More Happy Than Not

Aaron explains that the Leteo procedure is real. He remembers hearing about it for the first time and calling it “bullshit” every time he saw a commercial or headline. Brendan, Aaron’s friend, has explained that Kyle Lake, another teenaged boy in their housing project, underwent the procedure to forget his recently murdered twin brother Kenneth.

It’s almost family day at their housing project—a yearly event during which the community gathers to eat, play, and talk. This year several people are missing or gone: Kyle and Kenneth; Brendan’s parents, who are both in jail; and Aaron’s father, who killed himself in the family’s bathtub several months ago. Brendan has started dealing marijuana; Aaron thinks of him as his “sort of best friend” because “a real best friend would use a lot of words to make you feel somewhat good about your life when you’re thinking about ending it. Like I tried to do” (15).

Aaron shares a one-bedroom apartment with his mother and his brother Eric. His brother is very into video games, while Aaron prefers comic books and art. His mother works two jobs to support the family, which has been struggling financially since his father’s suicide. In the bathroom Aaron thinks about his father’s death and his own suicide attempt; he traces the curved scar on his wrist, which he describes as “smiling” (17).