Maddie gripped her fathers arm as she walked into the clinic. She bit her lower lip, afraid about what she was going to hear. She had been praying all day that her blindness was only temporary. She hated going to the store with her mom. She wanted to be with her dad, and to build things instead of selling the pieces one by one.
"Don't worry Maddie, I'm sure it's only temporary!" Willy said reassuringly, a worried smile on his face. He wasn't entirely sure if it was possible that it was temporary, but he still had hope, and he wasn't going to put his pride and joy down.
Patch is a good doctor... He can fix this no problem! He thought to himself as he entered the clinic. Patch was standing there, his face dulled over, holding Maddie's medical records in his hands. He looked over slowly, his hands trembling a bit.
"O-Oh, is it t-time already?" He said nervously. Maddie squinted her eyes at the nervous tone.
"Yeah, we told you we would be here! Actually we are a little late!" Willy said, laughing heartily. Maddie smiled a little at her dad's laugh. Patch nodded, tucking the folder under his arm.
""O-Of c-course! F-fallow me pl-please!" Patch said, leading Willy and Maddie to the back.
Eddie's father sat there in silence, staring at his son. Eddie squirmed a bit in the colorful chair in front of his father's desk. His father had been upset with him before, but when he was silent, he knew it was bad.
"Eddie..." His father finally said. Eddie winced a bit at the tone.
"Dad, I'm serious there is NOTHING going on between me and Petula-"
"Son, I know that. She's the one you complain about all the time whenever you have to walk by Paper Pets." His dad said, putting a hand up. Eddie nodded.
"Okay, but I would NEVER do that in your office! Or anywhere for that matter! I swear!"
"Eddie, I know that. But that isn't what I wanted to talk about." His father said. Eddie looked down, trying to think.
"... Are you having girl troubles son?" his father asked after a while. Eddie's head snapped up, looking at his dad.
"Why would you-"
"Eddie, I can tell you are. It has to do with that Seiko girl, doesn't it?" He asked, a small smile on his face. Eddie's face flushed a little. His father leaned back in his chair, his eyes still locked on his son.
"She's the one you keep trying to call after you and your friends went snooping, isn't she?" He asked. Eddie didn't say anything, but he nodded.
"I mean, I'm trying so hard to tell her I'm sorry, but she won't call me, and she runs away whenever I see her in town. I mean, how can I say I'm sorry if I can't even talk to her?" Eddie ranted until his dad put his hand up again, telling him to be quiet. Eddie shut his mouth.
"Son, I know it's hard right now, but she's probably still embarrassed that you heard her secrets and all that. She's afraid you will judge her."
"But why would I? I... I think I feel the same way!" Eddie blurted out. His dad gave him a confused look.
"... What?"
"Dad, I think I like Seiko back, and I can't tell her because... Because she's probably afraid that-"
"Wait, that's what this is all about? You heard Seiko say she likes you? Oh, well that changes EVERYTHING!" His father exclaimed, standing up. He opened one of the drawers to his desk and pulled out some P-Factor stationary, and placed it in front of his son with a pen. Eddie looked at him confused.
"Eddie, something similar like this happened once when I was your age. My friends and I got curious abut girls too, and went to spy on a group of girls at a slumber party as well." He explained. Eddie's eyes widened, and he leaned forward a bit.
"You did?"
"Yes, indeed. One of the girls said the same thing, saying that she loved me. God, she went on with the reasons why and even talked about how she tried to get my attention!" He went on. Eddie's eye's widened even more, if that was even possible. That was the same thing Seiko had done.
"After hearing all that, I realized that I was in love with her as well. But of course, like all peeping-toms, we all got busted, and she didn't talk to me for weeks! I thought it was because she lost interest in me, when really, that wasn't the case at all."
"Then, what was the problem?" Eddie asked, tilting his head slightly. His dad smiled.
"It turns out she was afraid I didn't feel the same way. Since she wouldn't talk to me face-to-face, I found that out another way to get her to talk to me."
"How?" Eddie asked. His father smiled, getting up out of the colorful armchair.
"I wrote her a letter, telling her my feelings and how sorry I was," His dad said, walking over next to his son, ruffling his hair. Eddie looked up at his dad.
"So what happened after you two made up?" He asked. His father's eyes seemed to glow a bit, and he had a warm smile on his face.
"I married her a few years later." He said, walking out of the office, leaving Eddie to write in peace.
Seiko sniffled, holding the Alert System in her hand. Leafos had already hung up, but she was in too much shock to hang up her own system. Maddie, her best friend that has been by her for YEARS, was blind. She was blind, and she said nothing about it. Seiko shook her head, not wanting to believe it.
But it would explain the way she was acting yesterday... and why she won't look at me... No, Maddie can't be blind, how would that have happened anyway? A person can't become blind out of no where-
"Hiya Seiko!" A cheerful voice said in front of her. Seiko looked up, seeing Dustin and his incredibly tight pants. Dustin was smiling awkwardly, his face all twisted as if he seriously had to take a crap.
"Hi... Dustin..." Seiko said, her voice a mix of sadness and confusion. Dustin's awkward smiled grew larger, as if the idiot didn't notice.
"How are you doing?"
"No..." Seiko said, her voice cracking. Dustin's smile weakened.
"Why? Are you okay?"
"It's... It's just... Maddie..."
Maddie sat on the patient's bed, her blind eyes staring blankly at nothing. Patch had finished with the tests and had taken Willy to another room to discuss the results. It had already been five minutes, and they weren't back yet.
That probably isn't a good thing then... Maddie thought sadly. She sighed heavily, unaware that someone else was in the room with her.
Dastardos floated in front of her, staying as quiet as he could. His arms were crossed, and he had a stern look on his face. His eyes were looking at Maddie, and she was looking back, but she wasn't saying anything. Her eyes looked dull, and her face looked depressed. Dastardos's eye brows knit together underneath his creepy mask.
I guess she really is blind. She would have noticed me by now otherwise...He thought to himself.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T FIX IT?" Willy shouted loudly outside the room. Dastardos noticed Maddie winced a bit, but not much. The door knob into the room began to twist, and he darted though the walls into another room just as Willy stormed in, taking Maddie's hand. He helped her off the bed.
"Come on sweetie, we are out of here!" Willy growled angrily, yanking her out of the room. Willy shoved past Patch as he walked out, and Maddie muttered "sorry" as the left. Patch took a seat on the patient bed, angry with himself that there was nothing he could do.
