Flytrap | WATTYS 2022 SHORTLIST

14 | Lily

"Shall we try this again?"

Dr. Crane's spidery fingers tapped the edge of his desk as he awaited Barbara's response.

But Barbara was in no hurry to answer, too preoccupied with swirling the lumpy bowl of gruel in her lap. It was the color of uncooked rice with some sort of yellow liquid drizzled across the surface. She had never seen a more unappetizing meal in her life.

"Let's try something different," Dr. Crane continued. "Tell me about your greatest fear, Barbara."

Barbara's head shot up in an instant. "My what?"

"Your greatest fear," he repeated. "Surely, you must have one."

"Of course, I have one," Barbara scoffed. "But that's none of your business."

"Remember, Barbara." He rested his finger against his temple. "I am the psychologist here. And you still need to complete your evaluation."

Barbara returned to her porridge, lifting a clump of it before letting it plop back into the bowl. Would Dr. Crane believe her if she said food poisoning was her greatest fear?

"It was fear that led me to become a psychologist in the first place. I was a cowardly child growing up, afraid of my own shadow," Dr. Crane answered to a question that hadn't even been asked. "I was the perfect target for bullies. An ideal punching bag who wouldn't fight back because all he could do was stand there, frozen."

While none of this came as a surprise to Barbara-Dr. Crane looked exactly like the gangly nerd bigger kids would bully-she wasn't going to stop him from his tirade. The more he talked meant the less she had to.

"I knew I could never beat them with strength alone. But then I came to realize, I didn't need strength to overcome them. I had my brain with its vast amount of knowledge. Specifically, my knowledge of fear."

Dr. Crane's fingers had come to an abrupt halt against his desk, leaving the both of them in uncomfortable silence. Even Barbara had stopped her incessant churning, suddenly engrossed with how the rest of this story would play out.

A smirk crossed the doctor's features as if he knew he finally captured Barbara's attention. "Around the age of adolescence, most children have the same fears. Insects, large animals, the dark. And growing up in the countryside, none of those aren't hard to come by." He let out a low chuckle.

"After that, they never bothered me again. But I knew what knowledge I unlocked couldn't just be left alone. I had to continue studying. Continue learning what shaped people's fears. And I learned that if you know what someone's greatest fear is, then that's all you really need to know about the person."

He gave a sharp turn towards the various degrees hanging on the wall behind him. Although Barbara couldn't see his expression, she could practically hear the grin on his face when he said, "So what would your fear be, Barbara? Let me guess, you're a daddy's girl who makes every decision based on pleasing her father. So when he raises his voice at you or drops you off at a psychiatric hospital, it's your worst fear come true. That you're nothing more than a disappointment and a failure."

If Barbara hadn't thought of Dr. Crane as a demented sadist before, she certainly did now. With every word he said, pure delight dripped from his mouth. Only a complete sicko would get off on her supposed fear, much less major in it.

"Tell me I'm wrong, Barbara." He turned to face her with that same arrogant glint in his eyes.

"Dr. Crane!" A shaking Frank appeared in the doorway, looking as if he had just seen a ghost.

Dr. Crane groaned. "What is it now?"

"Bru-Bruce Wayne is here," Frank sputtered.

"What?" Barbara and the doctor asked in unison.