[Junior Jedi Knights] - 01(12)

“So how do we sneak out?” Tahiri asked her friend.

Sneaking out of the academy was going to be hard. The instructors would be able to sense their emotions. They would have to be very careful to hide their excitement. It took several hours before Anakin and Tahiri came up with a good idea. Each afternoon the students were given two hours of free time before dinner. The friends decided that they would leave the academy during this period. The only problem was that two hours wasn’t a lot of time. Especially since Anakin and Tahiri didn’t know exactly where they were going. But it would have have to do. More and more, Anakin felt certain that he and Tahiri were being called to the river for a reason-and that it was a matter of grave importance.

“What day do you want to go?” Tahiri asked Anakin. He sighed before he answered. “I guess tomorrow afternoon. That means you only have to fall into the river one more time in the dream,” Anakin said with a small smile. He knew that falling into the river was terrifying for Tahiri. He didn’t want to make her do it any more than she had to.

“Where should we meet?” Tahiri asked her friend.

“The hangar bay in the bottom of the Temple. It has an exit door that opens into the jungle,” Anakin said.

“How do you know that?” Tahiri asked in surprise.

“It’s that voice in my head again,” Anakin explained. Tahiri frowned.

Anakin didn’t say anything, but he knew that she was worried that they were trusting that voice too much. After all, it could be leading them to use the Force for evil. Anakin sighed. There was only one way to find out.

“We’ll leave after our morning class and go down to the hangar,” he said firmly. “Then we’ll sneak out of the Great Temple and make our way to the river.”

Tahiri nodded in agreement. With luck they could get back to the academy before the bell for the evening meal, she thought. She didn’t want to think of what would happen if they didn’t return in time.

“I guess we should get some sleep,” Anakin said with a yawn. It was almost dawn. In a few more hours the bell for the morning meal would ring.

“It’s a good plan,” Tahiri said as she stood up from the cushion. Her orange jumpsuit was rumpled. And her long blonde hair had fallen out of her braid. It hung loose around her shoulders. “Hey, Anakin, if we do get caught and get sent back home, can we still be friends?” Tahiri asked.

Anakin smiled at Tahiri. “Sure thing,” he replied.

But he knew that his home planet was far away from Tatooine. If he and Tahiri were sent home they might never see each other again. Anakin met Tahiri’s green eyes with his blue ones. He could see she also knew this might be their last few hours as friends.

“Sweet dreams,” Tahiri said before she left Anakin’s room.

Anakin fell asleep quickly. And he had the river dream again. Except this time both he and Tahiri were in the raft. Anakin was in the back, paddling hard.

Tahiri sat in front, gripping one side of the raft. The water was crashing in waves over the sides. The wind howled and tossed the small raft sideways just as a gigantic wave slammed it. Tahiri was thrown backward. Anakin turned to spot her in the water, and the surprise of what he saw almost made him fall in too.

“Oh no,” Anakin moaned when he saw that ArtooDetoo was now in the raft with him. “I can’t be expected to sneak out with that noisy droid,” he cried. But even as he searched the water for Tahiri he knew that tomorrow he would bring Artoo with them. If Artoo was in the dream, then he was meant to be a part of the adventure. Anakin knew that, but it didn’t mean he had to like it. A soft bell rang in the distance. Anakin realized it was time to wake up and begin the adventure for real. He rolled over and slowly opened his eyes.

“Tahiri, there’s been a slight change of plans,” Anakin whispered to his friend over breakfast. “We have to take ArtooDetoo with us.”

Tahiri’s jaw dropped. “I don’t understand. Why should we take Artoo?”

Tahiri didn’t receive an answer. She studied her friend for a moment before she spoke again. Anakin looked exhausted. Ever since he’d begun to have her dream, tired purple circles started to appear under his eyes. Tahiri, on the other hand, had slept wonderfully the last few nights. She hadn’t had the dream once.

“Anakin,” Tahiri began again, “you’ve got to be kidding. We can’t take that droid. He’ll ruin everything. We can’t even understand him. And if he fell into the river we’d never be able to get him out,” Tahiri added without stopping for a breath.

“He was in my dream last night,” Anakin said softly. “That means that we might need him wherever we’re going.”