Chapter 7—A Lesson

The room was filled with sunlight. Peter was snoozing by the window; Wendy sat up in bed, her ears strained to hear signs of footsteps in the hallway. There were none. Silence was all there was.

Wendy strained her eye out the window for a sign of the Darlings' Burmese Mountain dog, Nana, but saw no sign of her either.

Wendy woke Peter.

He rubbed his eyes and stood up, his hands on his hips.

"What shall the day bring Wendy?" he asked immediately.

Wendy pressed her lips together in worry, not answering.

Peter was concerned. Tinkerbell flew to his side.

"What's wrong with Wendy?" he asked softly when Wendy had turned.

Tinkerbell jangled on about nothing, making up a sickness or a reason for Wendy's moodiness.

"The house is quiet," said Wendy.

Peter strained his ears. Indeed it was quiet. But he didn't see the significance in all this.

"So, what if it is quiet? Shall I make a commotion?" asked Peter hopefully.

Wendy shushed him. Something was not right.

"The boys are bound to be up by now, and they always make a big deal on school days."

For it was a Monday and Wendy should, at this very moment, be getting ready for school. Instead she was worrying as to the whereabouts of her family.

Tinkerbell zipped around the room, mesmerized by the lights on the ceiling. She preened herself in front of Wendy's vanity, much as a full-grown parrot might.

"Stay here," said Wendy softly.

Her bare feet padded against the cold hardwood in the hall. A car drove by in the street.

Her brother's rooms were empty as was her parents'. The kitchen was vacant, though the kettle was on and a pot of coffee was brewing.

Wendy made herself a cup of tea and returned to her room. She kicked Peter to the hall while she changed for school, all the while worrying where her family was.

Then came a knocking on the door that made her jump. Through the slightly distorted door was the outline of a tall person. Thin and hooked nosed, with a long jacket and short arms. Wendy held her breath and swung the door ajar.

They toppled over.

Michael, who had been standing on John's shoulders, fell right on Wendy, knocking her to the ground. They lay on the ground laughing. Wendy picked herself up.

"Worried, I presume?" asked Mr Darling from the doorway.

"I was not," lied Wendy huffily. "Not one bit. I didn't notice you were gone."

Mrs Darling smiled. "Don't worry about lying Wendy. We didn't know where you were yesterday either. Please, don't take off like that again on us. It scared me half to my grave."

Wendy rolled her eyes and stormed to her room. "I'm going to school!" she shouted behind her. Seconds later she had shouldered her backpack and was out the door.

Stupid parents, thinking they know what I was up to. Worried them, did I? Scared her 'half to her grave', did I?

"Hello! Where are we going?"

Wendy jumped.

Peter, with Tinkerbell at his shoulder, was beside her.

Wendy glared. "I'm going to school. I don't know what you are doing. Maybe you should just find your way home. Go back to where you came from."

Later...

"Therefore the square root of twenty-seven is..."

Wendy was very tired. Beside her sat Katherine, sighing loudly and shooting anxious glances from Wendy to the clock. When the bell rang she stuffed her books into her bag and jumped to her feet.

"Where's your cousin today?" she asked, a little too enthusiastically.

"My...oh, yes, Peter, he's gone home," said Wendy, not making eye contact.

Katherine's face fell. "Oh," she said with a sigh. "That's too bad."

Donavan ran into them. "See you at lunch?" he asked.

Wendy shrugged. Katherine shrugged. Donavan was confused.

"Is he ever going to come back and visit again?" asked Katherine hopefully as Wendy twirled her lock.

"I'm not sure," Wendy yanked the door open. "I didn't think to ask."

"Does he have an email address?"

Wendy dumped her math books in the bottom. "No, they don't have computers in Missouri."

Katherine looked sceptical. "All of Missouri. No one has a computer?"

Wendy slammed the door shut. "Hell, I don't know. None with Internet, OK?"

Katherine looked taken aback. "Well, see you at lunch then I suppose."

Wendy didn't answer.

Later...

The halls were crowded as Wendy fought her way to the school doors. Beside her was Katherine along with Abby, Gale and Isabella. They chattered happily, Katherine forgetting Wendy's small fit after math class and headed for a nearby shopping district.

Something sparked at the corner of Wendy's eye.

She turned her head quickly. She saw nothing.

Suddenly, it was there again. This time she dare not turn. She kept facing straight ahead.

He left, she told herself, he went back to wherever the hell he came from.

But he hadn't. He was standing right there in front of her. Katherine stopped walking.

"I thought you said he went home," she said scornfully.

So, she wasn't imagining it. Katherine saw him too. He was real. He was here. He hadn't left.

"God damn it," muttered Wendy under her breath so that no one could hear her.

She put on a smile and pretended to be surprised. "Peter! What are you doing here?"

Peter, though slightly shocked by such a warm welcome after being banished home, grinned and walked towards them. "I can't get home until night time. Second star to the right and straight on till morning!" he exclaimed, causing several people to stare.

Wendy grabbed his arm, which had flown up to gesture openly at the sky.

She laughed nervously, still aware that her friends were surrounding her. "That's nice. Sorry I...forgot."

"Oh, it's no problem," said Peter indifferently.

They began walking again, Katherine shoving her way to stand beside Peter.

"So," she began in a loud, overly cheery voice. "Do you have email, Peter?"

Peter shook his head. "Nope, I don't know what it is."

Katherine looked stunned. The others kept walking.

Katherine didn't ask anything more. They turned onto a street, which was filled with one-of-a-kind boutiques and pretty cafes.

Abby and Gale looked hungry. "I want a pastry," said one of them.

"I want a hot coffee," said the other.

So they all stopped. Wendy got Peter a bottle of water, afraid to trust him with anything porcelain, with caffeine, or with sugar, and got herself a fancy soda.

Dear God, she prayed, please keep Tinkerbell hidden.

End Chapter

So, will Peter go home? Will Wendy go with him? If she doesn't, will someone else? READ TO FIND OUT! MUAH HAHAHAH!

Shoutouts:

C.M. Higgins—who doesn't believe in newsies? Whoever it is should die!

Eagle Higgins-Conlon

BendyStraw—I have a party to go to this weekend. That's right between me not being a 'square' (long story) and me going running. With my mom.

Damn, I'm boring.

Interesting—I will finish. If I doin't get any reviews, then I stop writing. I won't have that problem though. I hope.

Erin Go Bragh—ah yes, the 'joys' of school. How they ruin our life and long reviews.

Lizzie Presscott—the whole point of this is will time effect Wendy's decision. She may not even go to Neverland, and if he does go back, will he take her, or someone else?

Plus, the kiss may not go to Peter, but another character...

Tallemera Rane—thanks for those words. I may take you up on the beta thing still, I'll see. Thank you for giving me that option. There's only so much spell check can do!