Give Me a Smile

As soon as we got home, away from the cameras, mom dropped the act and began ignoring me again. I didn’t let it bother me. I was already going through the knives, stealing the best ones. Mom already had a new boyfriend, a weaselly man named Tom.
I didn’t like him, or the way he leered and put an arm around my waist. I didn’t belong to him, I belong to the Joker. He loves me.
It took me awhile to really fall back into normal life. I only slept a few hours a night, having got used to Joker’s nocturnal life style. The cops gave up and stopped watching me after a week with no sign of Joker. I went back to a school where everyone was scared of me.

I had spent three months with Joker, and no one could forget that. They avoided me totally, even the teachers. They were nervous around me, eyes on my scars. I smiled more often, cruelly satisfied with the affect it had on people.
It wasn’t enough, though. I was empty, hollowed without the Joker. Everything seemed boring and lifeless. I took to leaving a scar for every day I spent without him, spent most of my time playing with knives or watching the news.
I even went out searching for him at night, but he never appeared. The days turned into weeks and I didn’t hear from him. I was tense and ready to snap completely.
Joker once said that everyone is just one bad day away from snapping, become as crazy as he is. He said that he’s just a normal guy who had a bad day. Think about it. One bad day away from insanity. Well, I had had several bad weeks. I’m pretty sure that entitles me to madness.