A few months after Christmas, in February

"Y'know, Master, it's my birthday soon. I'll be thirteen."

"Oh really? When is it?"

"March 4th."

"March 4th?"

"Oh yea, you don't know the Earth calendar system. I'd say it's around a month and a week from now in your time."

"Oh, well, actually I was struck by the perfect present idea."

"Really?"

"Yes, but it's a surprise. You'll have to wait."

"Dangit."

Adi had a Council meeting, but she caught Obi-Wan and Anakin in the hall on her way back. "Maya just told me it was her birthday soon this morning! I have a great present idea but I'm going to need your help."

"Sure. What's your idea?"

"Her very own swoop bike that she can paint herself. She always comes up with such neat designs, so I thought we should let her paint it."

Anakin was pretty excited. "Cool! She'd love it!"

"I already asked at the meeting if we could give her one that we have, and everyone thought she deserved it. So that's taken care of. But where should we hide it?"

"I can hide it in my closet." Anakin volunteered.

"No, you have too much junk in there." Obi-Wan stated. "We can hide it in my closet."

"It's not junk! They're inventions in progress!"

"Ok, but a swoop bike can't fit in with all those inventions in progress. You can do the gift tag and bring it out on her birthday."

"Fine."

"Well, now that we have that settled, we should actually get the swoop bike!"

"Oh yea. Sorry about that, Adi." They proceeded to the hangar and found one that worked really well but needed a paint job.

"This is great! Let's go hide it." Anakin made sure he knew where Maya was so she wouldn't see them hiding a swoop bike and ask why. "All clear! She just went outside." Hurriedly, they stuck the bike in Obi-Wan's closet.

"Now we just have to wait."

¤

Maya was sitting ouside in the garden trying to play more songs on her flute. She was playing "Yankee Doodle" when Anakin came over and asked her what song she was playing. "It's called 'Yankee Doodle'. It has a lot of history to it in the lyrics:

"Yankee Doodle went to town,

Riding on a pony,

Stuck a feather in his hat,

And called it macaroni.

Yankee Doodle, keep it up,

Yankee Doodle, dandy,

Mind the music and the step,

And with the girls be handy."

"I don't get it! What's macaroni? What's a Yankee?"

"Ok, slow down. Ready for some American history?"

"American?"

"My country! Yesss! Thank you, Ani!"

"Yea, but what's a country?" Maya thought for a moment.

"Truthfully, I forgot. I think it's like a section of Earth or something like that. Anyway, for starters, America wasn't originally an official country. It was just a bunch of colonies.

Britain was a country that the colonists came from, and soon the colonists wanted freedom from the rule of the British monarchy and wanted to make their own country. So they rebelled against Britain. The British army made up the song to mock the American rebels, the Yankees. But the Yankees actually liked the song and sang it a lot. They thought it was funny."

"Eventually who won?"

"The Americans did, of course, and they founded our country. I probably have at least some of this history wrong, but all that studying at school made me remember most of it."

"So you're saying your country was founded by a bunch of rebels?" Anakin was for some reason secretly bewildered and appalled at this, but he didn't say anything.

"Yea, pretty much. But this was like, a long time ago, so it wouldn't matter anyway."

¤

March 4th

Today I turned thirteen! Anakin made a chocolate cake, but I think he burnt it. I ate it anyway. The best part was I GOT MY VERY OWN SWOOP BIKE! It was Master Gallia's idea, and I got to paint it and everything! I painted some of it with red and white stripes and some of it I painted blue with white stars. They asked me why and I said I was being patriotic. They still didn't get it.

I can't believe I've spent a little more than half a year here at the Temple. I've adjusted really well and I quite like it here. But I bet everyone at home misses me. I wonder what they're doing right now. They've probably given up looking for me. They would never think to look in another galaxy even if they could get to one. I bet they would never believe me if I came back and told them I was a Jedi. Maybe David would, but he's so gullible anyway. I hope I can go home someday. Well, I'd still want to be a Jedi, but I could just go home to visit when I don't have a mission. I wonder what they would think of my master, or of Anakin? Maybe I'll never find Earth and I'll just spend my whole life here. I bet Mom and Dad would be really sad if they never found me. But I believe there will, always and forever, be hope.

The End

To Be Continued

A/N: I'd like to thank all the generous reviewers of this story; I really appreciate it. I thank all those who took the time to read and enjoy this. One more thing, this story will most definitely continue with an Episode II and III, but I don't know after that. :) »Molly