Guilty Diamond Hands

Chapter 4: The Elevator

The September wind was blowing in your face, freezing your eyelashes and bringing tears out of you that ran down your red cheeks. You held your hands in front of your nose to prevent the smell of the stinky cigarettes entering your nostrils when you walked through the entrance of the schoolyard.

Wednesdays used to be fun until Professor Ren showed up.

You imagined him as the teacher who would give extra homework during the weekend. At least you would see his grumpy face only after lunchtime for two hours, and then not until Monday next week.

You climbed the stairs to the second floor as your eyes glimpsed into the hallway.

Well, well, if it's not the devil himself.

You recognized your favorite teacher standing on the other side of the hallway with his head bent down next to Headmaster Palpatine, who mumbled something to him. They stood next to the stairs, which was the only pathway to get to your class.

Professor Ren seemed concentrated, carefully listening to what Palpatine had to tell him. He nodded, and a strand of hair fell onto his forehead that he shoved away from his face.

Headmaster Palpatine was a peaceful man who would always greet the students when they walked past him into the building. His snow-white hair matched his skin color, and his large, wrinkled forehead that hung on his face made him look older than he actually was. This year Headmaster Palpatine would celebrate his eightieth birthday, an age where it's usually impossible to continue to work. But with all the control and power he had over this school... Clearly, the idea of retiring did not cross his mind.

Professor Ren looked quite young. With his arrogance and knowledge, you would guess he was at least thirty-two. Something about his firm hand touching his hair broke something out of you.
You erased those dumb thoughts as fast as possible as you stretched your shoulders back, raised your jaw, and walked with courage towards them.

Headmaster Palpatine flinched and stopped talking when he noticed you approaching them. "Miss [Y/Surname]! What a pleasure... to see you again," Palpatine greeted you with a welcoming tone, his voice cracking off in breaks to take a quick breath.

"Good morning Headmaster Palpatine. The pleasure is all mine."

Your gaze went up to Professor Ren, and your eyes locked. The longer you stared into his eyes, the more you felt like you were entering a dark mine, trying to find sparkly crystals in them, but without success. He kept them well hidden.

You nodded in his direction. "Good morning to you too, Professor Ren."

In response, he only shook his head, rolled his eyes, and let go of a deep sigh.

Why do I even bother? Of course, you wished he would greet you too, like the other teachers with manners did, but you forgot that absolutely nothing about him was normal. You wondered if his reaction was part of his university preparation, or it was just you who had the honor of being greeted by him like that.

Your eye contact got interrupted by Palpatine when he cleared his throat. "Did you know... that this young girl over here is a talented singer whose performances with the choir are always magnificent. However, I prefer... when she sings solo."

"Oh, thank you, Headmaster Palpatine, that's very kind." You smiled in awe at receiving a compliment from the Headmaster himself. After all, everyone loves compliments. They give us the feeling of being good enough.

Deciding to join the choir a year ago seemed now to pay off. Apparently, you were so good that Ms. Holdo, who was popular because of her purple hair, had the impression your voice needed more practice to become even more powerful.