Rebuilding (COMPLETE)

*Episode 23 (7)

After the party was over and most of their friends had gone home for the night, the Naberrie family decided they should probably head home as well. However, one slight problem with that arose. Now that the family had two speeders, Anakin and Luke couldn't resist the opportunity to race home once they got out of town. There were a few kilometers between the edge of the city and the Naberrie driveway, and nobody enforced the speed limits out there. Obi-Wan, Padmé, and Sola strapped in, not wanting to take chances with Anakin's erratic flying, and Leia was instructed by Luke not to fall out (she decided she didn't need the seatbelt). A very entertaining race ensued, and despite Luke's impressive flying, Anakin won with nearly a second to spare. 

Everyone attempted to hold onto their dinner as they settled down for the night. In front of her mirror, Leia let down the elaborate braids woven into her hair. Her mom loved braiding her hair when she was little, and when she got old enough, Leia asked Padmé to teach her. She didn't like wearing big headpieces, though. Leia had seen pictures of her mom with huge accessories larger than her actual head, some of which had to weigh over five kilograms. Padmé didn't wear those as often these days (at least, not the big, cumbersome ones), but she still liked to use them. Leia, on the other hand, had sworn off them for eternity. She would learn the complex hairstyles, but no headpieces. Besides, she was a Jedi. They would just get in the way.

Knock, knock, she heard Luke think in her head, and she opened the bathroom door with a wave of her hand. Her twin brother appeared in the doorway, leaning on the frame. "There's a podrace on channel 12. Dad and I are going to watch. You in?"

"Give me a minute," she answered, nodding. 

"Hurry!" Luke warned her, taking off down the hallway. In no rush whatsoever, Leia returned to her work. She ran a wet comb through her hair, getting rid of the static. When she was satisfied, she put everything away and turned out the light. Sola was nitpicky about things like turning the lights off after you leave the room. 

When she got to the lounge, Luke and her dad were already sitting on the couch, watching HoloNet channel 12. Her brother scooched over to make room for her. "Come on, it's already started."

"No, it hasn't," she argued, pointing at the screen. "They haven't even gotten in their pods yet."

"Yeah, but you missed the racer introductions."

"Oh, no, I missed the introductions of the same racers we've been watching for the past five years," she said sarcastically, shaking her head. "What a tragedy."

From the other side of Luke, her dad looked over at her. "There's actually a new racer that looks promising," he told her, pointing at the lineup. "Kylee Fletcher, starting in sixteenth position."

This was interesting. Her dad usually didn't like podracers, having been one himself. He had told Luke and Leia about the toxic environment racing tended to have, and only like a select few racers. If he was pointing out a rookie, that meant she didn't have an overly proud, cutthroat attitude and seemed to know a thing or two about podracing. That was the other thing that annoyed her dad: most rookies had no idea how to race. They could fly, sure, but racing, he had taught them, was an art form. 

To be completely honest, Leia didn't care too much about podracing. Luke was a better flyer than her and always had been. However, Leia was competitive and could get excited about a race when the time came. The closer she was to the action, the better. That's why she loved riding shotgun when Luke challenged their friends to races.

The main official called for the racers to get into their pods. The camera feed switched between most of the racers, showing their vehicles. Their dad tutted. "Looks like Ulrigg fixed that left engine."