Cherry Meets Peter Pan

chapter 7

Everyone was on their way back to the hideout as Tinkerbell was revealing some secret information about Peter Pan. John and Michael had gone native and they were singing the Indian song as it got pretty late to be out and not inside asleep like normal children. Wendy was sitting on the bed while Cherry napped as they waited for them to return. Wendy then handed her youngest brother his teddy bear back and Peter walked in with his feather headdress which woke Cherry up suddenly.

"Big Chief Flying Eagle greets his braves," Peter lowered his voice to sound like the Indian chief. "How."

"How." the Lost Boys bowed.

"How!" Michael repeated.

"How." John added.

"Big Chief greets Little Mother," Peter walked to Cherry to see her in bed, all tucked in. "How."

"Ugh." Cherry groaned and turned over in her sleep as Wendy held her close.

"Cherry, is that all you could say?" Peter asked in his normal voice. "Everyone else thinks I'm wonderful."

"Especially Tigerlily." Wendy scoffed, then she packed up Cherry's backpack with her adventure scrapbook, notebook, pencil-case and own teddy bear.

"Tigerlily?" Peter asked. "Cherry, can you believe that?"

"Don't talk to me please." Cherry said, shakily as she hugged her knees.

"Cherry, what's wrong? You liked this adventure once we got here." Peter crossed his legs next to her. "You've been acting funny lately."

"It's because I liked you, okay!?" Cherry cried with tears in her eyes. "I liked you for a while, but you just went with that Indian princess. Wendy's right, we should've stayed home..."

"Home?" Peter asked.

"Yes," Wendy said, then went to her brothers. "John, Michael, take off that war paint and get ready for bed."

"Bed?" John asked as he got to his normal self.

"Brave no sleep," Michael crossed his arms. "I can go for days without sleeping, believe it."

"But boys, we're going home tomorrow." Wendy told them.

"Wendy, we don't want to go home!" Michael pouted.

"But we have to." Cherry said, zipping up her bag and climbing into bed.

"No go home," Peter refused to reason. "Stay many moons, have a heap big time."

"Now, Peter, let's stop pretending and be practical." Wendy told him.

"Chief Flying Eagle has spoken." Peter said as he got to his room and everyone cheered.

"Cherry, you want to go home, don't you?" Wendy asked as she sat beside her cousin.

"I liked Peter... And he's in love with Princess Tigerlily... How could he do this to me?" Cherry sounded very heartbroken.

"Don't worry Cherry, someday you'll forget this whole adventure ever happened." Wendy consoled her. "Now come on, boys, do you want to stay here and grow up like savages?"

"Of course." Michael walked over to the girls.

"But you can't, you need a mother. We all do."

"Isn't Cherry our mother?"

"Oh, Michael, of course not," Wendy picked up her baby brother. "Surely you haven't forgotten our real mother, do you think Cherry's forgotten about Aunt Michelle?"

"I know I haven't." Cherry twisted her finger in her hair, staring at the ceiling like she was trying to get over a bad breakup.

"I think I had a mother once." Cubby said.