15-Minute Wait for the Results | Teen Ink

15-Minute Wait for the Results MAG

By Anonymous

Skinny bird legs lying next to mine.
The one rubbing my thigh is tapping
up and down and up and down
because you are nervous about something.
Your finger, the one with the big red plastic ring,
is tapping on the peeling dark veneer rhythmically.
Tap-a-tap-a-tap-tap-tap-tap-a-tap
Your other hand is so clammy.
Like a turtleneck on a hot day,
like a wet turtleneck on a humid day.
The salmon-colored plastic sticks to my upper arm
in the small space between us on this love seat,
peeling away from my skin when I shift
with a sticky sound. Ouch.
There’s a rip, all jagged with
school bus-colored foam poking out.
Your nails are digging in,
as short as they are.
You are so afraid.
My nails are digging into your hand as well –
I can see the red-lined moons standing out plain as sight.
What was that old saying?
Red sky at night, sailor’s delight?
Or was it take warning?
Does a moon make the night red?
I ask you out loud, you laugh,
this queer little laugh
that isn’t a laugh at all.
Not really.
And you say it’s the first.
So we should delight and dance together like
we were doing just last week under that
tacky disco ball.
The door opens with a creak that reminds me
of an old haunted house. It’s all meant to scare.
The doctor walks in – shuffles really – lab coat knocking against his knees.
He’s kind-looking and old. Like a grandfather. Or uncle. Or something.
He moves past us.
Sits at his desk.
Pulls on his glasses – his eyes look so big.
Pulls out a manila folder.
Opens it.
Turns the page. Again. Again.
Licks his lips.
Takes glasses off – his eyes are small once more.
His chin rests on his folded hands.
Pensive.
“The test was positive.”
Your grip tightens, my grip tightens.
Many red moons across our hands.



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This article has 205 comments.


on Oct. 4 2009 at 9:51 pm
kinki-gelinki, Geelong, Other
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives"
William Dement

im pretty sure its that shes pregnant...thats what seems most likely cause there a young couple at the doecters and there real nerv racked, thats what i think

on Oct. 4 2009 at 9:27 pm
that was really good. but what was positive. it was really well written :) good job!!! keep writing

hoofanna said...
on Oct. 4 2009 at 8:35 pm
Wow this was amazing!
Am I thinking right when I thought the test might have been a pregnancy test? Either way very well written!

SarahG BRONZE said...
on Oct. 4 2009 at 6:49 pm
SarahG BRONZE, Goff, Kansas
4 articles 0 photos 14 comments
Pregnancy? maybe.
i loved it.

RLJoy DIAMOND said...
on Oct. 4 2009 at 5:58 pm
RLJoy DIAMOND, Glen Rock, New Jersey
56 articles 0 photos 86 comments
amazing!!!!!! It was very well written.

on Oct. 4 2009 at 2:55 pm
writingkate SILVER, Hot Springs, Arkansas
6 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Wisdom is knowing when you can't be wise." Paul Engle
"People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them." James A. Baldwin

Very ggod. I am also wondering what was positve. Extremely creative. Nice!

on Apr. 22 2009 at 12:36 am
HopelessRomantic GOLD, Fayetteville, Arkansas
18 articles 0 photos 5 comments
Amazing! Really like this piece!

on Apr. 21 2009 at 9:32 pm
Amazing!!!! but I to am left in suspence.

And we are all waiting just like in your poem!!!!

-Katy

on Apr. 16 2009 at 1:04 am
Miranda Myers BRONZE, Colleyville, Texas
1 article 0 photos 5 comments
soo good i love it i can see it you need to leep writing!!

brit brit said...
on Apr. 15 2009 at 10:58 pm
that was amazing! I love it-especially how you kept the readers in suspense! keep it up! :)

on Apr. 15 2009 at 7:42 pm
babybunny DIAMOND, Hickory, North Carolina
56 articles 1 photo 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"there are no friends or enemies in this life; just selfish desires based on instincts and self lustings."

it was very good like evryone else im wondering what was positive but its ok not knowing because like evryone else said thats what makes it great

tinkerbell said...
on Apr. 15 2009 at 6:14 pm
very nice nd suspensful! evn tho the point was not to knw wat the test was about, i still wish it was included. does tht mean ur story serves ur purpose? idk lol still really great!

Tootziee said...
on Apr. 15 2009 at 5:46 pm
Tootziee, Phila, Pennsylvania
0 articles 0 photos 4 comments
loved it.♥

xcblue44x said...
on Apr. 15 2009 at 1:03 pm
This is really good. It's like one of those books where you feel like you're in the story. Really, really good. Keep writing.

on Apr. 10 2009 at 2:22 am
annkaykay2011 DIAMOND, Lansing, Michigan
75 articles 11 photos 137 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I am who I am, sorry, no changes."

Very good. I love the tension in the beginning, then the climax to the end which is covered in tension all over again. It sounds like a teenage girl and her bf hearing their worst fear but then in a way glad it was all over with.

LilJ<3 GOLD said...
on Apr. 9 2009 at 6:25 pm
LilJ<3 GOLD, Gloucester, Virginia
11 articles 2 photos 60 comments
Emily, I thought you captured the anxiety of waiting for a test perfectly. The fear of not knowing....the suspense can kill you and you think of the worst, and sometimes that is what you get... I loved how you didnt say what was positive in the test and left it open for the readers interpretation... you are a great writter and will go very far!! Good luck in everything you do..

♥ Jackie

Amber1994 GOLD said...
on Apr. 9 2009 at 4:06 pm
Amber1994 GOLD, Roanoke, Illinois
15 articles 6 photos 45 comments
Wow, wonderful...such a mystery!

what was the test for????? I need to know!!

tweedle dee said...
on Apr. 9 2009 at 12:07 pm
ya'll, part... no most... of the beauty of this poem is not knowing what its about. personally, i thought it was about a teenage girl waiting with her little cousin to hear if a family member had cancer or something, but that was just my interpretation. anywho... great job emily, i loved it alot!

on Apr. 4 2009 at 4:19 am
laurenfromiowa PLATINUM, ., Iowa
20 articles 7 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
When I let go of who I am, I become what I might be

the mystery is what makes me peice so great.

your DYING to know arent you?



haha.

bravo.

on Apr. 4 2009 at 1:01 am
response to courtney1215: hey courtney, i don't want to upset or anything but i think that what ever is positive it up to us, as the readers. to me, waiting for the the results of the test for anything (pregnancy, cancer, STD, etc.) would all be the same thing... the tension, the uncomfortable feeling. etc. i think that it is up to our interpretation as to what it is. but emily, that is really good and great job with the detailing. =D