Part 6
Several weeks have gone by since Zara found herself stranded in East Berlin. Since that evening, she had been careful to not drink so much at the clubs she went to and thankfully had not fallen asleep on the tram home.
As time passed, Zara forgot about the orthodontic assessment Karen had given her. However, one evening she returned from work. Her mother was a little off-hand with her. Zara couldn't work out why, what could she possibly have done, she wondered. Finally her mother said, "Zara, when were you going to tell me about this?" She held up a crumpled piece of paper.
Zara recognised it as the notes Karen gave her regarding her bite. "Oh I, er, had forgotten about that," said Zara.
"Listen, Zara," her mum said, "if you need treatment, we should get it sorted. I know you get jaw pain sometimes. I think you need to see to it before you get much older. I've already made you an appointment with an ortho not far from here so you can get there easily."
"Okay mum, will you come with me for the first time at least?"
"Of course darling, that's no problem. Your appointment is tomorrow at half past 5."
Zara couldn't take it all in. Suddenly she was going to an appointment where she might end up with braces.
The next evening, Zara and her mum went to the ortho office. Zara was pleased to see it was a modern-looking place. In fact, it smelled of new paint, as well as the usual medical smell these places always have. Zara's mum went to the receptionist and said, "My daughter Zara has an appointment at half past five."
"Ah yes, the young lady who had a referral from another ortho."
"Yes, that's right," said her mum.
The receptionist told them to take a seat and fill out some paperwork.
After 10 minutes, a nurse came out. "Zara Shmidt, please."
Zara looked up. She was surprised, the receptionist had headgear on, and when she smiled, it looked as though her mouth was filled with plastic and metal. Zara stood up to follow her, hoping she wouldn't have that much metal and certainly not headgear.