A Day at the Dentist Office
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"But mom! I don't want to go to the dentist!"
Young Sherry Birkin put on a pouty face and crossed her arms as she sat in the backseat of her mother's mini van. She didn't want to believe it, but Doomsday was upon her; she was going to the dentist for her yearly checkup.
"Oh Sherry, don't be such a baby. You've been to the dentist before," reassured Annette as she stopped at a red light.
Sherry looked out the window at all the passing civilians, wishing that she was somewhere lost in that crowd on the sidewalk. They had nothing to worry about. To the residents of Raccoon City, this beautiful day in the July of 1998 was just another ordinary day of working, socializing and living. Sherry, however, felt like she was being taken to her death bed by her own mother. If only she could understand her case.
"That was a long time ago!" little Sherry whined. "I can barely remember what happened! They could have injected me with some kind of drug that could have made me forget all of it!"
Sherry Birkin had one wild imagination.
"Now, Sherry, don't be like that," said her mother as she put her foot down on the pedal again. "Your start school in another month. You don't want the kids to make fun of you because you have yellow teeth do you?"
"I don't have yellow teeth, mom."
"It's the least you could do for your father. I mean, he barely gets to see you nowadays because of his work. I'm sure the first sight he would want to see when he comes home is that beautiful smile of yours."
Sherry didn't respond but continued to stare out the window, chin resting on her propped up hand. Hundreds of shapes and faces passed by her view, but she didn't recognize a single one. She never had time to go outside because of her parents' work. In reality, Sherry was a lonely child, but that didn't mean she didn't know the dangers of the real world.
See, the reason why she hated going to the dentist so much was because of that faint memory lingering in the back of her head. The last thing she could recall from her last visit was a large silver tray complete with an entire arsenal of drills and sharp metal objects. The thought of someone putting these things in her mouth just freaked her out. Her father always warned her about cavities and the harm they can cause to her. Sherry couldn't relate because she had obviously never had one before. Her father would always say to her, "The dentist is there to help you; he's not there to pull every single one of your teeth out. They are good people who wish for the betterment of mankind, just like Umbrella, sweetie." Sherry wished she could understand the concept behind this 'Umbrella', but any knowledge on the subject was scarce in her mind. All she knew was to never bother daddy when he was working; that has always been the rule.
Annette Birkin pulled into the driveway surrounding the old, run down building. For some odd reason, there were less civilians wandering around this area than there had been a few minutes earlier. This thought made Sherry even more uncomfortable, as if the other people knew the secret horrors that lie within a dentist's office.
"Well, here we are," said Annette as she stopped right in front of the main entrance.
Sherry glanced at the large grey building in front of her and turned back to look out the rear window; she was considering whether an immediate escape could be possible.
"I'm not going in there," said Sherry rudely, attempting to bury herself as deep as she could into the leather seat.
Her mother chuckled as she slipped her sun glasses into her purse and closed it.
"Sherry, I'm being serious right now. You are going and that's that," she said plainly.
Her words sounded harsh; there was no way Annette was going to let her 8 year old daughter take control of the situation.
With a small sigh, Annette opened the door and exited the vehicle. She waited for a few seconds under the sun until Sherry finally emerged from her make-shift get away. With a beep of the van, Annette locked it, cutting Sherry off from any chance of escaping. The daughter surrendered the pointless struggle and let her mother take her hand. Together, the two walked through the automatic doors and into that hell-house of a building.
They walked through the old building until they came to an elevator, with which Annette called down. The air in here was musky and unpleasant, kind of like a hospital or a nursing home. Sherry had her head down the entire time, thinking about the torture that was about to ensue in her body.
She had seen plenty of horror movies in the past; a little too many for any girl her age. She could picture it now: she walks into the dentist's office and sits on that huge chair, where metal shackles come out of no where and strap her down. Then, that maniac in a sterilized mask and green shirt comes in with a tray full of knives and drills, eager to test one on the poor girl. Then, as if the horror couldn't get worse, he pulls out a revving chain saw, screaming maniacally as he drives the gory weapon down the girl's abdomen. She cries out to her mother but she can't hear her.
Today, she was going to die.
This message hit Sherry like a brick in the face, causing her to try to make a break for it. Unfortunately, the elevator door had already opened and Annette had pulled her inside. Sherry watched helplessly in the grasp of her mother as the metallic doors slowly closed behind her, sealing her fate.
"Mom! Please take me back!" cried Sherry, tugging on the adult's hand.
Annette refused to move from her position in the ascending room.
"I don't know why you're so afraid, Sherry. The dentist is not going to hurt you!" she replied, a little bit of annoyance in her voice.
"They're going to kill me! They've got knives! And drills! And...And...Chainsaws!"
"Oh please, Sherry, don't say things like that. You are really letting your imagination get the best of you."
"But it's the truth! You have to listen to me! You have to-"
Sherry was cut off by the sound of a bell. The elevator had stopped on the second floor. The girl's eyes widened as the doors pulled themselves open on their own, as if it was some kind of sign.
Annette pretended the past conversation with her daughter didn't exist as she put on a fake smile and dragged Sherry to the front desk. A young woman with blonde hair was sitting at attention, glasses drooping slightly down her nose. Sherry was so short, the woman could not see her over her desk.
"Hello," greeted Mrs. Birkin. "We have an appointment with Dr. Bailey."
The young lady raised an eyebrow at this, until she saw Sherry poke her head up in clear view.
"Ah, right," said the woman as she turned to the nearby computer. "Let's see. Sherry Birkin, I presume?"
"Yep, that's my daughter."
"Okay, you're all set. Please take a seat over there. Dr. Bailey will be with you shortly."
"Thank you."
With that, Annette led Sherry over to the nearby group of chairs. They took a seat near the corner, close to the door, close to the magazines, and close to the window; the perfect spot when waiting for one's inevitable death. Annette was the first to sit down and she gestured for Sherry to sit next to her. She hesitated before complying. After a brief pause, Annette decided to entertain herself with one of the magazines on the table. She was too lazy to skim through the pile and just picked the first one, 'The Raccoon's Reader's Digest', issue 18, May 1998; it was out of date.
Sherry's case glared in contrast, as she did not find herself grabbing a magazine like her mother. No, while Annette was flipping through the pages, Sherry took the liberty of scanning the room, attempting to locate any unfortunate soul who had been so cursed like she. Strangely, this waiting room was just about empty. The only other people in the room was a small family composing of a father, mother and daughter. The stranger girl was younger than Sherry. The parents' true identities were covered by the front and back covers of an unfamiliar magazine. The younger girl's attention, however, was directed directly at Sherry.
She was staring at her, almost demonically. Sherry found herself glancing at the girl and out the window periodically, but the girl on the other side of the room did not change her direction. It was almost as if she was waiting for Sherry to do something. After some contemplating, Sherry picked up a magazine and hid her face with it, pretending to be interested in what it contained.
After a few minutes of silence and staring at the table of contents of 'Sports Illustrated', Sherry poked her head up. Someone had called her name. She immediately thought it was the stranger girl, however the voice was that of a male.
"Sherry Birkin, Dr. Bailey will see you now," said an assistant doctor by the door.
Annette looked up at the sound of her daughter's name.
"Alright Sherry, go on," she said.
Sherry dropped the magazine on the chair and stood up, not even daring to reconsider or fight back.
It was just as she feared.
This doctor, though he wasn't the dentist who would operate on her, had a white mask covering the bottom half of his face--for obvious reasons of course. Sherry could almost picture seeing her own blood splash across the mask of this stranger. She wanted to back way, but felt herself being pulled toward this man, as if they were both magnetized. She glanced at the other girl, who followed her eyes right out the door. Sherry returned to reality when the man closed the door behind her, and the gaze of the creepy girl disappeared.
"So, are you ready?" asked the doctor, almost excitedly.
If he was trying to act friendly because of Sherry's childish appearance, he was doing a terrible job. She may have looked like your average fourth grader on the outside, but on the inside, Sherry was as mature as girl's her age could get, if not more. But what more could you expect considering her parents were both head scientists in Umbrella?
"I...I guess so..." replied Sherry nervously as she walked next to the young man through the hall. From the corners of her eyes, Sherry could see into the rooms where other patients were being operated on. She felt sympathy for every single room she passed by.
"You sound nervous," said the doctor. "Is this your first time?"
Sherry did not look up at him, but kept her eyes focused to the front.
"No, I came here last year...But...I can't remember it so well..."
"You have nothing to be afraid of. According to your files, this is just a regular checkup."
"I...can't remember how it went last time..."
"Well then, your memory will be refreshed after this."
This guy was not helping at all. Sherry almost wished he was the one who would be operating on her. He seemed pretty dense; the perfect chance for her to make a run for it. Aw, it wouldn't matter. There was only one real exit in this building anyway. Her fate was sealed when she set foot in this monster of a house. The kind doctor led her to a room and gestured for her to sit in the large rotating chair.
"Make yourself at home," he said before leaving and shutting the door behind him. After a brief pause, the door opened again and the doctor poked his head through. "Oh, and Dr. Bailey will be with you in a moment."
He closed the door and left Sherry to her lonesome.
"Make yourself at home..." repeated Sherry, almost mocking his words. "I wouldn't be so afraid if I was at home..."
She lifted her head from the seat and turned to the side in horror. A tray on wheels was positioned next to her chair, a variety of torture devices all lined up and ready to use. Sherry stared with wide eyes. Her memories from the last time wasn't a dream; it was all real. The dentist was going to kill her. She found herself frozen in the seat, unable to turn her attention away from the metal objects next to her. She didn't notice the window, she didn't notice the pictures of teeth on the walls; no, all Sherry saw was the image of a chainsaw being driven through her skull.
Her mind jumped back into reality at the sound of a door opening.
"Hi there!" said Dr. Bailey as he entered the room. "It's been a while Sherry."
Not good. He still remembered her.
"Um...hi..." responded the young girl, eyes dashing from the tall doctor to the small instruments of torture.
"I hope you've been keeping your teeth nice and clean."
"Oh...I have..."
Her words were slow and monotone, as if she was completely uninterested in the conversation--which as a matter of fact she was. Her only interest was to whatever was on that silver tray.
"Right, so let's take a looksie," said Dr. Bailey as he pulled on some white gloves and sat down next to Sherry.
She felt the chair she was on buzz to life as it moved so that she was lying flat on her back. Instinctively, Sherry opened her mouth as wide as she could; the doctor examining the clean set of whites before him.
"Well, it looks pretty good," he said.
Sherry could feel his fingers pressing against her teeth; it was kind of scary considering he was within arm's reach of anything that was on that tray. It would only take two seconds for him to grab a sharp needle and ram it down her throat. Sherry tried her best to ignore that scary thought.
"Actually, everything looks fine. I'm proud of you, Sherry. You did a fine job taking care of these teeth."
Sherry couldn't help but feel relieved. If everything was okay with her teeth, there was no need for Bailey to use the tools right? There was an unexpected turn of events here.
For as soon as the doctor took his hands away from Sherry's mouth, he reached over to the tray and picked up one of the metal instruments.
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Annette yawned as the clock struck 3. It had been over twenty minutes since Sherry's departure. The scientist was beginning to suspect Sherry had done something to somehow make the process of cleaning teeth go slower. After skimming through the very last magazine, Annette looked up to see her daughter and Dr. Bailey enter though the hall door. Sherry was smiling. The pair walked over to Mrs. Birkin who dropped her magazine onto the pile on the table. She couldn't help but give a small grin at Sherry's smile.
"So, how did it go?" asked Annette as she got to her feet.
Sherry rejoined her mother at her side.
"Oh, it went great. Your daughter certainly knows her proper hygiene. She must take after you," said Bailey.
"Actually, it's her father," replied Annette with a small giggle.
"I'll bet. Anyway, no problems as far as I know. Sherry's teeth were as good as they were last time. Surprisingly, she has lost all of her baby teeth. You have quite the mature daughter there Mrs. Birkin."
"Yes, well I try," said Annette as she smiled down at her daughter.
"It was nice seeing you two again. Keep up the cleanliness young lady."
"Don't worry, I will!" said Sherry happily. "Bye Dr. Bailey!"
"Good bye Sherry. I can't wait to see you next time. Take care Mrs. Birkin."
"Likewise. Thank you."
With that, Mrs. and Miss Birkin waved good bye and headed for the elevator.
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"So, Sherry, why the sudden change of heart? I thought you hated going to the dentist?"
Annette's eyed glanced at Sherry in the rear view mirror, but quickly found their place again on the busy streets of downtown Raccoon City. Sherry was no longer trying to hide in the back, but was eager to speak with her mother; she was leaning over the passenger seat.
"I don't remember saying that! I just couldn't remember what happened last time I went! The dentist office isn't a scary place, mom. Everyone knows that!"
"But you were so eager to leave, I thought you were going to cry! Were you really that afraid of the doctor's drills?"
"Well...I was at first. Until I realized the tools on that tray weren't knives or drills. They were just high-tech cleaning equipment. Dr. Bailey even introduced me to each and everyone of them. I...I didn't feel afraid."
"Wow. Then I guess coming to the dentist's today was a good experience for you."
Sherry turned her to look out the side window, back at the strange blur of faces that past by.
"You know mom. I think dad was right," she said, as if in a dream. "Dentists are just people who want to help you. They really are like Umbrella."
There was a long pause here for some reason. Annette was trying to come up with the words to reply the whole time.
"Hm, I'm sure," she ended up saying, a bit of annoyance in her voice. She changed the subject. "You know that girl that was sitting across from us in the waiting room? I was talking with her parents after you left. It seems that she had a cavity in her mouth. Dr. Bailey is going to have to use a drill to get rid of that thing you know. The point is, I'm glad your teeth are clean. I wouldn't want you to go through that kind of pain."
"Yeah. Thanks mom."
And so, Sherry learned a valuable lesson that day. She learned that you shouldn't jump to conclusions about things you don't know much about. The dentist's really isn't a scary place at all; it really depends on how you see it in your head. Never would Sherry ever allow her teeth to fall victim to rot or decay. The pain suffered by such diseases could cause more harm than any of Dr. Bailey's tools combined. Yet again, we have another story with a happy ending, and a good moral. However, Sherry's going to have to leave all those new thoughts of kind dentists and friendly gestures behind for now.
Because come September, she's going to have a lot more things to worry about besides the state of her teeth.
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Author's Note: This story is dedicated to my sister who had to get her wisdom teeth out today (09-08-13). I hope you all enjoyed it. Please feel free to leave a review!