BRIGHT

Chapter 39- Peyton POV- The Surgery

I anxiously waited in my hospital gown. I was on a rolling bed near the operating room, and doctors were prepping for my surgery. I played with my fingers. It scared me that I was not naturally smart. Maybe I was smart as a toddler, but what if I was not anymore? I had taken an IQ test along with an ACT test prior to the surgery and would have to take one after to check my intelligence. 

I also worried about Greyson, I wanted to be able to go back to him. He always loved how smart I was, what if not being smart anymore changed me. I could become extremely insecure without it.

"It's time Peyton," Dr. Jansen announced. I nodded. I was wheeled into the operating room.

"Okay Peyton, we are going to put a needle in your arm that will make you go to sleep, then we will count back from 10. If you still hear us when we finish, you need to tell us," a doctor instructed. 

"Okay," I replied. A doctor took my arm and put the needle in, but my nerves numbed the pinch. The doctor began to count back, but after 5, everything went dark.

"Peyton, can you hear me?" a voice asked. My eyes fluttered open. I felt sort of loopy and did not feel in control of myself. I noticed a few doctors around the room.

"Duh," I spat. It was the first thing that came into my mind and I felt like I had no filter.

"How do you feel?" the doctor asked.

"I feel freaking incredible!" I exclaimed. I noticed some of the doctors chuckling.

"The surgery went well," the doctor explained.

"Well clearly! I feel perfect!" I pepped.

"I'm happy to hear it. Why don't you try to take a nap, you will probably feel even better when you wake up," the doctor added.

"Nah, I just slept for a really long time. I don't think I could feel much better!" I told the doctor.

"I think a nap is a good idea, okay?" the doctor asked.

"No!" I screeched and burst into tears. I was so sensitive and wanted everything to go my way.

"Alright, why don't you take this for me, okay?" the doctor instructed, handing me a green pill. I took it from him and swallowed it with some water. I felt my eyes begin to get droopy and I fell into a deep sleep.

When I awoke for the second time, I had no memory of what had happened except for that I had woken up one other time. I tried to lift my arm to rub my eyes, but my arms were extremely sore and achy. Everything was in pain and I felt weak. I heard the door open and Dr. Jansen entered the room.

"How are you feeling, Peyton?" he asked me.

"Pretty sore, but it's tolerable," I expressed.

"That was expected. I just need to check where we did the incision, which was on your left thigh," Dr. Jansen explained. I nodded and he walked over to me. He gently took the gown's fabric and pulled upward. The incision was stitched up, but it was not as big as I assumed it would have been. It was pretty red but did not look too bad.

"This is good, Peyton. It's better than I thought it would be. The surgery went really well, everything worked out as planned," Dr. Jansen explained thoroughly. 

"When will I take the IQ and ACT test?" I asked. I was still worried about how smart I would be now. I hoped that the gene edit my parents had done was inactive.

"Well, we want you to be all healed up. I would say probably a week or so? It all depends on how long it takes you to recover. Since this surgery has never been done before, a week was our guess, but it could be longer," Dr. Jansen said. I nodded. 

"How much longer do I have to be here?" I asked. I was so sick of this place.

"Your parents have figured out all the paperwork and everything, so you should be able to go home with them tomorrow. I have been working with them and they are such good people. I am happy they are your parents, Peyton," Dr. Jansen expressed.

"Me too," I replied.