I got this idea when I was at the dentist's office today. There was a lot of waiting involved, which is to be expected when it's New Year's Eve and you're short-staffed.
You'd think a girl would use one of her sick days the day before they all expire. But I'm just full of contradictions, aren't I? So on Thursday, December 31st, I found myself working the afternoon shift.
I didn't mind, really. Anything for an excuse to get away from the house. Plus, I don't connect with holidays. It always seemed strange to me that it was so important for people to end each year with a celebration. I once asked my best friend at the time why she threw the biggest New Year's countdown party this side of Irvine every year, like clockwork.
"I don't know", she said ditzily, "why not?"
I had a lot of time to think about these things, among others. The appointment schedule ran blank down the page until about an hour into my shift. When I became bored of my own thoughts, I started scanning the short list of names on the sheet in front of me.
Lou Powell. I remember him. A nice, but very bald, Armenian guy in his 40's, if I recall correctly. He seemed to come every month or so complaining of tooth pains. But he always seemed fine in the waiting room when I was behind the counter, so I made up stories in my head about how he was having a secret affair with Margaret, the other dental assistant. And whenever it came time to call him up for his appointment, I made sure to give him an extra little bit of attitude, judging him because of his unfaithful ways. Next were Joseph and Timothy Chen. Great. Brothers. Last time I had a pair of brothers, I ended up having to spend an hour finding all the magazines they hid throughout the room. One of them was actually in the seat cushion. I hate kids.
It was around 2:00 that patients started filing in, and my attentions were required elsewhere. The cramped waiting room's walls were colored a pasty pink, with exactly five chairs leaned up against them. You could hear the constant hum of the small TV hanging from the ceiling corner, and the occasional gurgle from the water cooler. Everything was exactly as it should be.
Until Dr. Han walked in. He looked intently at me for almost a second before looking back at his clipboard. That short span of time was spent trying to think of some sort of response, resulting in me flashing an awkward smile at him. By that time, he had already looked away, and I stood there looking and feeling stupid. Like most asian bosses, he wasn't the type to show his emotions, but he was definitely angry.
I was on a 'short leash', apparently. All because, the week before, Margaret bumped into me, and I jumped, and ended up knocking over a tray of expensive dental machinery. I don't like to be touched. Most of the tools didn't break, but it was the ones that did that threatened to take away my job. My heart skipped a couple beats as I remembered this. I couldn't lose this job.
It's 2010 now, and I really, really, don't want to finish this. The story was going to have the main character get fired, reveal her dark secret past of abuse, and then single-handedly end the recession. It would have been great. But realize I thought of most of this sitting in the dentist's chair, waiting for two strangers to stick their hands in my mouth. Now I feel kind of stupid for writing this. It's too late/early for me judge if this is utter crap or not, so I'm going to go ahead and post it. We have a 'no regrets' policy here at I Will Not Be Silent. Heres to hoping we never have to change that.
LOL i love this.
ReplyDeletewhen i see interesting-looking strangers i often conjure up ideas in my mind about their pasts and their life stories. but i've never actually written one out haha. this is quite inspirational
& agreed about the current onslaught of excessive fandom on facebook. my homefeed is so cluttered with these. i am actually kind of ashamed because i've fanned 7 things and i promised myself i would keep it under 5.