Ahsoka Tano's footsteps echoed down the long hallway, coupled with her large bauble bouncing off the lockers and smooth linoleum tiling of Coruscant High School, better known as Coruscant High.

Her breathing was hard and ragged as she hurried towards her Political Sciences classroom. She was already late for a makeup test after school, and hoped that getting there as soon as possible would lighten any possible sentence for her tardiness.

It wasn't easy, being the new student. After being forced to move into the local orphanage from a nearby city – Shili – due to a lack of place (but that was just the nice way of saying that they wanted her out so that they could make room for younger kids that people would be more likely to adopt), she seemed to have been cursed with an inability to fit in anywhere.

And Coruscant High wasn't an easy school in terms of the students. What people you hung out with and your social standing were determined early in the year, and she had arrived two months too late to join any groups.

Not to mention that working from the moment school let out until nine o'clock at night, coupled with her arduous chores at the orphanage, meant that Ahsoka didn't always have enough time for her homework and studying.

Unable to run anymore – next to no athletic abilities was just another thing to add to her crummy life – she staggered the last few steps to the door and pushed it slowly open.

There was someone sitting at her professor's desk, but it wasn't her professor, a man named Sheev Palpatine. It was a young woman wearing stylish clothing. She had curly brown hair that Ahsoka was certain reached her waist.

Upon hearing her come in, the professor turned around. Ahsoka gasped, forgetting her exhaustion from her run. The woman standing before her was absolutely beautiful, the kind of beautiful that you only really ever saw in supermodels or famous actresses on the HoloNet.

"Hello," she said, her voice just as lovely as her face. "I'm Padme Amidala, the new Political Sciences professor. You must be Ahsoka... Tano, is it?"

In awe, she could only nod. After a moment, she regained her ability to speak. "Um... What happened to Professor Palpatine?"

"He's going on to become Principal of the school, now that Mr. Valorum is resigning. I'll be taking over for him," the professor answered, before changing the subject. "And I understand that you have a makeup test to get done."

Ahsoka nodded again, dumping her bag on the floor. She was about to sit down, but the Professor stopped her with a wave of her perfectly manicured hand. "No. You don't need to take the test."

"I... I don't? Professor, I don't understand."

"No, Ahsoka. The test won't be counting for marks for anyone. I just got here, and let's say that I'm not really in the mood to grade a test I didn't even write." Padme smiled. "And besides, have you read his questions? I could hardly make sense of it, his grammar is terrible!"

Ahsoka giggled. It was true – although Sheev Palpatine had been a brilliant teacher in terms of oral work, his writing skills were almost nonexistent. She would know – she was a writer, she had been since she was young.

But she knew that, despite her love of words and putting them down on paper, there was little or no hope for her to pursue a career in writing as it was. Despite working evenings to save up for college, she knew she would never have enough to pay her pension in a year. And a scholarship wasn't optional; although she was smart, she wasn't that smart.

She sighed, contemplating how bleak her life was.

"What's wrong?" the professor asked, a look of concern on her face.

"Nothing," she answered quickly, tugging on one of the too-long sleeves of her knit maroon sweater.

"You're lying."

"What?"

"I'm not on Coruscant's City Council for nothing," she said with a small smile. "You can tell me anything, Ahsoka. I want to be there for the students."

"Well... The cards just aren't in my favor right now. They never really were in the first place." She hoisted her bag onto her shoulder again. "Now, if I may be excused, I have to get to work. My boss has probably knocked half my pay for today off by now."

With a nod from Professor Amidala allowing her to go, Ahsoka walked out of the room.