The Worst Day Ever by Chelsea Jenkins

I couldn’t believe I let her trick me into this. How did I not see it coming? Mom would NEVER pull me out of school to go shopping. Heck, I’m not even sure she would pull me out of school if I called her on my death bed. But silly me was so excited that I didn’t even notice we’d passed the mall until we were about five minutes from our real destination, the one that I should have remembered was scheduled for that day. After all, I’m thirteen years old now. Aren’t I supposed be smarter than that?  Apparently not, because there we were, pulling into the parking lot of Dr. Chu’s Dentist/Orthodontist office.

We walked into the building, and immediately I was freezing. Of course they weren’t ready to see me yet, so Mom signed us in and it was off to the waiting room we went. Everything about the room screamed “old.” The chairs I might see in my Nana’s old picture; the magazines from 2001. Even the fish looked to be on their last days. There wasn’t a living plant in the room.  Somewhere, a fly was buzzing. Another mother was trying and failing to soothe her crying toddler. “I feel ya, buddy,” I thought as she struggled to calm him down. I almost felt like crying, too, but of course I didn’t.

Sunlight was streaming in through the window. I thought that since there was no way I was going back to school after such a catastrophic event, I’d spend the rest of the afternoon outside. I focused on that thought for a little while, until I pictured myself smiling at someone on the street and blinding them with the glare from all the new metal in my mouth. Maybe I’ll read a book instead.

I didn’t realize that the little boy had stopped crying until he started again; his mother had taken the button he had found on the floor, and he was screaming even louder than before. Just as I was starting to get a headache, a door opened and a lady with a clipboard called my name. I gave Mom one last, pleading look, which she ignored. Sighing heavily, I stood and walked slowly toward the doctor. I followed the lady down a hallway and into a room with no windows. “Dr. Chu will be right with you,” she said. “Just have a seat.”

I took a look at the chair she motioned to, and decided there was no way I’d be sitting in that. It looked like something used to torture prisoners in medieval times. I was trying to decide whether or not to book it, when all of a sudden Dr. Chu walked through the door. She flashed a perfect, straight-toothed smile and, for the second time in five minutes, I was told to have a seat. I reluctantly obliged, and Dr. Chu tied a cloth around my neck. “Here we go,” I thought, as she reached into a drawer.

When Dr. Chu turned towards me again, she had a small, plastic object in her hand. She brought it towards me and I closed my eyes. It was bad enough that I had to be there at all; I certainly wouldn’t be watching any of it. However, I was surprised to find that, though it wasn’t exactly comfortable, nothing hurt too badly. What really hurt was the horrible train of thoughts running through my head as Dr. Chu worked. Each bracket brought a new, repulsive thought. Braces are so ugly. I’m going to look disgusting. What boy wants to kiss a girl with braces? There goes my social life. I was starting to feel like that toddler in the waiting room, when Dr. Chu leaned back and smiled at me. “All done!” she exclaimed brightly. “Want to see?”  I shook my head vigorously and quickly clamped my mouth shut. I was doing everything I could to hold back tears, and I just knew that seeing the damage would push me over the edge. Dr. Chu didn’t seem to sense that my whole world was falling apart, because she was still grinning widely when she said, “Okay, then! Let’s go find your mom!” 

I rose from the chair and exited the room much more quickly than I entered. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Mom was waiting where I left her, talking to another doctor about all the new rules that came along with my braces. No gum, popcorn, hard candies. No friends, boys, or any other fun times. She smiled when she saw me. She’ll be lucky if I ever smile at her again, I thought.

“Let’s see!” Mom said. I crossed my arms and looked out the window. “Oh, come on! I’m sure they look great!” I gave her one furious look before turning and stomping out to the car.

           

I pulled on the handle, but the door was locked, and I regretted coming outside. It was terribly hot, and who knew how much longer Mom would be inside. But there was no turning back now, so I took a seat on the curb. I waited about five minutes before I saw her come outside. I expected her to be mad about me storming off, but she said nothing. Probably thought she put me through enough that day. We got in the car and I was fully prepared to give her the silent treatment all the way home when she said, “ready to go back to school?” I was so shocked that I just stared at her. How could she possibly expect me to go back to school? Nothing could be more humiliating! 

“You can’t be serious,” I said, and though she said she was, I didn’t think she really meant it until we were in the school parking lot. I got out, slammed the door, and marched up to the school, trying to prepare myself for the end of any and all friendships I possessed.

It was passing time, and I moved slowly towards the spot where my friend and I gather after fifth period, hoping they might have all gone to class by the time I got there. But no, there they were, chatting away, blissfully unaware that it was the worst day of my life. I could hear the cruel names in my head already. Metal mouth, brace face, tinsel teeth. One spotted me, and a few called out my name. I waved but didn’t open my mouth. Questions were thrown at me from left and right: “How was shopping?” “What’d you get? Anything good?”  I shook my head but that wasn’t enough. Here we go, I thought for the second time that day, and I bared my teeth. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the insults, but they didn’t come. In their place were a lot of squeals and smiles and OMG’s. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! I look great, they said. So cute. They loved it. I didn’t understand, so I hurried to the bathroom and smiled at my reflection. I could hardly believe it, but I actually looked okay!  In fact, I didn’t look bad at all! 

Thinking about it, I knew tons of people with braces, and I never thought any of them looked bad. What was I even worried about? I went back to my friends and smiled more fervently, and we talked until the warning bell rang. I got more praise in sixth and seventh periods and, by the time I was on the bus, the unhappiness I had felt that morning had evaporated. I remembered Mom and my attitude towards her with a pang of guilt, and I couldn’t wait to get home and smile at her.