It's the year 2002, and middle school is weird.

I used to be Luke Skywalker. Then, I turned hairy. My arms grew down to my kneecaps. My voice got low and scratchy. Now I'm Chewbacca . . . well, almost. I'm still short, and I still have a baby tooth. Kat changed too.

Kat Nguyen was my best friend and girlfriend. Kat loved Star Wars and football. She never cried when she got tackled. Not one tear! Then she grew tall and pretty. I stayed short and ugly. Now, she's kissing Josh Fowler in front of the sci-fi books.

Do they have to kiss in front of the only books that aren't boring?

"Excuse me," I say.

Kat and Josh don't move. As I reach for my book, my knee hits the back of Kat's head.

"Ouch!" Kat stops and rubs her head. Josh's eyes are still closed. His lips are shiny with spit.

"What book are you looking for, Mateo?" Kat asks.

I point to the top shelf.

Josh laughs like a villain. "What's wrong, Yoda? Are you too short to reach?"

"Judge me by my size, do you?" I say quietly. "The stupid is strong with this one."

Kat laughs so hard she snorts and chokes on her breath.

"You sound like a donkey," Josh complains.

Kat covers her mouth. Kat never had to hide her laugh when she was dating me.

She hands me Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

"Did you see the new movie, Attack of the Clones?" she asks.

"I did," I reply. "The romance was a little weird."

"No way! It was so sweet!" She tucks her shiny black hair behind her ear. "Plus, Anakin is so hot."

"I'm still here," Josh complains.

I ignore him. "You think Darth Vader is hot?" 

Kat rolls her eyes. "He's not Darth Vader yet. He's Anakin."

Mrs. Reed appears behind Josh and Kat. She snaps her fingers. "You only have ten minutes to check out a book. Go! Go! Go!"

You know Jabba the Hutt from Return of the Jedi? He's the one that looks like a giant booger. Mrs. Reed doesn't look like a booger, but she does kinda look like Jabba the Hutt.

Mrs. Reed frowns at my book. "Star Wars again, Mateo? Why don't you pick something more educational?" 

Because then I would never read, I almost say, but I don't.

Mrs. Reed walks away. Josh kisses Kat's ear and whispers, "Ten minutes is enough time for another kiss."

Kat holds her ear and laughs like a little girl. I've never heard her sound like that. Middle school really is weird.

I take my book to the librarian to check out. The librarian's name is Mr. Y. He told us to call him Mr. Y because his last name is hard to say. I think the "Y" stands for Mr. Yoda because he is probably the oldest man I've ever seen.

Mr. Y points to the stack of books beside him. "Wait a minute. I have to get these books checked in."

There's like a hundred books in that pile!

Mr. Y takes a book from the top of the stack. He flips through the pages with shaky hands. Slowly, he unfolds each dog-eared page.

This is going to take forever! I only have one book. Just check out my book! I almost say aloud.

My best friend Diego gets in line behind me. He looks over my shoulder. "You like Star Wars?"

"Yeah . . . what's wrong with that?" I ask.

He shrugs. "It was weird how Luke Skywalker fell in love with his sister."

My voice is loud. "Luke did NOT fall in love with his sister! Did you even watch the movies?!"

Diego holds his hands up. "Calm down! I only watched the first one!"

I take a deep breath.

Diego grins. "I like this side of you, Mateo. You're usually a doormat."

"A doormat?" 

Diego nods. "You let people step on you. Like when you let Josh steal Kat."

"I didn't let Josh steal Kat. She dumped me." My voice isn't loud anymore. I don't like the way it sounds.

"You should try to win her back." Diego stops and thinks. "Be like Han Solo. He's cool, right?"

"Kat doesn't like Han. She thinks he's a jerk." 

"Really?" Diego scratches his head. "Then why is she dating Josh?"

"I don't know." I throw my arms out.

Finally, Mr. Y reaches for my book. "Thank you for waiting," he says.

"Maybe you can be like another Star Wars character, then?" Diego continues.

"What's wrong with being me?" I ask.

"I don't know," he shrugs. "Ask Kat. She's the one who dumped you."

Ouch.

Mrs. Reed claps her hands together. "Times up! Line up class!" 

Diego rushes to the front of the line. I follow him. Mr. Y calls out to me, "Don't forget your book!" 

"Oops! Sorry!" I return to take the Star Wars book from his wrinkly hand.

There's a small book tucked under my Star Wars book. It's titled, 5 Steps to Win Her Heart. The pages are brown and yellow and ripped. There's stick figures of a boy and girl on the cover. A big red heart glows between them. 

I give Mr. Y the book. He pushes it away.

"I didn't check out this book," I say.

"I know," Mr. Y replies.

I stare at him. "So, can I give it back?"

"Do you want to give it back?" 

"Um . . . yes?" 

He stares at me. "Are you sure?"

Is this a trick question? I almost ask.

"I think you could learn something from that book."

I sigh and put the book under my arm. "I guess I'll give it a try . . ."

"Do or don't do. There is no try," Mr. Y says in a Yoda voice. 

Mr. Y knows Star Wars! I'm so surprised I almost don't hear Mrs. Reed calling me.

"Mateo! Let's go!" she yells.

On the way to class, I skim through Mr. Y's book. I smile to myself.

Middle school is weird, but maybe that's a good thing.

The school bus drops me off a few blocks from my house. Mom wishes the bus would drop me off closer. I don't. I like walking with Trey.

Treyvone Evans is my other best friend. He's taller than most of the seventh graders. He's good at sports. He could be one of the cool kids, but he talks about Star Wars too much. 

A few days ago, I was sleeping over at Trey's house. Trey made an X-Wing Fighter out of cardboard. He tied the cardboard to his back and said he would fly.

"The Force is with me!" he'd said.

I remember shaking my head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

In a Darth Vader voice, he'd replied, "I find your lack of faith disturbing." Then, he'd jumped off the roof.

The Force had not been with Trey.

"Pew! Pew! Pew!" I hear laser sounds. An acorn flies into my face, just missing my eyeball.

"Ouch! Ouch! Stop!" I yell as more and more acorns strike me.

"Then stop daydreaming and get up here!" Trey waves at me from inside the Galactic Oak.

The Galactic Oak is an old deer hunting fort. Trey, Kat, and I found it in the fourth grade. We fixed the holes in the floor where long tree branches broke through. We painted a plastic tarp to look like R2-D2. Then, we nailed the tarp to the roof so rain wouldn't get in.

The tarp was Kat's idea. 

I climb into the Galactic Oak. "I thought you were still in the hospital?"

"The doctor let me leave early," Trey replies.

"How's your leg?" 

Trey puts his foot in my face. "Look! I got a cool cast! It's neon blue like Luke's lightsaber." 

I scoot away from his foot. "How did you get up here?"

"I used the Force!" he says proudly.

I stare at him. "Did your sister help you?" 

"I told you! I used the Force!" Trey points to my backpack. "Is my homework in there?"

I pull out Trey's math book and homework packets. Mr. Y's book slides in front of Trey.

"What's this?" he asks.

"Nothing!" I say quickly.

"Wow! This book was written in 1955!" Trey flips through the pages. "This is hilarious. Listen to this."

I reach for the book. Trey holds it over his head.

"Give it back! I need that!" 

"Why? Are you trying to win Kat's heart?" He says it like he's joking. 

My face gets hot. My ears feel like they're on fire. "So what if I am?" 

Trey freezes. I grab the book, throw it in my backpack, and zip it up.

"Are you serious?" he asks.

I hug my backpack close to my chest. "Maybe . . ." 

Trey opens his mouth to say something. He stops himself.

"You don't think I can, do you?" I ask. "You think I'm a doormat."

"Nooo . . ." Trey makes the "O" sound for too long.

"I'm going home." I go down the first step of the ladder.

"Wait," Trey pulls me back up by my backpack.

I punch Trey in the arm. "Let me go!"

We battle in the Galactic Oak. I pin Trey by the arms, but he pushes me off easily. Then he pulls me by my leg like the Wampa pulls Luke through the snow. 

I can't lose to a guy with a broken leg!

I grab Trey's math book and throw it at his cast. Trey moves just in time.

"Are you crazy?!" he yells.

"You wouldn't let me leave!" I yell back.

"I stopped you because I think you should win Kat back," he says.

I stare at him. "Are you lying?"

"Of course not!" He shakes his head. "I think you're way better for Kat than Darth Josh." 

"Darth Josh?"

"Josh is definitely part of the Dark Side." 

I nod.

Trey points to my backpack. "Show me the first step in that book."

I take out the book and flip to the first page. I read the first step out loud: "Step One. Take good care of your body. Comb your hair, and keep your clothes neat and clean. No girl likes a wrinkly Todd!"

"What's a Todd?" Trey asks.

"I think it's another word for boy," I reply.

Trey looks at me. His eyes go up and down. "I think you already do this part." 

"Okay, let's go to the next step." I turn the page.

Trey turns it back. "Kat dumped you even though you do the first step," he says.

I roll my eyes. "I know that. Let's move on." I turn the page.

Trey turns it back again. "You need to do more." He points to my shirt. "Change your look. Dress like someone Kat likes."

I remember what Kat said in the library. "She likes Anakin."

Trey snaps his fingers. "That's it! Make yourself look like Anakin!"

"How?" I ask. "I don't look anything like him."

Trey taps his chin. "Your dad has a cool leather belt you could borrow."

"I . . . don't think that's enough."

Trey looks at the white stars painted on the ceiling and thinks and thinks for a long time. Then he smiles. I don't like the way he smiles.

Trey points to my hair.

I shake my head. "No."

Trey wiggles his finger. "You want to date Kat again, don't you?"

I shake my head some more. "My mom will kill me!"

"Get your butt down here, Treyvone William Evans!" Mrs. Evans calls out.

Trey shrinks down like he just saw Darth Vader. "I better go!" He grabs his books and homework packets. Before he hobbles down the stairs, he points to his hair.

"No," I repeat.

He smiles. "Think about it."

"Be careful with that foot!" Mrs. Evans holds her arms out in case Trey falls. He finds the ground safely.

"How did you even get up there?" Mrs. Evans asks. "Was it Raquelle? Did your sister help you?"

"Yes . . ." Trey says quietly, but I still hear him.

I knew it. I knew his sister helped him.

Mrs. Evans sees me in the Galactic Oak. She calls out, "Mateo, hurry home before it gets dark!" 

"Yes, Mrs. Evans," I reply.

The red sun and the white streetlight shine on my bedroom window. The sky is pink and purple like on planet Tatooine before Luke's life changed forever.

I think about what Trey said. I think about what Mr. Y said. I think about what Diego said. I think about Kat.

Maybe I should change my look.