From Dawn (published)

Seven

Saturday
3:15 pm

Her headache had returned with a vengeance underneath the harsh fluorescent lights. The screaming toddler hadn't helped either. Sitting for hours in an ER waiting room had done nothing to improve her temper. And she was starving again. Why in the heck was she so hungry lately?

Dawn wished that she could have gone to her regular doctor, but he didn't work weekends, so she found herself waiting her turn at the nearest hospital ER instead. It felt like she'd been sitting in the molded plastic chair for an eternity.

When her name was finally called, she jumped to her feet so fast she got dizzy again. She lurched sideways before catching herself against the back of another chair. The plastic monstrosity scooted across the hard floor with an embarrassing screech. Dawn paused for a long second to gather herself, and wished that the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Even the screaming toddler had fallen silent in the wake of her loud fumble. Trying her best to not look like some drunk who had staggered in from the street, she righted herself and followed the nurse back to a room.

She sat on the end of the exam table and allowed the usual tests that she had come to expect whenever she saw a doctor. She always hated having her blood pressure taken. The cuff got too tight and left her with a gross, uncomfortable feeling. She tried not to squirm or rub at her arm when it was removed. Reading the nurse's scrawled notes upside down, she noted that she was running a fever. Dawn frowned to herself. She didn't have any of the typical symptoms that usually came with a fever. Other than her splitting headache, she felt fine. Even her scary eye felt ok.

"Is your heart rate usually a little fast?"

Dawn was broken from her thoughts by the question. "Um, no?" She wasn't sure what to think of that question.

"Don't worry, it's a little fast, but nothing dangerous." The nurse abruptly stood from her perch on the wheeled stool, "The doctor will be in shortly." The woman breezed from the room.

The paper covering the table crinkled as Dawn shifted uncomfortably. The lighting in the exam room was too bright, and she found herself wanting to squint to block it out. By the time the doctor walked into the room, the pounding inside her skull had reached all new heights. This lighting was killing her.

"Good afternoon, Dawn. I'm Doctor Gregory," he reached out to shake her hand. "What brings you in to see us today?"

"It's my eye," Dawn did her best to unsquint that particular body part. It wasn't easy. "It wasn't like this when I got up."

The doctor leaned in closer to get a better look. After a few seconds, "Did anything happen that you know of, that might have caused this? Did you bump it on anything?"

Dawn sighed. "I got some really dirty water in my eyes yesterday."

"Uh, huh. Any other symptoms?" The doctor was still looking at her eye intently.

She started to shake her head, but then thought again when the movement sent a vicious stab to her temples. "Yeah, actually. I've had this really nasty headache that just won't go away."

He nodded and glanced at the chart in his hands. "How long have you had the headache?"

"Since yesterday."

"Okay," the doctor stood back up abruptly. "I think this is fairly straightforward. My guess is that you irritated your eyes with the dirty water, and then probably rubbed them. It's possible that you don't even remember doing so." He crossed the small room to begin typing on the computer there. "I'm going to prescribe some eye drops to help with the inflammation. And I think the headache is likely related to the eye strain. This should be all cleared up in a few days."

She was relieved to hear him say that. Waitressing didn't exactly pay a lot, and it was no secret that customers tipped better if they thought their server was attractive. Dawn didn't plan to live with her mother forever. She needed her freaky looking eye to go back to normal. The sooner, the better for her bank account.

"That should do it," The doctor turned from the computer to face her again. "Was there anything else that I can help you with today?"

Dawn thought to the earlier remark about her high heart rate. She wasn't a marathon runner or anything, but her heart rate had never been high enough before to earn her a comment like that. "Yes, actually. Earlier the nurse..."

The doctor wasn't listening to her. Some sort of commotion from somewhere down the hall had his attention. Someone was shouting angrily, and a loud crash made her cringe as the sound ricocheted through her skull.

She sighed again, "No, nothing."

"Alright. Make sure to follow up with your usual physician if that eye doesn't improve in the next few days," the doctor was out the door as soon as the words left his mouth.

Another loud bang was followed by more shouting. The sound sliced through her aching head. Sliding off of the table, Dawn grabbed her purse and fled the room. She was probably just stressed out anyway, and that was why all of these little symptoms kept popping up. What she needed was to relax and enjoy the rest of her day off. A little down time would fix it all, she was sure.

At the moment, all she really wanted was to escape whatever was making so much noise down the hall, anyway. Her head couldn't take too much more of the racket before she would be curled up in a ball, whimpering.