Through transparisteel

At last! Three whole months of sun, sea and doing nothing but what we want! Yeah!
Will’s dad sent him a message to say that he couldn’t come to collect him, did he mind staying with us for the summer. No siree!

The down note being that my parents want me to take remedial classes that I don’t need because my grades weren’t all that great near the end of the year…

The rest of the team is going back home, since most of the students are from outside of Coronet. The only notable exception, Coach said, was that Coren kid I was in detention this summer with. He got some remedial classes. That was actually funny.

I’m bored out of my brains. I repeat, I am bored out of my cranium.
Forgot to brink one of my cards with a book to read and for once, there was nothing to be done around school. Figures that after yesterday’s wonderful CorSec presentation, there were no clean-up to be done. The summer holidays are nearly there anyways, so I guess that’s my last hour of detention.

So here I am, waiting for detention to end and writing on my datapad. All I had was the piloting manual for the shuttle Dad uses for work so I read that for a while. It was boring, even if there are nice little animations.

Ooh, the door is opening…

Nah, wrong alert. I thought they might actually let me off early but no, it was just to chuck CorSec posterboy in. Apparently, he went and climbed to the principal’s office window and threw a stink pellet at him.
So he has an hour of detention.

Yes, an hour. How unfair is that? I get two hours for a question and he gets away with throwing stink bombs.

Him: So you’re the girl who got detention for that stupid question?
Me: And you’re the boy who can’t shut up about CorSec. My question wasn’t stupid.
Him: Yes it was. My dad says that CorSec is the fairest Security force in all the Core.
Me: So they say.
Him: I would know.
Me: I would too.
Him: My dad’s a district captain.
Me: My grandad used to be Coronet’s DC. My dad didn’t get far past agent.
Him: *frown* I can’t believe your granddad was Coronet DC. What’s his name?
Me: Kieran Ardellian.
Him: No, really?
Me: No, not really. I’m actually Darth Vader’s closet assistant’s daughter.
Him: Can I meet him?
Me: Who, Darth Vader?
Him: No, your granddad.

Me: No.

Him: Please? I always wanted to meet him! He’s a legend.
Me: I don’t think so.
Him: Why not? Come on, it’ll be cool.
Me: He’s dead, so I don’t think so.

That shut him up for a while. Unforunatly, not long enough.

Him: So what was he like?
Me: He was a kind man.
Him: I heard he worked a lot with Jedi.
Me: You need your ears checked.
Him: You ever seen one?
Me: No Jedi worked with CorSec after the Clone Wars. That was before I was born.

He didn’t say anything. I wonder if he knows something about the Jedi. I love reading about them but Mom is worried that I might get into trouble if I’m seen checking out those books. Granma tells me stories of the Jedi all the time.

Me: So you’re in the bolo team?
Him: Yeah, I made the team this year.
Me: Nice. I made the shockball team.
Him: Shockball? You’re a girl.
Me: So?
Him: I dunno. Seems weird.
We kept talking about the team and stuff, then he said that he still couldn’t believe they’d let a girl on the shockball team. After that I sort of refused to talk to him anymore for a while.

Him: Come on, say something.
Me: Something.
Him: Like your name?
Me: Lily.
Him: Nice name.
Me: If you’re to one day propagate your genes, you need a better pick-up line.
Him: Propa-wha?
Me: Forget it.
Him: So want to be in CorSec one day?
Me: No.
Him: Why? Your entire family almost was in CorSec.
Me: I want to be a fighter pilot.
Him: You’re a girl.
Me: So?
Him: No girls in the Empire.
Me: Good. I’ll be the first one.
Him: I still think you’d be good in CorSec. Me, I want to be in CorSec.
Me: Really? I thought you wanted to be a singer.

He was the one sulking this time. Silly boys can’t take a joke. The principal came to liberate us soon after that.

Him: I’ll see you around.
Me: Don’t hold your breath, though.

Then Will came by to walk home with me and we left.

That kid’s weird. And he really talks about CorSec too much. But I think he’s sharp. Probably will be a good pilot and in CorSec.

Today, we had a presentation by a CorSec recruit. Stupid career week. Hello? We’re 11 years old. Well, I am at least. I’m almost 12. Most of the others are 12. Rasha comes from Selonia, so I don’t really know what age she is.

So anyways, this guy came to talk to us. He is what my dad calls “handsome”. The girls were drowning in their own drool. His name’s Corran Horn and his father is also in CorSec. Cute but a little short, in my opinion. William is almost taller than him and my dad is. There was this one kid, I think he is one of the bolo-ball junior teamies who kept yammering on about his father being in CorSec too. Blah, blah, blah. My grandfather was also in CorSec and so was my dad before he retired to take up Ardellian Engineering. I don’t brag about it all the time.
The bolos are a bit jerky but he seemed to be an alright kid, when he shuts up about freaking CorSec.

Trainee Horn started his presentation by telling us how great CorSec is how keeping Corellia safe is important. I heard somewhere they have quotas each year that they have to reach. So I raised my hand and asked that. He got bright red and blustered an indignant protest. I think I’m going to have detention for that.
He went on to ask instances in which CorSec was useful to the population. That’s when that blond kid started yammering. Coren, I think his name is. Yeah, that’s right. Coren. A bit like Corran.
This went on for about an hour. I don’t know I sort of zoned out and was busy flicking things at Will to notice how long it lasted.
Kinda felt strange, in that room, as if I could see him clearer than other people. Or maybe hear him better. I don’t know, it’s as if he was more there. Just like William and my dad.
Then there was a small video of space chases, which were really interesting and I watched with interest. They talked about this one time where the pirates had been running and they destroyed the Gus Treta refuelling station. Fortunatly, only a few people were killed, because the stationmaster and his wife sacrificed themselves. It’s really sad. They had two kids and I think their son had been in one of the schools of Coronet, almost graduated too.

At the end, the principal came up and thanked him and CorSec for this wonderful presentation, blah blah. As we were filing out, Coren caught up with the Horn guy and asked him a load of questions about entering their academy. Talk about over-eager: he’s a year below mine as well. Gentlebeings, I think we have a new recruit here. Wonderful. We have the posterboy for CorSec in our school.

Sometimes I really wish I didn’t feel so old compared to everyone. It would be nice being geeky and enthusiastic about things. I feel so blazé.

I got two hours of detention for my cheeky attitude. It was a simple question. Jerks.

Urgh, this datacard had slid behind the headboard and the bed, which is why I didn’t find it for so long. That’s annoying and to think I’d only used it a couple of times before I lost it.
Don’t have much time, as Coach is going to announce the start of the shockball trials any time soon, but wanted to say that William is turning out to be a great buddy. He can fly and climb and do everything that normal kids can. His eyes don’t bother him and I guess his other senses compensate. Granma was a little distressed the first time I brought him home. I mean, parents tend to freak out about the smallest things, so a guy with no eyes could be one of those.
It’s been 6 standard months since he arrived and it turns out he was the big news Mom and Dad were talking about.
Both of us made the team this year and so did another kid from a year below ours. Well a year below me, because Will is actually three years older than me. I’m just in one of the advanced classes. My teacher says that I could turn out to be one of the greatest scientists of our time. I don’t care. I want to be a fighter pilot.
There’s something special about Will, Granma told me.

Speaking of Granma, she had a really bad nightmare and woke up the entire house with her screams. Mom was livid because apparently, I started screaming as well. I don’t remember doing that but my parents wouldn’t actually lie about something like that.
I do remember seeing yellow eyes and flames, lots of flames. It’s probably because of that movie I saw at the Gladring with Will. It was about this kid who is taken from his family and raised by Jedi. When he goes to find his real father, his Jedi master throws him in a volcano. Granma was furious that I’d gone to see that. She called it useless Imperial propaganda. Mom and Dad has to shush her because we were at the opera and they didn’t want the visiting Inquisitor to overhear her.

Captain Wigefield came on-planet for the opening evening we attended with my parents. It was funny seeing Will all-dressed up. I had to be as well. I really hate wearing frilly dresses but Mom insisted. I suppose it was cute cute in a girl sort of way, if terribly impractical. It didn’t even have any pockets. We were presented to High Inquisitor Tremayne. He is majorly creepy, I had the wiggins all week after I’d met him. He looked over William and his dad and nodded to them as if he had met them before. Captain Wigefield didn’t look too happy about that. When our turn came, Granma presented me and I curtsied. Creepy guy caught my chin and forced me to look into his eyes. Or rather, his eye and the cyber-red eye he has.
It was like someone threw me in Lake Valdis during the winter season.
He smiled to me, like a hungry tiger and said. “Well met, little girl. Just like your aunt.”
I was about to ask him about that because my dad doesn’t have a sister and I don’t think I look anything like Mom’s sister Luvi but Granma pulled me away from him and said quietly to him, so that I wouldn’t hear, but I did anyways: “She is nothing like them. Leave her be.”
We left soon after the representation and that was a shame because the party looked like fun. Will said it was.

So anyways, school and practice were really good and the young kid, Kyle, his name is, is one of the scholarship kids. His family lives out in the mountains but his grandparents have him for weekends and holidays. He doesn’t talk much but from what I gather, his mother is an actress of some sort. Mom says he is not our kind at all. I wonder what my kind is. Maybe that’s why Granma is so upset.

Oh, in any case, that’s it for now, Coach is yelling at me because I’m dreaming. Urgh. I hate shockball, it’s not as exciting as flying.

Awesome! I got the call yesterday. I’m the first girl of the Academy to make it into the shockball team, due to exceptional results. In Coach’s own words and those don’t come by easily. Will made it too.
I guess that isn’t going to help me be more popular with the girls. Particularly not the cheerleaders. I think they think I’m just doing this to be with the boys.
Those idiot cheerleaders always think that everyone wants to date their boyfriends. I don’t. I just want to show everyone I’m better than the boys. Will’s dad, Captain Wigefield, sent me some flight simulators for my birthday. They arrived a little late, because my birthday was three months ago but Will says mail is unreliable in the fleet. They’re pretty dated but still, no one else except Will has any that are this realistic. They’re awesome. Captain Wigefield says they date back from the days of the old Republic, so they’re quite valuable.
I haven’t managed to beat one yet but one can hope. One of these days, I’ll be able to beat them fingers in my nose and backwards.

After class, I stayed a little longer to show my installation.

I swear, I was trying to mind my own business and stay out of Vereg’s view. Why does trouble always find me?

This morning, Miss Klaver announced that we would be welcoming a new student transfer from Coruscant. His dad is apparently some sort of officer. I think my parents have said something to that effect, but I didn’t pay any attention. Something tells me that I should have.

In any case. That fat Blueshe was harassing the new kid this morning at recess, doing what he knows best. It did start pretty well for Vereg because the new kid is tall like a weed and blond. Not at all the Corellian type. And he has no eyes. That’s a little icky, to be honest. It’s not like his eyes were poked out though. More like he was born without any eyesockets.

So while Vereg was poking fun at him, I slunk away to my hideout in the yard because I felt like the galaxy owed me a day of respite. Y’know what I mean?
I was up in my tree, minding my own business and eating my rations. They’re pretty disgusting but fighter pilots eat them all the time, I have to get used to it. Then I heard shouting and lots of running. It sounded like Vereg and his gang were after someone and my instinct told me that it was this new kid.

Sure enough, the kid appeared, running. For a blind kid, he’s not too bad. He didn’t even hit trees. I wonder how he does it.
Of all the trees, he had to climb into mine. I knew he was there, so I tried to be as quiet as can be. If that idiot Vereg heard him, he’d find me and that wasn’t acceptable. What I don’t know is how he knew I was there.

Granma tells me I imagine things. I probably do.

I digree dugr dissemble? digrest whatever, lost my train of thought. The funny thing is, I could hear him say he was hungry but I’m sure he didn’t talk. I went down a few branches and handed him one of my rations.

I don’t know what his parents are like, but he actually seemed to like the ration. Weirdo. We got talking a little, while Vereg and co were looking for us down below. You’d think they’d have figured my hiding place by now but no. Even a not too bright nek would have figured that out. Guess the Blueshe family tree took a few too many hits to the trunk.

Anyways, the new kid fixed my audio installation that I’d broken when I fell last week. Just like magic. He has to teach me how he does that.

His name is William Wigefield and I think I made a new friend.

My name is Lily Ardellian and I’m going to be the greatest fighter pilot who ever lived.

These journal things are pretty stupid but everyone at school has one so I thought I’d start one. Might as well get used to recording trivial facts about my existence, as this will be required of me at a later date.