The Last House on Needless Street

Ted goes to his appointment with the bug man, his psychiatrist. Throughout their visits, Ted is fixated on appearing normal. Ted lies that he injured his arm on a date with a woman who accidentally shut the car door on him.

Ted talks about Olivia, whom he calls his best friend. He is worried that Olivia might be gay—he can tell she loves the tabby cat. Ted says his mother would be very upset if she knew he had a gay cat.

The bug man asks about Lauren, whom Ted accidentally mentioned during a previous session. He tells Ted it is safe to open up to him, that it is healthy to discuss difficult topics. Ted stores up his most boring thoughts all week to tell the bug man to deflect from the real issues he experiences. The bug man talks about how dissociation can be a defense mechanism. Ted tunes him out. The bug man refills his prescription. Ted’s visits to the bug man are a ruse to help Lauren because she experiences psychiatric issues and cannot leave the house.

On his street, Ted sees photocopied fliers on all the telephone poles, all with a photograph of the chihuahua lady.