My eyes veered off to the Felix clock on the wall, counting two minutes every time. The doctor was never this late. I was constantly wiping my hands across my jeans, rubbing my throbbing leg. If the x-rays were fine, if I was fine, he'd be back in five minutes, right? Well, it had been ten so far, and not even a sign of a doctor. Vee waited for me out in the waiting room, getting the latest news from her tabloid papers. Once in a while the door would open, a nurse glancing up from her papers to see the room, then excuse herself for being in the wrong room. I was so nervous, I didn't have time for these nurses tricking me like that. And none of them could find the right room?

Finally a doctor came from behind the door. A stack of papers was in his hands, white as the coat on his shoulders. A few x-rays stood out from the rest, hidden at the bottom of the stack. Setting the collection down on the counter, the doctor grabbed a nearby stool and sat on it, rolling over to me. "Well," he smiled, clasping his hands together. "Miss Hannah, is it?" I nodded. "Well," he said again. "I've gone over your x-rays. You really banged your leg up, huh?"

"Is it that bad?" I winced.

"Well," he repeated. "Not necessarily. When you look at the soleus, all the way up to the hamstring, we find a few wear and tears here and there, along with a few tousled nerves-"

"So...it's bad," I confirmed. He sighed, and knocked his thumbs together. Eventually he wheeled his stool over to the counter and grabbed the stack of papers. He looked them over again before joining me.

"It probably hurts worse than it really is," he started. "Would I recommend scaling a mountain, no. Resting in your house with a few trips to the kitchen or bathroom might do you good though."

"What about a six month trip?" I asked. I had to know. He whistled and lightly shook his head.

"I don't recommend," he said. "I mean, it really depends on where you're planning on going, what you'll be doing...walking around, lounging by a pool, what?"

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure. Yeah I'd be on a tour bus a lot, maybe even a plane or two. But surely I'd have to walk somewhere. "What sort of trip is this?" the doctor asked again. My hands wrung themselves.

"I was on the phone, right?" I said. He nodded, waiting for me to continue. I laughed a bit to myself, recalling the night before. "And I must have dialed the wrong number. You see, I wanted some noodles and instead I won a contest."

"A contest," he confirmed. "You won a vacation, I guess?"

"Sort of," I mumbled. The doctor stood up from his spot and laid the x-rays back on the counter. The paperwork was given to me.

"While I don't condone a strenuous six month trip," he said. "I do ask that you read these forms and fill them out before you leave. Just to let me know what's been going on, and to schedule you for your next appointment."

"It will have to be six months from now," I reminded him. As an answer he tilted his head and gave me this look. Had Vee been there she would have wiped that look off right off his face.

"Is this in any way some vacation you could miss? Or possibly postpone?"

"My friend would kill me if I did," I answered. "And...and I'd regret it forever, it's not exactly just any vacation."

"Miss Hannah, when your muscles are torn like this, they need to rest." I rubbed my eyes with my fingers. The rest of his words were long and tedious, and by now I've forgotten most of them. I knew I was taking a risk. But crippled or not, I was taking a risk either way. "Tell me." He adjusted himself on the stool. "What kind of trip is this exactly? If it's not a vacation."

I sighed. "I'm going on a tour."

"A tour." I nodded. "Like, like a band, or something?" I nodded again. "That is exciting, and I wouldn't want to miss it either. But-"

"But my leg needs rest, I know," I interrupted. Standing up, I grabbed the counter to aid me and made my way to the door, clutching the papers. "I'll fill these out for you, then I can go, I...don't want to waste your time." Walking out of the door I looked behind me. The doctor stood up from his stool and picked up a clipboard. His pen scribbled messily. "I'm uh, leaving now," I said.

He only looked up and nodded, lips pursed. One step of mine out the door, one arm holding it open for me as I looked behind me again. He never looked up at me again. Deciding my words and actions wouldn't change his mind, I caught up with the friend of mine in the waiting room.

The tabloid was poked in my face. "Hannah, look. They're calling this man the next heartthrob, does he look like a heartthrob to you?" I pushed the magazine away and looked at the forms on my knee. Vee saw them too. "What are those?"

"Papers," I said. The magazine was smacked on my head.

"I can see that," she mumbled. "I meant what are they for?"

"It seems Doctor man in there doesn't think it's such a good idea. Thinks the trip might be fun, but with the way my leg is..."

"What's wrong with it, exactly?" I shrugged.

"The muscles are all torn and pulled, and need a rest. I'm thinking if that's all that it is, then I should be allowed to go." Vee didn't answer for a few minutes.

"We really should listen to the doctor," she sighed. I leaned my head back in my chair.

"This stinks."

"You're telling me," she replied. "A waiting room always stinks, I've been huffing the smell while you were chatting away in there." It was my turn to hit her with the papers in my hand. "Would you like a pencil for those?" Vee asked fixing her hair.

"I guess," I surrendered. "They're over there." Vee set her magazine down to fetch a pencil from the front counter. While she was gone I took a look at the questions. My name and the date was the first one. The second was my age and sex. The rest were about my affliction and how bad it seemed to me. I considered lying. If I checked off the right boxes, they might let me go, realizing my leg would be fine. But Vee was right. If a professional decided against it, who am I to deny their demands? I looked up to see Vee chatting away with the man behind the desk. She didn't show signs of stopping. Luckily someone had left a pen behind on the coffee table in front of me.

My leg hurt when I reached for it. Not so bad I gave up, but bad enough to desire sitting back down. And bad enough to know that maybe straining it for six months with a group of rowdy guys wasn't the best option. And what about them, eh? Would they want to lug around someone with an injury? Of course I can lug myself around, I don't need their help. Yet with all the fun I'll miss out on, I can't take it away from them too.

My thoughts were interrupted with a throat clearing in front of me. I wondered how Vee managed to hack a voice like that up when I saw it was the doctor standing before me instead. He didn't have his clipboard anymore and his coat must have been hung up in the room. "Can I grab your attention for just a minute?" he asked. He had a slight grin on his face.

I set my papers aside. "Uh, yeah." Standing up to follow him, he sat me back down.

"Out here is fine, you don't need to get up." He sat down next to me. In his hands was a bottle of sorts, with a label on the side. It rattled when he moved. "After evaluating your x-rays a second time, I still don't quite agree with you taking a six month trip around the world." The bottle was held up. "But, there are some precautions we can take so you'll still heal while traveling.

"These are prescribed pain medications I give to athletes after they sprain something," he explained. "They'll take about one a day, with a meal, typically around dinner time. In about a month, after they're gone, the wound will have been healed. Now the pills don't heal the wound," he reminded. "But they do help with pain while it does." I took the bottle from him.

"Any side effects I should be worried about?" I asked examining them.

"Some rare ones, if any," he shrugged. "Drowsiness, which you shouldn't operate machinery on, uh, blanking out once in a while, again, don't drive." The pills were small and white. There looked to be fifty in the bottle, though he implied there was only a month's worth. The doctor shrugged. "Normally I'd say just stay home and rest until you're better. But, I know this is a big opportunity."

I felt my eyes light up. "I can go?"

"With the medicine and a brace I'm giving you for your leg..." He smiled. "You can go."

I almost hugged the man. Knowing that wouldn't be acceptable and the lady a few seats away might give me an odd stare, I restrained myself. Instead I gave him the biggest grin I could muster and sat myself up straighter. "Wait, you still need these filled out?"

"I'll hang on to them for you until you get back," he said taking them from me. "You can fill them out then when we can get a proper evaluation for your leg." Thanking him once again I stood myself up and limped to the coat rack to grab my bag. The bottle was placed inside with one more look at it. The same words were written on the label as the doctor told me.

A few minutes went by before my brace was ready. It was black and grey, an ugly piece of metal if I ever saw one. "Sorry it's not as glamorous as the television will show ya'," he said turning it over in his hands. "But it does the trick. You can have it put on here, or I can show you and you can do it at home."

I looked back over at the seats, several feet away. "Here is fine," I supposed. I limped back to where I sat before and the doctor knelt in front of me. Let me tell you, this was one of the oddest versions of Cinderella I had ever seen.

"Alright, I'll just stick your foot through here, and the brace should go on-" He snapped it in place, the metal hugging my leg through my pants. "Like that! There," he said standing up. "Now you know how. And that with your pills should aid you in your adventure."

It was not comfortable at all. And to be quite honest, it was hideous. How anyone could have walked in these and not go out of their mind was beyond me. I stood up, the metal hugging me tighter. It locked my leg straight, sticking out like a sore thumb when I walked. If I had to wear this while I slept, the doctor had another think coming. With a few steps forward I was able to get in a rhythm, and the pain was lessened. "How many people have used these?"

"Not many," he answered observing my gracefulness. Trying to hold back a laugh, he continued. "You're not the first, and I'm sure you won't be the last, but they're rare." I made my way to the door to wait for my friend. "You got your medicine?" I patted my bag. "Alright, remember. One every day at dinner. You'll want to take it with food to minimize the risk of side effects, alright?" Giving me a pat on the shoulder, he wished me luck. "And of course, have a good time."

I agreed. He left and I was left to stand by the door. With a laugh and a wave goodbye, Vee finally approached me. "Hey, you're up! Nice modeling pose," she snickered.

"It's my new brace making me stand that way," I explained. "I have to wear this metal monster so it'll feel better." She pouted.

"Doesn't look a whole lot of fun. The doctor give you anything else? A cane perhaps?" Ignoring her smug smile at a bad joke, I pulled out the bottle of medicine. "Drugs, alright!"

"Shhh! They're prescription meds for people like me. Or, athletes that sprained something, you know." She made a grab for them and I held them away from her, sticking them back in my bag. Knowing her, she'd open it ending in my pills all over the dirty carpet.

"A lot's happened when I was busy," she said turning back to the man behind the desk with a smile. I rubbed my leg out of habit.

"What took you so long?"

"Oh, we were just talking." A small piece of paper showed up in her hand. "And his phone number just magically made its way to me." I rolled my eyes.

"Real nice, ya' phone book," I said tugging on her arm. "Let's get out of here then." I pulled her outside just past the door.

"Oh wait!" She pulled her arm away and turned back to the small building. "I never got you your pencil."

"It's alright, we don't need it," I grinned. Her mouth formed into one as well, her eyes lighting up. I spread my arms out and walked backward, stumbling in my new accessory. "Permission is all mine."