Final Prep

Saturday, August 8th

9:40 AM

"Are you ready for me to finish up?" Meredith asked in a cheery voice as she entered the room. Kelly started a bit as the voice pulled her from the nap she'd slipped into. "Umm hi. Yes, I'm ummm all ready," the brunette sputtered as she tried to clear her head. The stylist gently lifted the fabric from the girl's face and turned the rest of the bathroom lights on. The coed squinted as they fired up, unused to the shine after all the time in the dark.

The blonde worked quietly for the next 10 minutes applying product, brushing, and smoothing in various spots to finish the job. Then she pulled the cover off Kelly and announced she was done. The coed stood and walked to the mirror to admire the completed job. "It looks fantastic, Meredith!" she gushed. "I can never get over how folks like you are so good at this. I mean when I put makeup on, I look like I slathered it on with a paintbrush. You make it look so natural that I bet most guys wouldn't think I was wearing any at all," she marveled. Meredith offered a slight curtsy. "T'was nothing milady," she replied with a giggle and started cleaning up the mess. "Go ahead and wait in the other room. I'm sure Doctor Valentine will be here shortly," she noted, "It's getting close to 10 after all".

Kelly walked out, sat at the table, and started watching TV again. She felt totally relaxed and was unsure whether to attribute that to her getting used to the idea of speaking in public or whether to credit the medication. She was still considering it when the receptionist walked by and opened the door. "I'll be around if you need to be touched up later, Kelly. Take care and knock'em dead, girl!" the blonde offered with a smile as she walked out the door and closed it.

The coed shook her head slightly and played with the remote surfing from channel to channel. *Alone again* she thought with a touch of sadness. "Now I wait," she sighed as she settled on another house renovation show.

10:20 AM

The show was just getting interesting. The construction foreman was explaining what they needed to do to fix the newly discovered termite damage when the room door opened and the doctor strode in. Kelly quickly stood, turned towards the therapist, and looked her over. The outfit Valentine was wearing seemed odd to the coed. She had a knee-length white lab coat on with what appeared to be black leggings and matching pumps. It was buttoned all the way up but she could see hints of a black top peeking out along the collar. The brunette shrugged and put a smile on her face.

The doctor returned the smile and asked her to follow. The therapist led her down the hall and into another room. This one looked a bit like a dorm room with a small bed, a cheap particleboard desk with a wood veneer and a laptop, light pink walls covered in concert posters, and drab wall to wall blue carpeting. The doctor gestured for her to sit at the desk. Kelly sat as the therapist perched on the edge of the bed.

"If you turn toward the computer, there is a cognitive quiz for you to finish. It's mostly associating words and shapes. Just read the directions and finish it up. I just need the data for my records. People need to finish the changes to the theater room anyway so it works out," she explained to the coed as she watched Kelly turn toward the screen.

As the coed started to work on the test, the doctor pulled a bottle from the dorm fridge in the corner, poured two glasses, and placed one on the desk. Kelly took a sip, turned, and said "This tastes like wine," and looked at the therapist quizzically. The Asian lady smiled and replied, "It's a sweet red. The vintage is quite mild and is safe with your medication. I just thought you'd appreciate something a bit different". The brunette took another sip and replied "It is quite good," and turned back to work. The doctor pulled her tablet out of her bag and started working with it. "After that is done, we'll go over the activities for the rest of the day. Relax and finish the quiz, everything is going to be perfect," Valentine purred as Kelly continued working. By the time the quiz was done, Kelly felt warm, a bit buzzed, and slightly aroused. This seemed a fine way to spend a Saturday she thought, then wondered why that idea popped into her head and then dismissed it as a silly, unworthy worry.

11:10 AM

Kelly turned away from the laptop and toward the doctor with a smile on her face. "All done!" she chirped at the lady hunched over the tablet. Valentine looked up, smiled, and refilled her glass. "Ok. Now we need to go over the agenda for the rest of the day," the doctor replied as she sat down and put the bottle on an end table.

"I think we have you in a good place doing a presentation in front of an authority figure. Your work with Professor Pierce was very good. Now we have one more block to crack I think," the therapist hinted as she sipped from her glass.

"I'm ready for whatever you think I need. I'm feeling up to tackling anything!" Kelley exclaimed with a bold smile on her face.

"I think you need a high-pressure situation with multiple authority figures. There are too many times in life that a presentation or just an important meeting happens where everyone is a VIP and you have to handle all that attention. The professor and I have worked up a scenario for you that I think will handle that last issue," Valentine replied with a smile. She then synced her tablet with the laptop and posted a document on the screen. "Read that and tell me what you think," the therapist stated with a sly smirk on her face.

Kelly read the script and her eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Do we really have to do this?" she nervously inquired. The doctor replied, "Yes. You will not always be in school and the business world is a place that is both cutthroat and demanding". "You could leave now half cured and you might get somewhere. If we finish, I think you'll be ready for anything," she assured the coed while offering another pill.

The brunette gulped the capsule down with the rest of her wine. "I guess we have to do it then," Kelly vacillated as the rest of the bottle was emptied into her glass.

"I am glad we are in agreement. This will work out best for you, trust me," Valentine reassured the nervous coed as they discussed what was going to happen and went over the scenario. Slowly Kelly warmed up to the plan as the medication and wine worked to deaden the already weak voices of caution and morality in the back of her mind.