Chapter Ten
I went back. Nobody was happy with me, but I wasn't happy with myself. I had lost my panther. I had lost my best friend—the only best friend I had ever had. She wasn't alive. A part of her was no longer alive. She was no longer the carefree, adventurous, courageous Fi that I had admired so greatly. She was dead.
And when they finally found her, I told her exactly that. I made her cry. She got locked up in a room all by herself, strapped to a bed at her wrists and ankles, while I—I was on my way out. I confessed my "secrets"; I was being set free. They were letting me go.
It was sad, on my last day. But the worst part of all was seeing Fi, who was unable to even move. But in her eyes, I could see something. She was coming back. And maybe one day, I'll see her again, walking along the street. We'll get together and it'll be just like the old days, except we won't be crazy any more, and we'll hang out—just two friends having a great time. One day.
And I guess inside everyone, we're all a little crazy. "If you ever confused a dream with life… if you ever told a lie and enjoyed it… if you ever wanted to be a child forever…"
"Annie? Annie, wake up."
Suddenly the scene changed. I was in the living room of the Phillips' household, on their couch. I looked around—at Fi, sitting next to me on the couch, at Clu, Carey, and Jack on the floor, all with amused looks on their faces. I looked at the television, where Winona Ryder's face filled the screen.
"Did you enjoy the movie, Annie?" Clu asked, and the other guys tried to stifle their laughter.
"Movie?" I asked, rubbing my eyes, and they all burst out laughing.
"Uh… Girl, Interrupted…" Fi said slowly. "We've been sitting here watching it for two hours."
"Well, most of us," Jack corrected her. "But somebody slept through the whole thing…" This caused Carey and Clu to erupt in laughter once again.
Just then, Irene walked into the room. "Well! I see you finally woke up. Did you have a nice nap?" she asked me.
"Dr. Bell?" I said confusedly.
"Dr. Bell?" Irene repeated. "I may be wrong about this, but last time I checked, I wasn't a doctor…"
I rubbed my forehead. "It seemed so real…"
"Have you ever confused a dream with life?" Clu asked in his best mimic of Winona Ryder.
"Annie, did you have a dream?" Irene asked.
"Yeah…" I said slowly.
She nodded and walked from the room. I could hear her whispering something to Molly in the kitchen, and I tried my best to hear what they were saying. "…had another dream again… we should really get her checked out for that…"
"NO!" I screamed, and everyone in the room turned to look at me.
THE END