Private Blue Jacket

[Thelma Goth]

"I need some buttons," Thelma said, holding up a sample she had picked up in a thrift store. "Like this one."

The giant Thisspiasian took the button, looked at it, then grunted. "How many?"

"Um... Seven or eight? That counts as one, so seven would work."

"Six."

"O-Okay," she mumbled. "How much will it cost?"

"I work for free for Jedi, so long as you don't abuse it." He set the button down on his work table, then made a shooing motion, ushering her out of his space.

Thelma stumbled away, absentmindedly wringing her hands and cracking her knuckles. She was about to head for the door, eager to escape back to the solitude and sanctuary of her quarters, when her green eyes landed on a ratty blue jacket desperately in need of some TLC. Well, she didn't have any work to do back in her room, and you know what they say about idle hands...

Walking up behind the wearer of the jacket, she hesitated. "Excuse me," she squeaked, then cleared her throat. "Um... would you like to have your jacket repaired?"

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn had just finished installing a few spare parts into his speeder bike, twisting in the final screw with a hydrospanner before he stepped back to admire the work, rubbing a bit of oil over his sweat covered brow. When he and Cora had headed into the undercity, they had hired a group of urchins to watch over the bike and make sure it didn’t get stolen.

Well, they had delivered on that promise, but apparently a few of them took it upon themselves to snatch a few parts while the padawans were busy. Probably assuming that it wouldn’t be a big deal and that Tenn wouldn’t notice. They were right, about the former anyway, what they took was not necessarily a crucial part of the bike’s ability to function, but it did make the whole thing rather loud and oddly weighted. Hopefully they got a few credits off of selling those parts. At least then all this work would have had a reason.

Tenn blinked, taking a moment to register that he was the one being addressed. He wasn’t used to that. The padawan turned around slowly with a curious look on his face. His jacket? Tenn glanced at a few of the rough patches it had suffered over years of use, and shrugged. “Um… sure? You offering?”

Thelma Goth​

 

[Thelma Goth]

“Yes,” Thelma replied, then awkwardly added, “I repair clothes for all the Jedi. Well, the ones who know about me, that is…”

Maybe she should start advertising for it. Post a few signs up around the Temple, rather than just relying on word of mouth. At least then she wouldn’t have to actually talk to people…

“I don’t charge anything, and it would only take a few minutes…” She examined his jacket a little more closely. “... to an hour, but—yeah. That’s it.” She continued to wring her hands, cracking each knuckle in turn.

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

"Since when?" Tenn asked bluntly, having never heard of this free service until just now. It struck him as odd, seeing as how she didn't even seem all that interested in interacting with him. But here she was, offering to patch up his jacket.

Tenn glanced down at it again, then back to her, "Are you good at it?" Couldn't be worse than any effort he made. And it was free. He'd more or less made up his mind anyway.

"Not much else going on now," Tenn shrugged. Might as well kill some time.

Thelma Goth​

 

[Thelma Goth]

"Since when?"

"Um, I don't know. For a little while?" Thelma mumbled. She hadn't exactly been keeping track of time.

She grew more of a spine when he questioned her abilities, resting her hands on her hips. "I've been sewing since I was old enough to thread a needle. So, yeah. I should be pretty good at it by now."

He agreed to do it. "Okay, let's go then." Turning around, she headed out of the workshop, expecting the boy to follow her.

Her quarters were located among the Padawan dorms, though she had a place all to herself. The room was in a state of organized chaos. Every surface was cluttered, but the floor was clean, and there was a sense of rhyme and reason to everything rather than it all being just tossed around at random. Of particular note, there was a sewing machine set up on a desk against the wall. Thelma immediately went over to the desk, sat down, and began rifling through the drawers, which held a wealth of thread, needles, and other sewing accoutrements.

"Take off your jacket now, please," she said, removing a box which held threads in varying shades of blue.

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

"I've been sewing since I was old enough to thread a needle."

As if Tenn had any frame of reference for that. He shrugged, not inclined to push her buttons further. No need for the girl to take it personally, especially since she was, again, offering him a free service. The mere concept was a bit alien to him. Everything had a price where he was from.

Unless you just took it.

He grabbed his things and followed her down to the dormitories, never bothering to make idle chit-chat along the way. He gave all of her things a once-over as they arrived, studying the little details, piecing together assumptions about who she was as a person, and instinctually assigning value to the various things she owned. Tenn blinked, and slid the jacket off of his arms, snatching it before it fell to the floor and presenting it to the girl, "…You uh, got a name?"

Thelma Goth​

 

[Thelma Goth]

"Thelma."

She took his jacket and began matching it to the threads, finding the closest shade of blue possible. Then, with practiced movements, she wound the thread through the machine and began sewing the hole shut.

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

"Tenn." Normally he wasn't even one to bother reciprocating the offer unless it was directly asked of him, but he was getting better at that.

The sewing machine itself was actually something of an oddity to Tenn. It wasn't the sort of appliance you saw much of in the poverty-stricken underbelly of Coruscant. Especially not when most of your experiences were relegated to living on the street. The rhythmic movement of the needle and thread, gradually sealing the hole in a way that may as well have been magic. All the while he just sat there and watched, doing nothing more than listen to the soft whirring of the machine. It was almost relaxing, in a weird sort of way.

"So… come to Jedi school just to be a seamstress or…?" He chuckled awkwardly.

Thelma Goth​

 

[Thelma Goth]

"... No?" That would be weird, wouldn't it? Enrolling at the Jedi Temple just to play seamstress to the Jedi... "I'm a Padawan. Aren't you?"

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn’s expression flattened, his attempt at injecting humor into this conversation (if it could be called that) falling on deaf ears, “N-nevermind.”

He fixed his gaze back onto the jacket, “Yeah. I am.” An awkward pause, “You got like a… specialty or somethin’? I know some do.”

Thelma Goth​

 

[Thelma Goth]

Thelma blinked, the attempt at humor completely missing its mark. Tenn was lucky he was pretty, because he was nearly as awkward as she was.

"Uh, well... I guess I specialize in women's clothing? Fancy dresses are my favorite thing to make." Finished with his jacket, she held it up, examining her handiwork. "I'm more likely to be doing repairs for people here, though. Sometimes there are formal events that people need nice clothes for, but those are pretty rare for Jedi." Which made the few opportunities she had to do what she loved all the more special.

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

"...I meant, like- as a Jedi."

Thelma Goth​

 

[Thelma Goth]

Thelma froze, her cheeks burning, then held Tenn's jacket up in such a way that she was obviously trying to hide behind it more than she was inspecting the garment.

"I'm supposed to be a Consular," she mumbled. "Somebody who specializes in the Force."

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

"Ah. Cool," Tenn pursed his lips, and sat there for a moment before adding, "But- The tailoring thing is cool, too…" He then stood up, and tentatively reached for his jacket.

"It looks really good. Thanks," Tenn tried for a small, but genuine smile in appreciation.

Thelma Goth​

 

[Thelma Goth]

"You're welcome," Thelma mumbled, all but shoving the jacket into Tenn's hands. Standing up, she hurriedly ushered him out of her room, and with a final "bye," slammed the door in his face.

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn hardly had time for goodbyes before he was abruptly shoved out of her room and back into the hall, "T-thanks. Again," He said, a bit too late as the door slammed shut in his face.

"...Bye." He muttered under his breath before wandering off. A series of barks echoed down the hall, as Shep came bounding up to reach Tenn. After a few greeting licks, they trotted off down the hall back to the garage.

Thelma Goth​