Chapter Seven: Only a Little Crazy
“A question that sometimes drives me crazy: am I or are the others crazy?” –Albert Einstein
Crazy. What does that word even mean? It can mean that you are mentally unstable or that you’re overcome with excitement, according to the dictionary. It can mean other things too, but I won’t get into it.
There are a lot of crazy people in the world. Crazy people sometimes do crazy things in this . . . crazy world that we live in. I think that because there are so many crazy people in the world, so many horrible things happen. Murder. Theft. Vandalism. Assault. Innocent people usually end up getting hurt. People are in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s usually how it starts. And then it starts once more.
Not all of us are crazy. There are probably a few sane people out there who are less crazy than I am. The people who haven’t been diagnosed as crazy are walking freely doing as they please, while others are locked away in a cell or worse—in a padded room.
People who are crazy need help. Not all of them. When I say crazy, I mean the people with diseases and disorders and addictions that make them crazy, cancelling out what is sane. Sometimes it gets so bad that there is nothing human left of you. Your family and friends don’t recognize you anymore and you no longer have anything left. They look and they see what you have become—a monster.
Maybe I’m a little crazy. But this is a crazy world. Strange things happen here. People do crazy things. And whether we like it or not, there is nothing that we can do to change any of it.
It felt good to turn Cory in to Principal Mathers. Revenge was never a good thing, but I didn’t care. He deserved whatever it was that he got . . . for everything he ever did to me. I hadn’t seen Cory today at all. I wasn’t even sure if he’d come to school today.
Lucas came to the table and sat across from me, snapping me out of my thoughts. He gave me a confused look, then smiled. “What are you thinking about? You look lost.” Before I could answer, he grinned like a Cheshire cat.
“What are you smiling about?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
“According to some of my sophomore friends that are on the football team,” he stated, “Cory Madison is no longer on the team. And he’s been suspended for a week.”
A grin formed on my face, just as wide as Lucas’. “Finally,” I said. “Peace.”
Lucas bit into his sandwich as Eliza came back to the table with some French fries. As she sat, she shot us both suspicious glances. “What’s with you two?” Lucas excitedly repeated what he told me. Then we were all three, grinning fools. Eliza sighed and took her sweater off. “Is it just me or is it really hot in here?” I agreed and she turned to Lucas and asked him if he was hot; he hadn’t taken off his jean jacket, despite how undeniably hot it was outside.
“Nah. I’m fine,” he said. “I’m used to cold weather. I guess having a jacket on doesn’t bother me much.”
Eliza and I both shrugged. “So how’s swimming? Have practices started yet?” I asked.
“We have practice today at three,” he answered. “I’m so glad I made the team.”
“Me too,” Eliza said.
YOU ARE READING
Waves
Teen Fiction"If you could kill yourself right now, would you?" I asked. He shook his head. "No," he said, "because suicide means that you've given up on yourself. And I'm not gonna do that." Isobel cut herself once, just see if it would take the pain away...
