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Author Topic: Story: The Halloween Horrors Prize Draw  (Read 4556 times)

Offline duncombec

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Story: The Halloween Horrors Prize Draw
« on: 24. October 2020, 16:08:49 PM »
I tend to post what I do post here in the stories section, but we've had a lot of new authors recently, so I thought it fair to post something publicly for everyone to enjoy. I almost never write "time specific" stories, because I struggle to finish them before the day in question... but thought I'd have a go here. It will only be a short one, in 2 or 3 parts, but hopefully nonetheless enjoyable.

We were both far too old for this, but we both knew it had to be done. Our parents hadn't been able to afford braces going up, so as soon as we were able to afford it, we took the plunge. I say we... in reality it was my older brother who was paying the biggest chunk, but I put in what I could afford. I, Daniel, was 22, he, Matt, was 28... and we were both bracefaces. I'm not really sure whether my older brother wanted braces, but he decided that if I was going to get them (and I did need them, for sure), then he might as well join me.

We chose the orthodontist we liked most. He wasn't he cheapest, but he wasn't the most expensive either. He was a little odd at times, and he made no secret of the fact he didn't hold any store with these new "plastic trays and stuff"; he was a traditionalist. It never really came into discussion that we'd go somewhere else where we might be able to get ceramic brackets, or that we'd end up at different orthodontists. We just felt at home here. Another of this guy's rather more unusual behaviour is that he liked his patients to socialize. He didn't think we should all just live our own lives. There was an annual Easter egg hunt around the neighbourhood, a couple of days at a waterpark or something similar in the summer, a Christmas party, and an event at Halloween. This is what we were at now, feeling slightly out of place amongst the teenagers, but there were plenty of "slightly older" patients as well. I think it was more in my head that we didn't fit than us actually not doing so. My brother, who is usually pretty straight-laced, actually seemed to be enjoying himself. He'd found someone to talk to, and they seemed to be enjoying sharing stories of being an adult in braces. I was not enjoying myself so much, but then again would you be in headgear? Another downside to this party was that everyone was expected to wear their appliances, just like they would in the office. My headgear never left my room normally, unless for an appointment, but here I was with the thing sticking out of my lips. Headgear and Glasses. Daniel Bradley, the Über-geek.

The main thing that everyone was here for, though, was the drawing of the grand Halloween Horrors Prize Draw". I've said out orthodontist was a little unusual, and this was another occasion where that came well and truly to the fore. The "prizes" were not "nice" prizes, but "Halloween Horror" prizes... usually the addition of something to your braces. There were two categories of entry. The "normal" category contained "prizes" (more like sentences) such as having Halloween colours on your braces, being made to wear orange headgear straps for a month, having to wear a tongue crib for a month so you'd lisp... all things that would do something to your treatment, but had a "fun" element in there too. The worst "prize" for that category was three months on the "compliance assured" program. That was where you got your headgear wired in.. all the nasty things I didn't want to think about. Then there was the "superdraw" category. This was a separate entry form because there was only one prize. Compliance assured treatment for the rest of your time in braces.

At this point I should probably mention that they tried to encourage me to have a compliance assured treatment, because my case was going to be a difficult one to fix. I pushed back. They encouraged some more, I pushed back. I probably didn't act my age very much, but eventually they agreed I'd have a normal treatment, like my brother. I accepted that things wouldn't be perfect, but I simply couldn't face what they were planning on making me wear, and for so long. I had a lower expander and overnight headgear to go with my braces, and my brother just had overnight headgear. That surprised me a bit, but in the end he opted for that rather than a biteplate which he'd have to wear all day, and with the amount of speaking he did, that wasn't really practicable. Each night, he'd strap himself into his high-pull J-hooks, and I'd tighten my expander and don my facebow and cervical strap. They had said I'd probably need something else soon, which I was not looking forward to.

Originally, neither of us planned to enter the draw. We thought that was more for the younger patients. After all, they wouldn't look quite so odd if they had to turn up to school the next day with black and orange colours on their braces. But it turned out a fair few of the adult patients also decided to join in - there were a good couple of hundred patients there, and with a dozen or so prizes, it was almost worth the risk. I joked with him, he joked with me. Eventually we decided just that. It was worth the risk. Most people who knew us well knew we had braces, and they knew with orthodontist we went to. More than one person had asked me if I needed headgear, which I managed to avoid admitting most of the time by suggesting I might to in future and changing the subject. Eventually the novelty got too great. What was the point of going to the party if we weren't going to have some fun.

The forms were on clearly labelled piles, next to each other. In order to make the prizes stick, they were deemed a contractual amendment. Basically, by entering the draw, we accepted the changes to our contract. The terms were pasted up on the wall in front of the table, so we had a chance to read them through whilst waiting in the queue for the table. One of the technicians said she was pleased to see us joining in too. Matt took two forms from the normal" pile and handed one to me, and took one for himself. We'd read the terms, so there didn't seem to be much point looking over the rest of the form. We both signed and dated our entries and put them in the box. A little while later it was announced that entries had closed. They would now sort the box into the two piles for the two draws (as some people had entered both), and it would be called in half an hour. I got myself another drink and resumed chatting until the announcement went out that the prize draw was going to be called, and could they have our attention please.

Offline Nameless

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Re: Story: The Halloween Horrors Prize Draw
« Reply #1 on: 25. October 2020, 00:50:00 AM »
Oh this is a pretty cool story! I love he way you built up the ortho, the main character, and the background to this story! I'm excited to read about the drawings for the prizes!

Offline nyar

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Re: Story: The Halloween Horrors Prize Draw
« Reply #2 on: 26. October 2020, 00:16:28 AM »
I can kinda see where this is going... Daniel is a lucky guy  ;D

Offline bracessd

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Re: Story: The Halloween Horrors Prize Draw
« Reply #3 on: 26. October 2020, 16:42:24 PM »
Good story... I'm liking where this is going!

Offline duncombec

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Re: Story: The Halloween Horrors Prize Draw
« Reply #4 on: 27. October 2020, 02:13:09 AM »
Here we are with part 2... doing well on the timekeeping so far!

In any normal prize draw, you'd expect to start from the lower prizes and work your way up to the big ones, but our orthodontist didn't believe in doing anything in a logical order. Where he was concerned, it made it more interesting if the bigger "prizes" were scattered throughout. As a result, Halloween colours on your braces might be followed by three months in the compliance assured program, which would be followed by orange headgear straps for the remainder of your treatment. Although I started out thinking it was a pretty rubbish idea, I soon found myself listening not only for my name, but also what it might be for. I didn't expect to hear my name, of course - that was why I'd agreed to enter the draw to start with. That and the fact had we not, we'd have probably been the only people in the room not to, judging by the amount of folded pieces of paper there seemed to be in the "hat". The drawing was progressing as these sorts of prize draws or raffles always did, with the first person being drawn, then each "lucky" prize-winner drew the name for the prize that followed. The only thing we didn't have to worry about was someone winning two-prizes... it was a strictly one person, one entry draw. Frankly, who in their right mind would want to enter twice anyway!

The first few "winners" didn't raise too much attention. Fairly average prizes, and fairly average winners, all going to the sort of non-descript teenagers who you could meet at either end of the party and forget that you'd spoken to them earlier. I remembered being that age, and thinking of the number of kids who had braces in my class, and it was easy to see how you'd just mould them all into "kid with braces". One or two of them even seemed proud of their misfortune, and I got the distinct feeling at least one of them had also been on the winner's list last year.

My attention grew though as they got to the top prize for the "normal" draw, which was drawn with half the other prizes still to go: six months on the compliance assured program. I found my eyes glancing across the room to patient I'd exchanged a few words with earlier in the evening, who was suffering with the same sort of appliances I was. Whereas I had a lower expander and headgear, he had upper and lower expanders and headgear. I was pleased on two fronts that I wasn't in his situation. Firstly, because two expanders were definitely twice as bad as one, and secondly, that I was called Daniel, and not George. The two great chunks of metal in his mouth and the coathanger outside of it really seemed to inhibit his ability to say his own name. He seemed to have to say it with a soft opening syllable, making it sound a little French. He happened to catch my eye a few seconds before they called the name of the person to win this particular prize. Within a matter of seconds, I saw the colour drain from his face slightly as his name was called. To my surprise, though, he recovered his composure quickly, and walked up on stage looking almost confident.

Unlike the simpler prizes, there was no easy escape off the stage when it came to the compliance assured cases. The orthodontist gave the audience a little run-down of what would be facing George in the coming months. He'd broken a couple of brackets in his time, so his upper braces would be converted to the fully-banded type, his headgear would be wired in, and the straps would of course be changed to Halloween orange. The orthodontist even called him lucky, because at least he had his expanders already and had had a chance to get used to them, unlike what would have been the case had this been a summer draw. George just smiled weakly, accepting his win in good grace, and acknowledging that it was all part of the risk. He then got to draw the next name out of the hat, for the prize of one month with wired headgear.

"Matthew Bradley"

I couldn't work out which reaction overtook Matt first. Shock, surprise, embarrassment or laughter. I saw a big smile creep across his face just before he mouthed a few four-lettered swear words at me under his breath and started walking towards the stage. His cheeks were so red you could have fried an egg on them. Probably the oldest patient in the room, and certainly one of the oldest, and he would now be spending the next month with headgear. I found it really hard to keep a straight face as he was up on stage, collecting his appointment card. For a brief moment I thought about shouting out that they should just do it there and then, but remembered there were a few prizes left to go. In the end, after he drew the next person's name and came back towards me, I just stuck with elbowing him in the ribs and joking with him that I'd make maximum use of it over the next month. Sometimes, I thought my brother could be a bit up tight, but the way he handled this was better than me for sure.

They finished the rest of the dozen or so prizes remaining, some of which were duplicates (there were three prizes of Halloween ligatures, for example, in various combinations... the girl who got glow in the dark as the last draw didn't seem too happy about it), and then there was a break for people to refill their drinks and restock their plates of braces-friendly snacks. I wandered over to get a neon green-iced cupcake at the same time as the orthodontist was coming the other way. We chatted for a minute or so, then he said that the last girl wasn't too keen on drawing the Superdraw, both because of her own prize and she didn't feel too confident. Would I like to do it? The truthful answer was no. I was not a good actor at the best of times, and I can't say I relished putting on my finest fake smile and drawing a name out of a hat, but I said I would. With just enough time for me to finish my cupcake, the party was called to order again for the drawing of the big one.

I did my best with the fake smile, and oddly enough found it quite easy, all the more so when I caught the sight of Matt in his headgear, usually only worn at night, now to be seen during the day as well for a whole month. I also knew that after the Superdraw had been completed, those with the easier prizes to handle would be invited for a short appointment. The thought of Matt's headgear being wired on that very evening bought quite a natural smile to my face. I stuck my hand in the bag of papers and drew one out, handing it over, still smiling.

But the smile didn't last long. As I heard the name called out, a shiver went down my spine, and I started to break out into a cold sweat. I'm sure the colour drained from my face, and my legs felt like those of an elephant. I looked across the room at Matt, thinking he was playing a practical joke, but the look on his face suggested he was just as surprised as I was. The name they read out was mine. Daniel Bradley. I had just won the prize I wanted least in a prize draw I didn't enter.

Offline TimeandBrace

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Re: Story: The Halloween Horrors Prize Draw
« Reply #5 on: 27. October 2020, 04:04:40 AM »
Hehehe, Fate has a shiny smile this Halloween!  >:D

Offline Nameless

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Re: Story: The Halloween Horrors Prize Draw
« Reply #6 on: 27. October 2020, 04:21:00 AM »
Thank you for the update! I'm really liking this story, and I'm definitely looking forward to hearing about what's awaiting Daniel and how he ended up entered into the compliance-assured drawing!

Offline GarotaFakeBR

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Re: Story: The Halloween Horrors Prize Draw
« Reply #7 on: 27. October 2020, 06:22:23 AM »
That's a really nice story so far.

Offline aktivator82

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Re: Story: The Halloween Horrors Prize Draw
« Reply #8 on: 27. October 2020, 16:31:06 PM »
Really nice story... Locking forward what will Danil goes through in the compliance assured programm

Offline reddude

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Re: Story: The Halloween Horrors Prize Draw
« Reply #9 on: 28. October 2020, 09:44:40 AM »
Please, go on!! I’m dying to know his reaction when he gets wired in and his friends reaction when they see him!!

Offline Nameless

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Re: Story: The Halloween Horrors Prize Draw
« Reply #10 on: 29. October 2020, 08:43:59 AM »
Please, go on!! I’m dying to know his reaction when he gets wired in and his friends reaction when they see him!!

Oh yes true! This seems like it could be a good plot point to expand on! His friends don't know he wears headgear even part time, let alone that the ortho recommended this "compliance assured" treatment plan at the beginning, so explaining that to his friends might add more to the story

Please though, take your time. I'd rather have you put out a chapter you're proud of and take more time with it than rush and put out something both you and any readers would be disappointed in. Stories are best enjoyed when the author is proud of their work, since authors attitudes are usually in their work.

Thank you for writing. One day I want to give it a crack, but I feel I haven't found the inspiration yet that'll inspire a whole story. Until that day, I hope to be able to keep on enjoying the work of others, and maybe one day some idea from your or another writer will help inspire another idea that is my own.

Offline duncombec

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Re: Story: The Halloween Horrors Prize Draw
« Reply #11 on: 30. October 2020, 01:44:23 AM »
And here is the third and final instalment. This is all I have planned at the moment (at least for this year!), but I'd be honoured if someone enjoyed it so much they used the concept for another character. After all, there is still at least 24 hours before Halloween...

Had I been listening, I might have found out what was going to happen to me, but I was just rooted to the spot, mind going blank, not quite totally in full control of my senses. I seemed to fluctuate between thinking Matt had set me up, to thinking the orthodontist had got confused and called my name except the name on the paper, to sheer, unbridled (if you'll pardon the pun), "OMG". I was 22. 22 year old guys did not wear whatever braces he had in mind for me. I realised a little too late that he was explaining to the crowd exactly what he was going to stuff into my mouth, and fell back into full conscience of the voice off to the side of my head just in time to hear him tell the assembled crowd that the funny thing about my winning this draw was that I really should be in compliance assured treatment already, but I'd turned it down. It was thus good fortune in more ways than one that he'd finally be able to give me the smile he thought I deserved. The smile he thought I deserved. Never mind what I thought I deserved, or even what I wanted, it was the smile he thought I deserved.

I left the stage, finally finding my fake smile. Such were the orthodontically-endowed smiles and people wanting to shake my hands and congratulate me on my success that I couldn't really do anything but. I couldn't even be angry, because I didn't know whether I had the right to be or not. I would have to speak to the orthodontist about it as soon as I could. I knew he would want to wire on Matt's headgear tonight, so maybe I could discuss it with him then. I finally reached Matt, ready to challenge him on what on earth had happened, but I knew from his very first words that he wasn't to blame. He was coming towards me by this point, and rather than laughing at me, having a joke at my expense or otherwise asking how I felt, his words were "Dude... what happened? Did you enter again?"

We found ourselves a small corner of the room and tried to work through what had happened. We recalled reading the rules on the big sheets above the desk. Matt stepped forward and picked up two forms from the same pile, I saw him do that. He handed me one. He couldn't remember whether he handed me the top or the bottom, and I wasn't really paying attention. He gave his a quick glance over and signed it, handing me the pen. I just signed it, and we both put them in the box together. It had to be the forms. Had Matt picked up the wrong one by mistake? We agreed we'd discuss it with the orthodontist when they came looking for Matt, which happened sooner than we thought. He appeared, full of exuberance and obvious pleasure that a patient like me had won his true Halloween Horror, the superdraw prize, of spending the rest of my treatment on the compliance assured program. He could essentially treat me how he liked (within ethical boundaries and needing a reason to do so, of course), and what I wanted from my treatment was now not even secondary - tertiary at best.

I tried to explain the situation, but I floundered. I couldn't find the words. Every time I tried to mention it, I just got lost in a maelstrom of words and thoughts about wearing my headgear and more full time. There would be more. There was always more when you had a compliance-assured treatment. He could fit what you needed, rather than what he thought you were prepared to wear. So when you fell into compliance-assured, he swapped things out for the necessary tools. That always meant more. More metal, more elastics, more headgear... it didn't matter, it was just more. Thankfully Matt was there, and he went through everything in the detail you'd expect from a statistician. I watched the orthodontist's face; how his smile declined, then fell, then how his brows became furrowed and he became pensive. He asked us to follow him through to his office, where he delicately explained the situation to the assistant who'd manned the tables. She agreed Matt has taken the forms from the normal pile.

Fifteen minutes later, by which time a couple of the lesser prize winners had seen their colours changed to orange and black, the assistant came back with the two forms in her hand. It was quite clear what had happened. Whether by accident or practical joke, one form was headed for the normal draw, the other for the superdraw. Matt looked at me, and in eight words showed up how I'd got myself into this mess: "Didn't you check it before you signed it?". It was the most basic of basic errors. I saw he'd taken it from the "right" pile and just signed it. I couldn't recall even looking higher than a third of the way up the page. If I had any hope of getting out of it, I had just lost it. Even Matt agreed that the rules were clear. It was a contractual amendment, and if I didn't check what I was signing before I did, then really, I didn't have a leg to stand on. What's more, I knew it. There would be no apology. There would be no embarrassing redraw. There would be no jokes about my lucky escape. I would get the treatment they advised me to start out on a year earlier.

They asked whether I wanted to start tonight, or whether I wanted to come back in a few days. I said I'd start there and then. It wasn't like I could enjoy the rest of the party now anyway. I could hardly eat cupcakes and drink fruit juice punch until the late evening with thoughts of headgear hanging over my head. I may as well put myself out of my thought-based misery and start my reality-based misery.

I got more. More metal, more elastics, more appliances, more headgear, more years with braces. If there was anything I could get more of, I got it. Most of the teenagers had gone home by the time they finished, and the older guests were just starting to tidy up. I went in with brackets, wires, a lower expander and my overnight cervical headgear. I came out looking like something out of the terminator. Fully-banded braces on my upper teeth instead of the brackets. but only because the lowers weren't quite ready yet. A Herbst appliance. I didn't need an upper expander, but that didn't stop them using an transpalatal arch on my upper jaw to keep everything 'just as it should be' with the Herbst. It had this little loop in the centre that was already annoying my tongue and I'd only been wearing it for an hour. I had one new elastic, in neon orange, of course, in a box at he front of my mouth, but with one corner to the inside of my tooth, rather than the outside. It felt really weird and very uncomfortable. And the headgear. My headgear. When they said an extra strap, I thought they meant a high-pull, like Matt's. Oh no. They meant a modified Interlandi, with a strap around my forehead and, because compliance assured didn't really allow for elastics, straps across my cheeks. I don't think I need to mention what colour the straps were, standing out against my dark hair like a mobile warning that a headgear wearer was approaching. With my glasses on I couldn't help but think how everything neatly divided my face into five sections. Forehead strap, top of my glasses, bottom of my glasses, facebow. Goodbye two and a bit year treatment, hello four years at least.

I was stunned. Matt was supportive, as were my parents, but they all made it pretty clear I was responsible for my own downfall. I just had to take as many deep breaths as I needed and get on with it. I needed a fair few, too, as our beloved orthodontist hadn't skimped on the media campaign. I had to grin and bear it, quite literally. They didn't even keep my embarrassment hidden, as it became part of the story that I'd entered the draw my mistake. It took me until about Christmas before I got used to it, but there had been one upside. Everyone now knows me as the "accidental patient", and it's pretty good for getting the odd free coffee or snack here and there.

It doesn't seem like it was a year ago. Feels more like a lifetime. But I'm here. Somehow. My headgear straps have just had their seasonal colour change - it's been decided ghoulish green is the colour of choice for this year's winner. In about 90 minutes time I'll be called back onto the stage to draw the "lucky" winner of this years "prize you've all been waiting for". Before then, though, I have a table to stand behind. They thought me looking after the entries would be a good reminder to read the form before they signed it. It seems as though my humiliation isn't over quite yet...

Offline TimeandBrace

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Re: Story: The Halloween Horrors Prize Draw
« Reply #12 on: 30. October 2020, 06:09:08 AM »
Poor Daniel, stuck with more metal than a steel mill. Ah well, there's always going to be someone who doesn't read the fine print!  >:D

Offline nyar

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Re: Story: The Halloween Horrors Prize Draw
« Reply #13 on: 30. October 2020, 21:30:13 PM »
Did NOT disappoint! Glad he's complying with his treatment... not like he has a choice ;D