Chapter 20

I smiled widely and grabbed one of the VRG (virtual reality glasses, of course.  Everyone calls them that!).

I have only been here since yesterday, but I've been having the time of my life.  No, I haven't left the hospital, and no I'm not sure of what's going to happen to me.  But whatever it is, I can deal with it, because the amount of fun I've been having surpasses all the fun I've ever had in my life combined.

I get room service.  Later, I found out that the button to get something is not actually by my bed.  Maybe it's because I'm not in fatal condition, but I couldn't be sure.  I can get any food I want.  There were even a few dishes that I've never even heard of- I don't think they were exotic either.  Maybe there was some new science to make a new food, like cheese was.  My restroom is fully equipped with everything I've ever needed.  My favorite thing in there is this awesome toothpaste- one use and it makes your teeth blindingly bright!  It just takes the two minute brushing time to notice a huge difference!

But, my favorite part by far is the experience of being in virtual reality...

Happily, I put on the glasses for only, like, the fourth time of the day, which were just for very short breaks, but only for the necessities of eating and going to the bathroom, really.

As I have been each time, I was greeted by Mr. Humphrey.  He was the tool used in the glasses to determine what I wanted to do.  I would ask if it had something, and it would tell me if they had anything like it.  The first time, he told me the categories for things I could do and the specifics since I had no idea what it could do.

There is An Adventure in the Wild West, Chase in Metropolis (it's this cool futuristic giant city in which you chase different types of criminals, and though they shoot, they never can kill you though it is negative to your score), certain board games gone 'real world' (Monopoly is my favorite.  You go around to different places depending on how much you roll.  If you buy a property, you literally go into a building and buy it with credit.  Hotels and houses are really built by real looking people and means- but it's fast forwarded thousands of times to only take two minutes.  It's so awesome!).  Those are the ones I've tried so far, and though it doesn't seem like many, it takes a lot of time to go through them.  Though, Mr. Humphrey did tell me time is scewed here, so less time is actually going by in the real world.  I still can't believe this is possible!

This time I told Mr. Humphrey I wanted to try one of the real world experiences.  I decided to go to a dessert buffet.  It tastes just like real dessert, but since it's VR, it's with none of the calories!

I was interrupted by a beeping at my door right before I was going to take a bite of chocolate cream pie.  And someone had to come now!

I didn't do anything for a minute, and just before I went to the door it said, "alright, since it's confirmed you're not doing anything private right now, I'll come in on my own."  I wasn't quite sure where the mechanical voice was coming from, but it made my bones shiver.  Not to mention that it knows I'm not doing anything 'private.'  Am I being taped?!  And, I've never heard furniture talk before yesterday.  Though, whenever I called for room service, a machine came and gave me my food.  But... I still haven't been able to get over it.

I backed away to allow for it to come in.  It was a hospital bed of some sort.  I just blinked at it, wondering what it wanted from me.  But, it didn't take long for it to tell me.

"Put this gown on," it demanded.  The bottom compartment opened revealing a robotic arm, and it held it out for me.  When it noticed I didn't do anything (how could it even know?), it repeated.  "Sir, you must put this on."  Then, it threw it on the bed.  "You will put this on one way or another."  I stood cold.  Why did it want me to put this gown on?  I knew the answer, but I wasn't willing to believe it.

"Alright, so we'll do this the hard way."
It took the gown from the bed, and another robotic arm came out of the same compartment.  It touched my arm and pulled me gently but forcefully.  It took off all my clothes the same way (even my socks) and slid it over me.  Though it was just a robot-bed, it still creeped me out that it saw me butt naked.  I mean... it talks!

Then it started rolling me away while the doors opened for it.  This wasn't as surprising as how it talked, and deep down I knew where it was taking me.  To a room to get surgery for llama knows what.

Soon, it took me to a big room which is obviously for surgery.

Once I got there, I didn't dare move, but I had no choice when it gently lifted me up so I was on my feet.  Then, it got out of the room and rolled away.

I stood looking at three men wearing bright colors.  Including my ugly hospital gown, there were only two colors form the rainbow missing: orange and purple.  Two of the men were clearly my surgeons, and the other was wearing scrubs, so I figured he was simply the helper.

"Lie down, TJ," the one in red told me.

I blinked and did as he told me.
"What are you going to do to me exactly?"
This is the first time the whole day that I've seen a real human face, though the people in the virtual reality were quite convincing.

He gave me a nervous look, and I realized that this was the same doctor who greeted me when I was with Brianna and Merlin.
"Um... we're not allowed to tell you."

Confusion and terror came to my eyes.  "Why the hell not?!  Aren't those in hospitals supposed to tell their patients what's going to happen them?  Don't I have a say in this!?"
"TJ, all that I can tell you is that this is for your health.  Usually, we have no choice but to tell our patients what's going on if he doesn't know, but we are under different terms with Merlin.  He brings in special... cases, and if..."
I knew exactly what he was saying.  Merlin would be given exceptions like this.  Maybe if I were told I'd back out, but it would be hazardous to my health.  I sighed, knowing I didn't have much of a choice.

I smirked.  "Okay... bring it on...."

Then, the man in green scrubs took out a needle which startled me.  But then he put it in a vain, and it didn't hurt at all.  Like acupuncture, it actually made me feel better.  The medicine in it made me drowsy, and the last thing I saw when I closed my eyes was the face of Mr. Humphrey, asking me what I wanted to do.

I woke up in my room fully clothed, and I was even wearing black socks.  Those weren't mine.  It kind of freaked me out when I realized that I had my operation, and I wake up fully clothed, without my blankets on.  I got grossed out that someone had clothed me, but then I figured that some robot must have clothed me, and I sighed with relief.  I was also relieved that I didn't have any equipment still attached anywhere on my body.  What was done to me anyway, I thought?  I felt fine.  

I turned my thoughts away from what had happened, and relayed my dreams which were about adventures going bad, all derived from my playing experiences using the virtual reality glasses. 

I looked over my foot and saw one of the glasses, and I attempted to kick it away, but it just moved away before I touched it at all.

Then, I got up and went into the bathroom.  I turned on the faucet to get some warm water to wash my face, but when I saw myself in the mirror I backed away.  My heart stopped pumping.  It was as if I was in a car crash, because I wasn't freaked out when it happened- or in this case noticed... until after.

Bright red eyes stared back at me in shock, with my pale white skin and hair.

"No!  It can't be!"  I looked at myself in the mirror with an unsatisfactory smile.

I got out of the bathroom, and went to look at the Womrat in its cage.  I didn't see it at first, it was hiding in the little wood thing.  I took it out and it squirmed in my hand, and I cupped my hand around it, but I wouldn't let it go.

"I understand little buddy, you are misunderstood too!  Maybe you were human in another life and this isn't who you're supposed to be.  You poor little thing, with your existence being that in a small cage with few commodities!"  I didn't care that the rodent couldn't understand me, but it was living, and a great way to get out my emotions.

I lowered it and opened the door.  Then, I put it down and let it scurry out of the room. he needed freedom, there's more to life than living in a cage!

I watched it scurry out the door and away into the hallway, and shut my door.

Now my frustration was starting to come out in a storm.  I didn't want to cry at all, I wanted to hit someone. But instead, I held onto my head and breathed deeply.  No, this isn't who I am anymore... I can't be the loser albino anymore!  I thought this was over...

Deep down I knew this was what Merlin wanted to have happen in my surgery, but I couldn't let myself consciously believe it, for my sanity!

Before I started to have a meltdown, I heard the door ring.  I screamed in fury, "go the hell away!  I don't need anymore damn machines coming in here!"

But the voice I heard wasn't that of a machine, "I am not a machine," a woman's soothing voice came from the door, and suddenly, I felt the tension in my bones loosen, and let my shoulders fall.  "I am Mia, could you please let me in?"

At hearing her voice, I smiled widely, and said, "yes, come in..." 

She came in and my eyes widened with amazement.  She was beautiful.  She wore a rather short black skirt and golden shirt.  I supposed that modesty has been loosened even more in this time.  Her hair was in a side ponytail, partially on her back and the other on her front.  Before it was tied up,  it was sort of twisted together.   But, what I truly couldn't stop looking at was her face.

She had soft soothing features, and she smiled, looking at me with baby blue eyes which was surrounded in a neon green and yellow eyeliner, which I supposed was a new sort of fashion. Her cheeks shined in a light orange blush, and she wore a soft pink gloss.  She smiled at me.

"Hello TJ, I am going to be your counselor for your duration here."
After a long pause of gazing at her, I said, "what, so I haven't endured enough torture already?"  I mentally slapped myself.  Talking to her wouldn't be so bad, not bad at all.

"Do you want to chat here, or would you like to come into my office?"
I nodded, but she raised a delicate eyebrow when I did so.  Oh yeah, I didn't say which one...  "Um, here would be fine...."

So we both walked over to the chairs in my room as we chatted about my problems with being the way that I now am, how I was born.

"TJ, you know why I'm here, don't you?"
I stiffened.  "Because my normal life was taken away from me!"

"No, TJ, you just can't accept your true self." She said soothingly.

"Why did I even have to be changed back anyway?!"
"She smiled at me.  "I am not sure of the answer to that.  If you'd like, I can page Aaron, the surgeon that was in the yellow."
I nodded.  "Hell yeah I want to know why!"  I guess now I can know the answer, since it's all over.