The Boarding School

-24-

I wake up feeling like crap. My eyes are crusted and teary and my head hurts. I moan and sit up, rubbing my eyes. Ms. Perison walks into the room.
"Time to get up ladies" she says, then looks at me. "Maddie are you okay?" She walks over to me and feels my forehead.
"You're pale and I think you have a fever. Come with me to the nurses office" She says, grabbing my arm and gently pulling me up. She takes me to the nurse's office. Zara walks up to us.
"You okay Maddie?" She asks. I ignore her and walk in.
"Hey Maddie, sit here please" the nurse says and takes my temperature. "You have a fever. Just rest here" She says. I lie down on the leather bed. Zara sneaks in while the nurse leaves the room.
"Maddie, are you okay? You seem more than just sick, like you're upset about something" she says.
"It's nothing. Just leave me" I say.
"It's not nothing, Maddie. Tell me what you're thinking."
"You should be in class right now. Just let me rest."
"Okay... I'll see you later then."
She leaves. I sigh and lay back down. I get sleepy and fall asleep.
  I wake up, still quite tired. I look around. The nurse isn't in the room. I slide off the bed and walk over to the phone. I pick it up and dial the numbers for home on the phone. Lisa picks up the phone.
"Hello?" she says.
"Aunt Lisa, please, I cannot stay here. Please take me home" I say. She hangs up. I slowly put the phone down. The nurse walks in.
"Are you feeling better?" She asks. I nod and leave the room. I return to the bedroom and get dressed, slipping my iPod into my pocket. I go to the lunchroom where all the other girls were eating. I go sit down with Arianna. She grumps and stands up, walking away to a different table. I follow her.
"Whats wrong Arianna?" I ask.
"You'd rather hang out with Zara than me" she grumps.
"Ugh, look Arianna, please, listen to me. It's not what it seems" I say.
"Then how come you became such great friends and you started talking to her instead of me?" She says distantly. I lean closer and whisper.
"She won't leave me alone. She's not really my friend. She keeps following me around. It's not my fault" I say. She growls and leaves the lunchroom. I sigh and slump down in a chair and eat.
  Later I go outside and sit at my normal bench, that's when Zara walks up to me.
"Leave me alone Zara" I say.
"Why are you all snippy?" She asks.
"Arianna doesn't want to be my friend anymore because of you!" I yell.
"But I never did anything!" She says.
"Arianna is jealous that I'm hanging out with you more, but because you won't leave me alone" I growl.  
"I'm sorry. I just want a friend. Brinn died and now I have no one" she says. She's trying to make me feel guilty, I think she's up to something.
"I'm sorry, but I need some space sometimes" I say. She starts tearing up, then nods and sits next to me.
"I'm sorry" she cries, putting her head against my shoulder. I sit there motionlessly, just staring into the distance.
"Want to go walk in the woods? It may help clear your mind, help you relax" I say. She nods and we stand up, walking into the woods. We walk and talk. Zara kept talking about stories about Brinn. Then somehow a conversation of my dad came up.
"Your Dad's still in a coma?" She says. I nod.
"I'm sorry. I hope he gets better" she says. I start tearing up, just wanting to go home. I start to cry hard and started becoming hysterical, choking on my own tears.
"I'm scared! I'm afraid because of all the murders. I just want to go home!" I cry out. Zara wraps her arms around me.
"I know. I want to leave too, but we're stuck here" she says quietly.
"People keep blaming me for the deaths! I'm telling you, it wasn't me!" I cry.
"I know" she says. I fall to my knees, having a break down.
"But I was the one who killed Alison!" I cry out. Zara stands there in complete shock and terror. She turns and runs. I continue to cry, getting mud all over myself. I continue to cry. It started getting dark, but I stayed hidden in the woods. I have no idea what has happened.
  Later Ms. Perison finds me laying on the ground in the leaves, curled up into a ball.
"Maddie..." she whispered.
"It wasn't my fault!" I scream, still curled up crying.
"Maddie, you're mentally unstable" she says. I cry harder, not sure what to do. She pats my back and stands me up. I tremor and shake as we walk back towards the school.
"I can't go back there!" I scream, trying to turn and run but Ms. Perison grabs me. I scream and try to get away.
"I can't go back!!!" I scream, trying to pull away from her grip.
"Maddie, calm down! I'm not sending you back to the school" Ms. Perison says.
"Where are you taking me?!" I ask.
"You're going to the mental ward at the hospital" she says calmly. I scream at the top of my lungs, panicking and struggling to get away.
"You can't do this to me!" I scream.
"It's for your own good!" She says, struggling to hold on and trying to take me to the front of the school. Two paramedics come over to me, grabbing my arms and dragging me towards the ambulance. I scream and cry, trying to get away. To my shock, they put a sedative needle into my wrist and I fall asleep.