Vaccination Day

• Emily Pryor, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2014

“Emma Woods.” the nurse calls. I stood up and walked over to the hallway that lead to the room where I’d get my vaccination. As I followed the nurse, I passed Lily, one of my best friends.
“It’ll be okay.” She whispered.
Before I knew it, I walked into the room. Directly in front of me was a table with the doctor sitting behind it. The doctor was short, and had a brown beard and a bald head. To the right, there was an old, wobbly-looking chair, probably where I’d be sitting. I sit down, and the doctor rolls up my uniform sleeve.
“Please relax your arm.” The doctor says. I squeezed my eyes shut and the needle plunged into my skin. That’s when everything went black.

As my eyes opened, dizziness swept through me, forcing me to close my eyes again. When the nausea drifted away, I opened my eyes again, and focused on my surroundings. The room looked really familiar, but I just couldn’t grasp the memory of it. The walls were painted pink, and a bedside table stood next to me. In the corner of the room was a bookshelf, and I was lying on a comfortable bed, a soft quilt covering my body.
I tried to remember something. Anything. All I could remember was my name. Emma Woods. A girl came to the door of my room. I tried to remember knowing her before, but I just couldn’t.
“Emma! You’re okay!” The girl cried and ran to the side of my bed.
“Um, who are you?” I asked, staring at the excited girl.
“Oh come on Em, stop joking around.”
“I’m not, I don’t remember anything except for my name, whoever you are.”
“Y-you do-don’t re-remember me?”
“Who are you?”
“Lily. You’re best friend.”
A woman who looked about forty entered the room.
“Oh honey, you alright?” The woman asked.
“I-I don’t kn-know you.” I said, frightened and shaking.
“Yeah, it looks like h-her memory was w-wiped, Mrs Woods.” Lily told the woman. Mrs Woods’ eyes widened with panic and she ran out of the room. A tear rolled down Lily’s cheek. Mrs Woods came back into the room with a doctor standing next to her. The doctor was short, and had a brown beard and a bald head. I didn’t know why, but he seemed familiar to me. A man about the same age as Mrs Woods entered the room, and she quickly explained everything to the man. Tears ran down his cheeks. Overwhelmed, I squeezed my eyes shut.

I woke with a start. My hands were sticky with sweat and my hair clung to my scalp.
I was soon at the doctors with the girls in my year, and walked into the room where I’d be getting my vaccination. A doctor sat behind a desk. He had a brown beard and a bald head. He looked familiar, but I just couldn’t grasp the memory. And then it hit me.