Chapter 3 Two.

Some of the staff members helped Melissa up from the floor making sure the girl was alright. The food she had fell on was hot and could have burned her skin. Miss Mary, a close friend to the matron took Melissa's hand in hers and led her to the bathroom. The child’s face was already stained with food and now tears. “It’s alright dear, at least you didn’t get injured” the woman said comfortingly. “But why does she keep bullying me? I hate her” “Now now, you don’t have to use that word” “but it’s true” Melissa argued. Her dislike for Amy was slowly turning into hate. “I understand you’re upset and yes she’s very mean to you but don’t let hate grow in your heart child, it’s never a good thing. See how she’s turned out?” Melissa thought for a bit. The woman was right. Amy hated her for a reason and she allowed it turn her into a mean person. “I don’t even know why she treats me this way” she mumbled to herself. “You just keep being a good girl no matter what, okay?” Melissa nodded innocently at the woman. She cleaned herself up and walked back into the hall. She was given another try of food and an extra cup of orange juice. Amy huffed and puffed in the naughty room. She wondered what the rest of the children were doing and if Melissa was happy to see her locked up. She scowled at the thought of the girl. Mrs Syril had scolded her and even though she knew what she did was wrong to Melissa, she still felt angry that the woman chose to help her out. She hated the attention Melissa got from her and was determined to make her life miserable in the orphanage. What Amy didn’t know was that there were times when families wanted to adopt her but looking at her records, they immediately changed their minds and opted for another child. And even though Melissa had always been an outstanding child, her file was always kept aside. After all the instructions she got from the stranger was to wait until he gave the go ahead for her to leave. He had said he was going to look for the right family for Melissa to be adopted into. Mrs Syril was true to her words, she kept a hawk eye on Amy and treated her like she was supposed to, a stubborn entitled brat. In the mean time she securely trained Melissa. She made sure no one, not even Amy would bully her in any way. Hence why Amy usually waited until the woman was out of sight to say something nasty. Two years passed and the routine was the same. Melissa would sit with the staff for every meal, and stuff her face in books reading in the Matron’s office when she wanted to. Now at the age of twelve, Melissa decided to spend more time outside like the rest of the children. Since Amy had not spoken to her in a while, she might not this time. The girl watched as some of the kids played around the slide and her interest for it grew. She walked over and stood a few feet away contemplating if she should join them. “Hey, you wanna play with us?” a girl younger said to her. “No, that’s okay” Melissa replied in a low tone. “Come on, it’s fun, you’ll enjoy it” the girl ran to Melissa grabbing her hand and pulling her to the slide. She made her way up and like she used to do before, she sat down and slid down bumping into another kid who had gone down before her. They burst out laughing at the impact and the rest who where at the top joined in. For the first time in a long time Melissa was happy. Her little worries about how her body reacted to change evaporated at that moment. The times she had been injured from the pushes she got or from playing around, Melissa noticed how fast her body healed. What should have taken a day or two to heal on a normal human, took minutes with her. At first Melissa wondered if that was how the human body worked. In fact she believed it. But out of curiosity she decided to consult some books that showed the human body on it. It was hard though, she would stumble on big words that confused her. She had to refer back to the dictionary to find out what those words meant before she could continue reading through. She soon grew tired of going back and forth with it and left it at that was how the human body was. Plus she was a child, why care about how her body worked. That’s what she thought years ago. Melissa continued to play and have fun and as she claimed the ladder to the slide, she didn’t noticed Amy and her friends following behind. The slide was a double design, meant to take in more people. She stood at the top hands free ready to slide down for sum more fun when she heard Amy behind her. “You think you’re so special just because the matron babies you?” Amy had hatred in her eyes. When Melissa didn’t answer her, she continued to throw hurtful words at her. “You’re nothing but a loser and soon Mrs Syril is going to see how much of a freak you are”. The moment she said these, her friends grabbed Melissa and pushed her down. Melissa stumbled and flew to the grown in a terrible manner. The sound of a crack was heard and seeing how she fell, Amy and her minions, with the other kids ran off from the playground. Melissa screamed in pain, tears flooded her eyes. She didn’t dare move a muscle, everywhere hurt. A few seconds into her tears, she got the urge to sit up and she did. That was when she noticed that the her flesh began to knit itself back. Before she could react, her hands moved on their own and popped the bones back together. It had been as if someone had taken over her body. “Melissa” she heard from a distance. Mrs Syril had been helping out in the kitchen area when some of the children called for her. The tray on her lap fell to the floor at the mention of Melissa’s name. She had been told she felt off the slide. With fear that the child could have broken a bone, she hurried to where the slide was. And there, seated on the floor she saw Melissa in the distance. She called out for her but the child didn’t respond from her seated position. “What is wrong with me?” Melissa mumbled, shock surging through her. Mrs Syril came closer in a run. “Oh my word, are you alright?” the woman said inspecting the child she had pulled up to stand. “Talk to me child, say something” she said worriedly.