Disclaimer: I don't own any of what you recognize.
Note: A 'simper' is a silly, self-conscious smile.
Enjoy!!
"I'm going home, Maia, I'm going home!"
At hearing a boy's voice calling Maia's name, Maia's friends poured out of their class to look to where Maia was sitting in the hallway. They were utterly shocked to see a boy their own age hugging Maia tightly. They would have been even more shocked, though, if they had seen what had happened just a moment before.
Finn was going wild. He could go back. It was the best thing that he had ever heard. He ran toward a startled Maia, who had just stood up. Miss Minton came down the stairs and said that they were all going back. This only made Finn happier. When he got to Maia, he did the first thing that came to his head.
He grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her.
Miss Minton wasn't particularly surprised, she had known for a long time that this was coming. In fact, she felt it had taken longer than she had initially expected.
The contact was only half a second long, and Finn hadn't realized he'd done it. He was now hugging Maia tightly. For a fraction of a moment she stood stock-still, but then she smiled and hugged him back. When he pulled away, Finn was positively giddy. He had such a big grin on his face that Maia had to laugh.
"That's wonderful, Finn! We all get to go home!"
The fact that Maia called the terrifying Amazon home hit her friends like a cannonball. She called the savage, uncivilized jungle home? She would rather go back there than stay with them at the school? They didn't know what to think. Had Maia gone out of her mind in the heat?
"Girls, come back to your seats, please." asked Miss Carlisle.
"But- but- but Maia's going back to the Amazon!" Hermione exclaimed.
Miss Carlisle looked suddenly interested. "Really? Maybe she'll come tell us about the Amazon, then." She rang a bell on her desk, and a maid hurried up from her position at the back of the classroom. "Go ask if Maia might come for a visit." she instructed. The maid nodded.
Maia and Finn were asking Miss Minton about the interview when the maid hurried up. "Would you take the time to tell Miss Carlisle's class about the Amazon?" She asked tentatively.
Maia looked pleasantly surprised. "I don't see why not." She turned to look at her friends. "Would you like to come, Finn? Minty?" They both agreed.
"Just... so you know," Maia warned Finn out of the corner of her mouth, "They'll probably giggle a lot when they see you."
"...Why?"
"Because, um, this is an all-girl school. And you're, well... not a girl."
A look of realization crossed Finn's face. "Oh..."
As Maia had predicted, many of the girls giggled when Finn came into the classroom. It made him uncomfortable.
Maia smiled widely. "Hello!" She greeted her former classmates. She turned to Miss Carlisle. "Good afternoon."
"Maia. It's good to see you. I was wondering if you'd tell us about your trip? I'm sure the girls would like to learn more about the Amazon... and about how you made your new friend."
Finn reddened and scuffed his shoe against the tile floor.
"The Amazon is the most incredible, beautiful, astonishing place I've ever been." Maia said truthfully. The class seemed to give a simultaneous gasp. Maia smiled, maybe this time they would listen to her. "The jungle is lush and green and everywhere, and the water is lovely, and animals and insects and spiders run and swim freely. The people are incredible, too."
"You mean the Europeans, of course," Melanie confirmed.
"To tell the truth, no, that's not who I mean. I'm talking about the Natives, Melanie. The Xanti tribe especially – we stayed with them for several days, they were some of the most wonderful people I've ever met." Finn couldn't help himself, he swelled with pride.
"You mean, they're not savage and terrifying? Uncivilized? Untrustworthy?" Daisy asked incredulously.
"Not at all!" Maia exclaimed, a little hurt on the Xanti people's behalf. "Savage and terrifying? Never. They were welcoming, friendly, nice! As for uncivilized – different, maybe. They're civilized, just not the same way you are. And untrustworthy – I'd put my life in the hands of any one of them. In fact," She added, turning to look at Finn, "Finn here is only half-Xanti and he saved my life already."
Anna, the one who had first described the terrifying Indians, looked disbelieving. "But- but surely it was his European side that saved you."
"Actually, not really. Tell them what you did, Finn."
He nodded. Awkwardly, he began: "Firstly, I was travelling the river so that I could find my mother's tribe, like I promised my father when he died that I would. Maia had wanted to come, but I wouldn't let her because I thought it would be too dangerous. However, I felt bad for leaving her behind, so I turned the boat around to go get her.
"But her house had been burned down. I thought she was dead, and that it was my fault because I left her there, but then I found her. You see, that was when my Indian side took over. I carried her back to the boat, I treated the gash in her leg with Indian medicine and bandaged her up. She healed quickly – much faster, I assure you, than she would have in a European hospital."
Maia described several more of the wonders of the Amazon before the class was over. She thought that maybe she had convinced her friends that it wasn't horrible there. She certainly hoped she had.
When the class was over, she was summoned to Miss Emily and Miss Banks' office. "You've got to get the tickets yourselves, but here is the money for the boat ride back to the Amazon," said Miss Banks, handing Miss Minton an envelope. "I understand that the soonest you can leave is the day after tomorrow. That's the next ship going out there. And as for the time until then, Maia, you can continue to sleep here. Miss Minton will be boarded here as well."
"What about Finn?" Maia asked, stepping closer to him.
"I, um," Miss Banks didn't know what to say.
"We didn't know about the boy," Miss Emily confessed.
"He certainly can't-" Miss Banks began, but she was interrupted.
"He can stay in my room," Maia said, ignoring the shock on everyone's faces (except for Miss Minton's). "We'll put up a visitor's cot and a divider." She said this with confidence and nobody defied it. She, Minty, and Finn then nodded and left.
"I suppose we send for a maid to get a cot then," Miss Banks observed.
"...Why did you ask me to stay here? You didn't have to," Finn said quietly, testing the edge of the cot. The dividing screen had been pushed out of the way; they'd put it back when they went to bed.
"To... to tell the truth, I wanted to ask you something..." Maia had held this in until they were alone (Miss Minton was in town, buying their ship tickets).
"Yes?" Finn sat down and looked up at her. Maia sat on her own bed, facing him, hugging her knees. She rested her chin on top of them.
"Um," She blushed a little. "Um, about what you did when you came into the school..."
Finn looked a little confused. "You mean yelling? Sorry, I was really excited though. You see, Clovis-"
"I do want to know what happened with him, but later." This only confused Finn more. Maia, passing up news on Clovis? "I, um, not the yelling, no. After that. When you got to me in the hallway..."
Finn racked his brain. What had he done when he first got to her? He had hugged her, but no, that wouldn't have phased her so much. What...?
Suddenly the memory flooded back, and a look of combined realization, horror and embarrassment crossed his face. He blushed furiously. "Oh, I, um," But he couldn't say anything.
Maia looked extremely timid for once. "Why did you do that?" she asked in a whisper.
"I, I, er, ah, I, I was... really... excited... umm..."
"You didn't... you didn't kiss anyone last time I saw you excited," Maia pointed out.
Fin fervently fished for something to say. He hadn't meant for Maia to find out. But then, had he? After all, he'd told Clovis that he couldn't have Maia...
Of course, Finn didn't realize he had been mumbling. "What did you tell Clovis?" Maia asked.
Then Finn realized his mouth was moving. He cursed in Xanti. "I, uh," The cat was out of the bag now. He sighed. "Clovis is going to keep being a Taverner. I told him if he ever wanted anything... And then... Well, he asked if he could have you when you were grown up... And I said no... He didn't mind so much, but..."
It was Maia's turn to realize. "So, um, you mean... that you, um..."
"That I sort of kind of fell in love with you? Yes." Finn cringed, closing his eyes. The truth was out. Now Maia knew, and they wouldn't be friends any more, and they wouldn't have a House of Rest or wonderful adventures...
But then he felt her sit down beside him. He opened his eyes. "Then, um, I guess you should know," She said quietly, "That I sort of kind of fell in love with you too."
Finn turned to stare at her. She was simpering at him. "I... What? I thought you liked Sergei."
"I love you. Not Sergei, he's just my friend. I... I don't think I realized I loved you until you found me after the fire, though. I loved you for a long time, but that was when I figured it out."
"And I figured it out when I started my journey without you. I was..." He took her hand self-consciously. "Truth be told, I was lonely. I missed your company."
"I missed you too, Finn. I thought you were gone forever."
He simpered back at her. "I guess both of us bottled this up when we didn't need to. We had half of that journey alone. And I won't pretend I didn't think about telling you."
"Finn?"
"Yes?"
"Um... Would you, um, kiss me again?" She was blushing, and now he was too.
"I... Uh... Why?"
"I want to make sure this isn't a dream. I've had dreams about this before, but I want this to be real."
"It... It is real, but..." Shyly, Finn moved his face toward Maia's and kissed her a second time. "Better?" he asked. She nodded.
I hope you liked it! It's been in my head for a while now. I might continue this one day, when I don't have so much to do. And I know Miss Carlisle wasn't their teacher any more, but I don't particularly care. Reviews are appreciated, but only nice ones. Constructive criticism is only welcome when you point out strengths as well as weaknesses. Thanks for reading, have a great morning/afternoon/evening/day/night! Oh, and happy new years!