Highly Illogical Behavior(5)

“She was nice. And I was right. He hasn’t left the house in years.”

“Fascinating,” Janis said. “I wouldn’t leave the house either if I’d done what he did.”

“He couldn’t help it,” Lisa defended.

“Honestly, I don’t know why you care so much about a kid you never met.”

Lisa’s plan had been taking shape for some time before she actually met Solomon’s mother, but she wasn’t quite ready to tell Janis about it. Sometimes when you’re doing something you maybe shouldn’t be doing in the first place, the last thing you need is someone like Janis to tell you why you shouldn’t be doing it. Lisa was smart enough to know the risks, and she’d already made up her mind.

Later that evening, at Clark’s house, Lisa tried bringing up college to see if she could get some idea of what was going on in that head of his.

“Given any more thought to schools on the East Coast?” she asked.

“I was researching the other day,” Clark replied. “Then I felt way too grown up and played video games instead.”

“Well, I finally decided for sure. So, maybe you can plan around where I go.”

“Okay. Where?”

“Woodlawn University. They have the second highest ranked psychology program in the country.”

“Why not go for the first?”

“Because I know I can be top of my class at one and I’m slightly unsure I could be at the other.”

“You’re like Lady Macbeth without the murder.”

“Thank you. You have no idea how much of a compliment that is to me.”

“So, I should be looking at schools close by? Where is that, Oregon?”

“Maryland,” she corrected. “Baltimore.”

“I always wanted to see Poe’s grave.”

“Ridiculous,” she said. “I have never understood this universal fascination with gravesites. It’s morbid and just . . . sad.”

“I go to my granddad’s grave sometimes. It’s nice.”

“Sorry.”

“Doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “I like what I like, you like what you like.”

“What do you do there? Just look at it and be sad?”

“No. Usually I just pray or talk to my granddad like he’s still here. It honestly makes me happier than it does sad.”

“People are strange, aren’t they?”

“Is that why you’re so dead set on fixing us all?” Clark asked.

“Not you,” she said quickly. “You’re good like you are.”

“Thanks. So . . . Woodlaw . . .”

“Woodlawn,” she corrected.

“Yeah, that. Can you get in?”

“With my eyes closed.”

“What do you have to do? An essay or something?”

“Yeah. My personal experience with mental illness.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard,” he laughed. “You can just write about your mom. Or maybe my mom. She’s legitimately insane.”

“No. It has to be unique. It has to be the best one they read. Maybe the best one they’ve ever read. They give one scholarship a year. Full ride.”

And she knew exactly what she was going to write about. It had practically hit her over the head the second she saw Dr. Reed’s ad in the paper. She needed to find Solomon, charm him, and counsel him back to health. Then, she’d record it all in her essay to Woodlawn and be well on her way to securing her place among the greatest psychological minds of the twenty-first century. They’d be naming a building after her by the time she had grandkids.

But, she’d need to get started soon if she wanted to have guaranteed success. Especially since, by the sound of it, she could be dealing with a full-blown agoraphobe. That isn’t something a person can conquer in a few weeks. Lisa would need several months with him to make the kind of progress she wanted—and she was already nearing the end of her junior year. That would allow just enough time to get her application in early. She wouldn’t settle for being wait-listed and she wasn’t about to apply to the third best psych program in the country. This was where she belonged and it was where she’d end up, no matter what.

“I’m going to write about my cousin,” Lisa said.

“The one in the place?”

“Institution,” she corrected. “I met him once. He gets out sometimes. Gets to come home for a weekend or two a year. It’s weird. I’ve always wanted to talk to him or try to get to know him. I never do though.”

“I’d be careful there,” Clark advised. “No telling what could be wrong if he has to live away from everyone like that.”

“No telling,” she said. “But maybe I’ll try to talk to him anyway.”

Despite her interest in psychology, Lisa wasn’t really planning to talk to her cousin, or anyone in her family for that matter. She could barely stand being in a room with her mom and her dad’s birthday cards quit coming when she turned nine. She just needed a good cover so Clark wouldn’t find out about Solomon. Not yet, anyway. You don’t go telling your boyfriend that you need to spend a few months with another guy, especially one with a history of emotional instability and public meltdowns. She’d find the right time. Ignorance was bliss to Clark, so she was just doing him a favor anyway. He could wait a little longer to find out about her project. After all, it seemed like he really liked waiting on things.