Villainous Veera

.twenty two.

Veera hated going to the doctor. 

Actually, she didn't always hate it. When she was younger she enjoyed going to the doctor because it gave her a reason to miss school and avoid seeing the teachers who had a distaste for her. The feeling was mutual, obviously, but it made Veera more uncomfortable to sit in a class with people who hated her guts than for the teachers who only had to see her for less than an hour. 

As she grew up, though, and her medical issues became more severe, Veera found herself dreading the days marked on her calendar when she'd have to cross Liquiord's border and go to the nearby country of Haphshard, home to the best hospital in the TriLords. It was a children's hospital, but the doctors kept her because of her worsening condition.

One of the bright sides of going to Haphshard Children's Hospital, however, was that it was the only place where Veera felt at home. There were so many people like her that worked and lived there, and it comforted Veera to know that she wasn't always alone in her misery, as horrid as it sounded. She aspired to work there when she got the chance. 

The doctor she was seeing that day was a relatively new doctor to her. She'd seen him before, mostly in passing when she was leaving the hospital and he was coming in. Her old doctor, however, said that he was the best in the cardiology department and would monitor her heart much better. 

And so, on a day when Veera was supposed to be at home relaxing and watching serials, she found herself sitting on a hard, ugly blue hospital bed and watching Carrot Cat on TV while stickers of princesses and cars watched her. 

Just wonderful... Veera thought to herself, swinging her feet above the ground. As usual, the doctor was late, because since when were they ever on time? She was going to get down and poke her head out the door to see if he was coming when there was a knock on the door. 

"Good afternoon!" A man who was probably in his fifties entered the room slowly. He put a beige file and dark briefcase on the table while sanitizing his hand. "How have you been, Veera?"

"I've been alright," Veera said, shaking his hand. 

"Anything unusual?" The doctor asked. "Have you been taking your meds for the tachycardia?"

"Yes, and apart from the constant coughing and racing of my heart, nothing much. Oh, sometimes I have some trouble breathing, but that's it," Veera explained. 

"Hm..." the doctor scanned his ID on the computer and typed her explanation quickly in her notes. "Has the BiPAP been helping?"

"I'm not sure. I don't notice it," Veera said. 

"That's fine. If you don't notice it then it's doing its job," he said. He rolled back towards the table and pulled the cracked black briefcase onto his lap. "We'll do our usual halter monitor to see if anything has changed. It's a new brand, a sticker this time, so you can shower in it and it won't interfere with any of your other machines."

"What brand is it?" Veera asked cautiously as she pulled her shirt down.

"Badel Corp's newest design," the doctor said. He took the halter sticker out and placed it on her chest, not completely on her heart but not off it either. "It's much easier than the old monitor, isn't it?"

"So it seems," Veera muttered. She brushed her fingers over the small box that rested over her heart. 

"For now I'd say be mindful of strenuous activity and log any unusual rhythms that you feel on the monitor," the doctor continued. "I'd like to see you back in a year and I'll call you to let you know the results of the halter."

"As usual." Veera slid down from the examination table and thanked the doctor quietly, still fingering with the halter as she exited the hospital and made her way to the bus stop.