Status: In Progress
It's Just a Game
10.
"Good morning!" Meja greeted us from the lounges doorway. "I hope you've gotten plenty of rest. We're actually about to wake the other kids for a surprise inspection!"
"We?" Juliet inquired.
"Why, yes. The other parents and I, of course." Her smile twitched, he cheek muscles obviously strained from the mask she was forced to wear. "If you two could please make your way to the medical wing?"
I nodded, retrieved Juliet so that we could leave together. Unless she explicitly asked, or unless I was removed by force, I'd resolved that I would not leave her side.
"Wow, you two are up bright and early." A short, plump doctor holding a clipboard looked up at the two of us. His black mustache was nearly invisible on his abnormally black skin. "Hopefully that's a good sign." He motioned for us to follow him into a sterile white room where a smiling nurse asked Juliet to follow her.
Juliet looked warily over her shoulder with a small smile and nodded, letting me know that she felt confident enough to go alone. I nodded in return, reluctantly, however.
"I can take you, Miss Young." Another nurse with a plastered on smile and pin-straight blond hair took me into another too-bright white room. There was a set of weights in the corner and cheesy health posters lining the walls. "If you could please have a seat?"
I sat in a chair instead of on the examination table. I felt the need to be more of a person and less of a test subject. "What is this all about?" I asked, although I didn't expect a straight answer.
"This is your check up!" She chirped, grabbing a syringe from the top drawer of her desk. "We need to make sure you're in optimum health for the Game." She grasped my arm and stuck the needle in before I could object.
I answered her pointless questions and chatted politely with her, as I would have with my own doctor, keeping an eye on the clock all the while. I wanted to be finished as soon as possible so that I could meet with Juliet.
"I'm going to need to check how much weight you can handle." The nurse handed me one weight after another until I couldn't curl them anymore.
"That's good." She mumbled, taking the 25 pound barbell from me. "Now bench press."
She had me do a whole weight training routine, it seemed. She took my blood pressure and tested how long I could hold my breath and checked how many words per minute I could type on a laptop. All these tests seemed not to go together, but I didn't complain. "Thank you." She gushed in the end. "I think you're done for today."
I bounced out of the chair and headed toward the door, only faltering for a moment. "Hey, if there's someone not fit enough to perform you send them home, right?"
She laughed. "Oh, no. They still perform. We just don't get as much endorsement for an unfit individual." She said it as though I'd asked f we could bring the dead back to life.
"That's not fair to them, though!" I protested.
"If they're unfit then they can't so much for our great nation anyway."
I left the appointment worried about Gregory and angry with our government. Julia was waiting for me looking much more cheerful. We walked to the dining hall without a word.
"We?" Juliet inquired.
"Why, yes. The other parents and I, of course." Her smile twitched, he cheek muscles obviously strained from the mask she was forced to wear. "If you two could please make your way to the medical wing?"
I nodded, retrieved Juliet so that we could leave together. Unless she explicitly asked, or unless I was removed by force, I'd resolved that I would not leave her side.
"Wow, you two are up bright and early." A short, plump doctor holding a clipboard looked up at the two of us. His black mustache was nearly invisible on his abnormally black skin. "Hopefully that's a good sign." He motioned for us to follow him into a sterile white room where a smiling nurse asked Juliet to follow her.
Juliet looked warily over her shoulder with a small smile and nodded, letting me know that she felt confident enough to go alone. I nodded in return, reluctantly, however.
"I can take you, Miss Young." Another nurse with a plastered on smile and pin-straight blond hair took me into another too-bright white room. There was a set of weights in the corner and cheesy health posters lining the walls. "If you could please have a seat?"
I sat in a chair instead of on the examination table. I felt the need to be more of a person and less of a test subject. "What is this all about?" I asked, although I didn't expect a straight answer.
"This is your check up!" She chirped, grabbing a syringe from the top drawer of her desk. "We need to make sure you're in optimum health for the Game." She grasped my arm and stuck the needle in before I could object.
I answered her pointless questions and chatted politely with her, as I would have with my own doctor, keeping an eye on the clock all the while. I wanted to be finished as soon as possible so that I could meet with Juliet.
"I'm going to need to check how much weight you can handle." The nurse handed me one weight after another until I couldn't curl them anymore.
"That's good." She mumbled, taking the 25 pound barbell from me. "Now bench press."
She had me do a whole weight training routine, it seemed. She took my blood pressure and tested how long I could hold my breath and checked how many words per minute I could type on a laptop. All these tests seemed not to go together, but I didn't complain. "Thank you." She gushed in the end. "I think you're done for today."
I bounced out of the chair and headed toward the door, only faltering for a moment. "Hey, if there's someone not fit enough to perform you send them home, right?"
She laughed. "Oh, no. They still perform. We just don't get as much endorsement for an unfit individual." She said it as though I'd asked f we could bring the dead back to life.
"That's not fair to them, though!" I protested.
"If they're unfit then they can't so much for our great nation anyway."
I left the appointment worried about Gregory and angry with our government. Julia was waiting for me looking much more cheerful. We walked to the dining hall without a word.