Vice Versa

Against Alice and Brian’s wishes, Val, Michelle and Matt dragged Alice to a doctor to find out how ‘Brian’ lost his memory. Disgruntled, Alice sat in the irritatingly white waiting room; the others were sitting next to her. Michelle and Val was leafing through some gossip magazines, Matt was jiggling his left leg as he stared in space and Brian is pushing up the face he was possessing, making Alice’s face puffed up. It was certain to say that everybody was bored.

Finally, after a half an hour waiting, a doctor strode out and called, “Brian Haner Jr.?”

At the mention of his own name, Brian’s head shot up, but Michelle beat him to his game.

“That’s him.” Michelle shook Alice’s shoulder. Alice looked up, confused.

“Brian? Lovely to see you again! How’s your father?” the doctor said merrily. Alice was lost for words. She didn’t know Brian’s father at all. It seemed like that he was Brian’s family doctor. He had greying head full of hair and kind brown eyes. His spectacles and stethoscope hung around his neck along with his lab coat.

“Uh…” she trailed off. Michelle gave her a sideway glare.

“Dr Tyson.” Michelle whispered.

“Oh! Dr Tyson, nice to see you again.” Alice threw on a fake smile, still confused. She wished that the witch didn’t curse her with an almost irreversible spell. Then she wouldn’t end up ‘forgetting’ his family doctor and his wife which ended up in awkward situations. Dr Tyson just stared at her strangely.

“Anyway, let’s go in my office, shall we?” the party of six trooped in Dr’s Tyson’s spotless office. Alice sat in the chair nearest to Dr Tyson’s chair.

“What was the problem that supported your need to see me?” the Doctor sat and looked into Alice’s eyes.

“Um… I woke up and I forgot everything. Just like that.”

“Everything?”

“My husband even forgot me.” Michelle chimed in.

“Well, that’s something.” Dr Tyson put on his glasses. “Did you hit your head?”

“I don’t remember.” Alice replied.

“Let me check your head for any injuries.” He leant in and rifled through the hair to check for any cuts or bruises that might indicate anything. Brian, who was sitting on the bed, quietly cleared his throat. He didn’t like other people touching his hair and watching it happen like someone else made his eye twitch. But like it should, there were no injuries on ‘Brian’s’ head. The doctor sat back, perplexed.

“Any traumatic events?”

“No.” Alice and Michelle replied at the same time. Alice wished that she could say that ending up being in Brian’s body was traumatic. But she had to bite her tongue.

“Severe illnesses?”

“No.”

“Did you take any drugs recently?”

“No.” Alice shook her head, after glancing at Brian who confirmed it.

“You have amnesia; however I do not know the cause. Sometimes people would wake up and suddenly forget everything. Now, I have to test you for diagnosis of amnesia.” Dr Tyson concluded.

So, to Alice’s dismay, she had been put through a general examination, x-ray for internal injuries, blood tests, memory tests and a CT scan. For the first time, Brian was glad that he was not in his own body. As a common interest, both Alice and Brian absolutely hated doctors and being poked and prodded just to see what was wrong with their bodies.

With further waiting, the results for the tests came. The five visitors were broken out from their silence and boredom by Dr Tyson declaring that they return to his office. They all did what he said and returned to their usual seats.

“The tests came back. It was interesting. Your CT and x-ray results are normal and positive, nothing out from the ordinary. Your body is in prime condition. Now, your memory tests results are much more conclusive. Your short term memory is perfectly normal; however your long term memory is shot. It is safe to diagnose that you have long term amnesia, or retrograde memory loss. We still do not know the cause.”

Michelle and Alice nodded, Michelle taking it in more than the other. Alice simply didn’t care. She already knew why. Coming here was a complete waste of time, Alice thought. As long it diverted the unwanted attention on her supposed loss of memory.

“You can restore his memory by reminding him things. It is called the reminder effect. Just do it gradually, to allow his memory to process it and store it in his long term memory.” The doctor explained. Matt, Val and Michelle nodded. He turned to Alice.

“I hope you can regain your memory as soon as possible. Good luck and get well.” He said with a smile. “And tell your family I said hi.” Alice nodded. Till then, they all filed out from the office and signed out from the reception. Brian caught up with Alice and distanced from the others so they would be out of earshot.

“Now, what the fuck are we gonna do?” Brian hissed.

“I don’t know. Just go with it, okay?” Alice snapped back. Brian rolled his eyes and pulled Alice back to the larger group.

“Seems like we have to reintroduce you to your friends.” Val said to Alice. She gulped. She was not even sure how to act or react to Brian’s best friends.