She awoke in an uncomfortable bed in a strange room. Four walls, all white, no windows, save for one in the door. The window had bars in it. The walls were padded.

" Oh shit, " Tracy whispered.

Two pairs of eyes stared in at her through the barred window. The door clicked open and two doctors, a male and a female, entered. They wore white coats and looked proper. Tracy was terrified of them.

They shut the door firmly.

" Good morning, " the male doctor said in a quiet, measured voice.

" And how are we today? " asked the female.

" What am I doing here? " Tracy demanded, climbing out of the bed.   

" You mean you don ' t know? " the male doctor asked.

" No, " Tracy said.

The doctors turned to each other, sharing a quick look Tracy couldn ' t read.   The male doctor turned back to Tracy.

" You are here, " he said, slowly and clearly, " because you are crazy. "

Her mind went numb.

" I ' m not crazy, " she said, so slowly that the words had no connection to each other.

" I ' m afraid you are, " the female doctor said.

" But I ' m not, " Tracy said. She was starting to get feeling back in her mind now, felt her heart pumping blood hard & fast. " I ' m not! "

" Do you consider yourself more qualified to make psychological assessments than medical professionals? " the female doctor asked carefully, peering at Tracy over the top of her glasses. Her eyes bulged, unblinking.

" N-no, " Tracy stammered, " of course not. " Her mind raced. " But I -- I ' ll prove it. "

" How? " the male doctor asked.

" Well...look at me. I ' m calm, for one thing. I think I ' m acting quite rational. "

" Acting being the operative word, if you ' ll pardon my saying so, " said the male doctor. " You are clearly frightened and making a conscious attempt to appear calm; you are play-acting at being sane. Your behavior is cunning, granted, but no indication of sanity at all. "

" What?! "

" In other words, " the male doctor said, " cluck cluck . "

Tracy froze, staring at him.

" Do you not understand the reference? " the male doctor asked, his eyes burning into her. She saw he had a notepad out, his pen poised to write.

" I understand, " she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. " I just...don ' t find it appropriate. "

" So you decide what is appropriate for everyone? "

" That ' s not what I said -- "

" Can you not remember what you said? "

" Are you confused? " the female doctor leapt in.

" No! I -- "

" Does your memory often play tricks on you? "

" Do you find yourself being confused easily? "

" How long has your memory been unreliable? "

They hammered her with questions; she could feel herself spiraling down, down, like water out of a bathtub, swirling down the drain. Her head throbbed, her knees buckled. She staggered to the bed and sat down, eyes shut tight, hands pressed to her temples.

" Adam, " she said. " Adam will know I ' m not crazy, ask him. He ' ll get me out of here. He... "

" Your friend Adam has already been notified of your condition, " the female doctor said calmly, " and is waiting outside. "

" You can see him if you wish, " the male doctor added.

" Yes! Yes, please. "

" Well, all right, " the female doctor sighed. " But it won ' t do much good. "

The doctors shuffled to the door, which opened easily for them, and they went out. A moment later Adam entered, looking worried. The door shut firmly behind him.

" Are you all right? " he asked.

" Of course not! I ' m in here! You ' ve got to help me -- Adam, you ' ve got to help me get out of this place! "

" Calm down, " Adam said, " tell me everything. "

" Didn ' t the doctors tell you? "

" I want to hear your side of it. "

So she told him what had happened, ending with her failed attempt to convince the doctors of her sanity. " They didn ' t believe me, " she finished. Then, as an afterthought: " One of the doctors clucked at me. "

" Clucked at you? "

" Yes! He said `` ' cluck cluck. '"

There was a moment of silence, and she saw that Adam was regarding her strangely. A horrible thought occurred to her.

" You don ' t believe them, do you? "

He hesitated.

" Adam ? "

" No, " he said softly. He raised his eyes to hers, and she was reassured. " No, I don ' t believe them. Don ' t worry, we ' re going to get you out of here. "

She slumped against him, relief flooding her. Thank God. Thank God. He believed her. She was getting out...

Adam turned to the door and gave a start. The doctors were pressed against the bars, their bulging eyes unblinking.

Watching.

" Let me out of here, " Adam said calmly. " We have to talk. "

The doctors shook their heads slowly, in unison.

" We ' re not letting you out, " the male doctor said slowly and clearly, " because you are crazy. "      

" What!? " Adam roared, pounding the door. " No, I ' m not! Now see here...hey! Come back! Come back!"

The doctors turned and started down the hall, leaving Adam and Tracy behind. There were many doors ahead of them, many doors with barred windows, a hallway of doors that stretched on and on, room after room packed to bursting with patients, friends of patients, relatives, neighbors, all pounding the doors, all claiming to be " sane, " all screaming, howling, pleading for escape.

" How sad, " the female doctor sighed. " So many people. And they ' re all crazy."

" Cluck cluck, " said the male doctor.