Chapter 2There comes a time in a man's life where it's perfectly appropriate to sulk around one's own room in despair. In a way, it's a sign of emotional maturity that I'm allowing myself this time to earnestly process my grief. My PAIN. My SORROW.
And for what?
BRACES! She asked if I had braces! They aren't even used anymore! Haven't been for years now! Most folks with crooked teeth get these flimsy clear trays paid for by one of countless benefit programs. You may see some metal used SOME times, but
Hang on...
I pull up the university's main website, scroll past admissions, career opportunities, HERE!
"Disciplinary procedures to follow breach in student conduct:"
Winterville famously doesn't believe in expulsion, so all disciplinary action is taken out in the form of enrollment in a compulsory orthodontic program, the severity of which depending on the frequency of misconduct. NEAT! It sure looks to be DAMN effective too! The university boasts the lowest percentages of academic dishonesty and illegal activity nationwide, and this is probably the reason. You wouldn't wanna be caught with metal in your mouth going to and from classes.
Looking over the disciplinary program, it seems to start off with basic metal brackets and work its way up the more severe the misconduct at the discretion of the orthodontic handler. The website's page gets pretty vague about what they're willing to put in your mouth, but I'm reminded of the section of the admissions form that every student signs that mentions this...
AN IDEA!
All I have to do is break one rule, get sent to the orthodontic department, and BAM! Free Braces!
Then, I'll have another shot at getting to talk with Sophie!
Thinking it over, the braces alone can get a little intense depending on what they decide to add, and they can call you back over to install whatever they want at any time, and you're required to wear it all for as long as they say. I gotta make sure my first-time offense isn't anything
too serious. If Sophie wants braces, then I'll get braces!
Time to get myself into trouble!
FOR LOVE!
To make sure I get sent straight to the Ortho department on the first offense, this will need to look premeditated. My target becomes the upcoming History 3 midterm. My grade in the class isn't terrible but could be a lot better! I start by asking a few classmates if they know anyone who has answers from last semester. After getting a few looks, I turn to the internet, searching forums on university computers while signed into my account! It's perfect!
Finally, I print accurate answers and fold the paper into the pocket of my pants. Time to ace this exam!
Results are in, and I've received a confirmation notice to a compulsory installation in the Ortho Sciences building! Success! Caught red handed!
That afternoon I skip over to my compulsory installation with the gusto of a man on a mission! I boldly swing the glass door open and stride to the counter to check in!
A blonde woman about my age hunches behind a counter in a white uniform, a strange metal bar arching out of her mouth and curving to the sides of her cheeks, her lips apart just enough for a glint of metal to shine through, clearly a patient turned employee to reduce her time in oral bondage.
"Can I help you?..."
"Samson Reese!"
Her eyes widen slightly as she clicks a button on her keyboard. The two doors to my right swing open as two taller women lacking any traces of oral hardware briskly rush to my sides, both gently grabbing one of my arms and almost lifting me towards the very doors they'd just emerged from. Right to it then!
I'm brought into a small light blue room with another door to the far side, and what looks like a slanted metal tray protruding from the wall with a door mechanism. The two women place me in the room, briskly leave through the door we'd entered from, and lock it behind them. A voice then speaks over an intercom in the far corner.
"Remove your clothing and place it into the bin."
...huh?
A few seconds pass. Am I not getting braces?
"Remove your clothing and place it into the bin."
I guess I'm getting a uniform myself? I start removing my shirt and pants, noticing picture promts stuck fast to the wall above the bin. I'm supposed to take
everything off and place it into the bin, and wait. huh.
I do as instructed and place every article of clothing neatly folded into the metal bin with my cell phone sitting on top.
I'm getting chilly here...
After a few seconds a metal plate slides out from the wall to cover the clothing I'd placed into the bin. I hear a metallic shifting, followed by the lid being drawn back to reveal a new set of clothes left to me.
...
Lifting them from the bin, I find a set of navy and dark green plaid short overalls, the letters "CC" in red stitched onto the left butt pocket, a baby blue collared shirt, and a bright purple diaper that appears WAY too big for me...
This is ortho sciences, right?
"Put on all clothing presented."
This is ortho sciences, right?
"Put on all clothing presented."
Sigh... There comes a time in a man's li-
"Put on all clothing presented."
"FINE! I'M DOING IT! SHEESH!"
Reluctantly, I slide the large purple diaper up to fit. It's, soft? Uncomfortably... roomy. I dawn the light blue collared shirt, and slide into the paid overalls, the ends stopping just above my knees. If there were a mirror in this room, I'd be willing to bet I look like a dork right now.
BUT! Sophie said she only dates nerds! I guess this outfit
is pretty nerdy, even if it is a bit much. I will persevere! Triumph will be-
My harrowing internal monologue is interrupted by the two women from before entering from the opposite door to strong arm me out of the cold undergarment stealing room.
An intimidating hallway of chairs greets me as a number of employees in white uniforms glance my way with varied looks. Stare all you want! I've no shame! I do this for lov-
I'm practically shoved into a chair near another occupied by a brunette woman adorned in the exact ensemble I find myself in now. she grips the sides of her plaid overalls with hands bound to the chair by teal velcro straps as a tall woman in a blue uniform works to install some kind of metal cage into the roof of her mouth. The girl in the chair merely looks annoyed, a brave display I'd hope to mirror during my coming installation. The two women begin placing my arms and legs into various teal straps, beginning with a large one across my chest with smaller loops running horizontal, followed by the upper arms. One of them then brings two straps from behind the shoulders of the seat to lay over my own before looping through the spaces on the chest strap, turned back up to velcro to themselves, while the other woman lays a thick padded strap over my thighs before quickly strapping my ankles. They each conclude by picking a hand to secure into a closed loop on either side that tightens to close. At least they're efficient! With that one of them steps away to begin rolling a number of carts covered with metal appliances to behind the chair where I'm unable to see, while the other begins presenting numerous cups of odd smelling liquids, sternly instructing me to drink.
I've made it this far.
I obediently allow her to slowly poor the contents to my mouth, and I swallow them easily after discovering they taste rather sweet! With the final cup emptied, the chair begins to recline back, the straps ensuring I've no way to protest the maneuver. Both women then depart, leaving me to listen to metallic clicks and squeaks of instruments used on the girl to my left, the tall woman spending no effort towards her comfort during the ordeal. At its conclusion, the tall woman announces her completion. This appears to summon one of the other employees in white to begin unstrapping the girl in plaid from her chair. As she stands, I can spot she's now sporting an aggressive looking metal hoop encircling her face, this one with a number of spiked metal trays holding her lips apart that look as though they're meant to stop her from tampering with the appliance. The girl maintains her annoyed look as she follows the employee with one hand hovering around the metal trays, clearly affected by its presence.
As she leaves, I can hear a wheeled stool is rolled over behind the head of my chair. The tall woman reads from a clipboard and introduces herself as Dr. Blanchet.
"Samson, Samson, Samson."
"That's me."
Her eyes are still glued to the clipboard.
"A sense of humor, huh? We've got something for that."
She continues reading as the same woman that escorted the girl in plaid returns to stand behind her at the ready.
"Academic dishonesty, huh? You seem pretty calm for someone who got caught this badly. I'm going to take the liberty of adding a few things here for today."
She takes a pin from her pocket and begins adding check marks across a paper before turning it to the next page and continuing to add more check marks. The woman standing behind her perks up and meekly speaks.
"Um... D-Dr. Ashley, he's a first-time offender..."
"I'm well aware. Administration wants us cracking down on first-timers when they come in for cheating. Makes the message stick."
She leans down to speak directly next to me, taking her eyes off my file for the first time.
"Not to mention, I don't like having repeat offenders on my charts. Grab the headphones. He's going to be here a while, and we're going to make this visit one he'll remember."
She straightens herself to continue making more checks with her pen. Nice try, but I'm not intimidated. It's gonna take more than that to spook me. I'm here for LOVE! Do your worst!
She hands the clipboard to her assistant and begins to force a plastic cheek separator into my mouth before adding a tongue block attached to the inside of it. As the assistant begins gathering the numerous items checked on my file, Dr. Blanchet begins thoroughly cleaning my entire mouth, flossing each tooth before wedging some kind of rubber piece between each tooth. As she concludes this, the assistant returns with one of the items in hand, the rest on numerous carts rolled next to the Doctor. The headphones are placed over my ears and a recorded whispering begins to play. I can't make out what's being said, but occasionally Dr. Blanchet would speak into a microphone pinned to her lapel, instructing me to "bite down", or "open wider". All the while she goes about bringing small metal rings into my mouth. Funny, I thought brackets were standard for metal braces? I've never seen these. I have no idea what she's putting into my mouth, but she isn't taking anything out. A real whopper catches my attention as she brings one of those metal hoops over my face, this one has a large rake of spikes on the inside, three metal rings on either side of the inner hoop.
My steely resolve aside, THAT looks a bit intimidating...
NO! I am here for LOVE! There comes a time in a man's life when his resolv-
Oh Shit I need the bathroom.
I try to speak, to no avail, of course. Wriggling around in the chair, lightly gurgling in an attempt to communicate a universal sensation of a tense bladder, I manage the attention of the assistant. Dr. Blanchet at last addresses me.
"You need the bathroom?"
"Aghhah..."
"Then go."
She continues installing more appliances, even forcing my jaw to accept the metal rings herself out of impatience. I wriggle a bit more. I get it. They made me put on a diaper at the start of this, but really? And for some reason it's getting really hard to hold it.
Dr. Blanchet shoots a look to her assistant, who reluctantly steps to the side of the chair, and begins to press onto my lower stomach with both hands, producing the sound of water hitting carpet, barely audible through the headphones and their constant whispering. I can only lightly grip the sides of my overalls, just as the girl from before did.
NOT FAIR!
Well this is great. Gotta say, I expected some odd things from a university's disciplinary office using orthodontics to curb misconduct, but THIS is a whole other level. Thinking on it, it makes sense why I've never heard anyone talk about this extreme side of the program. Any student that messes up THIS much probably won't be vocal about getting put into diapers while being turned into a metal mouth.
Once the headgear, as she calls it, has been fully cemented in place with a blue light, Dr. Blanchet takes a set of plyers and starts to bend the arms of the facebow outward, taking up more space than before. Her assistant then hands her a tangled mess of navy-blue straps, definitely going to clash with my light hair, and goes about fastening them to the crown of my head and the back of my neck, loudly clamped them to the outer arms of my now locked in headgear. Great.
Dr. Blanchet then grabs the clipboard once again and speaks in a deadpan tone.
"Next up is your standard vision test."
She checks another box.
"Oops looks like you failed. Caroline, bring me a plus 5. Thick frames."
If I wasn't gonna look like a nerd before... Stay strong! Think of Sophie!
The assistant returns and places a set of dark, thick frames glasses onto my face, blurring my vision significantly. I manage a brave grunt of disapproval.
"Your vision will adjust very quickly."
She sends her assistant off once more to prep a goody bag for caring for my new oral hardware, along with more diapers to keep me stocked, sent to my dorm.
"Alright, Samson. It's been very nice getting acquainted with you. You'll want the next time we meet to be outside of this office. If you think your mouth feels full now, just wait until I get you in this chair again. I'll show you just how wrong you can be. Stay out of trouble, and have fun with your permanent lisp. Tah!"
