The Academie Read Free Page A

cabinets,
countertop, and sink found in most examining rooms, but unlike
most, it had a door on the wall opposite where I came
in.
    “ Where does that go?” I
asked as I entered.
    “ That’s none of your
concern,” the bearded man replied without looking up.
    “ Well, it’s a little
creepy when you are about to examine me. Is anyone going to come in
through there?”
    “ No, you have nothing to
worry about.” He answered automatically, still looking at his
computer rather than at me.
    “ Your name, Miss,” The
woman asked, and I understood then that she was the
assistant. Figures, I thought.
    “ Alathea
Thompson.”
    I watched as she wrote it in with her
stylus. “Yes, I have you here. Age 19? 6437 Park Lane?”
    “ That’s me.”
    “ Allergy to penicillin?
How do you know that?” She looked up from her computer so that she
could peer over her glasses at me.
    “ My mother is very
allergic to it, so we’re guessing that I may be too.”
    “ Just because your mother
is, doesn’t mean that you are,” she said in a know-it-all kind of a
tone.
    “ Well I’d rather not find
out the hard way if you don’t mind,” I snapped back.
    “ Alathea, have a seat,”
the doctor said, still without looking up from his
tablet.
    I looked around the room, chose one of
the wheelie chairs, and plopped myself down.
    “ On the table, please,” he
clarified, looking at me at last. His eyes were brown, but much
darker than Bryan’s, edged with deep lines and thick brows that
seemed bent in a permanent scowl.
    Bryan’s eyes could never
look so mean….
    “ Young lady! We are on a
tight schedule.”
    I hated the stupid table. I had too
many bad memories on those things. Why couldn’t they just do what
they needed to do with me where I was? Reluctantly, I got up from
the chair, took the step over to the table, and hopped up. Even at
nineteen, it was too high for me to get on without jumping or using
the small step they usually pull out for children.
    “ Have you been sick or
needed to visit a doctor for any reason in the last year?” Dr.
Beard asked.
    “ Nope.”
    “ When was your last
menstrual cycle?”
    “ Why does that
matter?”
    “ Just answer the
question,” Bleach blond snipped.
    “ I don’t know. A few weeks
ago, I guess.”
    “ Can you be more
specific?” Beard asked, looking over his dark-rimmed
glasses. Looking over your glasses must be
something they teach you in medical classes, I thought.
    “ No, I can’t. I really
don’t keep track.”
    “ Well, you should,”
Blondie said, rolling her eyes.
    I rolled mine too.
    “ Okay,” Beard said. He
stepped up to the table and set his tablet down behind me. “Arms
up.” I reluctantly raised them. “We need to check your lymph nodes
to make sure that you are nice and healthy,” he said, feeling the
insides of my armpits. He did the same a little too close to things
I didn’t want him near on the inside of my legs, then placed his
hands around my throat and up behind my ears.
    “ Alright, that’s fine. Now
I just need to listen to your heart and lungs.” He placed the
stethoscope in his ears and the other end inside my shirt, on my
chest. It was cold and uncomfortable, and I flinched in response.
He looked up at me briefly, then down again.
    After a moment of silence, he said,
“Sounds good.” Then he moved the cold thing over slightly. “Breathe
in.”
    I took a deep breath.
    “ Breathe out.”
    I let it all out.
    “ Again.”
    I repeated a few more times and then
he moved to my back.
    “ Breathe in.”
    “ Hhheeeh” my lungs said as
I took another deep breath. I was becoming a pro now.
    “ Breathe out.”
    “ Hwooooh” my lungs
replied, relaxing.
    “ Everything checks out.
I’ll just have Nurse Edwards take your blood pressure and give your
inoculations, and you’ll be on your way.”
    “ Inoculations? But I just
had a bunch for college. Are you sure I need them?”
    “ Yes, we’ve checked your
record. These are different, and