Two Extra Eyes
Chapter Four
A Trip of Misery and Irony
The next day, we join Lars, Sandy, Otto, and Twister (why the last two decided to tag along is beyond me) in the waiting room one of the few eye doctors in Ocean Shores that weren't working for some company. Lars and Sandy were sitting on two armchairs that were by the receptionist while Otto and Twister were sitting on the only loveseat in the room. The rest of the room was packed. New age music sounded through the speakers.
Lars was sitting there miserably for a number of reasons. For one, his hand was itching him without mercy. It was driving him bananas! He sorely wanted to scratch at it, but his mother forbade him to do so ("Wouldn't want to get it infected now!" She said cheerfully. Otto and Twister laughed at him, causing a growl to form in his throat). Also, the pain from last night's little wager lingered and burned in the confines of his appendage. He looked at where he thought the boy in sunglasses was and gave him a glare that would be instant death for anyone had he the ability. However, he was glaring at a potted plant. The other boys laughed even harder at that, making the older boy glare harder.
Next, the couple was up to their old antics again. Not even the fact they were in a doctor's office stopped them from getting all chummy! Lars grumbled, trying to drown out the sound of their laughing and occasional kissing. Thankfully, they didn't carry it any further than that. At least they had some respect. He held his chin as he questioned the fact that they weren't getting yelled at. Perhaps it was the fact that half the people in the room couldn't even see them that allowed them to get away with it. He wondered why Sandy wasn't doing anything to stop them. That was when he realized that trying to stop those two from flirting was like trying to stop time. It ain't gonna happen. He sighed.
The third thing that bothered him was that crappy music playing! Who was this quack, some kinda hippy!.?.! Didn't he have any Linkin Park or Green Day or Blink 182!.? Or at least Good Charlotte or Simple Plan! ANYTHING would be better than listening to this junk! He groaned and held his ears, causing him to flinch and clutch his bad hand in pain. Again, he cursed Otto for his affliction.
The final thing he was worried about was the consequences of his recklessness with his eyes. What if he had to wear some dorky glasses just to be able to see? What would his friends say? Would he even be able to strike fear into the hearts of everyone if he's forced to look like a nerd? He smirked at that last one. Glasses or no glasses, he could still kick someone's ass if he needs to. And judging by how bad his eyes were, he was gonna be doing a lot of ass kicking in the near future. He snickered and cracked his knuckles in anticipation.
Still though… HE DIDN'T WANT TO WEAR GLASSES!.!.! He had to find some way out of this mess! Maybe he could sneak out of the office! …No, that wouldn't work. Sandy was right next to him. She'd catch him as soon as he made a run for it. Besides, he couldn't see a foot in front of his face. He'd crash into the same wall ten times before even making it out the door. And even if he could make it out before his mother caught him, where would he go? He'd probably just run out into the street without even knowing it until it was too late and… Lars shook his head. He didn't want to think about it.
Maybe he could go through with the check-up and when they try to put glasses on him, he could ask for contacts instead. Or maybe even laser surgery! Yeah, that might work! He just hoped his mother would have the money…
Just then, the door by the receptionist opened and a nurse walked into the room.
"Lars Rodriguez?" She called. Immediately, the quartet stood up. "The doctor will see you now. Follow me."
She walked into the doorway and presumably down a hall. Otto and Twister walked in first, holding hands and laughing like a bunch of hyenas. Lars, on the other hand… He had to hold his mother's hand and yet he STILL tripped all over the place! By the time the boy got in through the door, the whole waiting room was a wreck! The pictures and diplomas on the walls were shattered and knocked off. All of the magazines were torn and ripped ('No big loss.' Lars thought. 'Those magazines were crap anyway.'). There were several holes in the walls. Lastly, and for some really weird, unknown reason, the loveseat caught fire in the chaos.
Sighing and pulling out her checkbook, Sandy escorted her oldest into an examination room. Thankfully for the teen, she kept Otto and Twister out of the room. After a few moments, the doctor entered. He was what you'd expect from a doctor. Tall with brown hair, a slight tan, and in a white lab coat. The main thing about him was that he was young, like in his late 20s. As he entered, a wolf whistle was heard. A few seconds passed before an argument was started by a very jealous Twister. With a strange look, the doctor closed the door as Lars and Sandy shook their heads in embarrassment. He then cleared his throat as he prepared to speak.
"Now then, what seems to be the problem?"
'Like he doesn't know…' Lars scoffed inwardly. Sandy, however, was more patient.
"He's been doing all kinds of things to his eyes and now he can't see anything!" She cried desperately.
"I see…" The doctor said, writing something down on his clipboard.
"Can you do anything for him?"
"First, I must assess the patient." The man replied, turning to Lars, who was facing a plastic skeleton in the corner (I have no clue what a skeleton was doing in an EYE doctor's office…). "So, you can't see at all?"
"Oh I can see alright." The one in the gray hat told the skeleton. "Everything's all blurry! I can't walk a foot without tripping over something! I can't even face the right thing when I'm talking to people!"
"Hmmm… Alright." The doctor wrote in his clipboard again. "We'll perform some tests and see what we can do for you. But I have to say, judging by what you told me, you may have to wear glasses."
Lars gulped as the doctor turned to Sandy.
"How long has he been damaging his eyes?"
"It's been going on for months, doctor." She answered. "He's done just about everything. Reading in dim light, sitting too close to the TV, staring directly at the sun and flashlights; you name it, he's done it."
The doctor raised an eyebrow at her before turning to Lars. No one over sixteen would voluntarily do all that to their eyes. It was simply unheard of! Feeling his eyes on him, Lars shrugged.
"What can I say? It's been a boring few months." He then jabbed a thumb towards the wall behind him. "You saw those two kooks outside before ya came in, right?"
The doctor turned towards the door and paled when he heard kissing on the other side. With an uncomfortable look on his face, he nodded.
"Yes…"
"Try dealing with that for a few months and see if you don't go blind."
"…" The doctor blinked and cleared his throat. "Let's…start the tests…"
And so, the tests began. First, Lars was sat in front of a chart that had letters of different sizes on it. He was forced to look at it by Sandy, who held his head. The doctor told him to read the letters. The brunet in the hat squinted, but he was able to make them out. Unfortunately, he wound up naming numbers instead. With a freaked out look, the optometrist handed him a plastic disc and had him read the chart two more times, once with each eye covered.
The results were even stranger. When Lars held it over his left eye, he read numbers again. And when he put the disc over his right eye, he saw only shapes and objects! Slapping his head, the doctor moved on to the next phase. He shone a light into each of Lars' eyes. The teen cringed at the brightness and moved his head away. The doctor sighed with relief. At least he responded to that test. Sandy looked at the doctor strangely. Doesn't that part go before the chart? The optometrist answered her unasked question by explaining that he just got out of medical school and is still learning the ropes. Lars responded with a sarcastic remark, which Sandy scolded him for. Wishing he decided to go on vacation this week instead of a couple of weeks ago, the doctor moved on to the final test.
Lars was put into a huge apparatus that had many lenses in it. Then the doctor rotated through several lenses until the teen was able to see the chart across from him clearly and sharply. It took a very long time before the brunet was able to see clearly. During the process, the doctor was starting to get annoyed. No test has ever taken as long as this one! They usually last at least thirty minutes. This one was going on two hours! He was starting to think that Lars was faking it, but he decided to drop the subject. After all, he had his duty as an optometrist to honor.
When Lars was finally able to see clearly, the current lenses on the machine seemed to be about as thick as a block of wood. Again, the doctor breathed a sigh of relief. He was just one lens away from being at the maximum setting! …But at least he can now see. After making the boy read the chart again (and getting it right), he wrote down the results and released Lars. The mother and son then looked at the doctor anxiously. Well, Sandy was. Lars was staring at a poster on the wall next to him.
"Well?" The mother asked. The doctor shook his head.
"It's not good." He answered. "Thankfully, your son is not blind." Now it was their turn to sigh with relief. "However, it is my opinion that he is suffering from a condition called 'tired eyesight.' Basically, because of everything he's done to his eyes, they're strained and tired, hence the name." He then turned to Lars, who had a nervous look on his face, despite not being seen by the doctor. "It is my sad duty to report that you'll have to wear glasses until they heal and can function normally again."
"No!" Lars gasped. "There's gotta be another way! What if I got laser surgery instead!.?.!" He pleaded.
"Sorry, no can do." The man shook his head. "You have to be at least twenty-one in order to have the surgery."
"Damn age restrictions…" The teen muttered. "Well, what about contact lenses!.?"
"That's not an option either, I'm afraid. The lenses that worked for you are simply too big to imitate as contacts."
"Besides, our insurance doesn't cover contacts." Sandy supplied. Lars sulked.
"So I'm stuck wearing glasses!.?.! For how long!.?"
"Well, like I said, until your eyes heal." The doctor answered. "It can take a couple of days, maybe a week or so, or even a month. The very worst cases take years to recover." Lars gulped at that. "Until they heal, you must wear your glasses every single day. The more often you wear them, the quicker it'll take for your eyes to recover. Understand?"
The brunet in the hat nodded in defeat. "Yes…"
"Good." The doctor nodded and opened the door. "Follow me and we'll go pick out your frames."
Looking at the floor the whole time, Lars was escorted out of the examination room and into a separate room, followed by Otto and Twister (who were sleeping against each other prior to Lars exiting). Once they entered the new room, everyone found themselves in a chamber filled from wall to wall with glasses of various shapes and sizes. There were frames for children, adults, and everywhere in between and beyond. It was like standing in a museum or a temple of sorts. Sandy, Otto, and Twister stared in awe as they took in sight of the room. Lars, however, was moaning in pain. In just a short while, his fate would be sealed.
In the middle of it all stood a table that had a small mirror on top of it. In front of it were two chairs while one was behind it. The doctor told Lars and Sandy to be seated while he looked around for something Lars might like. Being his age once, he knew of the pain one experiences when they wear glasses for the first time. So he tried to pick the best looking frames he could find.
Unfortunately, Lars, who didn't even want glasses in the first place, was being very difficult to please. He didn't want any sleek red frames, or blue or yellow. He wouldn't even try on the gold or silver ones! No matter the size and style, the brunet hated all of them. He despised the half moon specs and even the crescent moon ones. He wouldn't even look at the rich-looking square-shaped ones (not that he could anyway).
As the optometrist sweated trying to find the perfect pair of frames, Otto and Twister were busy playing around and trying on the glasses on display. They laughed and pointed at each other as they commented on how goofy they looked. A couple of times, the couple found frames that, as Otto put it, brings out the sexiness in the other's eyes. They giggled in those rare moments and went back to playing.
Soon, they found a very familiar pair of glasses. It was so similar, so sublime, so…perfect for the prank of the century. They grinned evilly at each other and called over the doctor and Sandy. When the two adults arrived, the redheads pointed out the pair. Both adults raised an eyebrow and protested their choice. They both knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that Lars would never go for it; Sandy from experience and the doctor from the boy's apparent refusal to cooperate. Those glasses were way too nerdy for him to wear! He would no sooner break them before wearing them! But Twister reassured that the glasses were indestructible. And Otto anxiously told Sandy that wearing those glasses would teach Lars an important lesson about respect.
After arguing the main points and coming up with a way to explain this to Lars without allowing him to discard the frames, everybody made their way back to the brunet in question. The doctor, who was holding the frames, and Mrs. Rodriguez sat down at the table while the two redheads snickered to each other.
"It has come to my attention that your insurance only covers enough for this pair of frames." The doctor said. Lars glowered at the wall next to him.
"So you wasted all this time when I'm stuck with some lousy glasses!.?"
"Lars! Respect!" Sandy scolded. Lars grumbled as he held out his hand in defeat.
"Let me put them on." He growled hatefully. He wasn't about to give his mother or those two little twerps the satisfaction. He still had his dignity.
Shrugging, the doctor handed Lars the frames. Giving another growl of distaste, he brought the glasses to eye level and put them over his eyes. The lenses weren't strong enough to allow him to see clearly, but he was finally able to make out shapes. He turned away from the wall to face the doctor and the others who vaguely resembled melting wax statues. He was able to make out their expressions. He glared at Otto and Twister who looked like they were about to bust a gut.
"What the hell are you two losers laughing at!.?.!" He barked.
"PFFFFFTTTT!.!.! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!.!.!" The two boys roared with laughter as they pointed at him. The brunet raised an eyebrow when he heard the snickers of the doctor and Sandy. As Otto and Twister fell to the ground and rolled around on it, Lars turned towards the two adults with confusion etched on his face.
"What's up with you two!.?"
But they too lost it and bellowed with laughter. As their chuckles echoed around the room, a massively ticked off Lars snatched up the mirror off the desk. The image was fuzzy, but the message was clear. The brunet gasped in horror as one of his greatest nightmares was realized. He ran a finger over the thick black square-shaped frames, gaping in pure fear. His mouth was moving like a fish out of water as he studied his vile reflection. His eyes were wide in complete shock when he knew it to be true.
"I-I-I-I look like Squid!.!.!" He screamed.
He didn't have much more time to access the situation. He fainted seconds later. The last thing he heard before losing conciousness was the doctor telling Sandy that the glasses would be ready in a couple of days.