Someone Was There

So I use to think that at least someone would've been friends with Ender in school. Wouldn't you? This story is as though Ender wasn't that close with Valentien but instead a girl named Maya. He is also returning to Earth...This story is kind of cheezy.

Ender thought about everyone he'd be returning to. He couldn't even imagine what they looked like. Actually, he could. Of course he could. He could see his parents aged somewhat, but still young. How old were they? In their late thirties probably. That he couldn't remember. Valentine was eighteen now. She was bound to be the spitting image of Mother, a pretty girl the boys were after. Also she was Demosthenes, working for Peter. Peter was twenty, and from what they told him, was the political figure Locke, who was bringing the world together. He wasn't nervous to see his brother. They had both grown up so Ender wasn't scared of what Peter could do to him. He then thought of his friends that had returned to Earth, like Bean, Alai, Petra, Dink, and the rest. He would be happier to see them than his family. Then there was Maya.

She was Ender's only friend from before he went to Battle School. He could picture exactly what she looked like now. Still short, curvier, long caramel colored hair, gorgeous smile, her big green-blue eyes would still fascinate him. Oh how Ender loved her eyes. They were big and the irises were blue but then had a splash of green over that so you couldn't say blue or green eyed, she was literally blue and green eyed. Ender smiled as he recollected all the memories him and Maya had. She wasn't that smart. Ender always had to help her with her schoolwork, but she was the artist of the two. She could draw pictures of Ender that were too amazing for a girl her age. She always wrote stories that she made up and they all kept Ender entertained.

Dark thoughts came into Ender's head. What if she doesn't care about me or if she's changed? What if she's not even there to greet me home?

"Ender," said Graff. "It's time to go."

"They all won't be there at the same time will they?" Ender asked.

"No, only your family will be there first and then you'll arrive to your parent's house where the rest of them will be."

Ender was feeling pensive. Mazer could tell.

"Don't worry Ender," said Mazer. "You only have to deal with them for one day and then you can live your life normally."

"Whatever that means," Ender replied. Mazer laughed and Ender faintly smiled.

They walked outside to a lonesome car with four people standing around it and nothing else around except for the house they had been in and some trees. Then, Ender saw his family again, and a part fo him did feel happy to his surprise. He had planned on just pretending to be happy for them but not feel anything. Though now he was glad to see them, people who loved him and that he was normal by having a family. Mother was hysterically crying, Father was clearly jubilant but not as crushing. Valentine hugged Ender and Peter and him only shook hands. Ender introduced Graff and Mazer to his family, and then they all hopped inside the car and drove to his parents' house.

Petra was first to greet him when he arrived to the house. She hugged him tight. "It's about time," she said.

They walked into the house and the next to meet him were Vlad and Dink, then they emerged into the backyard and he was greeted by everyone. Everyone - except for Maya. When he sat at the table on the patio he leaned next to Graff and whispered, "Where's Maya?"

"Maya? Oh, Maya Skylark." Graff whispered, "We told her you were coming, but..."

Ender felt sick. Why wouldn't she come? He wouldn't have minded if his family didn't greet him or even if a few of his friends, but this was Maya.

"Ender," Graff continued. "From what we know she hasn't changed much, and apparently she fainted when she found out you were coming back. You know her best. There should be a logical explanation why she wouldn't come."

And there was. She's either scared to see me, or my friends for that matter, or she's thinking the same thing as me, that I wouldn't want to see her, Ender thought to himself. Now what do I do? I can't believe how nervous I am just to see her, but I can't wait to see her.

Maya Skylark sat at her desk in school and thought aimlessly about Ender. She had seen previous pictures of him, and everytime she saw them her heart fluttered. He doesn't want to see me, she thought. I'm just some little girl he use to play with. She groaned and put her head on her desk. Her classmates looked at her but weren't that weirded out since she always did weird things.

"Maya," said her teacher.

Maya shot up. "Yes?" she asked.

"You're being signed out."

Maya grabbed her things and took the slip of paper that let her leave the school. She walked out of the buliding confused. Her mother never mentioned her having to be signed out today. What could it be? Hopefully I'm not in trouble...

"Are you Maya?" asked Dink Meeker standing right in front of her.

"Uh, yes, I am," she replied. What on Earth was Dink Meeker doing here?

He looked her up and down. "So you're friends with Ender, huh?"

"Well, I was, I don't know about now..."

"Come on," he said and they walked to a car. They sat in the back. "Ender was talking about you in his sleep. He has been for a few days. He seems pretty down lately, so I figured it had soemthing to do with you."

"Really? I figured he wouldn't want to see me." She suddenly looked down at her appearance. "I can't let him see me like this! I look like trash!"

Dink gave this Maya girl a weird look, but smiled. She's so unlike Ender, or me, or any other Battle School kid for that matter, he thought. I doubt she's like Earth people, too. I guess I can't judge on that. I'm not and earth person. He looked her up and down again. She's something nice to look at. Ender will be glad to see her. I wonder why he likes her... Duh. She's completely opposite of him. She's normal. She's...just what he needs.

"You look fine," Dink said. "Besides, you're not going to see him now. You'll see him soon. We're going over to Colonel Graff's new home where most of us are at. Ender should show up soon."

"What do you mean 'us?'" She gasped. "You mean all the Jeesh people and Battle School kids and all them?" She was so hysteric. "I'm going to meet them? What if they don't like me? What if they all think I'm stupid 'cause I am stupid and so then they influence Ender to forget about me and act like I'm nothing 'cause I am nothing and I get depressed and-"

"Maya, stop rambling. They're gonna like you," Dink said.

"No they're not." She put her head in her hands and cried. "Oh I'm too stupid for them to like me."

Dink sighed but smiled. "We're here."

"What?" she chirped. She wiped her face and fixed herself up, but she was far from composed. "Why can't he be here now?"

"They said you'd be like this, so we thought we'd give you some time to calm down."

"That's a stupid idea! Now I'm going to be sitting here nervous and when he comes I'll pass out."

She had a point. "Well, we're not sure when he's suppose exactly arrive. He's with his brother -"

"Ew, Peter use to pick on us all the time. The meanie - oh, goodness. Don't make me go in there."

"Calm down, nobody is going to judge you. Most have taken the time to sleep in anyway."

Maya walked in to the fine house to find only one man sitting on the couch with a girl who looked a little older than Maya. Colonel Hyrum Graff and Petra Arkanian. "Hi," she squeaked.

"Sit down, please," said Graff.

She sat down on the couch as far away from him as possible. Dink sat between them, setting her ill at ease.

"Ender has been in fits about you," Petra said.

"Or so we believe," said Graff. "We're not sure what's been upsetting him, but it's probably you."

"Why?" Maya asked pitifully.

"Well he misses you." Graff had never met a person like Maya. To simply state it, he had always been around rational people.

"Are you sure he does? What if he walks in and is surprised to see me but in a confused way?"

Petra and Dink exchanged looks. Dink shook his head and smiled.

"You want a drink of water?" Petra asked.

"Sure," Maya said.

"Follow me." Petra grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the kitchen.

To Maya's distress, other people were in there. She recognized them as Julian Delphiki, or Bean, she supposed, Fly Molo, Hot Soup, and Crazy Tom.

"This is Maya," Petra said.

"Oh, so this is the girl," Fly said.

Maya felt miserable, especially at being called a girl.

"Sit down," Petra said.

They both sat down.

"So how did you and Ender meet?" Fly asked?

"School," was all Maya said.

They all exchanged glances, feeling the same as Graff as never having met a person like Maya.

"How? Tell the story," Tom said.

"Well," Maya began. "On the first day of school, we gathered in a circle and had pieces of candy that were all different colors. They each represented a different question. Red was Who is all in your family and what are they like? So when Ender went he talked about his mother and then his father and then about Peter. The teacher cut him off there but then Ender went on to say that he had a sister, too. Only one kid knew that thirds weren't good, so he started to make fun of Ender, and everyone else joined in. I didn't. I was jealous of Ender. I didn't have any siblings, and there he had two. I sat with Ender at lunch and no one else ever did. Ender and I became best friends. We found out that we lived only a few blocks away from each other so sometimes we'd sneak out and sleep under the benches at the park that was a few blocks over because we didn't want to be home."

They all blinked. "So no one liked him at all?" Fly asked, finding this hard to believe.

"Nope."

Bean and Petra didn't find this as shocking. They didn't necessarily like Ender too much to begin with. Bean furrowed his brow. I might not have liked him at first but he eventually grew on me, Bean thought. There was probably some bigger kid that picked on Ender first, and so everyone else was too afraid to be kind to Ender. Then Bean knew that that accusation was true. "Stilson," said Bean, remembering the name from the trials Ender went through. "What did he do to you and Ender?"

"He picked on me more than Ender, but I never told Ender that and Stilson never picked on me much in front of Ender. Stilson was afraid of Ender, and he didn't know what Ender would do if he picked on me. I stood up for Ender all the time, but behind Ender's back. I confronted Stilson afterschool often. I'd always tell him that he was worthless and he was just jealous of Ender and that he should just go kill himself. I know it's harsh, but I hated how he could be mean to Ender. He always punched me, too. There was a time when I went too far and intimidated Stilson too much. That's when Ender and Stilson got in the fight that killed Stilson. I was there, but I didn't want Ender to see me and I knew he didn't want me to see him. He felt ashamed of what he did and he didn't even have to do what he did if I just kept my mouth shut. That's why I didn't want him to see me because I was ashamed. I really wish I didn't hide from him. It was the last time I saw him."

Bean stared hard at Maya. She had done the same thing Bean had done with Bonzo. "What'd you think of Ender when you saw him standing over Stilson?" Bean asked.

Maya lied her head down and said "I thought of him as a hero."