April Fools Day - A Writing Challenge

Going to the Dentist (Kit-the-Obscure)

In the early nineties, my little brother and I would often have our dentist check ups at thesame time. Maybe it was because we did it when we attended the kids club and it saved timeto see siblings together. I missed kids club, you got to chew up these pink tablets thatshowed the plaque on your teeth. They made you look like a strawberry sucking vampireand you had to brush well to remove it. A kid at school said they were poisonous so Ibecame wary of them after that. They weren't but it shows you I could be very gullible attimes. I blame this for falling for my brother's joke this time.

Naturally, my brother had to be first. He always did but I didn't mind much, I was twelve atthe time and had some semblance of patience. The dentist did his usual examination withthat little mirror and gave him the all clear. We swapped places.

Before he started examining my teeth, he did something I wasn't expecting...

He put a surgical mask on, like those doctors on hospital programmes. I was puzzled, hedidn't put one on for my brother, so why had he for me?

Same procedure with the mirror, same clean bill of dental health. He removes his mask andsends us out, my brother bursts into laughter.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

My brother snorts, "You know why he put a mask on when he looked at your mouth, don'tyou?"

"No, why?"

"Its because your breath smells!" He said this between guffaws, "Mine doesn't, so he didn'tneed it." 

A look of horror on my face, "But I cleaned my teeth before we left home!"

"Doesn't matter, Kit, some people have really stinky breath no matter how hard they try, badluck sis." 

I was devastated, how could I have bad breath when I cleaned my teeth twice a day? Threetimes if I was going out somewhere. My brother, on the other hand, had to be dragged to thebathroom sink. Most of the time he would just run the taps, then swish a bit of toothpasteabout, he even smeared a bit of toothpaste on the mirror for authenticity. I never understoodwhy he didn't just clean them, it would be easier in the long run. I just couldn't figure it out.

Never mind, I thought, I'd have to try much harder. I bought mouthwash, I cleaned my teethmore and I flossed. Next time hopefully, he wouldn't need the mask.

Our next check up came along and this time I went first, but the dentist put the mask on yetagain. Clearly my dental regime hadn't worked. To my delight, however, he put it on for mybrother. Now it was my time to laugh!

The dentist looking up from the check up asked what the joke was.

"His breath stinks too! That's why you're wearing the mask."

Imagine my horror when the dentist explained that wearing a mask was a new health andsafety procedure and my breath didn't smell. He must have forgotten to wear it last timeduring the check up. 

My brother giggled, "Yeah, I knew that already, but you're so easy to wind up Kit."