I fumed on the floor, and I began to notice something new: I wasn’t crying. I was angry. Crying used to be my first reaction to anything and everything that upset me, and here I was, super-pissed.
I stood up. “You can’t just do things to me and think I’m going to be OK with it!” I yelled.
“We thought you might like it,” my mother answered meekly.
“Then you don’t know me at all!” I picked up my alarm clock from my nightstand and threw it straight down on the floor. The face cracked off, and a few plastic pieces rolled around.
My mom stared at me, shocked. I was shocked. I had never done anything like that in my life. I never would have thought to.
I looked down at the broken alarm clock. “Shit,” I said. I knelt to pick up the pieces. Perhaps I went a little overboard in “expressing my feelings.”
My mom relaxed, probably glad to see I hadn’t turned into a complete psycho, and said, “I’m heading to the store. I can pick you up a new alarm clock. Do you need anything else?” She smiled at me. Amazing. I’d been home for ten minutes, and already she wanted to get away from me. Whatever. We both needed some time.
I thought about what else I needed, all of those things I wanted at Lake Shit but I couldn’t have.
“Cap’n Crunch, please.”
“Cap’n Crunch,” she said, with the slightest hesitation. Her eyes got shiny, and I could tell she wanted to say something dramatic about how happy she was to have me home. It would have been a perfect moment for an Appreciation, if we had those in real life: Mom, I appreciate that you care about me, even though you’re not very good at showing it.
As she left, the phone rang. My dad picked up downstairs and a second later called, “Anna—Tracy’s on the phone.”
“Can you tell her I’ll call her back in a few minutes?” I yelled down. I couldn’t wait to talk to her, to really tell her everything that happened, but I needed a few minutes in my room.
I walked over to my stereo and turned the dial to a classic rock station. Like magic, a Doors song filled the air. Closing my eyes, I imagined sitting in the Day Room with Justin and all of my new friends. Friends who I would probably never see again, but could never forget. I opened my eyes to pink walls. Gag. The first thing Tracy and I would do together is paint away the pink and put my posters back up. But for now, I lay down on top of my new bedspread, and looked forward to my life.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Big, giant thanks go out to the following people:
Mom and Dad, who are NOT the parents in this book (per Mom’s request).
My sister, Amy, the bestest sis on Earth.
The rest of my family, near and far, for being so supportive.
My cat, Tobin, who I am pretty sure can read this book.
My students: Eastman, Maisie, Julia, and Samantha, who read my book before it was anything and made me feel like a writer, and to all of my students, past, present, and future, who inspire me and make me laugh every day.
Beth, who read the book on command when I needed her to, and my friends Tracy, Susannah, and Cheryl, for reading and cheering me on.
Metra Rail and Warren-Newport Library, for giving me places to write.
My editor, Liz, for giving me this amazing opportunity and making the revision process fun, regardless of how many random, unbook-related e-mails I have sent her.
And Matt, who gets a dedication and an acknowledgment, ’cause he’s my husband and best friend.
Thank you for reading this FEIWEL and FRIENDS book.
The FRIENDS who made Get Well Soon possible are:
Jean Feiwel, Publisher
Liz Szabla, Editor-in-Chief
Rich Deas, Creative Director
Elizabeth Usuriello, Assistant to the Publisher
Dave Barrett, Managing Editor
Nicole Liebowitz Moulaison, Production Manager
Find out more about our authors and artists and our future
publishing at www.feiwelandfriends.com.
Our Books are Friends for Life
GET WELL SOON. Copyright © 2007 by Julie Halpern. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address Feiwel and Friends, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
A FEIWEL AND FRIENDS Book
An Imprint of Holtzbrinck Publishers
www.feiwelandfriends.com
Book design by Kristina Albertson
eISBN 9781466825956
First eBook Edition : August 2012
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Halpern, Julie,
Get well soon / Julie Halpern.
p. cm.
Summary: When her parents confine her to a mental hospital, an overweight teenage girl, who suffers from panic attacks, describes her experiences in a series of letters to a friend.
ISBN 13: 978-0-312-36795-4 / ISBN 10: 0-312-36795-3
[1. Psychiatric hospitals—Fiction. 2. Mental illness—Fiction.
3. Self-perception—Fiction. 4. Letters—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.H1666Ge 2007
[Fic]—dc22
2006032358
First Edition: October 2007
Get Well Soon Page 16
