15-Minute Wait for the Results | Teen Ink

15-Minute Wait for the Results MAG

By Anonymous

Skinny bird legs lying next to mine.
The one rubbing my thigh is tapping
up and down and up and down
because you are nervous about something.
Your finger, the one with the big red plastic ring,
is tapping on the peeling dark veneer rhythmically.
Tap-a-tap-a-tap-tap-tap-tap-a-tap
Your other hand is so clammy.
Like a turtleneck on a hot day,
like a wet turtleneck on a humid day.
The salmon-colored plastic sticks to my upper arm
in the small space between us on this love seat,
peeling away from my skin when I shift
with a sticky sound. Ouch.
There’s a rip, all jagged with
school bus-colored foam poking out.
Your nails are digging in,
as short as they are.
You are so afraid.
My nails are digging into your hand as well –
I can see the red-lined moons standing out plain as sight.
What was that old saying?
Red sky at night, sailor’s delight?
Or was it take warning?
Does a moon make the night red?
I ask you out loud, you laugh,
this queer little laugh
that isn’t a laugh at all.
Not really.
And you say it’s the first.
So we should delight and dance together like
we were doing just last week under that
tacky disco ball.
The door opens with a creak that reminds me
of an old haunted house. It’s all meant to scare.
The doctor walks in – shuffles really – lab coat knocking against his knees.
He’s kind-looking and old. Like a grandfather. Or uncle. Or something.
He moves past us.
Sits at his desk.
Pulls on his glasses – his eyes look so big.
Pulls out a manila folder.
Opens it.
Turns the page. Again. Again.
Licks his lips.
Takes glasses off – his eyes are small once more.
His chin rests on his folded hands.
Pensive.
“The test was positive.”
Your grip tightens, my grip tightens.
Many red moons across our hands.



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This article has 205 comments.


freeday15 GOLD said...
on Apr. 29 2011 at 4:16 pm
freeday15 GOLD, Paramus, New Jersey
18 articles 0 photos 62 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Love is Blind" i truly believe in this it is in all of my pieces, and if u read between the lines then u will find it there...

i wish that u had continued with it because now i am really thinkin bout it and i want 2 know more bout it

on Apr. 29 2011 at 2:39 pm
RixxOhSixx GOLD, Rice Lake, Wisconsin
12 articles 5 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
"It's never too late to become the
person you might have been."
- George Elliot

It's even more of an ebarassment when you spell embarassment wrong.

on Apr. 29 2011 at 2:25 pm
Firework2013 BRONZE, Wattsburg, Pennsylvania
1 article 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
Define irony. Bunch of idiots dancing on a plane to a song made famous by a band that died in a plane crash.

I'm sorry about that I meant "you" not 'yo'. I do have to agree with you there, and I am embrassed. I didn't even catch that, guess I'll have to prof-read from now on huh? 

on Apr. 29 2011 at 1:22 pm
babymuncher BRONZE, Grandville, Michigan
1 article 0 photos 2 comments
dont say 'yo' its an embarressment to the english language.

on Apr. 29 2011 at 1:22 pm
babymuncher BRONZE, Grandville, Michigan
1 article 0 photos 2 comments
i love your work, it's beautiful. just like your eye-lids.

on Apr. 7 2011 at 6:58 pm
Firework2013 BRONZE, Wattsburg, Pennsylvania
1 article 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
Define irony. Bunch of idiots dancing on a plane to a song made famous by a band that died in a plane crash.

I love how yo left the ending. It could be many things. It could be a pregnacy test, or for cancer, hiv, anything. I loved it, you did a really good job. And kept the reader in suspense even when it was over.

Cityboy13 said...
on Apr. 7 2011 at 8:35 am
Cityboy13, Wisconsin
0 articles 0 photos 4 comments
LOL... think very hard rofl

on Apr. 7 2011 at 12:47 am
MaskedCellist GOLD, Saratoga, California
17 articles 0 photos 14 comments
I'm pretty sure it was a pregnancy test.

on Mar. 16 2011 at 11:37 pm
PerfectMGymnast DIAMOND, Parker, Colorado
57 articles 25 photos 633 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you don't leap you'lll never know what it's like to fly"

BEAUTIFUL!!!! And i love the suspense leading up to the ending!! :))

on Mar. 16 2011 at 5:42 pm
Ms.Understood, Laramie, Wyoming
0 articles 0 photos 82 comments
Loved it, but just curious...what were the results for?

on Mar. 16 2011 at 5:00 pm
WynterPage95 ELITE, Monticello, Arkansas
164 articles 8 photos 76 comments

Favorite Quote:
"It's better to burn out than to fade away..." -Kurt Cobain

I like the ones with a mystery or cliffhangers! I think abt them for the rest of the day. Great work!!

on Mar. 16 2011 at 1:32 pm
Isn't this about a pregnancy test? It sounds like it.

on Mar. 16 2011 at 10:44 am
to.hold.the.sun SILVER, Maryville, Tennessee
9 articles 0 photos 49 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present." -John Green

I love how ambiguous it is.

on Feb. 22 2011 at 7:21 pm
AthenaBook SILVER, Arlington, Virginia
5 articles 0 photos 36 comments

Favorite Quote:
You should not live the way the world asks, but the way that you ask of yourself.

Totally agree! It made it very evasive and thoughful, and kind of let the reader amke up his/her's own ending. Fabulous job!

TheDuck GOLD said...
on Feb. 22 2011 at 5:56 pm
TheDuck GOLD, Braselton, Georgia
11 articles 12 photos 77 comments

Favorite Quote:
“Raids, bullets, crime... no problem. A missing duster? Crisis."-The Last Sacrifice
"If we stand for nothing, we'll fall for anything." -All Time Low

What were the results for? 

on Feb. 22 2011 at 11:08 am
shelterisland GOLD, Montclair, New Jersey
14 articles 0 photos 175 comments

Favorite Quote:
-Biting's excellent. It's like kissing only there's a winner."-Doctor Who, The Tardis

How are some articles posted in a day? Mine always take at least two weeks, but usually more like three weeks, or a little over three weeks.

on Feb. 22 2011 at 11:06 am
shelterisland GOLD, Montclair, New Jersey
14 articles 0 photos 175 comments

Favorite Quote:
-Biting's excellent. It's like kissing only there's a winner."-Doctor Who, The Tardis

In some ways I want to know what the test was for, but I like how you never revealed it. Anyone who reads this can imagine anything they like, to fit what they want to hear, or what's happening in their own life.

StarWorks said...
on Feb. 22 2011 at 8:19 am
StarWorks, A, Other
0 articles 0 photos 22 comments
AMAZING. I liked the suspense, it's very well written.

on Jan. 31 2011 at 7:39 am
the_real_reggie_rocket BRONZE, Spostylvania, Virginia
1 article 0 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I like to move it, move it."-Anonymous

*described.

on Jan. 9 2011 at 8:56 pm
MumblingMelanie DIAMOND, Jackson, Missouri
79 articles 0 photos 210 comments

Favorite Quote:
Don't be a victim; be a titan.

Awesome!
I like how you didn't give too much away, like what the test was for or what happened, etc.

I like the mystery, and too few people appreciate it these days. Leave it to the reader's imagination!

Well done :D