Chapter 2

Present Day…

“You’re just going to feel a little pinch. It won’t hurt a bit.” The young nurse-in-training warned as the steel tip of the needle disappeared through the skin and into my arm. I might have been more inclined to believe her if her hands weren’t shaking so much.

“You have really pretty eyes.” She commented as she removed the needle and tried again to plunge the syringe into my swelling vein. “I’ve never really seen that color before, what would you say that is? Hazel?”

I looked away as the needle burrowed deeper into my arm. Diverting my attention to an anatomically correct poster of the male body, I tried not to think about the blood draining from my arm and being deposited into several plastic vials.

“Amber. Kind of like cat’s eyes, so I’ve been told.” I winced as she released the tourniquet with a snap; an uncomfortable thudding sensation overwhelmed my entire arm as the blood fought to disperse itself evenly throughout the limb.

“There, all done.” The smile on her face was one of pure pride that she’d accomplished the task at hand without permanently damaging me in any way. Placing a cotton ball and piece of tape over the fresh hole in my arm, she then inquired. “Would you like some juice or a cookie? It helps to eat or drink something afterwards. Some people get a little dizzy after getting their blood taken.”

“No thanks, I’m okay.”

“I can’t believe this is your first time ever getting blood drawn. How old are you?” She asked as she labeled each of the six vials she’d just filled. Thick crimson liquid sloshed against the sides of the glass tube. It felt strange to be looking at something that was inside of me just moments before.

“Twenty.”

“Wow! Are you sure you’ve never gone to the doctor before?” Her expression was of amazement as she turned to me, felt marker in one hand and a vial in the other.

“Pretty sure.” There’d never been any need; really, I’d never been sick. Besides that, the reservation I grew up on didn’t have modern hospital equipment.

Tucking the six vials safely into a plastic container and sealing it shut, she turned to me and stated triumphantly. “There, all done. On to the next.”

Leading me out of the cubicle, she then pointed down the hall. “Just follow the yellow arrows and look for a sign that says X-rays. Okay?”

Nodding, I began walking down the sterile hall. My nostrils burned a little from the overwhelming scent of bleach.

At least it’s clean. I thought as I searched the walls for some visual stimulation.

There were several plaques lined up on the wall to the right of me, all dedicated to those who had generously donated large sums of money to Stanley University.

Following the yellow arrows, I could see a sign up ahead that appeared to say X-ray and a big black arrow pointing left.

At least this one shouldn’t hurt. I decided after the last test that I didn’t like getting my blood taken.

I approached a large desk with a student technician seated behind it. A bright smile upon his face, he inquired. “Are you a test subject?”

“Yes.” I nodded and returned a polite smile.

“Great! Just have a seat over there and we’ll get to you as soon as we can.” He said enthusiastically. “Would you like a coffee or orange juice?” He tilted his head as he asked.

“No thanks.”

“Okay, just let me know if you need anything.”

Sighing, I reached to my right to find something to read. After sorting through a few, I finally settled on a gossip magazine.

I scanned the pages half-heartedly, pausing to inspect the dresses worn by celebrities who’d recently attended an awards party. A few photographs made me shake my head.

Too skinny! These darn models and actresses, they don’t set a very good example.

Scouring the pages of the magazine, I read through the recent marriages, births, deaths and affairs of the rich and famous. Shaking my head often, I realized with a twinge of guilt that by merely reading this stuff, I was contributing to the source of the problem.

“Miss Tiponi?” A male voice startled me out of my thoughts. Glancing up from the trashy magazine, I was met with yet another warm pair of eyes.

“Are you ready?” The young technician asked politely.

“Sure.” Placing the magazine back on the pile, I paused for moment as I considered tossing it into the wastebasket. I weighed the pros and cons and decided that it was simply wasting precious paper if I were to throw it away, even if it did have garbage written all over it.

Seating me in yet another cubicle in a back room, the young man set a clipboard down and pulled a pen from the breast pocket of his lab coat.

“Okay. Name please.”

“Cassia Tiponi.”

“How do you spell that?” His face was pleasantly inquisitive as he looked up from the paper.

“C A S S I A T I P O N I.”

“That’s different. Is that Greek?” Considering my olive skin, I often received that assumption.

“No, it’s Hopi Indian.” I replied with a smile.

“Oh.” His response was quick as he returned to his questionnaire.

“Birth date?”

“February 14.”

Glancing up at me with a glint in his eye, he stated the obvious.

“Ahh, Valentine’s Day. Address?”

“Dorm 201, Stanley University Campus, Washington, DC.”

“Age?”

“Twenty.”

“Height?”

“Five foot six.”

“Weight?”

I hated that question. Confused by my hesitation, the guy looked up.

“Weight?” He repeated, obviously unaware of the turmoil it caused within the female gender.

“One hundred twenty-five.” I lied.

“Any previous surgeries, body piercings or tattoos?”

“No.”

“Okay then,” He scanned the page for any questions he’d missed. “Oh, just one more here. Any family history of diabetes, heart disease or stroke?”

I hated that question more.

“No idea, I’m an orphan.”

His cheeks and forehead reddened slightly as he stood up and gestured for me to follow him. Leading me to a row of change rooms, he pointed to a pile of neatly folded hospital gowns.

“Please remove all jewelry and anything metallic, gown open to the back and someone will be here to take you to the MRI shortly.”

“Thanks.” Entering the change room, I proceeded to remove my pants and top. Upon pulling off my sweater, it crackled and sparked. Looking at myself in the mirror at the back of the change room, I smiled as I saw that my long black hair had been filled with static and several strands were standing on end. Smoothing it down, I pulled the cloth scrunchie off of my wrist that I kept for just these types of emergencies.

Reaching around to undo my bra and letting the straps glide down my arms, my eyes were automatically drawn to the tiny birthmark centered between my breasts. A perfect star, it was definitely an oddity. While most birthmarks I’d seen or heard of were pink, red or brown, this one was white. Against my olive skin, the mark devoid of any pigment seemed to carve itself into my solar plexus.

Removing my underwear, I then slid my arms into the armholes of the gown and tied a bow at the nape of my neck with the strings provided. Momentarily self conscious as I felt a cool draft sneak through the opening in the back of the gown and graze my naked buttocks, I was relieved to find a clean housecoat hanging on a hook just outside the change room.

“Miss Tiponi?” A female voice called from outside the change room.

“Yes.”

“Are you ready? Did you find everything alright?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Sliding the curtain aside and coming face to face with another chipper trainee, I followed her to the X-ray room.

Several other students were eagerly awaiting my arrival, their notebooks and pens in hand.

“Just lie down here.” The dark-haired student urged as she pointed to a mat on rollers situated before a huge tube. Arranging myself on the make-shift bed, I tried to keep my gown from twisting around and inadvertently flashing everyone.

“The most important thing to remember is to remain as still as possible. It will take about thirty minutes.” She explained as she propped foam blocks on either side of my head. Handing me a cord with a red button on the end and headphones, she then placed a blanket over my legs. “Here is your emergency button and because the MRI is so loud, we give you some music to listen to. What kind of music do you like? Hard rock? Pop?”

“Classical please.”

Tilting her head with a quirky expression on her face in response to my choice, she then nodded and proceeded to slide me into the large contraption. The tube was small; claustrophobics would certainly sweat in something like this. Both of my shoulders were pressed against the sides and the ceiling was only two inches from my nose.

Proceeding to the control room, the trainee turned on my music and fired up the MRI.

Feeling self-conscious as the group of students gawked at me through the glass window; I closed my eyes and relaxed as a stream of symphonic bliss began tickling my eardrums.

The MRI machine clunked and banged around me. I found it strangely soothing somehow, cocooned inside the metal monstrosity while embraced by Mozart.

“All done.” A voice stirred me from a light nap as the rolling mat beneath me was pulled from the tube. Sitting up, stretching and swinging my legs over the side, I was surprised to feel so refreshed.

The student led me back to the dressing room and handed me a file.

“Take this to the receptionist when you’re done. Thanks again for coming.” She gave me a pleasant smile and left.

Getting dressed, I couldn’t get over how pleasant everyone was here.

Approaching the front desk, the receptionist looked up from her paperwork. Handing her the file, she scanned it quickly, signed the bottom of the page and then made out a check in my name.

“Here you go,” she began as she handed me the check. “Thank you again. Will you be back tomorrow?”

“We’ll see,” I responded while stifling a yawn, “depends on what they’ll do to me. Being a guinea pig is harder than I thought.” I winked and she laughed.

All in all, it was an easy way to make $250. I was going to have to endure a whole lot more poking and prodding if I wanted to pay my tuition though.

***

“Cassia!” Amy pushed her short, plump legs to go faster as she ran to catch up to me. Lunch bag in hand and back pack over her shoulder, she huffed and puffed as she asked, “How did…the testing…go?”

I slowed down to meet her pace. “Good, thanks. Can’t say I’m crazy about getting my blood taken though.”

Laughing out loud, she nodded in agreement. “I think that’s a pretty universal loathing.”

Smiling in spite of myself, I always enjoyed Amy’s twist on vocabulary. Amy Gates, my friend for the last two years in university. I was grateful to have found such a wonderful human being.

“Are you going back tomorrow?” She inquired throwing a fresh piece of gum in her mouth. Offering me a piece, I declined with a polite wave of my hand.

“Yah, I have to if I want to make my tuition next week.” My heart sank as I thought of the possibility of not making enough. Archeology was my dream, if I couldn’t finish school, I’d be devastated.

“How much more do you need?” Amy looked up at me with a worried frown.

“Only $500, so if I go two more times that should cover it.” I rolled my eyes as I added, “Of course, that means I don’t have any money for food this week, but who needs food right?”

Amy didn’t appear to see the humor in my statement as she clutched her lunch bag a little closer to her chest.

“What tests did they do on you?”

“Just blood test and MRI this time. Who knows what other crazy things they have in store for me?” Wrapping my sweater tightly around me as a gust of fall wind swept by, I sighed. “At least it helps the students learn, right?”

“What sort of things are they looking for…with your blood I mean.” Long strands of her blonde hair whipped at her cherubic cheeks as she gave me an inquisitive glance.

“Everything I guess. I had to sign a waiver before I started and it said something about red and white blood cell count and DNA evaluation…whatever the students in the lab need to learn I guess.” I shrugged as I watched a flock of robins suddenly dart into the sky from a nearby maple tree. The campus was littered with trees shifting from summer to fall, the school sat stoic amongst the golden and copper shades of autumn.

“A waiver? What kind of waiver?” Amy’s professional alter ego sprang forth with suspicion. As a second year law student, she was trained like a bloodhound to sniff out shady contracts.

Realizing I shouldn’t have said anything, I sighed, “Just a paper saying that if I fall down dead from their tests, I won’t sue. Oh and that I give them permission to send my results to some government census project.” I mumbled the last part in hopes that she might not be paying attention. I was wrong.

“What?!” Her lunch landed on the ground with a thud as she spun to face me. Her eyes wild, she was obviously appalled. “Haven’t I taught you anything?! The government! Cassia…” She held me by the shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes, “The government is corrupt, they could use your own blood against you.”

I fought hard not to roll my eyes and I bit my lip to prevent the smirk that wanted to spread across my face. She was a big conspiracy nut and according to her; the government was out to get everyone.

Bending over, picking up her lunch and handing it to her, I shook my head, linked my arm in hers and started walking again. “Amy, honey, you have to learn how to relax.”

In hindsight, however, she couldn’t have been more right.