Chapter Text
This particular Saturday was a beautiful late summer’s day, warm and peaceful, and the town of Naboo was quiet and relaxed. The Depression had brought hard times, but thankfully those seemed to be almost over. The most pressing topic of conversation was the imminent arrival of “The Wizard of Oz” at the local movie theatre. There were people strolling along Main Street and through the rest of the downtown area, but no one was in a hurry to get anywhere; they ambled along slowly, greeting friends, visiting storefront shops, and enjoying the summer air with gratitude.
At the moment Maz’s Café was empty, and Rey was savoring the downtime. The factory workers had come through for coffee and a quick bite on their way to the Falcon plant, but that had been about it so far for customers.
Rey liked this job --the busy times and the slow times, the smell of coffee and pie, the songs on the nickelodeon player in the corner. Most of all, she liked that it wasn’t the dirty shack behind Plutt’s Repair where she had her small room, or the shop out in front where she did whatever work Plutt gave her. The café was nice and clean and Maz was a kind, generous boss, unlike Rey’s guardian. The money she earned wasn’t really hers, of course – she had to turn all her wages over to Plutt – but the work itself was a nice change. It was one of her favorite escapes.
Rey was humming and wiping down the back counter when the bell on top of the front door jingled. She turned her head to welcome the new customer. When she saw who it was, she quickly turned back around without smiling.
It was Ben Solo. His father owned Falcon Industries and his mother was from one of the founding families of the town. Ben was wealthy and privileged in a way that she would never understand. He was also one of the rudest, most ill-mannered jerks she’d ever met. She couldn’t stand him.
It was his fault, really, given how he’d made her feel when they first met.
Rey had been early to school on her first day, because she was eager to begin learning and couldn’t wait to get out of Plutt’s shack. She was lucky he was even allowing her to go, and she wasn’t going to wait around for him to change his mind.
She wasn’t the first one to arrive at the high school. Two boys were outside, waiting in front of the locked doors. The redhead was standing ramrod-straight, wearing a pinched look of distaste; the black-haired one was lounging against the side of the building, bored and irritated. She began walking towards them, a smile on her face, ready to say hello and make new friends, when the redhead turned in her direction and narrowed his eyes.
“What is that?” He asked, his eyes taking in her torn, too-large dress and the holes in her stockings, his nose wrinkling as if he’d smelled something nasty. He’d been speaking only to his companion; had there had been other students around to make noise she would not have been able to hear him. As it was, his voice echoed off the building.
She slowed down as the black-haired boy gave her a quick and careless glance. “She’s just a train child,” he said contemptuously. “Don’t waste your time.” He didn’t bother to lower his voice. It didn’t seem to matter to him if she heard or not. He turned away without taking the trouble to see if his words had any effect on her.
Yes, she had come out from New York on the train with the other orphans, but it hadn’t been her choice. She’d had parents once, or so she’d been told, and it wasn’t her fault that she didn’t know who they were or what had happened to them. It wasn’t her fault that she’d had to work for her keep ever since that first family had picked her from the group of children at the station, or that she had to wear whatever she could find and eat whatever someone would give her.
This is what she told herself over and over again, but in the depths of her heart she wasn’t entirely sure that it wasn’t her fault. Maybe her parents had abandoned her because she wasn’t good enough, because she was too stupid or too ugly or too needy. She didn’t often allow herself to think about that, but here, in the warm sunshine of the first morning of high school, as Ben Solo looked at her like she was something he’d scraped off the bottom of his shoes, she couldn’t help but think about it and even believe it. She stopped walking towards them and leaned against the corner of the building, looking away so that they wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes.
Thankfully, she hadn’t had to see him much after that. He had left town not long into the school year, and there had been rumors about where he’d gone and why. Rey deliberately ignored them. She knew all she needed to know about Ben Solo.
But he was back in town, and right now he was a customer. Rey’s work was the only thing she had that was really hers and she took pride in it. She shook off her memories, straightened her back, and went over to the table where he sat with his face hidden behind a newspaper. She resisted the urge to smooth stray tendrils of hair back from her face.
“Good morning,” she said, her voice as chipper and professional as she could make it. “What can I get you?”
“Coffee.” His voice was tense and clipped. “And food.” The paper ruffled as he turned the page. A minute went by.
Do you want me to guess what food you want? Rey suspected maybe he did, or he was waiting for her to suggest something so he could tell her she was wrong and feel superior. I’m not joining your little dance, she thought defiantly. She kept her mouth shut and just waited, a smile on her lips but not in her eyes.
After a moment, a voice full of annoyance came from behind the newspaper. “Pie.”
He still wasn’t looking at her. Of course not.
“We have peach and cherry,” she rattled off, her voice bright with affected friendliness. “Which do you favor today?”
He sighed as if the question was an unbearable burden. “Peach.”
“Peach it is!” Rey gushed, writing it on the order pad. Then, because he was just too obnoxious, she opened her fingers and let the pad fall straight onto his newspaper, knocking it from his grasp.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, sir! My fingers must have slipped!” She reached to grab the pad, managing to rumple the paper and push it farther from him. Then she straightened up, pad in hand, and gave him another smile, one that was tauntingly innocent.
He’d been sporting a murderous expression, but that changed when he saw her face. His eyes widened in recognition and his mouth dropped open slightly.
So you actually remember me? She thought. Bet you’re afraid I’m going to give you cooties.
“I’ll be right back with your pie and coffee,” she assured him, then turned on her heel and strode back towards the counter. As she passed the nickelodeon, she paused to drop in a coin and select a song. She turned to see him watching her, still dumbfounded, and she gave him another cheerfully fake smile as “The Wabash Cannonball” began to play. It had been a silly, childish thing to do – she could have used that nickel for so many more important things – but she couldn’t help herself.
Her righteous anger began to fade as she fetched the cup for his coffee, and by the time she began pouring she had shaky hands and teary eyes. She set the pot down and went into the back kitchen, where Maz was rolling out pie dough while Finn washed dishes.
“Maz, could you please get this customer for me? He wants a cup of coffee and a slice of peach pie.”
The older lady glanced up, her eyes squinting behind her thick glasses. At the sight of Rey’s face, she sighed and handed off the rolling pin, wiping her hands on her apron as she went out into the dining area. Rey dropped the rolling pin onto the pie dough and began to flatten it more roughly than was necessary.
“Hey, Peanut,” Finn said from behind her, shutting off the water. “What happened? Someone get fresh with you?”
“No,” she scowled, rolling furiously. “It’s Ben Stupid Solo out there. He’d never get fresh. Everyone’s too far below him for that.” She knew Finn would understand; she’d spent the first few weeks of high school in a miserable daze, until it had been too much to bear and she’d broken down crying in front of him. He’d talked her through it and stood by her as she struggled to get her confidence back. He was a true friend.
“He’s back?” Finn asked. “I heard he’d be gone for the rest of high school, if not for good.”
She let out an angry chuckle. “See for yourself.”
“No, I believe you.” There was a pause, and she could tell he was watching her as she worked. “Isn’t pastry a delicate thing?” She dropped the rolling pin onto the dough and turned to glare at him. “Sorry,” he said, “but you’re destroying Maz’s reputation over there.”
She folded her arms across her chest and looked down at the floor, biting her lip fiercely. Out in the dining area, the bell jingled and a high voice called, “Hey, Maz!”
“Rey.” Finn’s voice was gentle, and she looked up at him. “Remember how much you’re really worth. His opinion doesn’t matter.”
Lusica burst into the back kitchen, giggling, her hand over her mouth. Her words came out in a rush. “Oh my goodness, did you see who Maz is talking to out there?” She looked from Rey to Finn and back again, taking a moment to build suspense and let them wonder before continuing. “Ben Solo!”
Finn shook his head and went back to washing the dishes, while Rey picked up the rolling pin again and hoped that Lusica would just stop talking.
She didn’t.
“I mean, of course she’s chatting with him, she’s friends with his parents and everything, but I didn’t know he was back!” Lusica’s mouth kept running as she took her apron from the peg and put it on. “I mean, I heard that he was kicked out of his uncle’s academy, they had a big fight or something, a real fight! Supposedly he broke his uncle’s jaw and everything! Although Katy said he’d stabbed him. Or maybe he shot him, I think that’s what Will said. I don’t know. I’ve heard a couple of different things. But I certainly didn’t think he’d come back here, Jane says his family disowned him. Do you suppose this means he’ll be back at school this year? Because if he is living at home….”
Rey interrupted her. “Lucie, we need to set up for the lunch rush. Can you brew some more coffee please?”
“Oh, right. Sure thing.” Lusica paused at the door of the back kitchen, staring out into the dining area, then turned and looked at Rey in gossipy glee and mouthed, “Ben Solo,” before leaving.
“Thank you,” Finn whispered, and Rey had to giggle.
After the café closed that afternoon and everything had been prepared for the next opening, Rey made her way down Main Street towards the outer edge of town. She had stayed in the back kitchen as long as possible, and by the time she appeared for the lunch rush Ben Solo was gone. Maz had tried to hand her an extra dime at the end of the day, saying that Ben had left it for her as a tip, but Rey had refused to take it. She hadn’t been the one to serve him, after all, and she definitely did not want his charity. She’d had to take so much of that from other people during her life, and she was tired of it. Not to mention how galling it would be to receive charity from the likes of him.
About a quarter mile out of the downtown area, she left the road to cut across a field, meeting up with Finn as she came to the middle of it. They didn’t walk out of town together most of the time. There were people living there who objected to a black boy walking together with a white girl, even in friendship. Those people could be dangerous to Finn. It was best to be cautious about appearing together.
They had become friends when she’d been with her first family, the Cawleys. Finn had been with them as well, although he’d had to sleep in a room out in the barn with their hired man while Rey had shared a tiny room (more like a closet, really) inside the home with an older ward named Penny. Rey and Finn were both orphans, both the same age, and both terrified of Mrs. Cawley. They’d spent five years there together, and it had bonded them closer than most siblings were.
“So what are you doing the rest of today?” Rey asked as they headed towards the woods along the banks of the stream.
He ticked off on his fingers. “Livestock, house chores, and help Mr. Easley in the fields. How about you?”
“I have to weed the garden, clean the house, work on the repairs that Plutt wants me to do, cook dinner and clean up.” She grimaced. “Hopefully I won’t have to wash his clothes until tomorrow afternoon, but maybe that too.”
“Is he going to let you go to school this year?” Finn asked.
“He said so. I’m better at repairs because of school, or so I tell him, and since that makes him money I think he’ll let me keep going.”
“I hope you do,” Finn said. “I know you like it, and you’re pretty smart too. It would be a waste if you didn’t go. You should go to college too.”
Rey thought so herself, but it wasn’t up to her, so she didn’t say anything else about it. They walked alongside the stream talking about “The Wizard of Oz” and this year’s Harvest Festival until they came to the footbridge.
“See you tomorrow!” Finn called as he crossed over, and Rey waved and headed back to the road leading towards Plutt’s shack. As she walked, she tilted her face to the sun and took deep breaths of the hot summer air, allowing herself to be cheerful. The sky was a beautiful deep blue with scattered puffy clouds, the air smelled like grass and trees and flowers, an amazing picture show was coming to town, and she was going to be back in school again soon. Life seemed almost good at the moment, despite the return of Ben Solo.