Breakfast, that was now closer to lunch, was finished and the family sat on broken stools around the kitchen counter. The table was having a hard time sitting straight, and so everyone ignored it. That was always what they did after situations like that. They ignored that anything had happened and pretended that life was always mealtimes and smiles.
The conversation was inane, never really focused on any specific topic. They never talked about what had happened, and they never talked about what would happen. Instead they talked about food and books. They talked about which shopkeepers had painted the front of their stores and who had the best throw-aways.
They always avoided anything too personal, anything that would burst their bubble of pretend normalcy. They never asked Howell about school, and he never told them anything about it. He knew his father would not have approved. It was just too much information on record.
According to his parents they had to stay hidden, illegal, otherwise they would be found and taken back. More than that. His parents were more concerned about anyone taking Howell away from them.
Howell laughed at his dad’s newest joke and the smile stayed on his face. He did not care about day, time, or even going crazy. For now, he would enjoy the time that he had between his parents’ mood swings. One of these days he was bound to join his parents on the medication cycle of insanity, since he was seeing things.
As much as he did not want to be crazy, he knew he could not really avoid it. He had been born in a psychiatric hospital, after all. Insanity was just a part of life. The teen knew he was going to go crazy, though he hoped he would have a little more time. He really did not want to be insane, but Howell knew he could live with it.
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