Scouting For Romance

Entry 49

Day 10, Month 20, Year 572

I found myself in the infirmary once more, it was my first checkup since I got hurt. Due to the extensive damage on my nose, the bandages couldn't be removed until now and they were starting to smell.

As I sat in a spinny chair, the medics rooted through their supplies to get various disinfectants, scissors, and fresh bandages, just in case. At my side was Tytus, Marian, Lubomir, and Moa.

"Why are you all here." I asked as I sat up straight in the chair.

"Emotional support," Lubomir said.

"You still believe that nonsense that you won't have any scars, so we'll be here to comfort you." Tytus placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I will not have any scars." I said, defiantly.

"Exactly."

The medics came over and my friends backed off to give them room to work.

"Now, Opolka," one of them said, "I know you're saying you'll be fine, and that there'll be no lasting damage, but you should prepare yourself for the idea that not only will your nose be disfigured, but that your sense of smell will be off from now on."

"There will be no damage."

The medic looked to Tytus, who shook his head at how 'stubborn' I was.

But they went on with it. They snipped the bandages off, carefully peeled them away. Around my face, the ones wrapped around my hair, it was all a putrid, slightly-yellow color due to absorbing sweat as I'd still worked out these last few weeks. It was refreshing to get it off.

"You know, Malina," Marian crossed his arms, "if your sense of smell is damaged, food won't taste as good."

"I do not care about your warning because my sense of smell will not be damaged. I eat because I am hungry. I have eaten calorie chews and sticks and dirt because they sated my appetite."

Moa raised an eyebrow, "wait, you actually did eat dirt? Ha! That wasn't just a joke?"

Tytus laughed, and explained the story to the rest of my friends as the medics continued their work.

They removed the nasty outer layer of bandages, then the cast which was meant to guide my nose to healing in the proper shape. The bottom-most layer of bandages were the ones actually touching my wounds, and they were both crusty and a deep, dark red. There were three spots of these bandages that needed removing. My nose, obviously, my forehead, and the top of my skull. They started with the ones on the top of my head, careful not to rush as, if the bandages healed inside my flesh, tugging too hard could open new wounds.

It was an agonizingly slow process, but with the first set removed, they looked through my dirty, matted hair. "Hmh! Excellent! Your scalp seems to have recovered well. No bumps, no lasting injuries. Your hair is even growing back from where we had to apply the stitches."

Another medic came over and picked those stitches up, since they were just resting amidst my hair. It was one long thread overlapping itself, dry and stiff and soaked with blood. "Even better, your body naturally pushed the thread out over time, so there's no need to go digging into your skin to remove them."

"And no scars." I clarified.

"Calm down," the medic said. "Your head wasn't nearly as damaged as your nose. We'll reveal your forehead next, and I expect that to look mostly fine as well."

There was some rattling behind me, but I couldn't turn around to see. From a mirror on the far side of the room, I saw that my four friends were standing behind me and watching Marian juggle pill bottles, with Marian looking straight at the mirror into my eyes. I don't know why, but it made me laugh internally, just their faces, and how random it was, I couldn't stop giggling in my brain. Good thing I'm expressionless, removing the next bandage set would have been impossible.