4/7
I was right: something is going on, but it definitely isn't what I was expecting, and I feel both excited and relived about it at the same time. Like I said last night, at breakfast I decided to see Eddy and ask him if he knew about anything happening in Arkham. He said that he didn't know, but he figured something was up because the staff were acting like they were in a hurry to do something. Eddy leaned over to me and he said very quietly that Administrator Arkham hasn't been seen since April Fools Day, and the staff won't give him an explanation for where he is.
Very stupidly, I blurted out without thinking that Arkham might be feeling sick, and Eddy smiled at me and said: "He might be." When it dawned on me what he meant, I laughed so hard I literally fell to the ground! And then, Eddy said he heard from Dr. Adams that Scarecrow is back in the asylum because he apparently turned himself in to the cops sometime yesterday. As usual, when good ole' Jervis heard Eddy mention Mr. Crane, he started bouncing around the cafeteria like a giddy schoolgirl.
We figured whatever was going on was probably already in the news, but the staff at Arkham were trying to keep their mouths shut about it so we wouldn't find out what was going on; at least they were doing a decent job at keeping something from us, for once. We had to wait to talk to Mr. Crane to find out what was going on outside, but he didn't show up in the rec room until an hour before it was time for all the inmates to return to their cells. Me, Eddy, and Jervis went over to see him and we picked a corner where we could sit and chat. Even Two-Face looked at us like he wanted to be part of the conversation.
There were some guards looking at us with suspicion, but they didn't do a thing to stop us from talking; the staff must have given up on trying to prevent the truth from spreading at that point. In one sentence, Mr. Crane told us that on April Fool's Day, something had happened that will change EVERYTHING... Oh man, I'm so excited I'm sweating like crazy right now and I probably won't be able to sleep but I don't care... April Fool's, Jeremiah Arkham had a nervous breakdown so bad that not only was he taken to the hospital, but, unless he makes a miraculous recovery, he'll most likely have to be brought in here as a patient.
Mr. Crane didn't even try to be discreet while telling us (he almost shouted), so all the inmates in the room went wild! The guards almost immediately stormed in and dragged our group away from the room and back to our cells. I, for one, was kicking and screaming at them to let us go so we could hear the rest of the story. The other people in the room weren't even rioting, they were just shocked at what they heard and wanted to know what was going on.
You know when you're in the middle of something that will change history; if the history of the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane were written in a book, whatever happened to the administrator would take up a whole chapter. I don't know how things are gonna go from here, but I'm sure we'll find out very soon. Yeah, I need some answers very soon. My head is still spinning; yesterday I had Dr. Leland on my mind, but tonight all I can think of are the whats, hows and whys about Jeremiah Arkham. The question that stands out most of all is: Is this breakdown a new thing, or is this part of something that's been going on for a while, and the doctors wanted to keep it under wraps until it got out of control?
I remember speaking to Arkham while I was working here, and I certainly saw him talk to other doctors afterwards, and he never struck me as the type of guy who was hiding a secret mental illness. Did I think he had something under that stoic facade of his? Of course I did, by now you just accept that there are no well-adjusted people in here. Until now, Arkham came across as a guy who fought hard to keep everything running no matter the opposition; I don't think he fought because he was passionate about his work, but because he would be seen as a failure if he let the family business slip through his fingers.
Because of him, the asylum still stands today, even if on a shaky foundation. Maybe the pressure finally caught up to him, even though nothing exciting has happened here recently, it might've taken a few quiet days for him to realize what a total failure he was the whole time and snapped, having nothing to distract him from the truth. That's what I think so far, but there's no point in coming to a solid conclusion when I don't know a lot of the facts.
Another thing I'm wondering is how Scarecrow fits into all this. Mr. Crane never actually said that he was the cause of the administrator's breakdown, but it's possible he didn't get to that part of the story yet; if he did cause the breakdown, did he turn himself in as part of some bigger scheme? These questions are just killing me right now! With the commotion that happened in the rec room, I'm almost sure we won't get to see Mr. Crane for a few days, and he'll probably be questioned by the police (not to mention B-Man) if he hasn't been already.
I guess we'll have to play the waiting game on this one. I just hope that someone tells Mr. J and Red about the wonderful news...
