Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. The words had been going back and forth in my mind ever since the doctor left the room. I was told to calm down and I immediately tried to do so. Thankfully, no one called in on the line while I was doing this, so I didn't have to try and tackle talking to a client and controlling my breathing at the same time. Then again, it might have been a good distraction from all of the stress running through me right now. A nice call from a mad client could help get my mind off of this and onto something else.

The 2 hours to last break felt like an eternity to me. It always does when you're gripped with anxiety, worry, and a million other emotions. My mind was constantly busy, too. My biggest fear was going home and telling all of this to Rebecca. The doctor's optimism about the situation be damned, I was completely convinced that the "You're Getting Shorter" theory of Rebecca's was no exaggeration. What happened if it kept up? What if the rate stayed the same? In a week's time, I'd be nearly two feet shorter. Sooner or later, children would be taller than me. Midgets would be taller! And what if it didn't stop?

I was gripping at my hair when I heard footsteps approaching my door again. I was so emotionally worn out that I just looked up and stared at the door for a few minutes before she came back in. As I suspected, it was the doctor again. She just walked in and offered me her hand. I looked at her and then her hand for a moment and the back at her. She had to come out and say it. "Come to the lab with me. A nice little meal will do you good to get all of this nonsense out of your head."

I was in no position to decline the offer. She knew I needed to relax, and so did I. I simply nodded and took her hand, which abruptly pulled me out of the chair before I'd even begun to get out myself. As I came up and she led me on, I started thinking again, about that. She was strong for such a petite girl, when she wished to be. She didn't let my hand go until we got to the lab, as if she were worried about me wandering back away if she'd let go. Well, maybe she was thinking of something else. I didn't know. Not then.

As we did reach the lab, she passed me a cup of tea and told me to drink it. I let out a deep breath and began to sip at it. As more of the hot tea traveled down into my gut, I could feel the air around me. My own stress, worries, anxiety. It was affecting the world around me. Everywhere I looked, I felt dread, the worrying coming back in full force. That is, until the doctor began talking to me again. After that, I focused my attention back to her.

"How do you feel?" she asked, almost like she was a completely different kind of doctor, all of a sudden. I looked at her until she asked again. I didn't really want to answer, but I did. After gulping down another drink of tea. "Okay, I guess. Just worried." It was brief and wasn't everything but it wasn't a lie, either. I was better than I was before. Not that I'd say I was anywhere close to being well, but better.

"Drink some more tea and you'll feel better. It's got a special stress-relieving herb in it. Before you know it, you'll be chipper again and we can put all of this stuff behind us." Her words came out rather confident, as if drinking tea was a fix-all for stress and anxiety. I was still drinking the tea, but even natural remedies for stress have their limitations. My mind was filled with so much doubt that it didn't feel it had room for such optimism. I just shook my head as I took another drink and put my hand over my forehead, staring down at the table.

"What if...? What if you're wrong? What if I really am...?" My doubts were beginning to come out when she reached over and grabbed at my arm and tilted my head back towards her face. "No. Stop", she said. She looked at me with a very intent and serious face. I got a chill just from looking at it. It just screamed 'Stop being pessimistic or I'm going to kick your ass.' I stared at her and nodded to her, definitely getting the message she was trying to convey to me.

She put more herbs in my tea and urged me to drink more. I focused on the drink and downed it quickly, hoping it would be as miraculous as she said it was. These types of feelings weren't good at all. Unfortunately, I started to shiver upon downing it all at once. My entire body felt hot with heartburn. I'd always had problems like that. Being too thirsty and downing an entire drink leading to brain-freeze, heartburn, or something else.

As I held my head, I heard a soft voice near me, the doctor, saying: "I'm sorry". And then I felt myself passing out...