Bloodlust

Mitch was the only person in the waiting room except for the receptionist, who’d introduced herself as Ellie. She had a kindhearted, maternal aspect and was almost apologetic when she’d asked him to fill out the required forms, which were numerous and, to his way of thinking, irrelevant.

Ellie had informed him that Dr. Reede was still with another patient. She’d invited him to take a seat and told him that the doctor would be with him shortly.

But “shortly” wasn’t short enough. He’d arrived fifteen minutes early, but wished he’d breezed in at the last minute, indicating that they were lucky he’d managed to work Dr. Reede into his schedule because he had better and more important things to do.

From behind Ellie’s sliding glass partition, she smiled pleasantly at him, but he tried to avoid making eye contact, because, in the otherwise empty waiting area, he felt conspicuous, as though he were the one behind safety glass, a specimen so erratic that it required close and constant monitoring.