Chapter 8
I woke up the next morning, my eyes still slightly swollen from the crying last night. A feeling of anxiety filled me and I had to breathe deeply to stop myself heaving as the gross taste of metal and plastic filled my mouth. I quickly took the night-time appliance out and then I lay in bed, swaddled up in the blankets trying to think of ways of get out of going to school today. Finally, Jessica came in and light flooded my bedroom. “GOOD MORNING” I grunted in acknowledgement as she sat on the edge of my bed. She smiled kindly at me ‘I know today you’re supposed to be at school, but I bet you’re pretty sore. Do you want to hang out here today? We can watch some tv, I’ve got a bit of work to do and you can let that pain settle a bit before facing everyone tomorrow – I understand it must be daunting having everyone see all that. You can practice talking some more too, get that lisp down a bit?” Relief flooded over me and I gently hugged Jessica, thinking that maybe she wasn’t all that bad – that maybe she understood how it was to be a teenager with all this metal shoved in there “yeth, thath wouth be greath, thanths”. She smiled sweetly at me and left me to get up and dressed.
I went downstairs where Jessica had got me some yoghurt and painkillers ready. The cool juice felt great in my mouth and I managed to get a few spoonfuls of the yoghurt down without too much trouble. I ran my tongue gingerly across my teeth and they throbbed with even this light touch. I tried to get my lips to close to cover the braces but the big brackets constantly pushed my lips apart with the shiny metal gleaming through – I would need to practice before tomorrow to stop people from staring at me. I felt self conscious enough at home let alone going out in public like this.
The morning went on quickly as I watched junk tv and topped up the painkillers every 4 hours. Jessica was typing away on her computer but suddenly the doorbell went and she jumped up eagerly. My heart rate increased dramatically as I sensed something was going on and I was proved right as 2 of her work friends walked in, I could hear them talking quietly and I sensed by their cooing that they were talking about me. I quickly sat up, getting ready to try and escape to my room but just as I was about to stand up the women appeared in front of me
“Hey sweetie, how are you?” I tried to smile quickly with my lips shut as much as I could manage and mumbled a “fine thanks”. They stood there, clearly trying to get a peek and after a few seconds Jessica spoke up “I was telling these two about your new braces – I said it was a big adjustment but Helen’s daughter is about to get braces too so I thought I’d show yours off, of course hers won't be anywhere near as extensive as yours” she quickly turned towards her friends “ Ellie is a special case you see, she needs a LOT of work done. Unfortunately we are having to foot the bill since she’s still in school so John – you know John? Well he is doing the treatment” Both women’s eyes widened slightly as Jessica talked and finally the older woman said “well that explains why they’re so…erm..well…THERE. John is quite infamous for some brutal methods isn’t he?” Jessica smiled slightly then turned back to me “yes, well – as I said Ellie is a very special case and we wanted to make sure she followed everything properly”. The women murmured in approval and then said their goodbyes as they settled down to work. My cheeks were burning red with embarrassment and I suddenly knew that tomorrow wouldn’t be as straight forward as I had hoped. The anxious feeling started up in my stomach and I knew I was in for a long road ahead.
The following morning came around and despite my hopes that I would be able to stay at home again, Jessica came in and woke me up ready for school. I tried to muster some enthusiasm but felt sick with nerves. Jessica insisted on driving me this morning and I was sure it was to make sure I actually went in. As the car got closer to school my heart rate sped up and I felt my palms get sweaty. Jessica pulled up outside and I turned to her, pleading for some more time off. She smiled, pretending to care “Today is going to be hard, the next few weeks will be hard but delaying it isn’t going to help either. Is it embarrassing having all that metal in your mouth? Yes. Could it be worse? Yes. Is it the end of the world? No. Take a deep breath and in you go.” I groaned but realised I wasn’t going to win this battle so gathered my bag and got out, trying to keep my head down as much as possible.
My friends all saw me and came over to inspect my mouth, they couldn’t hide the shock of it and although they offered me lots of support the tears still gathered in my eyes.
Throughout the day I attempted to stay as quiet as possible, only answering if absolutely needed and I kept my head down. Most people saw the braces and although they did a second glance they didn’t say anything which definitely helped.
At lunchtime I managed a yoghurt but didn’t do anything else for fear of embarrassing myself. By the end of the day even my friends had got used to my new look and I began to think it wouldn’t be as bad as I first thought.
