Somehow Mark managed to dray his pitiful behind home, and after an hour-long soak in a soothing hot bubble bath, he pulled on a soft bathrobe and dressed his wounds again. Looking in the mirror, he could barely recognize himself! Thanks to the past three hours of confusion and outright bad luck, he had two black eyes, a bloody lip, six missing teeth, grazes up and down both arms and legs, lattice engravings across his stomach, and the occasional missing patch of hair. Mark, at this point, began to feel down right sorry for himself. In one way, he wished he had a pet to comfort him... but then again, everything that had just happens came about thanks to his desire for a per. Mark decided he needed therapy� fast. So off her went, very carefully, to see a therapist. Mark had come up with a very clever plan to avoid being seen by Mrs. O�Hara and her beau and tabby; he was in disguise as a woman. Wearing his mother�s sundress and straw hat, he was completely unrecognizable. Of course, the three pounds of make-up he slapped on the cover the purplish tint of his puffy face helped out a bit too.
After a very nerve-wracking, yet uneventful walk, he came upon the office door of Dr. Cronk, �Walk-ins Welcome.� Well that was enough for Mark, and through the �Instant Therapist Entrance� door went he.
Now the assistant behind the counter was speaking with a woman who said the shy was falling as Mark entered the office.
�Ma�am,� began Mark, interrupting the assistant�s conversation, �Ma�am, if you please��
�Hold on and wait your turn, kid. This woman thinks the sky is falling!� Snapped the assistant without glancing up.
�Ma�am; I want a pet, a tabby cat tried to kill me (and darn near succeeded might I add!) I�ve been beaten by an anti-disco psychopath and a large British woman, and now I�m wearing my mother�s clothed to escape them!� Mark raised his voice as he came to the exasperated conclusion of his summery, and so did the assistant�s head. The lady who was worried about the sky dropped her jaw to the ground (much faster than any sky could fall0 and was shoved aside by the assistant who had suddenly determined Marks� problems were indeed much greater.
�Please follow me, little sir. Right this way. The doctor will only be a moment,� said the assistant as she opened the door labeled �Help Waiting�.
She scooted Mark through the door and down the hall. Mark couldn�t help but wonder if �Help Waiting� meant that�s where people who needed the most help waited (he didn�t want to wait too long) or if it meant help was waiting for him wherever the assistant was leading him.
It wasn�t long before they reached their destination, for the assistant halted at a door painted pale yellow and pointed.
�Go ahead in,� she said with a smile, �The doctor shouldn�t be long.�
Mark entered the room and the assistant turned back towards the front desk muttering something to herself. This room was not at all what he had expected. There were Van Gough paintings on the walls, (Mark rather like �Starry Night�) three couches arranged in a half circle, and a lava lamp in the corner. Mark decided to plant his self on the middle couch awaiting the doctor�s arrival. He sat and stared at the door, getting more anxious each passing moment. There was the sound of a ticking clock, but Mark couldn�t figure out where it was coming from. It was driving him insane!
