Crank (Crank 1)

asking inane questions.

As for me, I was less than contrite.

Picking up trash wasn’t so bad. There

were ways around GUFN.

And I now had a direct in with a

monster manufacturer.

Back in My Room

My life closed in

around me. I was

no longer my own.

Mom had poured

through all

my stuff, scoured

my journal, letters,

and address book.

She did find a bit

of evidence—a

crumpled Marlboro

wrapper and a new

lighter. Hey, it made

her day to discover

I was a hard-core

tobacco user. More

lectures, more useless

promises on my

end. She went off

to work on her book.

A sudden wave of

exhaustion swallowed

me. I’d walked through