'Good day, doctor' Roni greeted Dr. Cunningham when he opened the door.
'Shut up' Gabe hissed at it, then turned at his patient.
It was a young girl, about 14 years old, with long, brown hair and clean, white face.
She was trembling.
'Hi there! I'm sorry I made you wait. I'm Dr. Cunningham' he greeted her.
'H-hello'
The doctor looked at her charts.
'Alright then, Lizzy, why don't you tell me what's wrong?'
'Well… A couple of days ago I started feeling nauseous. I had a headache too'
'Hmm… Roni, why don't you make a note of that?'
'Understood, doctor' the robot spoke. 'New symptoms observed: Nausea. Headache'
The girl looked at the monitor, startled by it.
'It's one of those new diagnostic machines' Gabe said. 'Just ignore it. So, what else?'
'Well… I've been feeling very tired, and… I took my temperature at home, and it was 39 degrees C…'
'Hmm… Interesting… How are you feeling now?'
'I'm a little bit better. I could come here by myself, but… I'm still feeling weak'
'I see. And I couldn't help but notice your trembling. Roni, write that down!'
'Right away, doctor. New symptoms observed: Fever. Tiredness. Shaking'
In just a moment, the doctor's eyes met with those of his patient.
And he noticed something weird.
'Wait a second… Your eyes… They're discolored…'
'Wait… They are?' she panicked.
'Yeah'
'But I… I looked at the mirror before I went out, and they looked just fine!'
'Hmm… Roni!'
'Understood, Doctor. New symptom observed: Sudden Eye Discoloration'
'Oh God…' the girl looked down at her feet.
'Lizzy, just calm down, alright? Let's continue the exam'
'Doctor… I don't feel so good…'
The girl lost her balance and almost fell off the chair.
'Hey! HEY!' he got up and helped her. 'I need some help over here!' the doctor yelled through the door.
'No… No, doctor, I'm alright… It's just… everything went dark before my eyes for a second… '
'Roni!'
'Yes, doctor!'
As the robot recorded the symptoms, Dr. Cunningham was thinking.
"I haven't seen anything like this! What the hell's wrong with this girl's body?"
'Lizzy, you need to be committed! You may collapse at any minute!'
'No… Doctor, I'm alright… Please… Please, continue examining me…'
Gabe sighed.
'Will you pull through?'
'Y…yeah…'
'Alright. Lift up your clothing' the doctor put his stethoscope on as the girl pulled her shirt up.
Cunningham listened to Lizzy's heartbeat for a few seconds.
"Hmm…. now that's a strange heartbeat… first it's fast, and the next minute it falls below normal! I've never seen anything like it!"
Next, he listened to her breathing. It was slow.
'Roni!'
'Of course, doctor! New symptoms observed: Irregular heartbeat…"
'Well… I think this is it. I'll need a blood test too'
'What's… what's wrong with me, doctor?'
'I… have no idea. Has something happened a couple of days ago?'
'NO! Absolutely nothing, honest!'
'Are you absolutely sure?'
'Y-yes! Nothing!'
Gabe sighed.
This girl was lying to him.
'Listen, I can't help you if you hide information from me!'
'I'm not hiding anything!'
Cunningham looked at her from head to toe. And he noticed something else that was odd.
'What's with that bandage?'
'Oh… this? It's nothing… I cut myself'
'You cut yourself this high on your arm?'
'Yeah… I lost control of the knife while cutting a potato… I'm kind of clumsy…' she tried to smile.
'Listen, you have to tell me the truth if you want to get better!'
'But I am! I am telling you the truth!'
'No, you're not'
Lizzy and Cunningham both looked at the door, that was suddenly wide opened.
Naomi Kimishima was standing there, looking at them.
'This is a defensive wound. It would be near impossible to receive it by cutting yourself'
Gabe smiled.
'There it is, kid. A qualified medical examiner's opinion. Now do you mind showing me what's under the bandage?'
'Uhm… I…'
'You want to get better, right?'
'I… I don't…'
'Listen, if you truly want to get better, there should be no secrets between us! I'm a doctor, you can trust me anything!'
The girl looked around. Then, slowly and carefully, she took her bandage off.