Fat Chance

Nightmare at the Dentist's

"Don't be so negative, Quinn. It could be fun!"

I rolled my eyes. This was my father the optimist I was talking to. What did I expect?

Because I had a dentists appointment right after 6th period, my Dad had no choice but to pick me up from school to bring me to my appointment. Although me and him barely even have a relationship, he could sense that I was in a bad mood and asked me what was wrong. When I had told him about the injustice of my art topic, he has basically belittled the unfairness of the whole thing, and if I was being completely honest, it pissed me the fuck off.

"But Dad, don't you see! I can't simply SCULPT love! It's a universal concept that means something different to everyone. How could I possibly create something that totally and wholly represents the entire concept of love?" I was practically shouting at this point from trying to get my father to understand where I was coming from.

My Dad, not surprisingly, remained calm and positive throughout my angry outburst. "Well, Quinn, if you really have no other ideas, you could always just sculpt a heart."

I literally almost had a heart attack.

"I, as an intelligent human being, AM NOT just going to sculpt a FUCKING heart for my high school pottery class." Okay, okay, I know what you are all are thinking. 'She's such a brat, talking back to her father like that.' And I totally agree. It's just that I was so sick of my parents treating me like a retarded freak.

You might think that my Dad was just being nice by suggesting I sculpt a heart for my project, but he was belittling me, thinking I wouldn't know it. I hate how he doesn't realize that I'm just like any other kid my age, just 200lbs heavier.

My father pretended to be concerned and sighed. "Well, honey. I don't know how else to help you. Don't worry, you'll think of something eventually." Under his breath, I heard him mumble "...or maybe not." It took everything in me not to blow up again, and as we pulled into the parking lot of the dentists office, I realized that I shouldn't give him any more reason to dislike me more than he already does. '

Stay calm, Quinn. Stay calm. Only three more years and you'll be out on your own.' I kept repeating this sentence to myself as we got out of the car, walked into the building and up to the receptionists desk to check me in.

As soon as I was checked in, we went to the small waiting room to wait. I sat down and looked around. I hadn't been to see a dentist since before my giant weight gain, and if I'm being honest, I was nervous to be back. I probably had tons of cavities even though I brushed my teeth twice a day and used mouth wash three times a day.

Looking around, I realized that there weren't really a lot of other people waiting for an appointment, even though this was the only dentists office for at least 30 miles.

After about 5 minutes, a girl, much like the one who had checked us in, came out from the back into the waiting room.

"Is Quinn in here?" the girl asked. Jumping at the chance to get out of the empty waiting room, I said, "Yes, that's me."

The girl turned to me and smiled. "I'm so sorry for the inconvenience, but your appointment got mixed up with somebody else's. The real date for your appointment is Thursday at 8 am."

My Dad stood up. "Is there anyway that we could reschedule?" The girl bit her lip and looked down at a clipboard she was holding. "Dr. Sabian is booked up until then, but if you don't mind having Quinn see a different dentist, we can get you in yet today."

Relief flooded my fathers face. "That would be perfectly fine. How long must we wait?" my father asked. The girl smiled at us, obviously glad that we had reached a negotiation. "Maybe about an hour, if that's alright with you."