Words on Bathroom Walls

Adam notices a new side effect of the ToZaPrex—tardive dyskinesia, or involuntary muscle movements that resemble tics. For Adam, the dyskinesia manifests as smacking his lips and frowning, which makes him look like “a toothless old man eating soup” (144). Maya notices the movements in class one day and asks about them. Adam claims he bit his cheek, which Maya seems to believe.

Paul comes into Adam’s room in the middle of the night. Adam’s mom is bleeding and needs to go to the hospital. Unable to get back to sleep, Adam texts Maya to tell her what’s happening and that he can’t sleep. There’s no response, so Adam searches for ways to keep himself occupied, until his bedroom window opens and Maya climbs through. She slips into his bed and kisses him, but Adam isn’t sure whether she’s real, so he sends her a text. When her phone goes off with the notification, the vibrating noise is “the most welcome sound I’ve ever heard in my life” (149). Several hours later, Maya leaves to get home before she’s missed. Paul and Adam’s mom come home soon after. The pregnancy is fine, but Adam feels guilty for being more concerned with sleep than the baby.