Mia a Matter of Taste (4 page)

“So, I've looked at your X-rays,” she said. “Now I'd like to take a look in person, if that's okay.”

“You mean I have a choice?” I asked.

Dr. Payne smiled. “Always. But I think you know you're here for a good reason, Mia. Braces can help you keep your teeth healthy for a long, long time.”

She had this really calm voice, almost like she was hypnotizing me.

“Okay,” I said, and then I opened my mouth.

Dr. Payne looked around, and even took two more X-rays. Then she came back in. I crossed my fingers on both hands.

“Mia, Dr. Brown was right. I would definitely recommend braces for you.”

Deep down, I knew that's what she was going to say. But I was still shocked. I started to cry right away.

“Really?” I asked.

“Yes,” said Dr. Payne. “You'll probably need to wear them for a year, maybe more.”

“A
year
?” I knew I was loud, but I didn't care. I was totally freaking out. Mom put her hand on my arm.

“Mia, it's going to be okay,” she said. “Let's let Dr. Payne explain things to us.”

Dr. Payne started going on and on about where
the braces would go and something about a retainer, but I wasn't really listening. She took out a model of teeth with silver braces on them. Then I remembered something.

“Can't I get the clear ones at least?” I blurted out.

“Well, there are pros and cons,” Dr. Payne said. “The pro is that they're not as noticeable. The cons are that they can take longer to work than the metal braces, and they can be more expensive, too. They don't work for everyone, but I think you'd be a good candidate.”

“Please, Mom? Please?” I begged.

Mom looked flustered. “I need to talk this over with your father.” She looked at Dr. Payne. “Do you need a decision right away?”

“There's no real rush,” the doctor replied. “I'll give you the literature for both, and you can call me anytime if you have questions.”

When I walked back into the waiting room, Eddie knew just by looking at me what had happened.

“Bad news, huh?” he asked, and all I could do was nod.

Mom took care of the paperwork, and then we all piled into Eddie's car. Nobody said anything for
a few minutes, and then Mom said, “Hon, where are we going?”

Eddie just smiled, and a minute later we pulled into the parking lot of King Cone, the ice-cream place in our town. There's no inside; just a window where you get your ice cream and then picnic benches where you can sit and eat outside. It's open every year from St. Patrick's Day until Halloween. My favorite part is the giant plastic ice-cream cone with a crown and a smiling face that's out front.

“It's a perfect day for ice cream,” Eddie said, and I knew he meant more than it was just nice out. He was trying to cheer me up. Eddie's really good with stuff like that.

I was acting like I was still miserable, but deep down I was happy about getting ice cream.

“Mia, what do you want?” Eddie asked.

“Vanilla ice cream with hot fudge,” I mumbled.

Eddie grinned at the woman at the counter. “One small vanilla cone for my lovely lady here; one small hot fudge sundae for this other lovely lady; and for me, a cup of chocolate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles, chocolate syrup, and gummy bears.”

I smiled for the first time since I got the news about my braces.

“Seriously?” I asked him.

“It's an excellent combination,” Eddie assured me. “I'll let you try some.”

“No, thanks,” I said, shaking my head.

Soon we were all seated around a red plastic picnic table, eating our ice cream. The sky was bright blue with perfect cotton-ball clouds floating around in it. My hot fudge sundae was delicious, and the fudge was nice and warm while the ice cream was supercold. Yum!

“Oh man, this is delicious!” Eddie said, smiling. Then Mom and I started cracking up. He had gummy bears stuck all over his teeth!

“What's so funny?” Eddie asked, and that made us laugh even harder.

Finally, Mom was able to speak. “Sweetie, you've got gummy bears stuck in your teeth.”

Eddie ran his tongue across his teeth. “Oh man. See? I don't even have braces and I've got stuff stuck in my teeth!”

“They look like rainbow braces,” I said, giggling. “I bet Katie would like those.”

Eddie took another bite, shaking his head. “I'm going to have to think of another combination.”

So Eddie being funny wasn't annoying anymore. I felt a little bit better—just a teeny, tiny, little bit.

S
o it's official. I have to get braces,” I announced at lunch the next day.

“Oh, I'm so sorry, Mia,” Emma said sympathetically.

“Mom's going to talk to Dad about getting me the clear ones,” I said. “So keep your fingers crossed for me.”

“But don't you have to keep those on longer?” Katie asked. “I'd rather just get the metal and get it over with.”

“It all depends,” I replied. “But, anyway, I'd rather look normal but be uncomfortable for years than look like a metal mouth for one day.”

“The metal ones really aren't that bad,” Alexis said. “I remember when Emma's brother had his.
After a while, I didn't even notice them on Sam.”

Emma nodded. “True. And it didn't stop girls from walking by our house to look at him, either, like they always do. Gross.”

“Well, I'd be happier with the clear,” I said, starting to feel slightly annoyed.

“Of course!” Katie said quickly. She held up both hands. “See? I'm crossing
all
my fingers.”

Then George Martinez walked up to our table. He's in our grade, and he and Katie have been friends for a long time. His dark hair is short and kind of curly, and he has really nice brown eyes.

“Katie, are you having finger issues?” he asked.

Katie laughed and quickly lowered her hands. “No. Just wishing for something, that's all.”

“So, do you guys want to go to the park after school?” he asked. I know he said “you guys,” but we all knew he mostly wanted Katie to be there. They both like each other, and sometimes I wonder if they're boyfriend and girlfriend, but Katie always says no, they're just friends.

Katie looked around the table. “Are you guys busy?”

“I've got a Future Business Leaders of America meeting,” Alexis said.

“And I've got some dog walking to do,” Emma
answered. “But I guess I could walk them in the park and come by and hang out with you guys for a while.”

“I can go,” I told Katie.

She nodded to George. “See you there.”

George left, and Alexis leaned in.

“Wow, Katie. He practically asked you out on a date!” she said.

Katie blushed. “Hanging out at the park isn't a date. Besides, he asked all of us.”

“That reminds me,” I said. “This carnival coming up. Do you have to, like, go with ‘somebody,' or can you just go with friends?”

“I think you can just go with friends,” Emma replied. “That's what Matt did last year.”

I felt relieved. The only boy in school I'm interested in is Chris Howard. He's tall, handsome, and kind of quiet, and nice. We went to the pep rally parade together. You had to wear costumes, so I dressed up like a witch, and he dressed up like a warlock. We even held hands.

That was a while ago. After the pep rally, Chris asked me to go to the movies and I said no. Not because I don't like him, but because it just felt too much like a real date, you know? And, honestly, I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. Going to
school together is nice enough for now. But ever since I turned him down, Chris doesn't talk to me as much. I think maybe I hurt his feelings, and I feel kind of bad about that, because that's not what I meant to do.

“We still need a cupcake idea for the carnival,” Alexis reminded us.

Katie frowned. “I am having a hard time thinking of something! But I'll keep trying.”

“And we've got one job this weekend,” Alexis added. “Two dozen lemon cupcakes for a baby shower. We're baking at my house on Friday night. Emma and Mia have a soccer game Saturday morning so, Katie, can you deliver with me?”

Katie nodded. “Sure. Only, my mom's working, so can yours drive?”

Alexis quickly typed into her smartphone. “I'll make a note, but I think she can. Or my dad will.”

We finished up our cupcake business before it was time to go to our next classes. When the final bell of the day rang, I met Katie at her locker, and we headed outside to the park.

“Who else do you think is going to be there?” I asked, and Katie shrugged.

“I'm not sure. George has a lot of friends,” she replied, and it was true. George is one of those kids
who isn't just friends with people in one group. He gets along with everybody.

When we got to the park, we saw George over by the swings with Ken Watanabe, his best friend, and another boy named Chau Tran, who Katie says is funny and nice. Our friends Sophie and Lucy were on the steps by the slide. I was secretly hoping Chris would be there, but I didn't see him.

“Yo!” George called out, waving when he saw us, and we walked over. I noticed that Ken was lying on his back on the bottom of the slide, and he looked kind of pale.

“Is he okay?” I asked.

“He was trying to break the land speed record on the merry-go-round,” Chau reported. “It didn't go well.”

Katie shuddered. “I can't go on that thing. It makes me too dizzy! The swings are much better.”

She sat down in one, and George got behind her and gave her a push.

“Awww, how sweet!” Sophie teased, and Katie blushed a little.

I got on the swing next to Katie and started to swing too. We all started talking about school, and then George did this impression of Ms. Chen, our gym teacher, that had us cracking up.

I was still swinging when I noticed two boys playing basketball in the court on the opposite side of the park. I put my hand over my eyes and squinted. One of them was Chris Howard!

I guess I was feeling kind of giddy from being on the swings and laughing and everything, so I started waving my arms and yelling, “Yo, Chris! Over here! Hey!”

“Mia, what are you doing?” Katie asked.

Chris tossed the ball to his friend and started walking over to the swings.

“That's not Chris,” Katie said. “That's Eddie Rossi.”

I squinted and realized she was right. Eddie is tall, like Chris, and he's nice and everything, but he mostly hangs out with the girls in the Best Friends Club.

“Oh no!” I wailed. “What do I do?”

“I have no idea,” Katie replied.

Eddie walked up to me with a big grin on his face. “Hi, Mia. What's up?”

“Um, hi, I mean, nothing,” I said, and I felt my face getting red. Did Eddie think I liked him? I should have told him I thought he was Chris, but I was too embarrassed. Luckily, Ken saved me. He sat up and walked over to Eddie.

“Dude, push me on that thing,” he said, nodding toward the merry-go-round. “I think I can go faster.”

Chau shook his head. “Some people never learn,” he said, but he and George ran to watch.

I was off the hook. Then Emma came up to us, walking a big, yellow lab on a leash.

“Hey,” she said. “What's happening?”

“Only the most embarrassing moment of my life!” I replied dramatically.

“It wasn't that bad,” Katie said. “She just thought Eddie Rossi was Chris Howard, that's all.”

“That's not bad at all,” Emma agreed. “They're both tall.”

“I guess,” I replied, but inside I still felt like a big dork. It's like I wasn't feeling like myself lately. I blamed it on the braces. But what I didn't realize was that things were going to get even worse!