Crank Chapters 231-240 Summary

Chapter 231: I Would Celebrate Several Ways

Kristina's birthday is in mid-October, which means a trip to San Francisco to visit her ailing grandmother as well as see the sights.
Grandma isn't doing well, though, and during their visit, Kristina knows her dementia has begun a new downward spiral when she stands up in church and says she has to go to the bathroom.
On the way home, Kristina, who is pretty high, laughs like crazy about this, causing her mom to question whether insanity is hereditary in their family.

For her birthday, Grandma gives Kristina a family heirloom—a golden locket with her grandmother and her great-grandmother's wedding pictures inside.
Grandma makes Kristina promise to pass the locket onto her own granddaughter. The gift touches Kristina and makes her feel emotions that have been dead to her for weeks.

The second birthday celebration takes place on a Friday night, when Kristina's family gives her their presents. She gets jeans from Leigh, a sweater from Jake, and diamond studded earrings from her parents.
At one point, she goes into the bathroom to try on the earrings and sees her mother come up behind her in the mirror. Her mom says she feels like she's lost Kristina and apologizes for any part she's played in it.
What Mom means by this is that she's recognized how following her own motivations instead of caring for her family has hurt them. What she doesn't know is that the monster has done more damage than she has.

Part of Kristina wants to scream at her mom and ask her to think about how her bad decisions have shaped her daughter and are even responsible for what she's going through. The other part of her, which tells her to shut up, wins out.
Instead she tells her mom that she hasn't made the best decisions lately and promises to do better.
In reality, though, she's made plans to celebrate her birthday with Chase that she knows will test her ability to hold true to her word.

On the night of their birthday celebration, Chase shows up at Kristina's house and makes a serious effort to be a gentleman. He knocks on the door, shakes hands with her parents, and promises to have her back early.
While he tells her parents they're going to a concert, they actually have other plans—a party at Chase's house, which has been vacated by his mom for the weekend.
The party is also special because Chase has scored ecstasy. He tells Kristina she doesn't have to try it if she doesn't want to, but he seems to be a little dense to the fact that she's totally gone off the deep end.
They arrive at Chase's house hours before the other guests and Kristina asks if they can take ecstasy together while it's still the two of them.

High on ecstasy, Kristina attempts to describe the experience. Rather than feeling violent and destructive the way she expected to, she instead feels at peace with herself and her demons.

Chase and Kristina make out while on ecstasy, then finally have sex. Kristina says he reveals to her what making love should feel like.

The house eventually fills with Chase's friends and the party gets underway. Probably due to the drugs in her system, Kristina has a burning desire to meet everyone and introduce herself to them.
Someone offers her a second dose of ecstasy and she says yes. Later, someone breaks the crank out, which Kristina gladly adds to the mix.
She feels like she should be terrified, but the drugs have taken away any inhibitions she would have otherwise had.

Kristina swears that if she lives to be ninety, she'll never forget turning seventeen. She tried ecstasy, willingly had sex for the first time, and took other drugs. She feels like she has approached infinity for the first time.

The most memorable thing about being on ecstasy is how it makes Kristina want to dance. High on her cranktastic drug cocktail, she dances up a storm while drinking alcohol.
Once word of her birthday spreads, the party gets more than a little out of control. She makes out with a lot of the attendees, both guys and girls alike.