Chapter Text
Rey turned off the engine of her car, an old, battered red Speeder with over 180 000 miles on the clock. She had bought the car just a month earlier in anticipation of her big move from Jakku to Ajan Kloss. It was the biggest purchase Rey had ever made, but she didn't regret a single dollar she had spent on it. For a mechanic, this car was a godsend: it had a reputation for being sturdy, and parts were easy to find at junkyards. It was the best car she could afford, but more than that, it was a model she loved, very 1980s, with wind-up windows and seats covered in red and gray geometric patterns, with a cassette player and radio for all the technology it had.
Night was falling, even though it was only 5:00 p.m. She had managed to be on time for her move-in inspection, which was a miracle after more than 15 hours on the road, interrupted by an uncomfortable night in her car in a Walmart parking lot. In front of her, a new building and a well-maintained lawn already promised a positive visit. It must be said that her expectations were very low, given the slum she had rented for years before moving.
It took her a long time to decide to leave Jakku. Not because she loved Jakku and wanted to stay there at all costs; on the contrary, the place was terrible, her colleagues were uninteresting (when they weren't ogling her), her boss Unkar Plutt deserved to be prosecuted for more than one instance of harassment, and even though the city wasn't very beautiful or lively, prices weren't cheap either, because the region attracted people. It was a highly industrial employment hub, with high demand on the rental market from workers like her. With her salary, her credit rating only allowed her to afford a studio apartment in a dilapidated building.
The funny thing is that despite this list of drawbacks, Rey hadn't thought about leaving before she turned 25, so accustomed was she to this misery. She was accustomed to it, but it never felt normal . Deep down, something was missing in her life. Her parents, of course, but also... a purpose? At least, a framework that would make her happy. And on Christmas Eve, alone in her apartment, in tears, she decided to start over.
She was now 28 years old. It had taken her time to weigh up her decision, but above all, to put together a plan: leaving, yes. But where to? Close to the sea and the forest, definitely. She no longer wanted the desert lands of Jakku. And she also wanted an affordable apartment. What kind of job? With a degree in mechanics and a short year at a technical college, which she had barely passed before deciding to cut her losses and start working as soon as possible, she had few career options. She knew she could excel in mechanics. It came naturally to her. She had taken the time (and money) to do some additional training that would look good on her resume. And if she was going to remain a mechanic, who would she work for? On that point, she suspected she would be hard-pressed to find anything worse than Unkar Plutt's garage.
Having set her goals, she had spent months browsing job ads, Google Maps, and rental websites. Finally, a job opening at an independent garage was posted online. It was in a town 30 minutes from the sea, close to forest-covered hills and even a national park. The cost of living there seemed as reasonable as inflation would allow. Rey hadn't had much luck in her life, but she knew how to recognize a good opportunity when she saw one, and how to seize it. As soon as she got off work, she called the garage and sent her resume just for the sake of it. Her interest in the position must have been apparent, because the next day, the boss told her she was hired on a trial basis for the following month. One video tour of an apartment later, she had a lease to sign. And just as she was about to leave, the Speeder ad appeared as if by magic on Craigslist. It was as if, finally, the stars had aligned for her. After months of reflection and research, effort and saving, the heavens were giving her a chance to do better.
She knew she would have to go through a trial period at her new job, but she would never return to Jakku, even if she got fired. Her entire life was in her car. Her clothes were in shopping bags, along with three boxes of dishes and books, tools and trinkets, a mini oven, a kettle, and a duvet. Everything else, her furniture, her extra clothes, she had sold or given away before leaving. Her life fit into a trunk and a backseat.
She was afraid, but she was proud, excited too. She had no one to rely on, no family, no friends; but she was confident in her ability to adapt. At least, she tried to convince herself of that.
Her thoughts were interrupted when her phone vibrated in her pocket.
“Hello?”
“Miss Niima? I'm the real estate agent. I've just arrived.”
“Okay. I'm in the parking lot. Don't move. I'm coming.”
She grabbed her jacket and got out of the car. The air was cool, and the neighborhood was quiet.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Niima,” said a man waiting in front of the building.
He opened the door for her with a badge.
“After you. Second floor.”
She entered and headed for the elevator. The lobby had no graffiti, and the mailboxes were not damaged by crowbars. On her floor, the hallway led to four doors, including number 202, which the agent opened before entering. "Good! So, I told you in our email exchange that the place would need some repairs before you moved in, and everything was done on time. The paint is brand new! This is the bathroom, and this is the kitchen area... it needs to be fitted out, but the previous tenant left their refrigerator, so that's one less thing you have to worry about for now!
Rey looked around the apartment. It was simple, 398.2 square ft with closets that were too big for her few belongings, but it was perfect. Once the tour was over and the inventory signed, the agent handed her the keys and left Rey alone in her new home.
She smiled as she hadn't smiled in a long time. Deep down, at that moment, her decision to move seemed like the best she had ever made. She wondered why she had been afraid, why she had hesitated. In front of her, her empty apartment was just waiting to be filled, like a new chapter in her life.
It only took her a few trips back and forth to the car to unload all her belongings, and barely two hours to put everything away. For now, she had an air mattress and a duvet to sleep on, but it was only temporary.
At almost 8 p.m., she decided to look for something to eat, knowing there was a 7-Eleven around the corner. She walked for five minutes, found enough food to last her a few days on the shelves, and went home, blessing the previous tenant who had left her his refrigerator. After a meal and a quick shower, she fell asleep like a log.
Rey had the weekend ahead of her to explore her neighborhood before discovering her new workplace on Monday at 9 a.m. She did some shopping at Goodwill and ordered a well-deserved bed, which would arrive on Monday evening as a reward for her first day of work, along with some furniture. Her bank account would soon be empty, but strangely, she couldn't bring herself to worry about it. She knew how to tighten her belt when necessary. She had seen worse. For now, if what she bought made her happy, so be it.
At almost 8 p.m., she decided to look for something to eat, knowing there was a 7-Eleven around the corner. She walked for five minutes, found enough food to last her a few days on the shelves, and went home, blessing the previous tenant who had left her his refrigerator. After a meal and a quick shower, she fell asleep like a log.
Rey had the weekend ahead of her to explore her neighborhood before discovering her new workplace on Monday at 9 a.m. She did some shopping at Goodwill and ordered a well-deserved bed, which would arrive on Monday evening as a reward for her first day of work, along with some furniture. Her bank account would soon be empty, but strangely, she couldn't bring herself to worry about it. She knew how to tighten her belt when necessary. She had seen worse.
Yet, as she went to bed on Sunday night, her stomach was in knots. She felt the stress eating away at her. And the night was short.
She was so afraid of oversleeping that she arrived at the garage half an hour early. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing.
Everything was fine.
Everything was going to be fine.
It was just the novelty. Everyone wants to make a good impression in their new job, right?
She knew how to do her job.
“Good-for-nothing!”
Unkar didn't know a quarter of what she knew. She was good.
Everything was fine. Breathe...
Don't panic.
Don't pan—
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
She jumped in fright.
“Rey? Is that you? You're early!”
Behind the window, a man in his fifties with thick gray hair and a smirk on his face held out his hand to her. He seemed to be bursting with energy. She stepped out.
“Han. Han Solo. Welcome.”
“H-Hello!”
She shook his hand. He seemed very happy to see her.
“Relax, I don't bite,” he said, sensing her stress. “Come on, I'll show you around while we wait for the others to arrive!”
He opened the glass door to the customer entrance. The reception area was modest: a counter with a computer, a display stand for cleaning products, and three chairs with a coffee table hidden by Argus magazines, all surrounded by windows overlooking the workshop, except for the wall behind the counter. Han pushed open the “no public access” door that led to a break room with a table, chairs, a refrigerator, a microwave, and decorated with vintage posters of automobiles and car races.
"This is the dining room. The door on the left is for the men's changing rooms, and that's your changing room. To be honest, it's more of a storage room that we've converted so you have some space. Sorry, it's a bit cramped. But you have your own locker. And over there are the bathrooms.”
Her private locker room was small, but clean, with a large locker. She understood that the arrival of a woman in this very masculine environment was not easy to accommodate, and given how long it had taken her to get a private space to change when she was at Unkar's, she wasn't going to complain.
“It's perfect,” she said.
He showed her the rest of the garage and explained how things worked there. What she understood was that every hour was counted, although there was no time clock to record the minutes, and that the workshop only worked overtime when necessary, which was quite rare, and that this was always paid, of course. They returned half an hour later to have coffee in the break room, where a tall, bearded man had just arrived.
“Meet Chewie. Well, Charlie, but everyone calls him Chewie. He's my old friend and partner. We've been working together for 20 years.”
He was huge, at least six feet tall, broad, with a thick beard and thick hair tied back in a bun that young men would envy, even though he was at least 50 years old. Rey saw in him a calm strength, powerful but without animosity, given the smile he gave him as he shook his hand.
“Welcome! It'll be good to have an extra pair of hands here.”
“In addition to the two of us, there's Finn, who should already be here...”
“Hello, boss! Sorry I'm late!”
A young man had just entered, out of breath. He had handsome features, dark skin, well-groomed hair, and a clean-shaven beard. He took off his jacket and introduced himself spontaneously.
-Rey? Nice to meet you. I'm Finn!
-The resident latecomer, Han added. I'll let you take Mrs. Dowger's car. I have some paperwork to do with Rey. We'll have lunch together.
Rey and Han spent the morning dealing with a few administrative details; lunch was lively, and Rey realized that the small group was close-knit and friendly, sometimes teasing. In fact, Rey didn't understand this atmosphere, which was the opposite of the cold and individualistic one she had always known, where people ate in silence, sometimes in their own corner scrolling on their phones, where the shots were sharp, and where laughter was always at the expense of others.
She returned home happy, but almost perplexed. Perhaps it was just a facade? As if a caring environment could only be an illusion.
However, as the days passed, Rey adapted. It was so easy, so pleasant, to understand that not everyone wanted to harm her. Han and Chewie were very knowledgeable about their work. They were a wealth of information, from whom she was always learning, and who did not hesitate to help her patch up her speeder. And Finn, who was her age and lived for social contact, being the extrovert that he was, quickly became friends with her. Finn talked to her, he initiated conversation, and now it was customary to respond to his latest troubles, discoveries, or to validate the valid reasons for delays that he wanted to prepare for his defense in anticipation of the next time he would oversleep.
Finn was determined to integrate her into the social fabric of the neighborhood. Rey didn't say much about herself, but she had been thoroughly questioned. Finn knew that she had no parents, no family, and no one in the area. So Finn invited her to spend a Friday evening with some of his friends, Rose and Poe. Rose was a trainer at a local gym with a bubbly personnality, where she had met Finn, who was working out there. She had She had introduced him to Poe, a motorcycle enthusiast and former military man who had become a police officer, very easygoing, and and who talked a bit about mechanics with Rey. They had talked, played pool, and been kicked out of the bar at closing time by Maz, the lovely owner with a strong personality.
And so, after one evening, three beers, and two shots, she found herself on a Saturday morning in the apartment of Rose, whom she had met 12 hours earlier, lying on the couch with a slight headache, while Poe and Finn slept almost on top of each other, snoring in Rose's bed, who had slept near the bathroom after a few too many drinks.
Rey had been there for two months. They were probably the two best months she had ever experienced.