~ {|} The Royal Charm Academy {|} ~ A Novel ~ {|} On Going

❦ Chapter Eighteen ❦

After some persistence by her friends, Sidney found herself sitting in the nurse's office, waiting for her to look at her ankle. She had insisted she was fine, but they had forced her to go to be on the safe side.

She looked down at her fingers as she fidgeted with the hem of her ruffled skirt. She glanced up and looked around the room, a basic nurse's room: white, simple, bland. Those were the only words that could come to her mind.

'How did I end up here?' She thought to herself with a sigh. 'I told them I was fine but they insisted on coming here. They just wanted to make sure that I wouldn't have problems in the future. I told them it was just twisted but they are super worried.'

She tapped her hands on the underside of the chair she was sitting on. She chewed on her lip and she kept glancing up at the clock. She didn't have that much time to spare but thankfully her next class was close to the nurse's office.

Monica Millen opened the door to her room, pushing some short wavy brown hair from her face as her gray eyes zoned in on Sidney. "Miss Barnes?" She called, her eyes landing on the brown-haired girl.

Sidney stood up and smoothed down her skirt. "Um, hi," She greeted the nurse, walking towards her. 'She seems friendly enough,' She thought to herself, continuing to chew on her lip.

Monica smiled politely, motioning for Sidney to come into the room. "I'm Monica Millen, the academy nurse." She introduced herself. "I was told you had hurt your ankle earlier?" She inquired, sitting down on a roller stool.

Sidney sat down on the chair in the room, her eyes shifted from her lap towards Monica. "Yes, I had twisted it before dance class. When I arrived my ankle wasn't hurting anymore." She replied, forcing a smile to show she was fine.

Monica pressed her lips into a thin line and frowned. "You should have come straight here even if you didn't think it was nothing more than a twist. It could have been seriously injured, even more so by dancing on it for an hour." She explained, her voice full of worry.

Sidney shyly looked away, chewing on her lip. 'Should I be honest? It would do me no service to keep any information from her.' She thought to herself and then spoke, keeping her eyes on the floor. "I couldn't afford to get a tardy and I knew it wasn't seriously hurt since I could move it." 

Monica's expression softened as she let out a small sigh. 'I should have known that was the reason when it came to scholarship winners.' She thought to herself. "I understand that. You do know I could have gotten you out of that whether it was serious or not."

Sidney nodded slowly, pressing her lips together for a brief moment. "I know. It's just happened more than once at my job so I knew it wasn't worth making a trip down here for nothing." She insisted, tapping her fingers on her lap.

Monica sighed softly, figuring it was best to move along and get onto the issue at hand. "Okay, take off your shoe and let me see your ankle." She instructed, reaching under her chair and letting some of the air out of it.

After Sidney had taken off her shoe and sock, Monica inspected her ankle. Pressing around gently, asking if there was pain to which Sidney said there was none.

After a few moments, she withdrew her hands and sighed. "Well, it's not broken. I wouldn't suggest an x-ray and I wouldn't describe any pain medication. It is a little swollen, though, just baby that ankle and try to stay off it as much as you can. It should be completely fine tomorrow." She replied, grabbing the clipboard from the counter and writing down a few things.

She glanced up from the clipboard and continued. "I think it would also be best to not wear any shoes with a strap or a heel like your current shoes. I would suggest flats would be the best if you have them." She informed Sidney, a warm smile on her lips.