Group Therapy

Written for the Daily Flash Fiction Challenge with a word limit of 300.

The prompts: This story must contain the phrase: "You're insane."

Group Therapy

“You’re insane!”

“No, you’re insane!”

I think you’re both insane, Mr. Cedric, PhD, thought with a scowl; then “Now, now, let’s not resort to name calling.”

God I hate my job, he thought; not for the first time today, or even for the first time this session.

“Bob, why don’t you tell us something nice about someone else in our group?”

What a great way to pass the time. This would take up a good portion of the hour. Already, Cedric had formed the next time-tested question, “And how does that make you feel?”

He put it in his mental “question” queue, thankful that his years of education didn’t interfere with what was passing as quality, billable time.

“No, I’m not going to do that,” said Bob as he stood and crossed his arms.

Red Alert, thought Cedric. He casually reached to his belt where Taser Buddy waited for the call to action; except there was no Taser Buddy today.

Drat, he thought. I must have left it on my desk.

“Cedric, why don’t you do some of the talking? Why don’t you tell us about how you really feel about something? Tell us about your childhood. No, tell us about … your mother.”

Bob walked over and looked down on Cedric. As he did so, he motioned for the others to remain seated. This type of confrontation tended to agitate them.

This will require some finesse, Cedric thought. He considered making a break for the door but he seemed to be unable to move.

I must be mentally paralyzed, he realized as fear gripped his soul.

“No, you shut up,” he finally said with conviction.

Dr. Bob nodded; indicating a sympathetic understanding.

"That will do for today, everyone. Cedric, tomorrow we’ll see how you do without the straight jacket.”

Word Count 300