Words on Bathroom Walls

Adam and Maya enjoy their first Valentine’s Day as boyfriend and girlfriend. They go out to dinner, gaze at the sunset over the water, and watch Casablanca at an old theater. During the movie, Adam starts to feel strange. The movie merges with the theater around him, and when guns go off, Adam’s ability “to hide my crazy disappeared” (170). He yanks Maya to the floor to protect her from the bullets.

After a moment of shock, Maya kisses him. As they make out, Adam’s panic recedes, and by the time the movie’s over, the incident doesn’t feel as bad as it was. He convinces himself that his mind “played images that had absolutely nothing to do with what I actually did” and moves on (171).

Adam is cast as Jesus in St. Agatha’s Easter production of Stations of the Cross, which is not a popular role to play in the school. The casting is done by popular vote, so since Adam isn’t really disliked, he suspects Ian had something to do with rigging the voting. Dwight, who is even less popular than Adam, volunteered for one of the background roles. When Adam asks why Dwight didn’t tell him they could volunteer for smaller roles, Dwight laughs, “it’s every man for himself, dude” (174).