Chapter 09/13
It all had started with the mother's suggestion a few weeks before the start of the UPT: "What would you think if the both of us go shopping once the whole thing is done with?"
After all, there is something to celebrate: Not only will Rosalynn - hopefully - have received a good rating in the UPT and can thus attend the university of her choice. No, there's more: The UPT also marks the end of the school year and thus also the end of high school. A few weeks later she will be in university - the "grown-up's school". And that's something worth celebrating, isn't it?
Now Rosa surely does not want to say "no" to a shopping spree. At the same time, however, she had wanted to travel "abroad" for a long time. Torn about what to do for a while, she finally asked her parents if she could exchange the shopping spree for a trip.
It was clear pretty quickly that the parents would reject her desired destination. "Two weeks to Japan" is simply not an option; neither in their schedule nor in the parents' budget. After all, Rosalynn is of course not allowed to travel alone yet. But overall, her legal guardians had shown themselves open to traveling with their offspring.
"What do you think of that?" The father asked a few days later: She could also split it up: Rosa could decide: Either an "epic" shopping spree or a longer trip or a combination of both: She would go on her shopping spree AND her trip, but neither would be as grand as if she only got ONE gift.
Rosa quickly agreed. And from there the idea was born to get a separate gift for each of the four parts of the UPT. The parents agreed. But as children are, they can never get enough.
And so Rosa had negotiated with her parents to convert the four "gifts" into four "rewards": the better she does in the four individual parts of the UPT, the better the reward. The parents had consulted for a while, but then also agreed to it.
But with one caveat: Rosalynn's birthday is coming up soon. If they were to actually go on with the "reward system", it would probably cost a lot of money.
Well ... her parents are lucky in that they - without being rich - don't really have to worry about money too much. Her father has his own company with several employees and her mother works as an optician in her own shop. In other words: They have enough money to be able to pay her daughter the - not exactly cheap - private high school - and to be able to do so with pleasure.
And indeed they also have enough money to buy several presents for their daughter. However: "We're not millionaires ... If you really want four rewards for the test ... then you won't get anything from us for your birthday this year. Okay?"
Rosa hadn't hesitated for a second, but - without thinking twice - had immediately agreed.
And so the "agreement" came about, of which I already wrote earlier: The better Rosalynn scores in the four individual exams of the UPT, the better - or more expensive - the respective gift that she's allowed to choose may be.
However, this does not apply indefinitely: "'Give her an inch and she will take a mile', that is not possible," the parents make clear to her: "You have to think about what you want. And then we will tell you, whether WE think that this is fair and doable, agreed?"
Of course, Rosa agreed. Nevertheless, she had a few problems at the beginning: She had absolutely no idea what a good grade was "worth" to her parents. With a perfect test result, may she expect to be able to choose a shirt and new pants on a shopping trip, or does an 'A' mean a shopping spree until she 'can't carry no more'?
That's why her parents made a few suggestions: "What do you think: What grade will you get in math (the first of the four parts)?"
Oh, hard to say. Math is one of the subjects in which the daughter has a hard time. Definitely dependent on the topic. And it is better not to have too high expectations ... then at least Rosa is not too disappointed if the grade turns out "bad": "Don't know ... probably a 'C'?" Yes, that sounds about right ...
"You wanted a Playstation 5, didn't you?" asks the father.
Rosa eyes widen: That thing has been on the market for a while now and is therefore not as expensive as it was at the beginning, nevertheless: It is still expensive enough: And for a 'C' she would get the PS5?
Not quite: "If you'll bring home a 'B', you will get that thing from us," corrects the father.
"Mean!", Rosa is annoyed in a good way.
The mother laughs: "It's not called 'reward' for nothing: you are SUPPOSED to make a little effort ... "
"It's fine, it's fine," says Rosa, laughing as well. Yes: to trade a PS5 for "a few days of study" sounds quite tempting.
But ... but if a 'B' already gets her a PS5, what if ... what if she wrote an 'A'? OK, that's not very likely, but what if?
With that question in mind, Rosa compiles a list of things she might want to have. At first the list gets longer and longer, before it finally starts to get shorter again: Some things are simply "more important" to her than others:
The furniture in her room is beginning to be a little too "childish" for her taste; but compared to the prospect of having a PS5, it's clear who wins.
The first three categories are quickly populated: a game console, a trip and a shopping spree ...
For a long time, she wasn't sure what she should pick as reward for the fourth test: New furniture after all? Rosa doesn't feel like going to a "really fancy" restaurant as her parents had suggested. What if she merges two categories and turns a shopping trip into a shopping marathon?
In the end, Rosa decides to simply ask for money. Money is always an option and can be used "for everything". Even if she can't think of anything better right now, as long as she saves the money, she can still spend it as soon as she knows what she wants to buy with it.
She had suggested those four categories to her parents, and they agreed.
But the very next day, when she came home from school, she had upset the plan again: Because Amy's braces had been removed. And ... WOW. Her teeth look really nice now, so beautiful and straight.
The fact that her school friend got rid of her braces is Rosa's second encounter with the subject: About... yes, about a year ago - her parents dragged her to an orthodontist after all.
Rosa was amazed to hear his findings. Because they differed significantly from what she had thought of her own teeth: Of course they were not absolutely straight, but also not so crooked that she absolutely had to do something about it.
She wouldn't really have minded getting braces. After all, many classmates have them in their mouths; so it would be nothing unusual to join the group of braces-wearers. At the same time, however, she was also of the opinion that treatment was not absolutely necessary; after all, her teeth weren't that bad.
Dr. Coleman, the orthodontist, had seen it decidedly different: Yes, something should be done about it. The faster the better. He had impressed on the parents that - although it is not yet "high time" - they should not let it slide for another several years. Because that would only complicate later treatment unnecessarily.
So the parents - like many others in the situation - decided to "treat" their child to an orthodontic treatment. So sooner or later she would find herself in the orthodontist's chair.
And after seeing the plaster casts of her teeth, Rosa had to admit that "a little bit crooked" is not entirely true. That it probably was more wishful thinking than anything else. So after a few days she had come to the conclusion that - with those "topsy-turvy" teeth - it might not be a bad idea to wear braces after all.
However, the fact that about a year has passed since then without the treatment having taken another step forward has a very specific cause: Dr. Coleman's treatment plan. Because she doesn't like it. Absolutely not! Not at all!
This plan could be divided into two parts: The first part is the braces.
OK ... we already talked about that: Rosa has no problem with the prospect of wearing braces. She doesn't look forward to her silver smile, but on the other hand she can't imagine having problems with it either.
But unfortunately, that cannot be said of the second part: Dr. Coleman had made it clear that the braces alone would not be enough to correct Rosalynn's misalignments. Unfortunately, this will require a second treatment device.
And more than once the term "headgear" was used in this context.
THAT'S why Rosa still doesn't wear braces. She does want straight teeth by now; but not when she is strapped into a bridle for that! That would be extremely embarrassing! And so she had managed to push the start of the treatment further and further back.
Admittedly: The orthodontist had also suggested a less conspicuous alternative to headgear, but for that there would be a significant surcharge on the "cheap option". Money that apparently didn't seem worthwhile to the parents at the time. Or they hadn't expected their daughter to object to headgear in the first place. Either way: Rosa was never asked whether she would prefer the alternative.
And Rosa had not mentioned much she disliked the prospect of being strapped into a metal bow. In other words, her parents had no way of knowing that their daughter would strongly prefer the alternative. But if she mentions that NOW, after an entire year of silence, she certainly would have to expect her parents becoming "a teeny-tiny bit indignant".
She surely would also have to listen to something like "Your aversion to headgear cannot be THAT great if you kept quiet about it for an ENTIRE year!" And it's hard to argue with that.
By now her parents are slowly getting a little impatient. They agree with the orthodontist that they shouldn't wait much longer. So unless a miracle happens, Rosa will soon find herself in braces and with headgear.
And still she didn't bring herself to talking to her parents. Instead, Rosa had actively avoided the topic. Maybe she would have made some last-minute effort to dissuade her parents even with the risk of irritating them.
But nobody can know for sure, because now that she saw how wonderful Amy's laugh had become ... well, Rosalynn was jealous.
If it hadn't been for the stupid headgear, the girl now almost "wanted" to get braces to straighten her teeth.
Wait; stop! Stop! There IS "a way out" now! A few days ago, a possibility, not to be condemned to headgear any longer, has presented itself:
The parents were astonished. THAT topic had never even come to mind. They were very surprised when her daughter requested "inconspicuous braces" as a fourth reward.
But well... why not?
