A/N: Finally, Chapter Nine is up! I'm in the middle of exam week at school, so I don't get that much time to write. But now I have time, math is finished! Whoopee:D

Maya had all her presents ready by December 23. What was even better was that her friends had taken her lead and also wrapped presents. (The only reason Maya knew this was because she had been looking through all the presents, searching for ones for her. Unfortunately for Maya, she had been caught.) But she had found some for her and couldn't wait for Christmas. Everyone had seemed to accept the idea of Christmas, and not only did they accept it, they thought it was a great idea. Maya had become well known throughout the Temple for bringing the strange holiday, and everyone wondered where in the universe she was from. Maya had a Christmas carol stuck in her head and she just had to sing it…

"I heard the bells on Christmas day,

Their old familiar carols play

And mild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on Earth, good will to men.'

"Till ringing, singing on its way,

The world revolves from night to day,

A voice, a chime

A chant sublime

Of peace on Earth good will to men."

Maya had a pretty voice and she sang Chri9stmas carols often, the foreign music was interesting to the Jedi. "Wait… what was that last line again?" Anakin had been walking with her from lunch.

"It was just 'Of peace on Earth good will to men.' Wh—", Maya paused, "PEACE ON EARTH! That's it, that's it, that's it! You're a genius!" Maya raced to the Archive databases and was going to look up Planet Earth.

"But, if your planet's name is Earth, what's Tennessee?"

"Oh, you got a point there. Hmm… I think Earth is the planet, and Tennessee is… a state!"

"What's a state?"

"You don't have states? Uh oh." She had been searching through the records for anything and everything related to Earth. "Great. All they say Earth is is a bunch of dirt. It's not even a proper noun."

"I'm sorry, Maya, I mean, I know your planet exists out there, it's just so far away no one here knows about it except you. But I know we'll find it, I can feel it. Someday we will, I promise."

"Really?"

"Really."

¤

Maya told Adi about Earth and how they looked for it, but didn't find anything. "Oh, Maya that must've been a real disappointment. We'll never stop looking for it, and always write down what you remember in your diary and write it in your own alphabet. I want you never to forget where you came from, Maya, because someday you can go back and bring news of our galaxy to your planet. You, being knowledgeable of both worlds, can easily make alliances and negotiate. So there is more than one benefit to finding Earth, young one, and the Council is trying to help you."

"Well, then maybe it won't take very long!"

"You never know how long something like this will take. But hopefully, soon."

Two days later, Maya woke up to realize it was Christmas. "Christmas! Wahoo!" She did a backflip out the door. She banged on Anakin's door. Wake up! It's Christmas!"

"I'm up, I'm up!" He yawned and followed Maya to go find his presents. There sure were a lot of presents, there were a lot of Jedi currently residing at the Temple, and everyone wanted to give his or her friends and master/apprentice a gift.

"It's a present mountain! Awesome!" Maya read every name, trying to find her own. "Be careful with those presents! Some stuff might be breakable!"

"Hey, I found one from you! Thanks!"

"You'll really like it." Maya had found this really rare part that Anakin needed for his new invention: a holo-pad that instead of just blue, he could make the hologram red, blue, or green. The colors should be interchangeable, but Maya found the little gear that's supposed to make it be able to change colors by a switch. She'd done her research and had finally found the gear. She saw him tear open the wrapping.

"It's the gear! And I was almost ready to give up! How did you ever find it? Thanks so much, Maya!" Maya was opening a present from Master Gallia. It was a blank diary.

"Yes! I'm running out of room in my old invention book!"

"You still write on paper?"

"Yea, it's what I'm used to. And I can write in my own alphabet so I won't forget."

"Oh, that makes sense." By this time a lot of others had come to open their presents, and it got to be pretty hectic with all the people. Barely anyone could actually get to his or her present.

"Ok, I got an idea. Everybody freeze!" The Jedi stopped. "Here, this'll make it a lot easier. We can get a couple people and hand out presents one by one. Maya's plan was initiated, and progress went very quickly.

All that was left after the present frenzy was piles of wrapping paper. As they were picking it up, Maya found a small box behind the trunk of the tree. "I guess it got pushed there." She picked it up and found it was for her. "Sweet! One last present!" It was from Anakin. Maya opened it and found a wooden pendant, carved with the same symbol she had used on her lightsaber. She had warmed and softened the metal she was going to use, and carved a small circle with four lines extending outward. It was pretty simple, but Maya guessed Anakin had paid attention when she had shown him her lightsaber. It was supposed to symbolize light, always reaching outward and never-ending like a circle. But then again, Maya didn't have the greatest artistic vision.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it." She hugged him. "I can't believe you carved my symbol. You are very observant."

"Thanks."

¤

Maya's first Christmas without her family wasn't all that bad, but she had felt a little homesick. She just wished she could see them just for Christmas: her dad, her mom, Sara, Ricky, and David. David was her only younger sibling and he had been annoying, but now she missed him. She hoped her family still had a nice Christmas without her.

A/N: Now you all know why I put this: ¤ on the story! I made that up just for this chapter (and so I can have an excuse to use it because it looks neat.) It'll mean a lot more later, though.