Belly Literary Universe (part 1)

Maia's stomach part 2: The Treatment

Maia peeked her head around the corner to make sure Kelri was out of earshot. A smile crept across her face. She let out a near silent giggle, and tapped her heels against the ground. With a slow breath, she composed herself and picked up the phone. From the reference material that Kelri provided, she dialed the number for Dr.Logus' office.

"Dr. Logus' office, this is Kathy, how can I help you?" The nurse's voice lacked enthusiasm. Maia knew the type. She worked alongside them for years.

"Hi, my name is Maia Thorne, I'm calling to enroll in a trial."

"What's the trial ID." Here voice further confirmed her attitude.

"No problem. Here it is:" She provided all the details that Kathy needed.

"Ugh, let me look." Kathy groaned and clacked at her keyboard. "No. No slots left. Have a good-"

"Wait. Hold on." It was too late. The line was dead. She taunted the nurse over the silent line. "Kathy, you're messing with the wrong person here." She dialed again.

"Dr. Logus' office, this is Kathy, how can I help you?" Kathy said, somehow sounding more irritated.

"Hey Kathy, sorry about that. It seems the line got disconnected. About that trial. Is there any chance you could squeeze me in? There must be an opening somewhere on the books. Please?"

"I told you there was no room. Don't call back."

"Kathy! I was a nurse for four years. I know how these trials work. People drop in and out all the time. I'm not some schlub who's going to make an appointment then not show up."

"Then you know how annoying you are. It's full. Stop asking."

"Let me talk to the office manager." Maia demanded. The line went dead again. "You bitch. Can't stop me that easily. She scoured the internet looking for information. With a stroke of luck she found a number for a direct line to the doctor posted on some health blog. Here mission was clear: undermine Kathy. The prize? A stomach capacity of the gods.

The number rang. Two rings. Three. "Hi this is Dr.Logus What can i help you with."

"Oh hi! My name is Maia Thorne, how are you doing today." Maia put on her friendliest and least imposing act..

"I'm fine Maia. Sorry I'm a bit busy, is there something important i can help you with?"

"I'm sorry to bother you. I was hoping to be a new patient for your office. There is a particular trial I want to be involved with. The one with the nanites. I just love doing anything to help move medicine forward and it sounds so - well you know - cutting edge. I tried calling the main number but i kept getting redirected for some reason. I'm sure i got the right number but... I don't know what's going on there. Maybe you can help me enroll on the trial? Email me the paperwork?" She spoke without allowing the doctor to butt in.

"Oh. Well. I'm pretty sure that trial is full. It's near the end and so we just have a few people left to receive the treatment. I'm sure we can get you put on a mailing list for if another trial like it opens up."

"Are you sure? I had a friend tell me about it. They said they were looking for volunteers still. Are you sure you can't squeeze me in? Don't people drop out of trials all the time? Can't you just order more of the treatment?"

"Hah, well... It's not so much that we're going to run out. We're pretty close to that. But The research center only allows so many slots for research studies involving nanotechnology. Safety reasons."