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"Hi, I’m Dr. Scarlett. How are you doing today?"
"I'm fine," I sniffed.
He took a seat in the chair across from me. "You don’t sound fine."
"Sorry, it’s just… this has been bugging me for a while, and I was supposed to have an appointment with my regular doctor today, but we got mixed up on the time and I got marked as a no-show and now they can’t decide if they wanna see me tomorrow or in two weeks, and it’s a huge mess!"
"I’m sorry to hear that. But, you’re here now. So, what seems to be the problem?"
"It's my foot," I sobbed, still wiping my tears with the washcloth I brought with me. "It hurts a little bit to walk, but not all the time."
"And is it your left or your right foot that's bothering you?"
"M-my right."
"Do you mind if I…"
I nodded, took off my shoe, and let him take my foot in his hand. He started pressing down on various points. "So where exactly does it hurt?"
"Just past my toes. But it's only when I put weight on it, not like this. Although I do have this other pair of shoes that hurts to put on all of a sudden."
"And is it, like an ache, or…"
"It's kinda… pinchy? My mom thinks it might be a pinched nerve."
"Uh-huh." After a while, he let go of my foot and sighed. "I'll go ahead and refer you to a specialist, is that okay?"
"That's what my mom said was gonna happen."
"I'm sorry, baby, I really wanted to help."
"Baby?"
Riot laughed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. Cut. You're a little old to be playing doctor so innocently, anyway."
"Yeah, I know."
"Were you really looking forward to this? Sounds to me like it kinda just got sprung on ya."
"Well, I don't get to go out much, so when I have plans to, and something gets in the way of those plans, I get upset."
"Yeah, I know ya do, but is this really about the appointment?"
I practically punched the air out of myself with a sigh that was almost a laugh. "Okay, maybe I'm a little worried about it not getting better in time for the fair and either not going or being in pain the whole time."
Riot scooted over to where I was sat on the bed and put his hand on my shoulder. "Hey, it's gonna be okay. I know it's frustrating, but y'know what? Your mom's on the phone with patient advocacy right now, and we're gonna figure this out. We'll getcha all fixed up so you can go to the fair with your friends, okay? Promise."
I gave him a hug, nuzzling into his shoulder. "Yeah. Thanks, doc."
He smiled. "Never call me that again. E.R.'s way better with this stuff, anyway."
"Yeah, you’d like having Dr. Ryder take care of you, huh?"
"Sh-shut up! Don't make it weird!"
I couldn’t help but laugh.