a few miscellaneous projects.

 

Even though Stave left the fountain room seconds after Koria, he lost sight of her. He didn't really need to go to the refresher like he said, he just wanted to talk to the other exchange student... though he was at a loss as to what he actually wanted to say.

Or rather, how to say it.

Let's see, if she actually did have to use the refresher, then the closest one is around the corner across the hallway from the mess hall, he thought as he walked. When he reached his destination, he leaned against the wall, waiting. I hope she's actually in there. I'd feel foolish waiting here if she's somewhere else. To his relief, Koria came out just after he ended the thought. He quickly straightend as he gave her an awkward wave. "Koria, hi."

"Hi, Stave..." She looked around, puzzled. "... were you waiting for me?"

"Um, yeah, I um... wanted to speak to you." He scuffed the toes of his shoes against the floor. "Um, I wanted to say sorry for getting mad." He looked down at his feet which he always felt too big for the rest of his body, making him feel rather clownish.

"That's okay," Koria smiled, "I suppose the others will be mad at me as well."

As she spoke, she noticed a painful looking lump on his cheek. Reaching out to touch just under it, she asked, "What happened there?"

Blushing, he pulled his head away. "It's nothing. I slipped and fell, and my face landed on a rock."

Tilting her head to look at him, Koria asked with narrowed eyes. "Is that really what happened?"

"Yeah," Stave said defensively, then blushed more as he looked up at her. Quickly looking away again, he confessed, "No, someone pushed me."

"Who?" Koria's fists bunched up as though she would strike the person who did it.

Stave shrugged. "I don't know." At Koria's dubious look, he quickly added, "They came at me from behind so I didn't see who, and by the time I got back up no one was near me except Knight Counc who was kneeling beside me."

"Well you need to put an icepack on it."

"I'll be okay."

"Yeah, you will be because we're putting an icepack on it. There's some ice by where we set up the punch bowl... if that hasn't been knocked over. Come on." She put an arm companionably around Stave's shoulder as she led him back toward the fountain room.

Just before going in however, Stave stopped. "Um, Koria... what I said earlier... um... about you being beautiful when you're angry, um..." He blushed and looked down at his feet.

"It was just the spiked punch, right?"

Stave looked up, relieved for the easy out. "Yeah, that was it. You're not really beautiful when you're angry."

The corners of Koria's mouth went up and her eyes twinkled mischeviously. "You're such a flatterer." When Stave looked up, she winked then went into the fountain room.

Following her inside, Stave watched as her hips swayed back and forth. No, you're not only beautiful when your angry, you're beautiful all the time! He sighed quietly to himself.

 

This post brought to you by AW and I

---

Awin had kept away from the punch, as the first experience he had with the Jedi's version of the drink left much to be desired, so he remained sober. Even so, he couldn't pass up a good food fight. He made sure to target the initiates who had bullied Stave with the biggest and messiest fare available. He accidentally backed up agains a smaller kid he didn't recognize, but whom he assumed to be an exchange student by the boy's apparel. "Oh, sorry."

He saw the kid get hit by a cupcake in the ear before he got spatted in the face by a cup of punch. By the time he wiped his eyes clear, the kid was out of his line of sight. Shrugging, he grabbed the whole bowl of punch... half full... and splashed it on a hapless initiate who ran by him, looking the other way. He laughed as the girl slipped and fell.

Looking around, he frowned. Something was wrong. The way most of the students and initiates were acting, he could have sworn they were drunk.

Suddenly, everything was quiet. Looking around he saw a diminutive, green Jedi with huge pointed ears just inside the main doorway. From how even the older Jedi knights and masters acted, he figured this must be the famed Master Yoda.

Awin saw movement from the corner of his eye and saw the boy he'd accidentally bump into coming out from under a table. Then he heard a commotion from amongst the trees near the lake, and saw him go back under the table, looking very frightened.

He was about to go talk to him, but heard Koria's voice raised in anger. He rushed over to where everyone else was gathering and gave silent thanks to the powers that be for his tall stature as he witnessed the beautiful half-twilek pummeling one of the nastier of the initiates. [i]Wow, I'd never have thought she'd be a scrapper![/i] Since he was not on bouncer duty at his father's bar right now, he felt obliged to relax and enjoy the view. [i]By the great Nexu, she's beautiful when she's angry.[/i]

After Tobias broke up the fight, and the other masters started to try to restore order by having everyone start cleaning up, Awin spied the kid he'd bumped into earlier go skulking out a side door. Torn between staying around in hopes of being able to talk to Koria after things cooled down and going to go talk to the boy, he reluctantly took the later.

There was something about the smaller boy that worried him, and couldn't help but think the kid needed a friend. So, he left by the same door he saw the kid go out of and headed toward the dormitories. [i]He must be an exchange student who came late.[/i]

Gasek stared at the data pad trying to get his brain in motion but finding he couldn?t he pulled up one of his favorite pictures, it was one of him and his two sisters before their mom and dad broke up.

Wishing he knew their com numbers so he could talk to them and find out how they were doing but the few times he had tried he hadn?t come up with anything.

Off to the side he heard the door open and while cursing himself for doing it his instinct took over he quickly closed the picture and sat up straight and made sure the room didn?t look bad.

?I?m sorry.?

"There's nothing to be sorry about." Awin shrugged it off with a wave of his hand. "I um, just came to see if you're alright... oh, and by the way, I'm Awin. Awin Cor." The larger boy smiled politely as he introduced himself and offered his hand for a shake.

Quickly, he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and gave the boy a firm hand shake, thankful that his dad had taught him at least that much.

"I'm Gasek. Gasek Treth. So what do you do when you're at home?" Gasek asked tugging at his shirt to hide one of the blaster burn scars.

Awin turned a chair around so the back of it was to Gasek, then stradled it as he sat down, leaning against the back of it with his arms over the edge. "I go to school, study, and work for my dad in his cantina. You?"

Sitting down on the edge of the bed Gasek gave a short sarcastic laugh "I go to school, study, and stay away from my dad who drinks

 

Alexis helped.

---

Knight Damarc had been looking around for his exchange student since things settled down. He approached Knight Counc and Master McCal and cleared his throat before asking, "Excuse me, have either of you seen Awin?"

Ieron looked around, as though she could make him materialize from nowhere. "No, Knight Damarc, I haven't seen him." She glanced at Tobias, who shook his head.

Frowning slightly, Ca'es shook his head and almost scowled in annoyance as a cake-encrusted lock of hair fell across his eyes. "Well, it seems he's left the room," he muttered. "If you see Awin, could you please tell him to come to the apartment?" He bowed politely to the two as he excused himself, eager to clean up.

Just as the Zabrak knight headed away from the two Jedi, Koria walked up, feeling a little shy, which was a condition she was decidedly unfamiliar with so it disconcerted her all the more. Without saying anything, she looked from Ieron to Tobias nervously, not knowing what to say.

Stave came up beside Koria and looked at both Ieron and Tobias, an make-shift icepack against his cheek. He wondered if they'd cleared the air between them. The reason he'd left was both to apologize to Koria and he had been uneasy with witnessing the confrontation about the agri-corps between the two.

"You were right, Master, they did come back," Ieron said. "So is the picnic over, or are we going to try again without the punch?"

Tobias glanced around, taking in the mayhem that was spread from the food table like an epicenter of an explosion. There was food on the plants surrounding the small clearing, as well as all over Jedi and exchange students' clothing. Not a few beings sported bruises, and a couple had even been bloodied. Oddly enough, the only thing that looked undisturbed was the punch bowl, though it appeared empty. "The head gardener's already going to kill me. Unless he decides to give Zamtoe the honors."

"Um, I'll help clean up," Koria offered. She had her head bowed slightly and looked up at him as she nervously bit her bottom lip. She hoped volunteering would help Tobias be less disappointed in her, though she knew it wouldn't keep her from some form of disciplinary action.

"Me, too," Stave volunteered as well.

"I'm sure any help at this point will be appreciated." Tobias noticed that the scholar - the tile expert - was standing nearby, watching with interest at the clean-up efforts. [i]She probably watched the whole thing. I hope she at least didn't hear Ieron's explanation.[/i]

"At least the Healers came," Ieron said, a smirk on her face. They had set up a small triage for the students looking worse for the wear.

"Maybe you should have a healer look at your cheek," Koria suggested to Stave.

"I'm fine," he replied irritably, "I'm not a baby you know."

"Well sorry for showing a little concern!" Koria turned and stalked off to help with the clean up efforts.

Stave's face went from anger to shame, then his shoulders slumped when Koria walked away. He turned to look at Tobias and Ieron. "I'll um... just go help out over there." He pointed toward a different part of the clearing from where the other exchange student went before going.

"You want yours or mine?"

Tobias looked at Ieron as she asked that before shaking his head. "You know, Padawan, I love you dearly. And sometimes that's the only thing that keeps me from doing you bodily harm."

"It'll be fine. We'll get the garden cleaned back up, the gardeners will mourn the fallen plants, and in a few weeks, everything will be back to normal." Ieron paused. "Well, at least what passes for normal with the exchange students running around."

 

TMJ wrote Ieron's part.

---

About two hours later, the exchange students, knights and initiates finally had the fountain room cleaned up. Stave shook his head wondering how it could take so long to clean up a mess that took five minutes tops to make. Looking over at Koria, he wanted to go apologize to her, but she was laughing and talking to Jecca and Anakin Skywalker. The hotshot padawan had come in on the middle of the clean-up and started talking to Koria. She got him to help out, even though he could tell the padawan didn't really want to... cleaning isn't very fun, after all, and it wasn't a mess he'd made... but he did it because Koria and Jecca both flirted with him.

Then Stave remembered he and Anakin were supposed to clean the training sabers. He considered going over to ask the padawan when he wanted to start, but he heard something plop in the pond and he looked to see what it was. When he turned back, Anakin and Koria were gone. Looking around, he didn't see them anywhere.

Sighing he left to go back to the apartment. [i]I hate my life.[/i]

Ieron was reading a datapad, curled up on the couch, when he walked in the door. The Knight had left the clean-up earlier to help set up the training gym for a creche session and had gone back to the apartment, figuring the cleaning wouldn't have taken that long. She looked up as Stave walked in and gave him a curious look. "Don't you look chipper," she said, setting aside the datapad.

Stave rolled his eyes and scowled. He put his hand in his back pocket to get his datapad. "Shaavit!"

He frantically looked around.

Ieron raised her eyebrows. "Leave something in the Room of a Thousand Fountains?"

"My datapad!" His voice squeaked, and he looked about to cry as he turned and ran toward the door, tripping over his own two feet. With his face against the floor, he moaned.

Ieron crossed the room and knelt beside him. "I'm sure it'll still be there when we go check. And if not, we'll track it down. Now what's really bothering you?"

Stave rolled onto his back and wiped a tear from his cheek and winced when it hurt. He stared up at the ceiling. "I just wish..." he sighed and looked to his side opposite of where Ieron knelt. "It's all just so stupid."

He sat up and folded his hands in his lap. "Sometimes I wish I weren't so smart. That I could just be a normal thirteen-year-old kid and not be in classes with kids two to three years older than me. I can't possibly ever belong to either other kids my age or hope to have someone like..." He stopped and shook his head as a lump formed in his throat.

"Like Koria?" Ieron finished for him. "I don't think that's stupid at all."

"There's no way she'd ever look at me like she looks at Anakin or Awin or Master McCal. Even if I wasn't a runt, I'd still be too young for her." Stave blushed.

Ieron tilted her head at the name of her former master but let that bit of information go. "Well... maybe sometimes you don't get the girl you want. And if she's so interested in older guys," Ieron shrugged, "it's her loss. Though I doubt that makes you feel better."

Stave stood up and sighed, "Not really, but thanks." He tried to smile, but failed miserably as it hurt his cheek. Wincing, he rubbed it, which of course made it hurt worse. "Ouch! Well, I'd better go get the datapad... hopefully it hasn't been trampled!"

He turned to leave, but then looked back at Ieron. "Um, I hope you're not upset about us keeping the secret... you know... about the initiates?" He bit his bottom lip.

Ieron shook her head as she stood, giving Stave a smile. "Don't worry about it. If the Masters knew half of what went on between the initiates and even the Padawans, probably none of us would pass our Trials. They've just forgotten." She hesitated, and as Stave palmed open the door, she added, "Hey, if you need to talk - I'm really good at listening."

Stave looked back again and smiled lopsidedly, "Yeah, I know... I'm just not all that good at talking." With that, he left.