I must have fallen asleep, because I wake up and I’m leaned against Ollie’s shoulder. He nudges me.

“Hey, they’re ready for us. C’mon.”

Groggily, I stumble to my feet and we follow a tired looking nurse through a set of doors and down a hallway to a little exam room.

“Just have a seat on the table, she’ll be with you shortly” she says, handing me a clipboard with basic information to fill out.

I sit down on the crinkly paper covering the examination table and Ollie plops unceremoniously into the chair next to me.

About thirteen minutes later, a middle-aged woman with kind eyes and worry lines breezes through the curtain.

“Hello, I’m Doctor Sloan. I hear you’ve injured your hand?”

I smile politely.

“Yep, I took a spill earlier, and Ollie here was worried.”

Sloan gives him a knowing look. Her face says Awwwwwww.

I clear my throat.

“Uh, it should be fine. He’s just being dramatic.”

“Well, I’m glad he’s taking care of you.”

My cheeks bloom.

The woman has me raise my hand, and after a lot of poking and prodding, she reaches a verdict.

“Your hand is probably broken, not counting your fingers. You’ll be needing an x-ray.

I sigh, somewhat obnoxiously.

“Can’t you just put on a cast or something? It’ll heal.”

“Absolutely not. I’m putting you down for an x-ray.”

She gives me a little sling temporarily to keep it from getting bumped around.

“How long will this take? I don’t mean to be rude, but I kind of need to get her home,” Ollie asks.

Sloan sighs.

“Well, I’d say you’re looking at about and hour and a half, what with how busy we are. There was a pretty serious accident in Brooklyn.”

I nod.

“Okay. So…back to the waiting room?”

She holds the curtain open for us.

“Yep. I’ll see you after your x-ray.”

The doctor winks at us and we make our way to the waiting room, where we’re given paperwork. Ollie helps me figure it out. 

About half an hour later, it’s 4:45 and I’m sitting cross-legged in one of the couch-things, doing homework. Our seats had been taken by a woman with her kid in her lap. A surprising number of parents had thought it necessary to take their kids in for head colds.

Ollie fidgets, then stands up abruptly.

“I’m gonna run and get some Starbucks. Macchiato?”

I nod, still focused on geometry.

“Yeah, thanks.”

I reach into my wallet, then remember when I find it empty.

“Shit.”

“They took your cash?”

I nod.

“Wait-“

I reach into the little pocket in my backpack, but he’s already walking out.

“It’s fine, I got it.”

Ollie winks at me and disappears down the street. I feel a little empty. Lonely.

Weird. I plug my phone in using the outlet in the wall behind me.

Convenient...well, it’s not called a waiting room for nothing

I finish my geometry and curl into my parka, reading fan fiction instead of writing any of my three overdue essays.