How to Get Your Very Own Madman Nickname
- Since seventh grade, Karl has been known far and wide (at least in Lightsburg) as Psycho (you know, like Norman Bates). And Shmoopers, here's how that came to be....
- The summer before seventh grade, Karl's dad found out he had lung cancer, and things got progressively worse at home.
- While Karl's dad quit drinking after the diagnosis, his mom started drinking for the both of them, and they spent a lot of time fighting.
- Meanwhile, to make his dad happy, Karl played football, even though he hated it and wasn't any good.
- What made playing football particularly awful, though, was Al, the quarterback, who had taken to making Karl his own personal punching bag. Squid, who was then his best friend, also played a pretty big part in the beatings.
- Anyway, Karl kept playing football and taking the accompanying beatings in order to please his dying dad. Until one day, when he decided he wouldn't put up with the beatings anymore.
- Karl got revenge by hitting Al with a baseball bat and busting up his elbow. What he did to Squid, though, was way worse: He sneaked into his backyard and slit his pet rabbit's throat.
- At school, Squid was really broken up about what happened, but no one could prove Karl did it instead of a rabid dog wandering the neighborhood in search of bunny jerky.
- The thing with Al, however, could be proven, and when Karl's dad found out, he beat him up.
- As a result of all this, Karl realized that everyone, including his classmates and parents, were scared of him and watching him like he was going to explode.
- Things got better for a while when the school therapist, Mr. Bradshaw, took an interest in Karl and helped him express what he was feeling. Eventually, though, Mr. Bradshaw took another job at a college.
- The next year, Karl's dad died. What he remembers most about the funeral is that Paul was there for him, and he hadn't realized how badly he needed a friend. When Squid's mom killed herself, Karl remembered this and did the same thing for him.
- That wasn't what sealed Squid and Karl's friendship, though. The week after his mom's funeral, the current Madman therapist tried to get Squid to open up about his feelings, even though he didn't want to. Karl got him off Squid's back by saying they were hanging out that afternoon and maybe they'd talk then.
- While Squid and Karl got to be pretty good friends, the rabbit has always hung over their relationship like a creepy, bunny-shaped dark cloud. Karl knows Squid knows he did it—but he also knows that his friend has forgiven him.
- Meanwhile, people remain wary of Karl to this day because of the bunny incident. And that's how he came to be known as Psycho.