Some girls from school saw me with Maggie. It wouldn't have been so bad if Maggie had taken her medicine for the last few nights. She was acting crazy! She kept standing up during the movie and saying anything that she thought was wrong with it- the actors, the scenery, the plot, whatever. Finally, I had to take Maggie out of the theatre. The girls were laughing hysterically. They followed me out and teased Maggie and I the whole way home on the bus. Finally I got out and hailed a cab. I couldn't take it any more. When I got home I had to run in- leaving Maggie in the back of the car. I told the driver not to go any where, no matter what Maggie said. Good thing, too, because when I got out with mom, Maggie was trying to get the driver the drive to the Sears tower. I took Maggie inside while mom paid the driver. I'm sure the guy got a good laugh. Today at school, the girls who saw me at the theatre with Maggie made fun of me more, asking who that lady was with me. I told them the truth- that Maggie was my grandmother. They just said, "Yeah right. She was dressed like a slut." I told them that it wasn't her fault (even though it was) because she was schizophrenic. Well, those girls aren't stupid. They know that schizophrenia is genetic. So, they started calling me schizophrenic. That hurt. They didn't know how bad that hurt. I am schizophrenic. Just a little bit, and with the medicine, you can't tell I have it. I look and act just like a normal thirteen year old. I wish Maggie would just take her medicine. When she doesn't, she's a pain for everyone- especially my mom. Maggie keeps trying to set her up with Carter, even though my mom is married! One time, Carter and mom decided to humor her and go to dinner. That didn't satisfy Maggie, though. She wanted my mom to divorce dad, and marry Carter. My mom sent Maggie to the hospital after that. Maggie got out in a few days, swore she would take her medicine, and within two weeks, was back to her old ways. I don't think dad really likes Maggie. I don't blame him. She's always loud- whether she's been taking her medication or not. She's very annoying when she doesn't, always asking him about the war in Croatia. Dad doesn't like to talk about it. I upsets him too much. He was married before he met my mom, before he came to America. He lived in Croatia with his wife. They had two children, Jasna and Jacov. Dad loved them a lot. They all died in the war when a bomb hit their apartment when dad was out. Dad tried hard to save them, himself, since he couldn't get help. He couldn't save them though; his wife and children died. Daniella would be my dad's age, now. Jasna would be a sophomore in college, and Markos would be twenty-seven or so. I'm named after them. My name is Daniella Jasna Jacov Kovac. My dad calls me Jas, like he called Jasna. Everyone else calls me Daniella. I don't let them shorten it to Dani. Not even my mom calls me Jas. Both my parents work in the hospital. My dad is a doctor and my mom is a nurse. I used to be able to come home and wait for one of my parents to get home. Now, since Maggie's come, I have to go to the hospital and watch Maggie. She gets into to much trouble on her own, and she likes to be near my mom (her daughter). I don't know what to do with Maggie. If I even leave her for thirty seconds, she starts acting weird. She doesn't usually hurt people or any thing, but she just acts strange. My mom is going to have another baby- another girl. Maggie wants her to name it after her. There was no way that my mom would do that. Not that she doesn't love her, but it's just that she doesn't get along with Maggie. She'd have named it John, after Carter, but it's a girl. She asked Carter what names he liked, and he said he liked the name Lucy. He has a daughter named Lucy, but my mom likes that name. She and Carter seem to have a special connection to that name; I don't know what though. She's going to have the baby's middle name be John, though, even if it is a girl. She doesn't care. My dad didn't either. He named me, so now it's my mom's turn.

I think I'll figure this all out soon. Maggie's been living with us for almost eight months now, and the baby will be born in another five months. I don't know. Maybe I have a typical life of a teenager. Maybe I don't. Who knows?