It was life and he couldn’t complain, another day another dollar. Redwood had just moved to this backwater area of the world and he wasn’t about to let the constriction get to him. His prior life, his better life had left him and he looked to this prospective journey with enthusiasm.
“Watch it pleb,” he felt a pair of arms shove him against the wall. This place was beginning to feel like home more and more. He looked up to see his assailant, two arms on her hips and the other two across her chest, braces gleaming against the overhead light and labored breath every few inhales.
	“Great, shoved by a…woman? There goes my man card,” he spoke with a haphazard nature and it seemed that his new acquaintance did not take to his humor all to well. “Listen, hey, it was a joke, holy shit, is everyone here as wound up as you? I’m new, just moved into-,” he started but a new face had entered the scene, an elderly man, probably a professor at the University. He carried himself with pride, straight back and a beard that professed experience and wisdom. At the very least it caused the wheezing female to stifle her labored breath and appear with the utmost of pristine posture.
	“Is there trouble here, padawans?” His voice was custodial but commanding. A mix that even Redwood could admire.
	“There is nothing wrong, I was showing this new student the faculties of the facility Obi-kun-, Professor Obi, my apologies,” The girl spoke with no wheezes, commanding each one to the stay to the end of her dialogue. Redwood enjoyed watching this train wreck. He had half a mind to lounge against the lockers but even he had enough consciousness to be subtler.
	“Grieve, you mustn’t allow differences to plague your mind and burn your bridges. You say this one is new; maybe it will be not only a new start for him but also a new start for you as well. Try and be kind.”
	“Be kind, rewind,” Redwood chimed in. If looks could kill, Grieve would have done him over a dozen times.
	“Yes, rewind. I have a class that I must make. Try to settle this without further mediation from the staff you two.” With a waving gesture he briskly walked away just as he had arrived. Grieve was panting at this point ready to pounce. Redwood had to be careful, if he said one wrong word, made one oblivious gesture she would attack him for sure. It was this moment that would define their encounter. He had to be smart. 	"	"Does someone have a crush on Obi-kun, eh, Grieve-tan?” All he felt was his back against the bent lockers and two of her four arms around his neck while the other two fumbled for her inhaler. “Worth it.” He squeezed out.
	“You. ME. Here. After classes.” She released and he coughed. The bell rang and the hall flooded. She left and he laughed. It was an interesting first twenty minutes of his new day at this University. So far it had be a memorable one. Now that he had an idea of where the building where the classes were being held he decided to visit a class he was told he could skip. He didn’t want to be behind in the new semester and any advantage he could get was a good one. Arriving in the class he realized that short of going introductions and a rubric, this class really could have been skipped. It was almost time to meet Grieve at the locker spot. The day was ending and he was tired, contemplation on missing the thing entirely crossed his mind.
	“You’re new here aren’t you boy?” A much more monotone voice than Obi’s came from the corridor. 									“Hats and ties aren’t standard dress code and that ‘shirt’ is revealing. I must ask you to consider a change in wardrobe my boy.” The man was slightly shorter than Obi, with more hair but a thinner body almost frail. Redwood reached for his gold and black tie instinctively and pulled his black field cap over his eyes.
	“You’re the dean then? Dean Palpatine?”
	“Perceptive but not that hard to deduce considering that my picture is on many of these walls. You’re a tall, strong boy are you not? You don’t want to intimidate any of the other students with your shameless display? Some of them are quite easily offended boy.” His emphasize on boy was beginning to become bothersome but Redwood knew enough of how people saw him to enter anything lengthy.
“I’ll buy more appropriate clothing then. If you’ll excuse me I have to go now.” Redwood tried to back away but he bumped into another. He turned to be looking down on Grieve.
	“Grieve be a dear and show this new student where the dormitories are. I know I had called you before for another matter but this seems much more pressing. Nothing is more unfortunate than an alien in a strange environment. I’ll leave you to it.” Palpatine walked off much less gracefully than Obi. Redwood felt something prod his back; his eyes glanced over his shoulder to see that Grieve was holding four kendo swords.
	“You like blades, I had a sword once, you kn-,” she shoved him again and there was a fair amount of distance between them. “Look I don’t know how you feel about fair fights but as far as I’m concerned, no matter how strong I am I doubt I’m ready for four swords. How about something we both can have equal footing at. Unless you need your swords to beat me?” Without hesitation she threw them all to the ground and walked into an unoccupied classroom.
	“We’ll do this in here, an arm wrestling match. When I win, you’re at my beck and call for the entire year.” She planted herself at a desk and dragged a chair to the other side.
	“And if on the off chance I somehow manage to topple you in a battle of strengths, you owe me a favor. I won’t tell you what it is, but you’ll just owe me something arbitrary. Deal?” Redwood sat opposite her and her wheezing seemed to become more controlled. “Don’t you want you take a hit on your inhaler?”
	“I don’t need my inhaler to beat you, dummy.” She wheezed out and placed her arm on the table and he clasped hers. She began immediately and Redwood felt the faintest of resistance in his arm. She was definitely strong but he wasn’t going to let her win either. She began to labor her breath even further and used a second arm then a third. Her fourth grabbed the table and she was struggling all too much. She would burn out before this was over. To the same effect Redwood had started to get her arm to budge but she was resilient to letting it go all the way. Her breathing was shallow with each exhale. He had to end this before she passed out.