"Mark is just confused," the angel on my right shoulder said, "He hasn't figured out his emotions yet."

"Come on, he's a total freak!" The devil on my left shoulder countered, "The boy likes his best friend."

Mark Mullins, age 16, is another patient of mine. He suffers from cyclothymia and a schizoid personality disorder. He recently confessed to me that he has feelings for another patient of mine, Casey Giannulli. The two are close friends who once played for our town's high school varsity football team back when the team was worth talking about.

Now, I'm not one to interpret dreams, but these boys seem perfect for each other.

"I think about him all the time. He was even in my dream," Mark said as he sat uncomfortably on the couch.

"Dejavu."

"What?"

"Nothing. Please, tell me about this dream of yours."

"Okay," he began, "Well, I was -"

"Freefalling?"

"No. I was on a subway train. It was silver and The Speeding Bullet was painted on the side of it. I assume that was the name of the train."

I rolled my eyes. "Duh."

"You're one crappy shrink, you know that? Like I was saying, I was on The Speeding Bullet and I was sitting all alone. Around me I saw such bizarre passengers as penguins with fangs, Casey's mom, a Spanish dame, and some guy who claimed to be the Pope's cousin."

"You're kidding me."

"Real shrinks don't talk like you. And no, I kid you not. They were all drinking orange juice, and even though they had an endless supply, they refused to give me any.

The Speeding Bullet was moving fast. So when it collided head-on with that giant rice cracker, I knew we were all doomed. But there he was, pulling me out of the wreckage.

He looked at me and said, 'Nick says the odds of us beating Plattsburg is 50-50. I say they're higher than that. What do you think?' "

Mark sighed as he added, "My love."

The boy stood up from the couch and walked out. I looked at my watch. It was exactly 4:30 ; when his time was up. I chuckled and told my receptionist to bring in the next patient, a father who felt his son was acting out for attention that he didn't deserve- God Giannulli, age 46.