A Trip to the Dentist

      “Julia, we have to go,” Olivia said. “The appointment is in five minutes and we’ve barely made it outside the house.”

      The blue Acara looked around. Her owner was right; they were next to a street pole situated at the edge of the yard.

      “I can’t go,” she said.

      “But you have to. Jaraiya just got his check up ten days ago, and now you’re due for yours.”

      Julia looked at Jaraiya, who was waving from the front door. When Olivia turned around, the Strawberry Poogle stuck his tongue out at Julia. She did the same to him.

      “Julia!” her owner said. “That’s not nice.”

      “But Jaraiya did it first! I promise.”

      Olivia shook her head, but she didn’t refute the claim. She knew that Julia and Jaraiya always teased each other, and today wouldn’t be an exception.

      “It’s important that you get your teeth checked,” she said. “Your school requires it.”

      “Well-” Julia began, but Olivia had already dragged her away from the pole.

      “Come on,” she said. “It’ll be over before you know it.”

      ***

      They took an Eyrie Taxi to Neopia Central, and when they landed, Olivia had to ask directions for how to get there. A passing Ixi told her to keep going straight until she saw a building with a large tooth on it. Julia shivered at the thought.

      “This is creepy,” she said once they entered the building. The tooth loomed overhead.

      “Don’t say that,” Olivia hissed. “Just wait it out.”

      She walked up to the receptionist.

      “Hello,” she said. “I have an appointment for my Acara, Julia, at one-thirty.”

      The White Grarrl looked up and smiled at Julia. He had straight, pointy teeth that glinted in the light. Julia cowered.

      “It’s nice to meet you,” he said. “Your name’s Julia, did you say?”

      Julia grimaced and buried her head in her owner’s shirt, and Olivia tried to smile.

      “Sorry,” she said, “she’s a bit shy. How much will the examination be?”

      The Grarrl looked at a sheet of paper on his desk. “A thousand neopoints.”

      Olivia handed over the neopoints, thanked him, and led Julia to a seat. The Acara looked up once they were away from the counter.

      “Did you see his TEETH?” she asked. “They were frightening. And what do you mean by an examination?”

      “The doctor’s just going to look at your teeth. It’s not a real exam, not like the kind you take in school.”

      Julia shrank lower in her seat so that her head was level with the armrest.

      “I’m sure it’s going to be worse,” she said.

      ***

      A couple of minutes later, a blue Poogle in a white apron walked into the waiting room.

      “Julia?” she said. A couple of other pets looked up, and Olivia nudged the Acara

      “That’s us,” she said. “And see, this nurse is the same species as Jaraiya.”

      “Hi, Julia,” the nurse said once they reached her. “I just need you to go into Room 3 over here. The doctor will be with you in a moment. And would your owner mind staying in the waiting room?”

      Julia looked at Olivia, who for the first time looked worried.

      “I can’t come in with her?”

      “I’m afraid not. Doctor Sharptooth believes that pets cooperate better by themselves.”

      ‘Dr. Sharptooth?’ Julia mouthed to Olivia.

      “Well, all right then.” Olivia patted Julia’s shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll do fine.”

      Julia shot her owner a terrified look as she was led to Room 3. Olivia watched the Acara until the door closed behind her.

      Julia jumped on a chair in the middle of the room, and pulled her feet up next to her paws. The nurse asked her some information before leaving with the sheet of paper. She left the door slightly open.

      Julia got up and walked around the room. She was looking at a picture on the wall when she heard something outside her door. She peeked outside and spotted Tytono, a friend of her sister, Amasaia. The rest of the hallway was empty.

      “Ty!” she hissed. “Ty, over here!”

      The Island Gelert looked around and saw Julia. He smiled, and the Acara saw that his teeth were clear and white.

      “Did you just get yours done?” she asked.

      “Yeah,” he said. “I was a bit scared at first, but I like the result.” He smiled bigger.

      “What doctor did you have?” Julia asked. “Was it... Sharptooth?”

      Ty nodded.

      “What was he like?” Julia said. Before Ty could answer, his owner approached him. When she put her hand on his back, she saw Julia. She smiled.

      “Julia, how have you been? And how’s Olivia?” She and Olivia were good friends.

      “She’s doing really well, Kitty. You know, working hard.”

      “That’s good. Well, we’d better get going now. See you later, Julia.”

      Julia looked at Ty to ask another question about the doctor, but his owner was already walking away.

      “Sorry!” he called back. His voice became muted as he reached the end of the hall. Julia retreated back into the room.

      ***

      The door opened again a couple of minutes later. A red Cybunny entered, dropped a folder on the counter, and began rifling through it. She looked like she found what she wanted when she turned around and noticed Julia. She smiled brightly, and like every other pet in the place, her teeth were perfectly white.

      “We’re just going to check you out a bit today,” she said. “Nothing major, so don’t get worried.”

      “Wait,” Julia said. “You’re Dr. Sharptooth?”

      “Yes, I am.” She noticed Julia’s expression and smiled again. “The name is very misleading,” she said. “I don’t even know why I go by it. Most pets, like you, are scared when they first hear who their doctor is.”

      Julia felt full of relief. “I was expecting -”

      “A pet with razor-sharp teeth and a grumpy personality?”

      “More or less,” Julia said, and Dr. Sharptooth laughed.

      “Now, we can get this done quickly if you’d like,” she said. “I just need you to open your mouth wide. I’m going to clean your teeth and then give you instructions on how to do that yourself.” She picked up an instrument and looked in Julia’s mouth.

      “Is everything going all right?” she asked after a couple of minutes.

      “Mrhmm.”

      Julia’s mouth was almost so sore she couldn’t stand to keep it open any longer when Dr. Sharptooth stepped away.

      “Perfect,” she said when Julia smiled. Dr. Sharptooth leaned in to look closer at the teeth, as if examining a work of art. She handed the Acara a bag full of toothpaste and floss.

      “If all goes well,” she said, “I won’t need to see you for another year! Since you did so wonderfully, here’s a lollipop for the walk home.” She handed Julia a heart-shaped candy.

      “Thanks,” Julia said. Her mouth still felt sore, but the pain was slowly dissolving.

      Dr. Sharptooth led her to the waiting room, and shook Olivia’s hand when she approached them.

      “Julia did great today,” she said. “I’ve never had such a cooperative patient.”

      “Really?” Olivia asked. She looked at the Acara incredulously. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same pet?”

      Julia rolled her eyes, and Olivia laughed.

      “Well, thank you, Doctor,” she said. “We’ll see you in a year.”

      They walked out of the office, and Olivia hugged Julia around her shoulders.

      “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

      “It was great,” Julia said. She paused. “Wait, I have a question. Why were you not surprised when you met Dr. Sharptooth? You seemed so scared when I went to the examination room and then you were fine afterwards.”

      “Sweetie,” her owner said, smiling slightly. “You think that was the first time that I met Dr. Sharptooth? She’s been the family dentist for years. This was just your first time, but I’ve been every couple of months.”

      “Then why didn’t you say anything about it?”

      “I wanted you to realize that what you get isn’t always what you expect. Dr. Sharptooth has a daunting name, but she’s a wonderful Cybunny.”

      “Did Jaraiya know what it was like before I went?”

      “Of course he did. He just wanted you to be scared.”

      Julia giggled. That was exactly like her brother.

      “Was he as nervous as I was?”

      Olivia paused, and smiled mischievously. “He was much more scared, actually,” she said. “It took me an hour to get him out of the house.”

      “I’m going to tease him about this when I get home,” Julia said, and ran ahead of her owner. “And then he’ll be sorry he stuck out his tongue at me!” she called back.

The End

I hope you liked this story!! Neomails are ALWAYS appreciated. A shout out to my friend Kitty and her Gelert, Ty. :)