Airel - Aaron Patterson [30]
“That's great.” Dr. Gee sat back on a little round chair on wheels. The silence was more than uncomfortable as he slid back a foot or so with his arms folded across his chest.
“So what do you think about my little problem? Am I going to die?” I laughed a little, but deep down inside I was thinking I might do just that... either from this mysterious illness or by the hand of some psycho killer. Is this what people meant when they talked about being lovesick, or what?
“I don't think you’re going to die, Airel, but I'm not sure what it might be and I would like to run a few tests, if you don't mind. I think it might be viral and I would like to rule out some things before we dig any deeper.” He saw the look on my face, pushed forward in his chair, and leaned forward to touch my arm. His orange tie hung down like a breezeless flag. “Don't worry, you’ll be fine. I just want to be sure. I don’t want to overlook anything, okay?”
I nodded and sighed with relief.
“Now. I’m going to have Sue take some blood, and I would like a urine sample as well. If you get sick again, I want you to call me right away, then come in. I would like to run a test when you’re feeling your worst, okay?” He pulled out his card and scrawled his cell number on the back, handing it to me with a serious look on his face. “I mean it. You call me as soon as you feel anything.”
“I will, I promise. I don't think I want to live with the ability to vomit without any warning. It doesn’t really fit into my social agenda, doc.” I winked at him, which for me, was uncharacteristic, and it made me blush. Man, I hate when I embarrass myself like this.
Dr. Gee laughed aloud and stood up, making him seem like a giant. He left the room and once again I was alone in the chilly office listening to the only sound in the room... the crackling paper under my legs. I was not looking forward to having my blood drawn.
My mind wandered and came to rest on vampires, of all things. I remembered a book I read about someone who was bit and changed into a vampire—it made him sick, but he got better afterward. If you could call it that. Anyway, no one had bitten me—except for the love bug, as Kim would say. I didn't know of any vampires at my school, anyway; they weren’t even real to begin with.
I put my hand to my cheek, felt its uncharacteristically smooth soft surface, and closed my eyes. “Changed... ” I muttered in a whisper. I hadn’t had a zit in like forever. Which, contrary to everything holy, actually gave me cause for concern. I should have paid more attention in science. “Chaaaange, Meta-MORRR-phosis,” I said to myself, in my TV announcer voice, which made me laugh. But…my skin was smoother, and all but a few of my freckles were disappearing. No, it can't be. There’s no such thing! Humans don’t undergo metamorphosis. It was probably just hormones making me insane. It’s all a part of growing up.
Sometimes life is just sucky and unexplainable. I finally had the perfect skin I'd always wanted, but along with that came the spontaneous barfing... a package deal. Or does all of this mean something worse? Was I going to grow fangs and start craving blood?
As I was thinking that, the hair on the back of my neck stood up on end, and I nearly followed suit. I could feel a presence in the room with me, as if something invisible had just allowed me to take notice of it and didn’t care how I felt about it, one way or another. Whatever it was, it wasn't evil. I knew that much, because I wasn’t scared of it. In fact, it seemed like it was good all the way through to the core, filled with brilliant white light. It was just startling because I couldn’t see it. Whatever it was, I had a feeling it was here to stay.
It spoke to me, not in a real voice or audible words, or even as