Last time out, Melissa met Amanda's cousin Ilana, who claimed to be a psychic. Can she really see into the future? Will she really be able to see when and if Melissa will be reunited with Milo? And what of Milo's vision of the future? What can he do to prevent Melissa from falling victim to a forthcoming pandemic? Plus, how will Milo handle his first Christmas without Melissa? Let's find out!
We pick things up with Melissa and Ilana at Parton Junior High in Nashville. It's now lunch period of their first day of school. While Melissa and Ilana hit it off almost immediately, something felt strange in Melissa's mind. She knew something...or someone...was missing.
"Milo..." she said to herself, looking into her locket. "I miss you, Milo...and I love you more than life itself. Wait for me, Milo Murphy...I'll be back, honey..."
"Melissa!" Ilana called out.
"Oh! Ilana! Hey!" Melissa greeted, closing her locket.
"Thinking about your boyfriend again?"
"Was I that obvious?"
Ilana nodded. "You kinda were."
"Sorry, Ilana. I miss him more than you can believe. Would you believe he wanted to go after me the day I moved from Danville?"
Ilana giggled. "Wouldn't put it past him. With how you've described him to me, it would sound like nearly nothing would keep you two apart."
"No one gets me like Milo does..." Melissa lamented as she and Ilana took to their new lunch table. "I just want to be back with him...and I promised him that I'd be back in time for our senior year of high school..."
A smile overtook Ilana's face as she heard this. "Well, maybe my reading can provide some insight on if that'll happen..."
"Trust me, I want that more than anything," Melissa confessed. Though, she felt uneasy at what was to come. What if Ilana really did have psychic powers? 'Only one way to find out!' Melissa thought to herself.
Ilana had brought a tarot deck to school and held Melissa's hands. "Melissa, I can tell that you and Milo share a powerful bond. I sense that he is your destiny..."
"Milo? My destiny?"
"Yes, Melissa. I don't need to be psychic to know that you and Milo are destined to be together. Even my cousin Amanda could figure that out! I could see you having at least 2 kids in the future, maybe more..."
Melissa blushed at hearing this. Having kids with Milo...she had often dreamed of the idea, but hearing it from a new friend only made her that much more determined to get back to him. Then Ilana flipped the top card of the deck.
"The Lovers card - pointed upright. This tells me that your love for Milo can withstand even the greatest of trials."
Melissa chuckled. "Well, Milo and I have had to deal with Murphy's law weirdness time and again."
All Ilana could do was smile as she flipped the next card. "The Wheel of Fortune is in reverse - this says an unexpected turn of events will happen in the near future..."
"How near, Ilana?"
"Within the next 3 years."
This brought a gleam to Melissa's eyes. She could be a step closer to returning to Danville...to Milo. Then Ilana flipped the next card off her deck.
"The Reaper of Souls...pointed upright. This signifies a troublesome event just as you return to Milo..."
"What do you mean, Ilana?"
"I mean something bad is going to happen by yours and Milo's senior year of high school. Not sure what it is...Raven Baxter I'm not..."
Melissa giggled. "I used to love 'That's So Raven', Ilana...I'm gonna make it back to Milo, though?"
"You will, Melissa...your love for Milo knows no distance."
Checking in with Milo around the same time at JCMS - things went from okay to bad to worse for the jinx. He tried to pay attention in class as best he could, but his mind would always go back to Melissa.
"I can't stand to see him like this, Amanda..." Zack said.
"Neither can I," added Amanda. "But what are we gonna do?"
"What can we do, Amanda?" asked Lydia. "I mean, Milo's here and Melissa's 1000 miles down south..."
"Not much we can do, you guys," confessed Mort.
"As much as I hate to admit it, I too can't stand to see Milo like this nor do I want to see him like this the next 4 years," Bradley admitted. "But like Lydia said, Melissa's 1000 miles south of us, so there's not much we can do. That is, unless you believe in miracles..."
That's when Zack got an idea. "LIGHTBULB! You know who can help us out? Phineas and Ferb!"
"Yeah! Perhaps we can use their Mind Machine to figure out why Milo continues to push himself further into this abyss when we all know that Melissa wouldn't like this..."
"Already texted Phineas, Amanda. He wants us to come by after school. He and Ferb remade their Mind Machine and just came up with a Virtual Reality version that they want Milo to test."
"Well, how do you like that? The second I say 'miracle', in come Phineas and Ferb...never fails..." Bradley snarkily remarked.
The bell rang right on schedule at 3. It didn't take the group long to get to 2308 Maple Drive, the home of Phineas and Ferb.
"Milo! Zack! Over here!" Phineas called out from behind the backyard fence. "Zack tells me you've been really down lately, Milo."
"Yeah, Melissa moved away over the summer...right after I told her I love her...and she promised me she'd be back in time for our senior year of high school, but I'm not sure if that's gonna happen..."
"And no matter what we try, Milo just seems to get worse..."
Phineas knew this all too well. It had happened with his brother Ferb in Paris after Vanessa made up with her dad. Granted, he's the one oblivious to love considering Isabella's obvious crush on him, but he knows the feeling of being without someone you care about for a long time. Case in point - Isabella going off to see family in Mexico for spring break each year. That week can feel like forever for Phineas.
"I see what you mean there, Zack. Ferb and I managed to remake our Mind Machine so we'll be able to go into Milo's mindscape and figure out why this is going on...everyone jack in! We're going into the mind of Murphy's law!"
Everyone sat down and put on their mind helmets, preparing to jack in to Milo's mind.
"Now close your eyes and count backward from 5..." Phineas said as everyone closed their eyes.
"4...3...2...1!"
And just like that, everyone was in Milo's mind.
"Welcome to your subconscious, Milo!"
"Huh...a bit more organized than I remember," Milo remarked. "Where are we?"
"Off-hand...Anxiety Falls"
Of course, all of Milo's teen anxieties were here and it made Milo shudder.
"Great...all the anxiety is getting to him!" Amanda freaked. "Where do we need to go?"
"We need to get to the Melissa Museum to find out what's going on with Milo!"
"And where is that, Phineas?" Zack asked.
"Should be just past the Forest of Murphy's law..."
After a run-in with Milo's Id and a trip through the Peaks and Valleys of Teen Angst, Phineas and friends finally found their way to the Melissa Museum.
"Here we are, everyone! The Melissa Museum!"
It was a Smithsonian-like area filled with all Milo's memories of his girlfriend...right down to her favorite perfume.
"All her favorite outfits are here, her makeup array...even her favorite perfume. Man, I'm seriously messed up about her."
"Yeah, you kinda are," Zack said.
"So why is it I'm getting worse by the day? What is wrong with me?"
"Milo, I don't know how to break this to you, but...you're deeply in love with your best friend..." Isabella said.
"I just want her back, Isabella."
"You sound like Phineas whenever I'm visiting my extended family for Spring Break," Isabella giggled. "Let me ask you this, Milo. Are you proud of Melissa for wanting to follow her dreams?"
"Yeah. I just wish I could've gone with her."
"Milo, listen - you're in 8th grade. You got 4 more years after this before you can even think about chasing her."
That's when Sara spoke up. "Riddle me this, little brother. What would Melissa have done if the roles were reversed?"
"That's just it, Sara. I don't really know what she would've done. But I do think she would've pressed on as best she could. I just feel like ripping my hair out right now."
"Milo, don't do that..." Amanda warned.
"That would not be fun," added Zack.
"This Christmas is just gonna suck without her...without my Melissa..." Milo confessed.
Soon enough, it was Christmas Eve. Normally, Melissa would be over for Christmas Eve dinner; but this year, that was not the case. Aside from his parents, extended family and Sara, he was alone.
"Sara, I'm not sure if I can even celebrate Christmas this year..."
Sara was about to ask why, but she knew the cause. "It's Melissa, isn't it?"
"Yeah. If I had just one wish for Santa, it would be to have Melissa again."
Sara hugged Milo, never letting him out of her orbit. "Aw, Milo! I know you're going through a lot right now, but please try to hold tight. I know Santa is this powerful spirit of Christmas, but not even Santa can bring people back after they've moved away."
"Sara, whatever did I do to deserve you as my sister?"
"That, little brother, is a mystery even I can't solve. Now come on, maybe some presents from our extended family might cheer you up. I hear Uncle Joey preordered that Nintendo Switch for you!"
"Cool! I've heard it's supposed to be better than the PS4 and Xbox One!"
"Can you wait until March of next year for it?"
Milo chuckled. "At least it'll be better than waiting almost 4 years for Melissa to come back!"
Milo did end up getting quite the haul for Christmas, but his one wish to have Melissa back with him...that will most certainly have to wait a while, leaving for a few more Blue Christmases to come.
So Milo has gotten through his first Christmas without Melissa. But will he be able to get through 3 more? And is Ilana really psychic? Will her predictions come true? We'll find out soon enough!