Everywhere is Fire

The next morning, we woke up and went down for breakfast. “Mornin’, girls,” said my mom. “How’d you sleep?”
If only she knew.
“Well,” Rikki answered for me.
“That’s good.” Mom said. “Lord I thought I heard the door shut as if someone was going outside.” She paused. “It scared me, very much.”
“Wasn’t us,” Rikki said. “You might have been dreaming. We’d never go outside during the night like THAT! It’s really dangerous.”
I shot her a look like, Yeah right, and that’s what you made me do.
“So, Dany, are you excited about your birthday party?” My mom asked.
Before I could say a word, Rikki said, “What birthday party? Why wasn’t I invited?”
My cheeks turned red. “I haven’t finished with the invitations yet,” I said.
“Really?” My mom asked. “That’s weird. I thought you said you’d finished them, maybe I was wrong.”
“No Mom, you got it wrong. I hadn’t finished. Okay, Mom?”
Rikki paused. “I’m your best friend. Why didn’t you invite me?”
“I--I haven’t finished with the invitations! I’ll get it to you!”
She fell silent.
“Let’s go outside.” I said.
She followed me outside. I went into my treehouse, and she followed. “So . . . Why didn’t you invite me?”
I had to tell the truth. “Well,” I said. “I--I well .... I....”
“Don’t want to be my friend anymore?”
“Y-No! That’s not it at all!”
 “I’m leaving,” she said.
“Rikki!”
And just like that, she left. “Rikki...”
I ran up to my room and I called Jennifer. “Hey, Elle, how’s it going?” Instead of Dany, she calls me “Elle” because of the end of my name.
“Not good!” I said.
“Wait, what happened?”
 I told her everything. I told her about the guys, the “ghost,” about Rikki’s invitation.
“Whoa. That was a lot of stuff. Rikki’s mad? She always is getting mad. Don’t you want a new BFF?”
Yeah, Jennifer does not like Rikki. At all. “Jen, why can’t she understand that I wanted some time with other friends? Whenever I’m trying to hang out with you or Allie, or others she always pulls me away. Why?”
“She’s jealous.”
“That’s dumb.”
“Why are you her friend anyway? You guys are so different. She’s always belittling you and hitting at you. She also made you go out on the ‘ghost hunt’ and got you into a lot of trouble. Then, to top it off, she got really angry at you afterwards, when you were supposed to be angry at her.”
I thought for a second. She was right! Why was I friends with Rikki? “I think you’re right,” I said.
“Then at school tomorrow, tell her your feelings. Now you can hang with more friends.”