Jon scurried over to a sink and mirror to inspect her mouth. As she held her lips wide open it wasn't long before she became... slurpy. That expander had been making her mouth water non stop, and apparently being a bit slobbery was just part of the package. It was supposed to go away with time, but hadn't showed any signs of slowing yet. With a frustrated groan, she tried to spit out her spittle and get a better look. She realized coldly that nothing seemed changed from the previous day. Her mouth still ached. Her teeth were still crooked. That blasted expander was still stuck to the roof of her mouth. But why? She was worried that maybe the wish made it so something terrible would happen, forcing them to come off later in the day. But after a moment of panic, she calmed down. Didn't she just wish that she'd been wearing them long enough to get them removed? Then why didn't it work? Did it contradict a previous wish?
Her thoughts were interrupted as Dr.Mither walked through the door. "There's the blue bear." He laughed jovially. "Are you excited for this weeks game?" Jon offered him a weak smile in return. Apparently being a former mascot had caused the Orthodontist to imagine some friendly connection between them.
"Alright, let's go ahead and get you taken care off sweetie." Jon slumped into the chair and receded back into her sweater like a turtle hiding in her shell. Dr.Mithers had her open her mouth as he proceeded to inspect everything. "Is that good? Does that feel ok? Nurse Winters, what do you make of that?" Jon wanted to scream "No! No it's not ok." But once again, she relented with a silent sigh and a curt nod at each question. Finally Dr. Mithers held up the appliance.
It looked like two bows connected at the middle. The smaller of the two had some sort of metal contraption on each end, while the larger one ended in blunted hooks. Anxious butterflies flitted through Jon's belly. It looked like a torture device. The doctor pointed. "Ok, it's simple enough. These tabs right here," He began to poke the ends of the short bow. "Fit just perfectly into holes in your molar caps, and once you've gotten them in there, just lock it in place with this tension rod." He points to a curled spring looking wire hooking around the smaller bow just like a safety pin.
"Here, I'll put it in this time, but you will have to take care of it from now on."
Jon looks inquisitively up at him. "You mean It'sh not permanent?"
"Nope!" he states matter-of-factly. "You'll need to wear it for at least 14 hours a day though, so take it off for school and showering, but that's it." He cocks his head sideways and stares at her a little more intensely. "And I mean it. The less time you wear it, then the longer this will take. Any less than about 12 hours and you'll just be undoing any progress you make."
Jon's mouth goes dry she nods.
"Now open wide!" The dentist smiles.
He slips the smaller bow into her mouth, settling it around the curvature of her mouth. The large rods goes into some unseen hole on either side of her mollars, and Jon feels the tension increase on her face. Strangely she can feel it most behind her nose. With a click click the safety pin contraption locks it in place. Jon's lips wrap around the smaller bow, and she wiggles her face at the larger bow shining in her periphery. The orthodontist produces something that looks like a miniature, blue, and white body pillow with rubber bands on each end. He slips it around her neck, then advises Jon. "For the first month, we're just going to use these first holes in the rubber bands." If Jon thought there was pressure before, it was nothing compared to the tension she felt when the band was hooked up to the larger bow. She winces, and raises a hand to her mouth. "Uh... owww." Jon states as she opens and closes her mouth, getting used to the latest intruder. "How long do I have to wear thish?" She mutters softly. "Hmm... not as long as the expander. Probably 6 months, no longer than 9."
"Ughhh." Jon dispaired as she sunk deeper into the chair.
"Hey, you can't be like that." Dr. Mithers beams. "The crowd's going to be depending on your school spirit this Friday!"
Jon looked at him somewhat distraught. "What do you mean?"
"The football team, and the student section. They'll be depending on you to pump them up." He smiles as he helps her up and out of the chair. Jon practically reels, and the world feels a little wobbly. She stumbles into the support of the assistant, and holds her head. "The other wish didn't work either? What happened? Why not?!"
"Whoa!" the blond girl announces. "Take it easy there sweetie. Did you sit up too fast?" She puts her hands on her hips and directs a mock scowel at the ortho. "You pulled her too hard, you brute." She rubs Jons back, but they seem oblivious to the depth of Jon's concern. She's guided her over to the mirror as if nothing's wrong.
"Here we go! I know they're not much fun." She looks right at Jon. "I know personally that they're not much fun, but it's worth it. Just take them off for school, and wear them at home, or sleepovers. After the first week, you won't even think about it." She snaps her fingers, as if to illustrate how easy it is. "Now go ahead and pull your cheek back and take a look.
She guides Jon through the steps of taking it off, and putting it back on a few times, then hands her some tools another damned pamphlet. Finally she's ushered back to the waiting room.
"Can I take it off now?" Jon pleads.
"Well... " The nurse does her mock thinking pose again, eliciting another eye roll from Jon. It's pretty clear that these two are used to working with far younger kids. "If you're going to school, yes. If you're going home, then no."
Jon looks to his mom, who shrugs. "Up to you. I won't mind if you go home, as long as you keep up with your schoolwork."
Jon pops the thing out of her mouth, and puts it in the baggie they provided. "Shchool." She says resolutely...
She needs to find out what went wrong with the wishes and why, and perhaps more importantly, find out if she really is the school mascot.
