The Outlier

“Anita? How are you feeling?”

Anita’s eyes flickered open. She could hear the various sounds of medical machines around her from the beeping of her heart monitor to the sound of a breathing machine coming from the curtain next to hers. She focused first on her mom, who was leaning over her in a calm, but protective stance.

“Mom? When I did I get to the hospital?” she looked over at her arm, which had an IV hooked up. “And what did they give me?”

“We’ve been here for a while now. One of the nurses gave you something for the migraine and you just fell right asleep.”

“They said it must’ve been pretty bad if you passed out like that,” Caden added, folding his arms across his chest and rocking back on his heels. “How’re you feeling?”

Anita nodded, running her IV-less hand through her hair. “I’m feeling a little better. My head doesn’t hurt anymore, which is good, I guess.”

“The nurse took some blood and they were going to get you prepped for a CT scan, but they wanted to make sure you were responsive first. But we’re glad-”

Before Marsha could finish, a middle-aged man with a crisp, clean white lab coat came strolling into the room.

“Hi, Anita,” he said rather cheerfully. “My name is Dr. Wright. I’m taking on your case at the present moment.”

“What about my normal doctor?” Anita asked, tilting her head slightly to the side. “Dr. Lang? She knows me really well.”

“Yes, this is true, but given the nature of your...attack, both Dr. Lang and I agree that having a neurologist be your primary would be your best option.”

The sixteen-year-old nodded. “Yeah, I suppose so.”

“Anyway!” Dr. Wright interjected as he opened up the teen’s file and clicked his pen. “Let’s take a look at your lab results.”

After a minute or so of silent reading, Dr. Wright closed the file and tucked it under his arm. “It really does look like an onset of text-book schizophrenia, to me. Does it run in the family?”

Marsha nodded, folding her hands uncomfortably. “Yes, my father had it. But it was...different, they said.”

“Did anyone ever mention how different it was?”

She shook her head. “Just that it was complex,” she said quickly and quietly. “But I never got it,” she added. “Does that mean anything? Could it be something else?”

Dr. Wright shrugged. “We’ll know more when we do some scans of her brain. If certain things light up, we’ll know what we’re looking at.”

“Will this affect me joining the army?” Anita asked suddenly, looking up at Dr. Wright with hope in her eyes.

Wright sighed and faced Anita directly. “I’m gonna be straight with you, kid. If you have schizophrenia, you won’t be able to enlist. In fact, even upon suspicion of a possible mental condition of this magnitude, they probably won’t take you.”

Her shoulders slumped as she leaned back into the bed. “Oh,” she mumbled. “I see.”

“But don’t worry about it, kiddo,” he added brightly, pulling a smile onto his face. “Maybe you’ll be lucky and it was just a crazy migraine! Hopefully my course of action will just be ‘sleep more, eat better, don’t stress out.’ And besides, there are more way to serve your country than just by joining the military. You’ll find something to do with your time if it doesn’t work out.”

Anita nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Dr. Wright laughed uproariously. “That’s my name, don’t wear it out!”

After a few more seconds on awkward laughter on Dr. Wright’s part, he excused himself from the room to allow the family some time alone.

“What am I going to do?” Anita asked, trying to hold back tears. “I saw what happened to grandpa. Am I gonna go crazy like that, too?”

“Sweetpea,” Caden started, sitting on the bed next to his daughter. “We don’t even know if it even is schizophrenia. There are still a ton of tests they can do. And even if it is, there are treatments for it. And you know damn well that we’re not gonna leave your side, no matter what.”

Anita allowed herself a small smile. “Thanks, dad. I really appreciate that.”

“Also, honey,” Marsha added, sitting on the opposite side of her daughter. “Even if it is, you’ll be able to live a good life. Especially on a treatment. You’ll be just fine.”

After a couple minutes of talking amongst themselves, a petite nurse with jet black hair came walking into the room.

“Anita?” she asked quietly. “Are you ready for your scans?”

The sixteen-year-old nodded, straightening up just a little. “Yeah, I’m ready to go.”

****

“I’m just going to have you lie down here,” the nurse said, gesturing to the white table. “And try very hard not to move, okay? We need to get some clear pictures.”

Anita nodded and scooted up on the table, placing her head on the headrest.

“Okay, Anita, I’m just going to be in the other room getting the pictures. If you have any kind of problems, just flag me down and I’ll be out in a jiffy.”

“Okay.”

As she started to walk away, the nurse practically jumped back. “Oh, wait! I forgot! You’re gonna wanna close your eyes, okay?”

Anita nodded again, trying not to laugh at the nurse’s expressions.

The door closed behind her, and Anita let her eyes slide closed. She could hear mechanical whirring and she could feel light moving across her face. And after what felt like an eternity, the whirring stopped and Anita heard the door open.

“You can open your eyes now, Anita. We’re all done here.”

“When should I know the results?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. First we have to get everything developed, then Dr. Wright needs to examine them. But he’ll let you know as soon as he knows.”

****

It had been a full day, and there was still no word from Dr. Wright. Anita was asked to stay overnight at the hospital to be monitored, in case she had another attack.

During that night, Anita could hear someone mumbling. At around two in the morning, being at her wits end after hearing this voice for three hours, she pulled herself out of bed and pulled back the curtain of the patient sharing her room. She was disappointed to find that her roommate was asleep, and practically dead to the world.

“Goddamn,” she muttered, letting her hands fall defeatedly to her sides. “Then who the hell is talking to me?”

Anita sighed and begrudgingly crawled back into her uncomfortable hospital bed.

A couple hours later, though it felt like a lifetime to Anita, a nurse walked into the room to take her vitals. This one was a little heavier set with shorter blonde hair and a pleasant face.

“Have you heard anything from Dr. Wright?” Anita asked her. “I’m starting to get a little nervous.”

“Anita,” she said softly, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. “You don’t need to be nervous. These things take time, and I’m sure that no matter what the results are, you’re going to be fine. One way or another.”

At that moment, Dr. Wright walked in, followed closely by Anita’s parents.

“Sorry to burst in on you like this. I called up your folks because I think you all need to be here for this.”

Her parents sat down on either side of their daughter, holding her hands and waiting for the worst to come.