Chapter 4So, Diary
Pioneer Orthodontics seems to be living up to its namesake in terms of obscure extra-oral appliances locked into the mouths of its patients. As Maggie checks in, I notice a strange feeling come over me as the entrance door closes itself behind me. It's a nervous excitement like I've just escaped something. Not wanting to draw attention to myself, I wrestle the urge to turn around dramatically like a child running from a darkened hallway to their lit bedroom in the dead of night. I steel myself to meet Maggie's side at the counter before looking back to see nothing outside. Not even any people. It's only late afternoon, where did everyone go?
Maggie finishes signing her paperwork, and we take our seats by an indoor plant in the center of the room. Maggie looks nervously into her phone's camera, no doubt anxious for the treatment I've subjected her to. My gaze wanders toward the windows. The clinic overlooks a pristine shopping center, almost an outdoor mall. I'd expect more people to be walking around. Instead, my eyes are drawn to the shadows cast by trees and the corners of buildings, compounded by the distance to create spaces I can't make out, but keep pulling my eyes towards them. What am I expecting to see?
Pushing back the closest thing to "Spidey-sense" I'll ever feel, I reorient my focus back on my current mission; to meet this Dr. Kendra.
Maggie is startled as her name is called by a playful voice. I can't help but shudder. I trail behind a nervous Maggie to meet who can only be the good Dr. Her eyes are bigger in person. She somehow seems to tower over the both of us, yet still put us at ease. She looks at me intrigued as to why her next patient has brought a spectator. Upon agreeing to my accompanying her, her eyes are on me a little longer after she turns towards the chair Maggie will be in for the next few hours.
Maggie is prepped and the installations begin, she clutches her phone above her stomach. I try to take in as much as I can from the clinic, but I'm unable to tear my gaze away from Maggie's small mouth held intimately open as more and more metal is cemented into it.
Dr. Kendra must've noticed my staring and begins talking with me.
"Have you thought about treatment?"
The question startles me
"Maybe someday. Have you guys been busy lately?"
"Actually, yes. A lot more than usual these past few weeks."
She chuckles
"You know, you'd look very nice with braces. Maybe think about it? We do take all kinds of insurance."
I rip my gaze away to look around at the other patients in chairs, each with their own aggressive treatments.
"Maybe. My teeth aren't really that bad."
"Well, there's more to braces than just the end result."
What does she mean by that?
After Maggie's poor little mouth has been awkwardly crowded with a copious amount of lisp-inducing metal, we start towards the entrance after she sets up her next appointment, a whole 3 months later, we're stopped by Dr. Kendra. She praises Maggie for her bravery, and once again encourages me to consider undergoing treatment with her. As we start towards Maggie's house, she thanks me for accompanying her through this ordeal. I almost feel bad for her. Almost.
I'm frustrated with myself for not asking more questions or taking in more of the clinic. I didn't even get to take any pictures!
Both suns have already set by the time we make it to Maggie's house. She and her parents thank me for walking her home, and I start towards my house just another 8 blocks away. The closer I get to the corner I have to round a quarter of the way home, the more I notice there are barely any people out. It's not that late in the evening, where is everyone?
I'm taken back to that moment walking into the clinic. Determined to keep my composure, I only quicken my pace a little. I'm just excited to be home after a long day, nothing more. There's literally NO ONE out here. Just me and the shops & businesses that have all closed this time of the day. I approach the pharmacy closer to the corner and see lights. Just to make sure, I poke my head by the window and see a lone woman manning a register on her phone. Okay I'm not completely alone. This is fine. I'm okay.
I round the corner.
It's completely dark.
I can make out the entrance to my neighborhood at the end of the road. It'll be 4 houses in. I pass a few trees by the parks edge. There's another wooded area I pass on my right that goes on for a little longer on that side of the road. The wind picks up. I'm glad I wore a jacket.
As I pass the edge of the woods I start to hear a metallic rattle. It starts getting faster.
It turns into a scream.
[email protected]%& THISThere's something behind me I'm running I'm not looking behind me it's still screaming it's
[email protected]%&ing chasing me I can't breath I'm running I can't see my house I can hear it behind me Why is it still screaming I feel my phone fly out of my jacket pocket I hear it crackle against the pavement It's still chasing me Mom please I see my house I run by the fence to the back yard the back door will be unlocked I don't hear it screaming I jump the fence I'm inside I lock the door I run upstairs I'm crying
I'm crying
I open the door to my room and make my way downstairs. I turn on every light switch I pass on the way to the living room. I hear the TV. Dad turns around in his chair, concern on his face from me bolting into the house from the back. Mom mirrors his concern from the couch. I poorly feign some sense of composure.
They press me. I relent, admitting something spooked me outside. Satisfied with the answer but still with a look of concern, Dad hands me a letter that arrived that morning. It's a treatment plan offer at Pioneer orthodontics from Dr. Kendra herself.
What the actual
[email protected]%&.