THE GIRL NAMED MELISSA.

Even as I screamed at the top of my lungs saying, "Fire! Fire! Everyone get out of the school there's a fire in the hall way!"  I knew I couldn't stop anything. 

Melissa had told me about a million times in the past about things I didn't understand. It turned to the point where I knew she was growing insane. I wanted to stop it, but when you see your friend as the way she used to be, it's hard to face the truth. My best friend Melissa was insane, and every one knew it.

At times I think she knew it too. She didn't care about it. She thought it was okay, because I didn't do anything about it. It's always too insane and she must be taken to a mental institution.

I felt as if there was no right answer. 

I didn't understand how I was the only one who knew. 

It was hard for me to accept anything. Whenever I had the chance to tell my parents, or even call Melissa's, I wanted to call.  I wanted to call every one.  But what could I say?

"Mrs. Blune, your daughter..."  I  didn't have any classes with Melissa. Maybe my brain was just imagining something that isn't really there. At least, that's what I hoped.

I would ask people about Melissa without being straight forward about it. I'd only ask how she was doing? But during all the days I asked people about her, I wondered if maybe they thought I was crazy. 

Never mind any of that.

The last time Melissa came over, she told me about the dreams she had been having. All the crazy  dreams I would only hope to never dream about. It was all so unpleasant. 

She looked at me as if nothing was wrong. She told me she liked the dreams. It's only when we hang out that she becomes a different person. As if Melissa were never there. I always tried to blink. Blink and wait for it to go away. But she  would rock back and forth murmuring to herself, "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay."

I looked down at her. I never knew what to do. It seemed as if no matter how hard I blinked, or how long I closed my eyes, she was still there. She...the thing that scared me the most.

Eventually I would look at her and tell her that everything is fine. As if just being with her in person, just the two of us, makes Melissa become someone else. 

But I couldn't take it anymore.

Too many things were wrong with her.  I'd tell her I had to go. None of it made sense to me. 

Whenever we text, or whenever we call, or whenever anyone asked me about how she is doing, I'd pretend that everything was fine. But I felt butterfly's fluttering around in my stomach as I walked with Melissa.

"Do you remember when we saw that dead dog on the ground when we were younger?" she laughed.

I didn't know what to say. We never had ever seen a dead dog together. 

I looked at her. I could tell she saw the fear in my eyes.  The fear going on in my mind as I walked home on a Thursday night from school. 

I remembered all of the remarks I heard from people telling me that Melissa was doing fine.  All she did was smile.

I ran as fast as I could back home and I didn't looked back. I needed to get away from Melissa. At this point, I needed to tell  my parents.

I walked up to my house and still didn't look back. As I opened the door I saw both my parents already sitting down in two giant red chairs.  They looked as if they saw an F on my report card.

"Jenna, we have to talk. We've been hearing from a lot of people at school lately that you've been  acting a little strange. They said you were talking about how Melissa was insane. Honey, Melissa has been worried about you. You haven't been understanding what they've been saying. I even got a call just now from Melissa saying that you ran away from her walking home from school after she talked about her new  dog coming home today."

My eye twitched. That's not what happened at all!

"I...I don't understand.  Melissa didn't say that she..." I said with tears in my  eyes.

"Your mom and I have set up an appointment at a therapy place downtown. We feel it's the best thing to do to get you... back on track," my dad said.

With that, I dashed upstairs with tears running down my face. Melissa was the one who needed do go to a therapist!! Melissa was the one who needed help!!  Melissa is the one who didn't understand!!

I sat on my bed with my hands on the sides of my head. I banged on the wall until my hands felt like they were  going to fall off.

That night I didn't get any sleep. Everything I had thought seemed like it was just a big mistake. But I couldn't accept it. I needed to be right.  I had to be right.

The next day in the morning I glanced at something in my drawer. As I heard my mother call me down for school, I grabbed it and put it in my pocket. I had a great idea.

As I walked downstairs and grasped my lunch and put it in my backpack, I headed to the door and stopped as I heard my mom speak.

"Be nice to Melissa today honey, she really needs it after the way you've been acting."

I replied by saying ."I've made her a present and hope  she will forgive me."

I looked back and saw my mom smile. "That's so sweet! I bet it's great!"

As I opened the door and started to walk outside into the  hot sun, I grinned as I whispered to myself,
"It's to die for."

When I got to school, I asked my teacher if I could be excused. I walked into Melissa's first period class and told her that my teacher needed to talk to the both of us.

"Why does Mrs. Hope need to talk to me? I don't even have her for any of my classes.   I love you but it's the better thing for both of us!" Melissa replied.

I told Melissa to wait. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pack of matches. I lit one match and told her I'd drop it unless she said she was insane.

"No Jenna! You need to put that out right now!! Jenna you have serious problems that you need to talk to someone about! You're my friend."

I said to her, "Well, you're not my friend. Better you burn than me."

And with that, I dropped the match right on Melissa's feet. 

I watched her burn as I ran to the nearest classroom. 

"Fire! Fire! Everyone get out of the school!  There's a fire!!!"

I watched all the teachers and students run in horror as they all saw the fire building up. I ran to the nearest exit and locked it. 

I smiled and laughed as I watched the school burn to the ground. 

"Better her than me"