So... I feel really shallow for caring so much about this but here it is. I try to hide it as much as possible, especially in pictures, but it's pretty widely known that I have braces. I've been super excited though, because Dr. McNeal was telling me that only one more session and I was free, that I'd have them off by November.

So I went to my appointment today and told the assistant how excited I was, that I was almost done, and we made small talk. She told me that Dr. Ive (pronounced eevee) was in today instead. And so she's really rough with me, kinda distracted and then he comes over and starts stretching and pulling my mouth, with total diregard to the fact that I'm a human, and tells the assistant that two of my brackets have to come off.

If you've never had braces, let me tell you: it's god awful. They've done so much shit to me, I'll have permanent scars from it. But the removal and addition of brackets is the worst. The brackets are the main metal bit cemented to your tooth and the cement they use is awful, the scent and taste is pervasive in your mouth, and then they use this air thing that almost inevitably blows it on your tongue which is even worse. So they do that, and practically tear the part of my lips. Usually immdiately after, you're allowed ot rinse, but he didn't let me up. I was choking on the scent, and tried to swallow, catching some on the edge of my tongue, I almsot gagged on him.

Afterward, the assistant lets me rinse, then tells me quietly, after he's left, that because of the change instead of coming off now it'll probably be more toward March. I was so excited before, especially since I wouldn't have to have braces for most of my senior year and this... I wanted to cry. I almost did. And looking at it objectively, it's no big deal, but it's such a blow. I was almost out of them, they told me I was, and then... Anyway. Now no one can hang out tonight, so I'm left alone to wallow in my misery.