I scowled at her.
“It’s just a couple of kids.”
She crossed and uncrossed her legs and then picked at the hem of her gray skirt.
“Apparently their mum is some kind of top businesswoman. I bet she’s rich, don’t you?”
I rubbed my forehead. My head was pounding.
“It was so hot in class yesterday. I can’t wait for summer vacation. I’ve got science after this, but I’m not going to rush back. They’re not going to know, are they?”
She studied her left palm and traced her fingernail along a couple of the lines before turning back to me.
“What doctor are you seeing? It’s not Dr. Kerr, is it? I can’t stand him. He must be about ninety and he’s always got bits of food on his shirt. Urgh.”
The fact that I wasn’t answering any of her questions didn’t seem to put her off. I closed my eyes, hoping she’d take the hint.
“Do you want me to get you some water? You look like you’re going to melt. Those gloves must be roasting.”
I shook my head and wiped the back of my neck with the cuff of my shirt, trying to soak up a bit of the perspiration. If I could just get that pin back on the poster, then things would be right again and maybe Melody would go away.
“Are you friends with Jake Bishop?”
“No.”
“Good. I hate him. He can be so evil sometimes. I can’t believe he lives on our street. I mean, out of everyone in the world he is the last person I’d want to have as my neighbor. Don’t you think?”
I jolted as a loud BEEP blasted the waiting room. A gruff, male voice came over the speakers asking for Mr. Andrews to go to Room 2.
“Ha! You nearly fell off your seat. You should have seen your face! You really jumped!”
As she laughed, her arm brushed against my shirt, so I slid onto the seat next to me.
“Where’re you going? Look, I’m sorry. It was just funny, that’s all.”
She was still giggling as she moved closer. I could hear my mum behind us:
“… I just don’t know what to do, Claudia. I’ve got the attendance officer on my back now. Why can’t we just get him to school? What did we do that was so wrong?”
The general hum of the waiting room had silenced as every ear strained to hear what my mum was going to say next. I cringed. Fortunately summer was right around the corner, so I figured it would all be fine soon. And when September came around, I’d make an effort to get back to normal and go in every day.
The button on my top collar was tight and it felt like I was slowly suffocating. Melody cleared her throat, ready to project another wave of verbal vomit at me, but this time I was quite grateful, as she might just drown my mum out.
“I think someone should stand up to Jake Bishop, don’t you? Didn’t you used to be friends with him once? Back in elementary school? Was he always so nasty?”
I shrugged.
“Well, I think he’s gotten away with being an idiot for far too long … Are you sure you’re okay? Your face has gone gray.”
“I’ve got a bad headache.”
She frowned, and I wondered if she was thinking she might be the cause.
“I can come to your house one day if you like? We can hang out during vacation. Keep each other company.”
Her bottom lip curled over her top and her brow furrowed as she waited for an answer. An old man shuffled by, and I tucked my legs under my chair to keep them out of the way.
“I don’t think so. I haven’t been well lately.” I gave a little cough.
She smacked the heel of her hand onto her forehead, making me flinch.
“Oh of course, the mystery illness! Well, that’s fine if you don’t want to tell me what’s wrong. We all have our secrets, don’t we?”
Her eyes narrowed, and I was wondering what she meant when there was another loud BEEP.
“Melody Bird, Room 4, please.”
“That’s me! Well, see you later, Matty.”
Her hand suddenly reached toward me, and she squeezed my forearm before she headed off along the corridor with her mum. My arm tingled where her hand had touched it. Not a good tingle—an infected tingle. Washing was imperative, but there was no way I was going to venture into the bathroom of a doctor’s office. I searched the baseboard for the missing thumbtack as Mum arrived next to me with a sigh.
“She’s nice, that Claudia. A bit, you know, New Agey, but she’s all right. I told her she should get herself to the salon and we’ll thread her eyebrows for her.”
Rummaging in her bag, she pulled out her phone and started texting someone. Now was my chance. My legs wobbled as I stood up and my ears began to ring. This possibly wasn’t the best idea I’d ever had, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to go home and leave that poster like that. I bent down slowly, and just as my fingers reached the cold pin, everything went black.
I woke with a cold, wet washcloth on my forehead. The receptionist, Mum, and a nurse were all staring down at me. They fussed over me for a while, talking about whether I needed to go to the hospital, and all I wanted to say to them was: Look, could someone just put that pin back in that poster over there? My gloves had been removed, and I told Mum I had to go home immediately, but she said we were going to see Dr. Kerr even if she had to drag me.
His office was dark and musty. I perched on the edge of the chair and stared at my naked hands in the gloomy light as Mum told the doctor how anxious I’d become, how I liked to keep things clean all the time. She was using her posh voice, the one she used in front of teachers, people who work in banks, and Mr. Charles.
“We just don’t know what to do anymore, Dr. Kerr. We’re at a loss!”
Dr. Kerr’s bones creaked as he wrote some notes and we both waited for him to answer. In the corner was an old computer covered in a thin layer of dust. Melody was right, he did look about ninety. And I counted at least six stains of various colors on his shirt. I was just beginning to think maybe he hadn’t heard anything Mum had said when he suddenly burst into life.
“Not much we can do here, I’m afraid. I’ll refer him to a psychotherapist, arrange a face-to-face assessment. In all likelihood you’re looking at six weeks of counseling, maybe more, and then he should be feeling right as rain.”
He squinted at me, even though he hadn’t actually spoken to me at all.
Great. Can I go now? bubbled across my tongue, dangerously close to escaping.
“How long will we have to wait for an appointment, doctor?” said Mum.
He looked back down at his notes, his pen scratching once more. “Well, these things take a while, unfortunately. I think the current wait time is at least three to four months. Maybe longer.”
He kept his head down, writing, and then Mum suddenly slapped her hand on the desk. Dr. Kerr and I bounced in our chairs as if we’d both gone over a speed bump.
“Three months? Three months? Are you serious?” Mum’s posh voice was obliterated. Dr. Kerr rolled his eyes.
“Mrs. Corbin, I’m sorry, but there is a waiting list and your son isn’t an urgent case. I’ll write a letter to his school and explain. They’ll arrange a meeting with you and the local authority to discuss your son’s absence if they haven’t already done so.”
He flicked through an old Rolodex and copied something onto a yellow Post-it note.
Creak, creak, creak.
“Here are a couple of private therapists who may be able to help you—if you’re willing to pay.”
He leaned forward with the fluttering note stuck to a finger and Mum snatched it from him. Then she stood up and stormed out, leaving me sitting there on my own. Dr. Kerr just sighed and carried on writing as if I didn’t exist. I stood to go too, but stopped when I reached the door.
“I’m sorry about my mum shouting, Dr. Kerr. She’s been a bit stressed lately. You know, because of everything.”
The old man concentrated on his writing pad for a moment and then looked up. “You’re a nice boy, Matthew. Stop all this messing around now, eh? There’s a good lad.”
He looked down again and waved his hand as if he were shooing away an annoying wasp. I had been dismissed.