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Description
Seth had been sitting in Dr. White’s office for about fifteen minutes, trying to figure out if the phrase ‘sit tight’ was something to be taken literally or if it was just one of those expressions that he kept hearing about.

If it was to be taken literally, then it probably had something to do with posture. It was possible that what Seth understood to be slouching was ‘sitting loosely’ and that sitting up straight would be the equivalent of ‘sitting tightly’. However, Dr. Olsen had only told him to ‘sit tight’, indicating that the adverb ‘tightly’ was incorrect.

He frowned. That didn’t make any sense. ‘Sit’ was a verb, and to describe verbs one used adverbs, not adjectives such as ‘tight’. Then again, it was possible that Dr. Olsen had made a grammatical error. Seth’s sister had told him that Dr. Olsen was incompetent, so maybe things like the difference between adverbs and adjectives escaped him.

Seth decided to sit up in his chair as straight as possible.

Dr. White’s office was by far the least aesthetically pleasing one in the Mecha-Medical Center that Seth was aware of. Large, leafy potted plants dominated each of the four corners of the room. Prints of seascapes hung upon the yellow striped wallpaper. He didn’t like the color yellow. He found it jarring.

He then began to wonder if it really mattered if he sat ‘tightly’ at the moment. Was anyone watching? Was there someone he was supposed to impress? Most of the rooms in the Center had cameras in them, so maybe someone was watching, but Seth couldn’t understand for what purpose. Maybe he was supposed to look nice for when Dr. White came in. Dr. White was a cheery blonde woman that he was supposed to talk about his feelings with. His sister didn’t think it was a good idea, so chances are it probably wasn’t.

As he listened to the clock on the desk in front of him tick, Seth longed for home. He wanted to tell his sister that it was perfectly alright for her to get married and that Eric wasn’t terrible and he had only said so because he was angry.

He thought about how he would tell her this. He thought that, maybe, he could ring his hands and sniffle. She gave in to just about anything when he sniffled.

There was a click and the door to his left opened. Dr. White entered the office, her face uncharacteristically gloomy. She closed the door and sat down in the hefty leather chair across the desk in front of him. She laced her fingers together and placed them on top of the desk.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Oh, no, Seth, not at all.”

“Oh.”

“Seth,” she said, scooting her chair forward, “I’m afraid there has been an accident.”

Seth studied her face. She seemed troubled. It must have been a serious accident.

“Like a car accident?” he asked.

She sighed. “Sort of.”

He frowned. Something was not right.

“What happened?”

Dr. White licked her lips. Seth noticed that she tended to do this when she was having difficulty saying something.

“Your sister, Dr. Vention,” she said slowly, “was waiting for the subway this morning,”

She paused to swallow.

He had never been on the subway, but he had seen video recordings of it. He counted ten ticks on the clock before he said “…yes?”

“Yes,” she continued, “she was waiting for the subway when, apparently, she tripped, and fell onto the tracks.”

The image of a subway train speeding down the tracks like a bullet immediately appeared in his mind, its screeching filling his ears. His sister’s face, her hair, the train…

He couldn’t breathe.

“Do you understand?” he heard Dr. White ask. He could hear her, but he couldn’t see her. All he could see was his sister and the ominous, oncoming train.

He nodded.

“I am so very, very sorry,” she said.

Train. Sister. Train. SCREECH.

“Seth?”

He felt Dr. White’s hand on his shoulder and he snapped back to look at her.

“Would you like to be alone for a while?” she asked.

He really didn’t. He wanted to be with his sister. He wanted her here. He wanted her to pet his hair and sing to him and complain about her interns and...

“Yes,” he said, “I would.”

Dr. White took her hand away.

“Alright,” she said, “just so you know, we’re going to keep you here at the Center for the night, ok?”

“Ok.”

She gave him one last sympathetic look before rising from her chair and leaving the room. The moment he left the room, his eyes started to water.

She was gone. His sister was gone. She might as well have been completely obliterated. The weight of her absence pushed down upon him like someone holding his head underwater. Forgetting about sitting tight, Seth slowly slouched down into his chair.

His sister took care of everything. She told him what to do, what to eat, what to wear, what to say, where to go, everything. Without her, Seth was utterly lost.

“What do I do now?” he whispered to himself, clutching the armrests of his chair as if they were the only things he had to keep himself anchored to the earth, “Who will take care of me?”

He sat up suddenly, still gripping the armrests with all his might.

“Who will take care of me?” he repeated to the empty room.

He turned, wide-eyed, to the door. He could ask someone. There had to be someone at the Center who had thought of this. No one here could have the wholly ridiculous impression that Seth could take care of himself. That was preposterous. His sister told him so herself, therefore it had to be true.

Trembling, Seth pushed himself out of his chair and stumbled to the door. He turned the handle and opened the door just enough for him to poke his head out into the corridor. It was empty with the exception of six neon-orange plastic chairs lined up against the opposite wall.

Seth swallow, then croaked “Dr. White?”

Opening the door wider, he stepped out of the room.

The walls of the hallway were glaring white, just like the rest of the center. To his right stood a shiny acrylic desk where Dr. White’s secretary usually sat. On the desk rested a speaker, which crackled lightly.

There was a beep, and then a voice resonated from the speaker.

“Dr. White?” the voice asked. Seth recognized it as the voice of the receptionist in the lobby.

Seth approached the desk and pressed the button reply.

“She isn’t here,” he said, “I don’t know where she is.”

“Oh, well, there’s someone in the lobby asking for Dr. Vention’s brother,” said the receptionist, “You know if he’s up there?”

“Oh!” he exclaimed, surprised, “I am.”

“What?”

He released the speaker button and darted around the corner past the desk towards the elevators. Someone was waiting downstairs to see him. It had to be about his sister because no one ever came to see him because he didn’t know anyone who would want to. Maybe they were here to tell him that is sister was alright, that there was a mistake and she wasn’t…

She wasn’t…

Seth came to a stop at the elevator’s gleaming metal doors and pressed the button to go down. He wrung his hands and gulped as he stared up at the red numbers above the doors. He didn’t think the elevator normally took so long to arrive. He pressed the button again, just to make sure.

It must be a mistake. It had to be. His sister wouldn’t trip. She was always the epitome of poise. Someone else, someone who looked like his sister must have fallen onto the tracks and this was all just a horrific mix up.

The elevator doors opened with a ding and Seth hurried in. He pressed the button labeled L and once again stared up at the numbers above the door.

He knew that, sometimes, when people wanted something to happen badly, they would whisper ‘please’ over and over again, but he did not understand why. There wasn’t any one who could hear them that could make what they wanted happen.

Yet although Seth knew it was pointless, he still found himself saying the word please in his mind repeatedly, each time more intense than the last.

The doors opened to the spacious, white-tiled lobby. There, fifteen feet away from him, standing at the receptionist’s desk was the last person he expected to see.

“Eric?” said Seth, stepping out of the elevator.

Eric turned to look at him.

“There you are!” he said, leaving the desk to meet him.

He had forgotten about his sister’s fiancé. He wondered, vaguely, what Eric was here for, if he knew about the accident at all. When they reached each other, Seth could see that Eric’s eyes were red. His heart sank. There was no mistake.

“Hey,” said Eric.

“Hey,” Seth replied, looking down at his feet.

“I just wanted to make sure that, um, that you were ok,” Eric said.

He paused, then asked “Are you?”

Seth looked up at him and sniffed.

“No,” he breathed, “I’m not.”

Eric smiled, but it did not reach his eyes.

“Me neither,” he said.

Then, wrapping his arms around Seth’s shoulders, Eric hugged him. Seth was stiff, at first, then he relaxed. He could not remember if Eric had ever touched him before. He didn’t think so, because he would have remembered touching someone who had been this warm. Heat resonated off of Eric like a radiator, warming him to the core. Seth felt his heartbeat slow down as he rested his cheek against Eric’s shoulder and closed his eyes.

When Eric pulled away, Seth felt as if he had woken up from a long, comforting nap.

They stood there for a moment, in silence.

Seth swallowed, then said “I’m, um, I’m going to stay here for the night.”

“Oh,” Eric replied as he scratched his head, “I, uh, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

Seth nodded. “Tomorrow.”

Their goodbyes were awkward, as things usually were between them, but as Seth watched Eric leave the lobby and venture out into the cold streets outside, he felt as if his situation was not as dire as it had seemed to be only a few minutes before. While he wasn’t ok right now, he would be, eventually.

Dr. Silvia Vention couldn’t tell whether she had woken up in France or Hell. Either way, she was not surprised.

Description
Seth had been sitting in Dr. White’s office for about fifteen minutes, trying to figure out if the phrase ‘sit tight’ was something to be taken literally or if it was just one of those expressions that he kept hearing about.

If it was to be taken literally, then it probably had something to do with posture. It was possible that what Seth understood to be slouching was ‘sitting loosely’ and that sitting up straight would be the equivalent of ‘sitting tightly’. However, Dr. Olsen had only told him to ‘sit tight’, indicating that the adverb ‘tightly’ was incorrect.

He frowned. That didn’t make any sense. ‘Sit’ was a verb, and to describe verbs one used adverbs, not adjectives such as ‘tight’. Then again, it was possible that Dr. Olsen had made a grammatical error. Seth’s sister had told him that Dr. Olsen was incompetent, so maybe things like the difference between adverbs and adjectives escaped him.

Seth decided to sit up in his chair as straight as possible.

Dr. White’s office was by far the least aesthetically pleasing one in the Mecha-Medical Center that Seth was aware of. Large, leafy potted plants dominated each of the four corners of the room. Prints of seascapes hung upon the yellow striped wallpaper. He didn’t like the color yellow. He found it jarring.

He then began to wonder if it really mattered if he sat ‘tightly’ at the moment. Was anyone watching? Was there someone he was supposed to impress? Most of the rooms in the Center had cameras in them, so maybe someone was watching, but Seth couldn’t understand for what purpose. Maybe he was supposed to look nice for when Dr. White came in. Dr. White was a cheery blonde woman that he was supposed to talk about his feelings with. His sister didn’t think it was a good idea, so chances are it probably wasn’t.

As he listened to the clock on the desk in front of him tick, Seth longed for home. He wanted to tell his sister that it was perfectly alright for her to get married and that Eric wasn’t terrible and he had only said so because he was angry.

He thought about how he would tell her this. He thought that, maybe, he could ring his hands and sniffle. She gave in to just about anything when he sniffled.

There was a click and the door to his left opened. Dr. White entered the office, her face uncharacteristically gloomy. She closed the door and sat down in the hefty leather chair across the desk in front of him. She laced her fingers together and placed them on top of the desk.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Oh, no, Seth, not at all.”

“Oh.”

“Seth,” she said, scooting her chair forward, “I’m afraid there has been an accident.”

Seth studied her face. She seemed troubled. It must have been a serious accident.

“Like a car accident?” he asked.

She sighed. “Sort of.”

He frowned. Something was not right.

“What happened?”

Dr. White licked her lips. Seth noticed that she tended to do this when she was having difficulty saying something.

“Your sister, Dr. Vention,” she said slowly, “was waiting for the subway this morning,”

She paused to swallow.

He had never been on the subway, but he had seen video recordings of it. He counted ten ticks on the clock before he said “…yes?”

“Yes,” she continued, “she was waiting for the subway when, apparently, she tripped, and fell onto the tracks.”

The image of a subway train speeding down the tracks like a bullet immediately appeared in his mind, its screeching filling his ears. His sister’s face, her hair, the train…

He couldn’t breathe.

“Do you understand?” he heard Dr. White ask. He could hear her, but he couldn’t see her. All he could see was his sister and the ominous, oncoming train.

He nodded.

“I am so very, very sorry,” she said.

Train. Sister. Train. SCREECH.

“Seth?”

He felt Dr. White’s hand on his shoulder and he snapped back to look at her.

“Would you like to be alone for a while?” she asked.

He really didn’t. He wanted to be with his sister. He wanted her here. He wanted her to pet his hair and sing to him and complain about her interns and...

“Yes,” he said, “I would.”

Dr. White took her hand away.

“Alright,” she said, “just so you know, we’re going to keep you here at the Center for the night, ok?”

“Ok.”

She gave him one last sympathetic look before rising from her chair and leaving the room. The moment he left the room, his eyes started to water.

She was gone. His sister was gone. She might as well have been completely obliterated. The weight of her absence pushed down upon him like someone holding his head underwater. Forgetting about sitting tight, Seth slowly slouched down into his chair.

His sister took care of everything. She told him what to do, what to eat, what to wear, what to say, where to go, everything. Without her, Seth was utterly lost.

“What do I do now?” he whispered to himself, clutching the armrests of his chair as if they were the only things he had to keep himself anchored to the earth, “Who will take care of me?”

He sat up suddenly, still gripping the armrests with all his might.

“Who will take care of me?” he repeated to the empty room.

He turned, wide-eyed, to the door. He could ask someone. There had to be someone at the Center who had thought of this. No one here could have the wholly ridiculous impression that Seth could take care of himself. That was preposterous. His sister told him so herself, therefore it had to be true.

Trembling, Seth pushed himself out of his chair and stumbled to the door. He turned the handle and opened the door just enough for him to poke his head out into the corridor. It was empty with the exception of six neon-orange plastic chairs lined up against the opposite wall.

Seth swallow, then croaked “Dr. White?”

Opening the door wider, he stepped out of the room.

The walls of the hallway were glaring white, just like the rest of the center. To his right stood a shiny acrylic desk where Dr. White’s secretary usually sat. On the desk rested a speaker, which crackled lightly.

There was a beep, and then a voice resonated from the speaker.

“Dr. White?” the voice asked. Seth recognized it as the voice of the receptionist in the lobby.

Seth approached the desk and pressed the button reply.

“She isn’t here,” he said, “I don’t know where she is.”

“Oh, well, there’s someone in the lobby asking for Dr. Vention’s brother,” said the receptionist, “You know if he’s up there?”

“Oh!” he exclaimed, surprised, “I am.”

“What?”

He released the speaker button and darted around the corner past the desk towards the elevators. Someone was waiting downstairs to see him. It had to be about his sister because no one ever came to see him because he didn’t know anyone who would want to. Maybe they were here to tell him that is sister was alright, that there was a mistake and she wasn’t…

She wasn’t…

Seth came to a stop at the elevator’s gleaming metal doors and pressed the button to go down. He wrung his hands and gulped as he stared up at the red numbers above the doors. He didn’t think the elevator normally took so long to arrive. He pressed the button again, just to make sure.

It must be a mistake. It had to be. His sister wouldn’t trip. She was always the epitome of poise. Someone else, someone who looked like his sister must have fallen onto the tracks and this was all just a horrific mix up.

The elevator doors opened with a ding and Seth hurried in. He pressed the button labeled L and once again stared up at the numbers above the door.

He knew that, sometimes, when people wanted something to happen badly, they would whisper ‘please’ over and over again, but he did not understand why. There wasn’t any one who could hear them that could make what they wanted happen.

Yet although Seth knew it was pointless, he still found himself saying the word please in his mind repeatedly, each time more intense than the last.

The doors opened to the spacious, white-tiled lobby. There, fifteen feet away from him, standing at the receptionist’s desk was the last person he expected to see.

“Eric?” said Seth, stepping out of the elevator.

Eric turned to look at him.

“There you are!” he said, leaving the desk to meet him.

He had forgotten about his sister’s fiancé. He wondered, vaguely, what Eric was here for, if he knew about the accident at all. When they reached each other, Seth could see that Eric’s eyes were red. His heart sank. There was no mistake.

“Hey,” said Eric.

“Hey,” Seth replied, looking down at his feet.

“I just wanted to make sure that, um, that you were ok,” Eric said.

He paused, then asked “Are you?”

Seth looked up at him and sniffed.

“No,” he breathed, “I’m not.”

Eric smiled, but it did not reach his eyes.

“Me neither,” he said.

Then, wrapping his arms around Seth’s shoulders, Eric hugged him. Seth was stiff, at first, then he relaxed. He could not remember if Eric had ever touched him before. He didn’t think so, because he would have remembered touching someone who had been this warm. Heat resonated off of Eric like a radiator, warming him to the core. Seth felt his heartbeat slow down as he rested his cheek against Eric’s shoulder and closed his eyes.

When Eric pulled away, Seth felt as if he had woken up from a long, comforting nap.

They stood there for a moment, in silence.

Seth swallowed, then said “I’m, um, I’m going to stay here for the night.”

“Oh,” Eric replied as he scratched his head, “I, uh, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

Seth nodded. “Tomorrow.”

Their goodbyes were awkward, as things usually were between them, but as Seth watched Eric leave the lobby and venture out into the cold streets outside, he felt as if his situation was not as dire as it had seemed to be only a few minutes before. While he wasn’t ok right now, he would be, eventually.

Dr. Silvia Vention couldn’t tell whether she had woken up in France or Hell. Either way, she was not surprised.