That, Son, Was the Lone Madman (Friday, September 7, 1973)
- Marti and Karl wake up at McDonald's to her pocket travel alarm and clear the premises. She gives him a ride home, but when Karl arrives, he finds himself locked out. Ha.
- Fortunately, he's able to climb in through the living room window. He goes up to his room and gets a few hours of sleep.
- Friday mornings are kind of a big deal for Karl because they mean breakfast at Philbin's. He really has to hustle today because he also needs to get to Gratz's class in time to get his Get Out of Therapy Free letter.
- On his way out the door, though, he gets held up by his mom, who apologizes for taking the $20 and says she wants Karl to meet her new boyfriend this weekend.
- Ugh. This is going nowhere really fast, as usual.
- Karl gets to Philbin's in time for his breakfast. On the way to school, though, the clouds open up and there's a thunderstorm. Luckily, Browning shows up to give him a ride in his hearse.
- It's an awkward ride and not just because Karl is in a hearse and that looks weird—mostly it's because Browning is making perverted comments about all the high school girls in their wet shirts. Oh, and he mistakes Larry for a girl. Oops.
- Karl is about to head to Gratz's room to get his letter when he finds Paul waiting for him at his locker, staring at him in a way that looks like he's going to beat Karl up. Paul then tells him they should probably talk.
- It turns out that Paul is trying to do the same thing Karl was—get out of therapy by being "normal"—and that means avoiding his friends. This should be one of those really cute moments where Karl tells him he's been doing that, too, and then they both say oh, gosh or something, but it doesn't turn out that way.
- Paul grabs Karl by the lapels totally unprovoked and starts screaming at him. Karl punches him in the stomach and calls him an anti-gay slur. Both of them are on the verge of crying and screaming at each other.
- Karl still has plenty of time to go meet with Gratz, but he doesn't feel like it anymore. Instead, he goes to the bathroom and has a meltdown in one of the stalls.
- He gets to Gratz's class late and makes a half-funny comment about being late because of a reason involving the bathroom. Everyone laughs except Paul.
- Today in Gratzland, we're going to be learning the third way not to read Huck Finn. According to Leslie Fiedler, author of Love and Death in the American Novel, it's a book about—and these are Gratz's words, not ours—"two queers on a raft."
- So, apparently, Huck and Jim are gay. At least in this reading of the story. And Gratz, who's all about being a big, tough man, gets really up in arms about this.
- Then, Marti does something really stupid. She raises her hand and says that she's actually read Fiedler's book and that Gratz is misrepresenting the argument.
- Gratz starts yelling at Marti about how Huck and Jim aren't gay and absolutely loses his stuff.
- When Paul, Danny, and Cheryl come to Marti's defense, Gratz makes a rude remark about the therapy kids all sticking together. Then, he kicks Marti, Paul, and Danny out of class.
- Darla starts talking to Mr. Babbitt about how Gratz is a twerp and then gets up and walks out. Cheryl follows.
- This leaves Karl alone, the only Madman left in the room. He feels guilty for not walking out with the others, but he has that letter waiting for him on Gratz's desk.