It's Kind of a Funny Story

Aaron also gets into Executive Pre-Professional and plans a “real party” (61). Aaron convinces Craig to bring the bottle of scotch his parents have. Craig pours some of it into a thermos and adds water so his parents won’t notice. At Aaron’s house, Craig smokes pot for the first time. Once it kicks in, he feels like he’s “able to do anything” (67). They are excited when their attractive classmate, Nia, arrives, and they invite her to play scrabble, adding their own rules. Aaron and Nia start flirting. Craig imagines that Nia telepathically tells him “You’re cool, but you’re not as cool as Aaron” (71).

As the party grows, someone named Ronny tries to force Craig to take a sip of scotch. When someone says that Aaron and Nia are “making out” Craig is surprised to learn that this doesn’t mean they’re having sex. He thought that “hooking up” meant “making out” and feels embarrassed. While Nia and Aaron continue to kiss, Craig ignores a girl who wants to kiss him and instead sifts through Aaron’s father’s record collection, marveling at Led Zeppelin III and “The White Album.” Craig puts his head back for a moment and wakes up hours later.

Craig wakes up after the party has subsided. Ronny plays PlayStation while others sleep around the cluttered room. Aaron returns and kicks everyone out, except for Nia who is still sleeping somewhere. He invites Craig to go on a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge with him. Aaron says he didn’t have sex with Nia but he “can tell” she likes it. As they look out at New York Harbor, Craig realizes “I could do anything anywhere, in all four directions” (86). He knows the history and layout of the city intimately and feels happy knowing he’ll own a piece of it one day. Impulsively, Craig walks to the edge of the Brooklyn Bridge, dodging cars along the way. Craig feels empowered and euphoric, screaming into the air. He realizes there’s nothing keeping him from falling, “just your hands and your will” (89).

Now that he doesn’t need to worry about the entrance exam, Craig relaxes and spends time smoking pot with Aaron. He loves the “magnificent haze of yelling back at the TV” (91). Craig doesn’t like Aaron and Nia’s sex life “thrown” in his face but knows they don’t mean to. Craig messages other girls but every time he masturbates, he can’t help but think of Nia. Craig blows off their summer reading and only gets 70% on their first day of school quiz. To Craig’s frustration, Aaron gets 100% because he spent the summer reading in Europe while he was hooking up with girls. School is overwhelming, leaving Craig with hours of homework every day. He feels inferior to his classmates. He drops out of Tae Bo, his only extracurricular. He starts recognizing his “Tentacles” and a voice, Army Guy, starts shouting in his head. He begins vomiting due to stress at the restaurant where he has dinner with his parents. In the bathroom, Craig resolves to stop smoking and spending time with Aaron so he can “be a machine” (99). He returns and tells his parents he thinks he’s depressed.

Craig goes to see a doctor for the first time. His intake form, which was mostly filled out with “threes and fours,” (out of five) clues Dr. Barney into how pervasive Craig’s depression and anxiety are. Dr. Barney asks Craig about his suicidal ideation, which Craig brushes off. He has had a plan for suicide, jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge, for years, but doesn’t think he would ever do it. Craig is so used to this that he assumes “you hadn’t really lived until you’ve contemplated suicide” (103). The root of Craig’s anxiety and depression is how inferior and overwhelmed he feels. Craig doesn’t tell Dr. Barney about the “army guy” voice in his head when Dr. Barney asks if he hears voices. Dr. Barney explains how depression works and writes him a prescription for Zoloft, which will take a few weeks to kick in. Dr. Barney shares that he struggled with the same thing, which is why he went into this field. He refers Craig to a therapist and plan to check in about the medication in a month.

Craig starts feeling better after his first Zoloft pill. While he knows this is the placebo effect, he thinks “it was a great placebo effect” (113). Eventually, the pills start working in earnest and Craig spends more time with his sister, Sarah. He also manages to catch up in school and feels more agency. His progress isn’t perfect, though. Craig has nights where he “Cycles” through anxieties. He beats himself up after hanging out with Aaron and smoking. He thinks he’s “wasted my time and my body and my energy and my words and my soul” (117). One day, Craig tells Nia that he is on Zoloft for depression. She responds warmly, sharing that she takes Prozac. The two teenagers instantly bond and begin joking about how often they need to see therapists. When Nia points out that most people need medication for something or other, Craig bristles, saying that not everyone really needs medication like he does. Nia thinks that Craig’s problem is that “You don’t have a connection with other people” (119). She urges him to share with Aaron, who she thinks needs help too. Craig shifts back and forth between realizing he isn’t “better” to thinking he doesn’t need his medication anymore. When his prescription is due for a refill, he throws the bottle away.