My Brother, The Dentist

Chapter 17

We arrived home from the hospital and Sam helped me into the house. Only having one available arm was more impractical than I thought it'd be! I took a seat on the sofa in the living room and Sam prepared some vegetable soup, from a can of course. He brought it through to the living room and we both slurped on the sofa.

"I'm gonna put some wax on your chipped tooth in a bit Billy, just so you don't cut your tongue or anything" Sam said sympathetically.

I nodded my head and continued eating my soup. After I was finished, Sam took our bowls through to the kitchen and instructed me to go upstairs to brush my teeth before he put the wax on. I followed his orders and slowly waltzed to the bathroom. Yet, even putting the toothpaste on the toothbrush seemed a massive struggle with one of my arms in a sling.

"SAMUEL" I called, from upstairs. Within a matter of seconds, Sam bolted up the stairs, arriving with a more than worried look on his face.

"Billy! What's wrong" he asked, half out of breath.

"Can you put the toothpaste on for me please?" I smiled faintly, to which he sniggered slightly and helped.

"I can see myself becoming some sort of slave for a while" he laughed, handing the toothbrush back to me. "Want me to brush them for you too?" he asked laughing slightly. But the funny thing was, he probably wasn't even joking!

"I'm okay thanks" I replied with a cheeky grin, and proceeded to brush my teeth as Sam returned back downstairs.

Once I was finished, I headed back into the living room, to see Sam sitting crossed legged on the sofa scrolling through his phone, with a pair of gloves, a tub of wax and a black sharpie pen beside him. He looked up and saw me, then beckoned me over to take a seat with him, putting his phone in his pocket.

"Come sit opposite me Billy" he smiled warmly.

I sat opposite my brother, my legs also crossed.

"Can I be the first to sign your cast?" he smiled cheekily, his inner manchild being unleashed.

"Sure" I laughed, placing my broken arm into his hand.

In big letters he wrote 'SAM' and smiled proudly once he'd finished as well as thanking me. He then pulled on the pair of gloves.

"Okayyyy Billyyyy... open up so I can see then pleaseeee" he said trying to be more casual than usual, raising my chin with one hand and touching my tooth with the other. It was nice Sam not having a mask on, it felt a lot more comforting. "Damn, it's pretty sharp" he said seeming very surprised.

"Is it bad?" I asked after he'd stopped touching my tooth.

"Worse than I thought it was. But it'll be a breeze to fix" he informed.

Sam then proceeded to mould a small ball of wax onto my chipped tooth. Watching him concentrate so hard was rather amusing that I began to snigger, causing him to look confused.

"Andddd... all done" Sam smiled, pulling off his gloves and chucking them in the bin, getting a basket first try.

"It feels weird" I said, touching the spot with my tongue.

"Yeah, well it's only temporary" Sam said. "And you can't bite any food with your front teeth until it's fixed, okay? Only soft foods."

"Seriously?" I groaned, flinging myself backwards on the sofa and laying down comfortably.

"Yup" Sam replied.

"Well when are you gonna fix it?" I asked half-heartedly.

"Here's the plan," Sam began. "I'm super busy all of next week, so finding time has proven very difficult. "Tuesday I'm visiting your school and doing checkups, so that's taking up time."

I interrupted Sam. "Wait, you're coming into school. Again?"

"Yeah. Remember, I was supposed to come a while back. But it was cancelled. So they've asked me to come this Tuesday, and coincidentally it's your class Billy" he smirked.

"Brilliant" I said, rolling my eyes.

"Anyway.." Sam continued. "Tomorrow, Monday, if you come straight to the office after school, I'll be able to fix your tooth then, I've managed to squeeze you in."

"Wow, I feel so special" I mocked, laughing sarcastically. Sam ignored me.

"And Wednesday, you're going to come straight to the office and Adam is going to put your braces back on."

"Why Adam?" I asked, starting to get worried.

"I'm far too busy" Sam answered. "Sorry Billy."

"But Sam. You said a week! Wednesday is two days earlier than a week!" I said starting to get worked up.

"I'm sorry Billy, that's the only way we can do it" Sam said, rubbing his hands together awkwardly. I could tell he genuinely felt bad, so I took it upon myself to forgive him with an open mind, although I still wasn't happy.

I walked into school the next day and entered the main gates to find Kyle heading towards me.

"Dude, what happened? Crazy weekend?" he laughed, walking beside me.

"I got hit by a lorry" I laughed, attempting to seem cool.

"Sickkkk" Kyle laughed, smiling out the corner of his mouth. "You better let me sign your cast" he laughed.

"Obviously" I joked sarcastically.

"How about those stitches though!" Kyle started, frowning at my eyebrow and upper lip. "Painful?"

"Nah they're actually not bad, just tender when they're touched" I replied, as we walked into the building and to our lockers.

"Ah fair enough mate" Kyle smiled supportively.

I took my backpack off from my one arm and placed the unnecessary items into my locker, until an uninvited guest turned up.

"Well, well, well" Kevin said, walking up behind me. "Looks like Frankenstein's decided to visit the school" Kevin laughed.

"Ignore him Billy, come on let's go" Kyle subtly whispered to me. The last incident involving Kevin was not a pretty sight, so I decided to follow Kyle's advice and we headed straight to registration, leaving Kevin in the dust behind us.

I sat with Kyle, and told him the whole story about my injury and allowed him to sign my cast. Other classmates also approached me to find out the latest gossip and to sign my cast; it sure was strange to be recieving plenty of attention. All until I noticed Lola walk into the class. We made eye contact. She smiled sweetly at me, then took her seat over the otherside of the classroom.

"So, are you and Lola dating then?" Kyle asked, snapping me back into reality. I shrugged my shoulders, and to that the teacher entered the room.

"Goodmorning everyone! Happy Monday!" she said, as she started handing out sheets of paper to everyone in the class. "Now tomorrow Doctor Chespin, the local dentist, will be coming in to give checkups, so you must bring back this parental consent form that I've just handed out, for tomorrow." A few people in the class turned around to look at me suspiciously, but I decided to just ignore them.

"Your brother's coming in?" Kyle murmured to me under his breath.

"Unfortunately" I admitted, folding up the piece of paper and stuffing it in my pocket.

After registration was over, I quickly said goodbye to Kyle and rushed out of the classroom to catch Lola in the corridor.

"Lola!" I called out, causing her to turn around and walk towards me. "Lola, are you okay?" I asked, wrapping my one available arm around her.

"I'm okay Billy. And I really appreciate you saving me, you're the kindest human being ever. I'm just completely shocked about what happened. I can't comprehend it" she said quietly, starting to tear up.

"Hey Lola, don't worry. We're both okay, aren't we? That's all that matters" I smiled down at her, supportively.

"I guess you're right Billy" she smiled back, wrapping her arms around my waist and hugging me tight. I kissed her on the forehead, took a deep breath, and picked up a lot of courage.

"Lola?" I asked shakily.

"Yes Billy?"

"Will... will you... be my... girlfriend?"

There was a pause. Was it hesitation? Was it shock? What was she thinking?

"Of course I will!" she giggled, smiling widely.

We held hands, and walked off to English together, as a happy couple.

~

After school had finished, I took the dreaded walk to my brother's office, all alone. Once I'd arrived, I headed through the doors and saw a pretty lady with brown, wavy hair sitting at the usually empty reception desk. Sam had told me a receptionist sometimes worked, but never had I had the pleasure of meeting her! I walked up to her desk...

"Appointment for Billy Chespin, please" I said rather shakily.

"Ah, you're Sam's little brother, right?" she smiled delightfully.

"That's right" I said nervously.

"I'm Jasmine" she informed, leaning in to shake my hand.

I quickly wiped my clammy hand on my trousers and shook her handly gently.

"Can I ask, how come you're hardly ever here?" I said.

"Sam only has me in when it's very busy" she admitted. "You must come when it's quiet."

I nodded my head.

"Anyway, lovely to meet you, Billy" she smiled. "I'm sure we'll see each other again soon! Take a seat and your brother will be through very shortly."

"Thanks" I said, turning around to take a seat in the waiting room.

There were already three other people waiting, all with their parents. A little girl, who looked about three. Another girl who seemed even older than me. And a boy who I recognised from school, but I'd never spoken to.

While waiting, Adam had collected someone from the waiting room and taken them through to his examination room. He smiled at me briefly when he saw me, yet never stopped to say anything. After about ten minutes of waiting, someone left Sam's examination room, and two minutes after that Sam came out into the waiting room. He was wearing a blue checkered shirt, black jeans and a white doctors coat. He had a mask placed below his chin too.

"Billy Chespin, please" he said very professionally....