Seeing that she needed time to think through everything, I suggested that we help my mom prepare the sleeping arrangements.
Padmé looked at me for a moment longer before letting out a heavy sigh.
“Alright.
But this conversation isn’t over yet.”
As we were putting fresh sheets on my bed, Padmé asked Shmi for an extra blanket.
She then rolled it into a long bolster and placed it down the middle of the bed, clearly separating our sides.
Apparently, knowing how intelligent and aware of the situation I was, she decided to place several more pillows between us, just to be safe.
Watching her obvious caution, I sighed inwardly.
I could have pretended to be a sweet, innocent child, but now my dreams had been shattered.
Devastated by the situation, I grabbed my blanket and lay down on my side of the bed, next to the window.
As I lay there, staring at the ceiling and listening to Padmé’s breathing gradually become steadier as she slowly drifted off to sleep, I began complaining to myself.
She doesn’t even let me look.
Sigh…
never mind.
There will be more opportunities when I grow up.
Everything had gone exactly as I had planned.
Qui-Gon Jinn was becoming increasingly interested in me, and the bet had practically been settled.
All that remained was meeting with Watto and finalizing the details.
I could hardly wait for the race that would take place tomorrow.
Between the excitement of everything that awaited me the next day and Padmé, who kept making little noises as though she couldn’t get comfortable in my rather inconvenient bed and constantly shifted around, I couldn’t fall asleep.
When I noticed that the noises had stopped, I quietly slipped out of bed and walked over to my hiding place where I kept my equipment.
I took out the communicator I had asked Vardis for and checked whether he had sent me any messages.
There was only one.
“I’ve acquired the directional interstellar communicator you asked for.
Everything is ready for tomorrow.
Do you need anything else before you leave?”
I smiled inwardly.
I had managed to find my first truly trustworthy ally in this new galaxy.
Despite the excessive requests I had made over the past few days, he had never once asked me to reimburse him.
It clearly showed that he wanted to establish a long-term partnership that would benefit both of us.
I still didn’t know whether we could already be called friends.
Perhaps only once I was older.
Every adult, no matter how intelligent a child may be, treats them with a certain degree of superiority, even if they do so completely unconsciously.
Since everything was already in motion, I could finally go to sleep peacefully.
Just as I was about to put the communicator back into its hiding place, I nearly had a heart attack.
My head snapped backward like a whip, and I felt a sharp twinge in my spine.
I looked up and saw Padmé staring curiously at whatever I was hiding beneath the floor.
“What are you secretly plotting in the middle of the night?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips.
My secrecy had clearly made her suspicious.
For several seconds, I was completely speechless.
I had thought she was already asleep, but apparently I had been very wrong, and now I somehow had to talk my way out of this.
“I was messaging a friend about tomorrow’s race.
If we want everything to go according to plan, a few things need to be prepared.”
“What things?
And why are you hiding a communicator under the floor?”
Clearly, my incomplete answer hadn’t satisfied her.
I sighed.
“It’s a habit.
Slaves aren’t supposed to own devices like this, so I instinctively hide it beneath the floor.”
I knew that bringing up the fact that I was a slave would lessen her suspicions.
I just had to be careful not to overdo it.
“So who were you talking to?” she asked, her voice noticeably less suspicious.
“A friend I met when I helped him with a certain device on the moisture farms.”
“He owes me a favor, and tomorrow he might be able to help us.”
“He’s a businessman, so he can support us with resources to a certain extent.”
“Honestly, Anakin, you never stop surprising me.
First, you’re a genius mechanic.
Then you show incredible emotional and situational intelligence.
And now you’re telling me you have connections with wealthy businessmen.”
I shrugged.
“Well…
I’m just very special,” I replied with a wide, confident smile.
Padmé barely managed to hold back her laughter.
My answer had clearly caught her completely off guard.
Since it was already late, I wished her good night and crawled back onto my side of the bed.
For several seconds, I listened carefully to make sure she was lying down as well.
When I heard the rustle of fabric, I let out a sigh of relief.
Apparently, in her eyes, I had become at least somewhat trustworthy, and she had accepted my explanation as the truth, at least for the most part.
Hearing her breathing become calm once again, I slowly closed my eyes and peacefully drifted off to sleep.
When I woke up after the sandstorm that we had been forced to wait out, I immediately felt that it was somehow difficult to breathe.
When I opened my eyes, I noticed that someone was lying right next to me.
My eyelid started twitching.
First, you divided the bed into two halves.
Then you nearly gave me a heart attack while I was quietly conspiring.
And now you tossed and turned so much during those few hours of sleep that you’re literally lying on my side of the bed, hugging me like a teddy bear.
Like some anime protagonist, I should lose my mind and start screaming like a little girl.
But I endured it bravely and decided not to move.
Who said I was going to complain about such a fortunate twist of fate?
As I lay there peacefully, thinking about life while being hugged by Padmé, I noticed that the head resting beside me fluttered its eyelids slightly before her eyes opened wide.
For several seconds, she seemed to process what she was seeing, as if trying to determine whether it was reality or just another dream.
Then she jumped backward, nearly falling off the bed.
I sighed inwardly at the oversensitivity of modern women.
Keeping a perfectly serious expression, I smiled and greeted her.
“Did you sleep well?”
I noticed that for several seconds she considered punching my smiling face.
But, being the older and more responsible person, she decided to restrain herself.
“Other than the way I woke up, quite well,” she replied, sounding somewhat embarrassed.
She quickly realized that I was just a child and that it really wasn’t that big of a deal.
Padmé calmed down and pretended that nothing had happened, so we headed off for a quick meal before I continued my work for the day.
Since a sandstorm had arrived and a day on Tatooine lasted thirty-four hours, we had two sleep periods today.
When we sat down at the table, I noticed that Qui-Gon Jinn didn’t seem particularly happy with his sleeping companion.
Not only did he have noticeable dark circles under his eyes, but he also kept glancing at Jar Jar as if he were genuinely tempted to strangle the alien.
Jar Jar, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.
He was practically glowing, looking as though he had slept exceptionally well.
After our little incident, Padmé was clearly avoiding looking in my direction, as if she were trying to forget everything that had happened.
Unfortunately, it only made her behavior seem even more suspicious.
My mother also kept giving me suspicious looks.
As for me, I maintained the most innocent expression I could manage.
After all, none of it had been my fault.
If anything, I was the victim here.
After that rather pleasant meal, during which the atmosphere was so tense it could have been cut with a knife, we gathered our things and headed toward Watto’s workshop.
First, I was supposed to inform him of their intentions.
They would arrive a little later to show that they genuinely wanted to make the bet.
Finally, I gave them the location of my podracer so they would have proof that they actually had one.
When I reached the shop, I was surprised to find it already open and ready to receive customers.
Apparently, Watto had sensed an opportunity to make more money because of the approaching Boonta Eve and had decided to keep the shop open as long as possible.
As I walked through the door, I noticed him already standing behind the counter.
I approached him and began explaining the version of events he was supposed to hear.
With every word I spoke, I noticed a wider smile spreading across his face.
When I finished explaining the entire situation, Watto burst into laughter and couldn’t calm himself down for quite a while.
“So they really want you to race their podracer?”
“Yes, Master Watto.”
He shook his head, thoroughly amused.
“Alright.
I’ll talk to them when they arrive.
You go and start repairing things for now.
The customers brought in several new parts, and thanks to your improved efficiency, we’re earning a few more peggats than usual.”
As I waited for them to arrive, time seemed to drag on forever.
I pretended to be repairing something, but in reality I was only waiting for the Jedi to appear.
Soon I heard the familiar bell again, and knowing what was about to happen, I walked to the front of the shop so I could listen to that unforgettable negotiation.
Watto, unusually eager to make the bet, floated forward with uncontrollable enthusiasm.
“The boy says you want to sponsor him in tomorrow’s race.
You can’t afford the parts.
How do you intend to do that?
Not with Republic credits, huh?”
QUI-GON: “My ship will be the entry fee.”
WATTO: “Hmm…
not bad…
A Nubian.
It’s in good condition, except for the parts I need.
But what is the boy supposed to race?
He crashed my pod in the last race.
It’ll take a long time to repair.”
“I have a pod.
I won it in a game of chance.
It’s the fastest one ever built.”
“I hope you didn’t kill anyone I know.
So, you provide the pod and the entry fee, I provide the boy.
We split the winnings fifty-fifty, eh?”
“Fifty-fifty?!
If it’s going to be fifty-fifty, then you pay the entry fee.
If we win, you’ll keep the entire prize money, minus the cost of the parts I need.
And if we lose…
you get the ship.”
WATTO: (thinks)
“Either way, you win.
Deal!”
Qui-Gon Jinn left as quickly as he had arrived.
The moment he was out of earshot, Watto turned toward me and burst into laughter once again.
“You really have exceptionally reckless friends.”
I couldn’t suppress my own smile either.
After seeing how smoothly everything had gone, I began wondering why, despite all the small changes I had made since my reincarnation, events were still unfolding almost exactly the same as they had in the original story.
I finished my work and quickly headed home.
While I had been away, they had apparently flown over in the podracer and parked it in front of our house.
I grabbed my tools and got to work on the final adjustments before tomorrow’s race.
Not long after I started working, several of Anakin’s old friends came by.
Since they were just ordinary children my age, we didn’t really have much to talk about.
After making a few sarcastic remarks about my podracer, they quickly left to play some games.
After that, everything happened just like it did in the movie.
Jar Jar, as usual, had to get his face stuck and nearly lose a hand.
Once the podracer was finally ready for tomorrow’s race, I shut it down and headed back toward the house.
Pretending that he wanted to examine me, Qui-Gon Jinn took a sample of my blood to check my midi-chlorian count.
After dinner, everyone went to bed so we could get a good night’s rest before tomorrow’s race.
When we lay down, Padmé increased the height of our pillow barrier even more, just to be safe.
I don’t know whether I should complain, but when I woke up the next morning, I was completely alone on my side of the bed.
…..
[such a more calm chapter before the race, although chag gbt considered it unworthy of norms and blocked the translation but ok
gime stones<;