sometimes,* she would say, it helps to count.
I would look up at the ceiling and count all the little dots that I could find. They stared down at me and smiled, and I began to count. There were sixty four of them, and I smiled, feeling as insane as ever.
Counting calms me down, she would tell me.
I was in my English class and I looked up at the ceiling. At first I wasn't worried about what everyone else thought of me. I was in the middle of the room so I couldn't count all the panels, but I was able to reach fifty.
Counting calms me down.