Chapter 1: The Diagnosis

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Octavio sat next to his father's assistant, Ricardo Ramirez. They were in a plain, pearl colored room with eight yellow plastic chairs, a small wooden coffee table with a stack of magazines tilting slightly to the left and an empty water cooler in the corner. It was no place for a ten year old boy, yet Octavio was there for his doctor's appointment. 

They had been waiting for about ten minutes now, and Octavio had not stopped tapping his right foot. He fidgeted with his hands, rubbing his fingers and cracking his knuckles. He looked around to the left and to the right, as if planning his escape. He would run out the door, down the stairs and all the way home. His plan was solid, except he did not know his address nor did he know where he was.

"Octavio," said Ricardo without looking up from his tablet. "Could you please settle down for a moment? I'm sure the doctor will ready for us soon."

"Sure thing, Ricky. I can try amigo. But how long will this take? I have things to do."

"It will take as long as it has to, Octavio," replied Ricardo. "It is vitally important that the doctor correctly diagnosis your condition. Your father made it very clear that he wishes to know what options are available."

"Like he cares."

Ricardo looked up from his tablet and gently placed it on the coffee table. He crossed his legs and interlaced his fingers.

"Now why would you say that, Octavio?"

Octavio looked at Ricardo, then he looked at the tablet and continued looking around avoiding the gaze behind the glasses. He continued to tap his foot while adding a drumming motion with the fingers on his left hand. Octavio then started scratching his forearm incessantly with his right hand.

After a few moments, Ricardo reached over and grabbed the arm that was scratching the other. Octavio's left arm was red with irritation, but luckily he had not disturbed the old scars from his compulsive activity.

They sat in silence to Ricardo's surprise until the doctor came into the waiting room.

"Octavio Silva?" he said to a room with only two people.

"About time, doc" said Octavio jumping up from his seat. He ran past the doctor and through the door. 

Ricardo picked up his tablet and approached the doctor, "Sorry, Dr. Freeman. As you can see, Octavio is a bit impatient."

"No worries, Mr. Silva" replied the doctor.

"I'm actually-"

"Hurry up, doc!" said Octavio from the hallway behind the men.


The doctor ran several tests on Octavio. They strapped him to a chair with a helmet headset and measured his brain waves as several images flashed on a screen with plain white slides in between. The first was a picture of a busy city with gray tones and a few red colored images. The doctor asked Octavio to focus on a red balloon and ignore the other red images. He tried to concentrate, but his eyes continued to flicker on the other red images.

The second image was a picture of geometric designs that continually morphed into other shapes. It started as a triangle and quickly grew more sides. It slid to the left and then to the right before completely disappearing. The screen grew black.

The third image was picture with random letters in varying sizes and colors. Octavio was asked to read a line at a time and identify the colors corresponding with the letters.

The final test was a slide show of different images.

"Octavio," said the doctor, "I want you to focus on one image within this slideshow. There's going to be a lot of them in different colors, but I just want you to focus on one of them. It doesn't matter which image, as long as you remember the picture and the color."

"Okay. Got it, doc. Let's hurry!"

The final test flashed thirty images within thirty seconds. This was the only time Octavio fidgeted in the chair and pulled against the straps.

"So, Octavio. What picture do you remember?"

"There was a purple elephant and a green dog. No wait, there was also a blue cat and a red frog. Also a pink rabbit!"

The doctor scribbled on a clipboard and unstrapped Octavio.

"That's it," he said. "We're done. You can go home and I'll email the results to your father later today."

Octavio jumped out of the chair and ran back into the waiting room. Ricardo nodded at the doctor and walked after Octavio.


Back home, Octavio ran around the Silva mansion while Ricardo typed away on his personal computer at his desk. His phone rang and he picked it up on the third ring.

"Hello Mr. Silva," he said. "Yes, of course. I understand. Octavio's exam went more or less how you predicted. Yes, of course." Ricardo rubbed his eyes and drank from a cup of water. "I see. So, Octavio does have a complex attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. What did the doctor suggest moving further?" 

Ricardo stood up and walked over to the window. He lowered his phone and sighed heavily, fogging up a portion of the glass.

"I see, and what does his mother think? Right, of course, how silly of me. No, I have no qualms with your decision. You are his father after all. Good-bye, sir."

Ricardo hung up and sat back at his desk. He began typing away before Octavio appeared at the door.

"Aye, Ricky," he said. "Where you talking to pa? What did he say? Will he be home for dinner? How about ma? Will she be home in time to read me a story?"

"One question at a time, Octavio," he said without looking up from the screen. "I respond in the order which you asked. I was speaking with your father. He informed me that your test results were inconclusive. Unfortunately, he and your mother will not be able to make dinner, but she might be home in time to say goodnight."

Ricardo looked up from the screen but Octavio was no longer there.





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⏰ Last updated: Jun 30, 2020 ⏰

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