Receptionist at the Orthodontist
Written by Grace Hessian
Receptionist at the Orthodontist
A creative non-fiction
I was at the orthodontist waiting for my appointment and the receptionist was answering the phones with the cheery voice that receptionists have. I was thinking about the voice and thinking about how they’re probably not that cheery and polite in the other parts of their lives. I was actually thinking about this for a few minutes which, personally, I think is an odd amount of time to dedicate to her voice.
Then I realised that she will never know the effect her voice had on me. It wasn’t even a positive or negative effect, just a neutral wandering thought process that she caused. Society tells me that it’s weird to even inform her of the neutral wandering thought process that she caused. Why? We’re not isolated creatures. It’d be strange to suggest that. Our lives all depend and build from one another.
If you took one person’s life out of the equation, you’re not affecting just the family and friends but rather people who won’t even know it. Let’s call this person Riley. If Riley had continued living, they would one day get a certain job. Since Riley isn’t alive, that job goes to someone else, who has no idea that there was any doubt they would get it.
If Riley had continued living, one day they would have stumbled across a stray dog and successfully attempted to find the owner. Since Riley isn’t alive, the owner is worried for her dog and may never find it.
If Riley had continued living, they would have been distracted getting out of their car one day and accidentally hit a cyclist with the door. The cyclist gets a broken arm and isn’t able to work for a few months. A few people bystanders who help out end up being late for work and one spills coffee on themselves in surprise. Since Riley isn’t alive, everyone gets to work on time and the cyclist rides on unscathed.
The effect that Riley had on other people’s lives was immense, despite having never met any of these people. We underestimate the effect we have on people, whether it be positive, negative or neutral. Our lives are not isolated, they intertwine and break apart and cause great changes in people we don’t know.
In this hypothetical situation, Riley did not even do anything remarkable. Imagine the effect of remarkable and prominent people in our communities. The effects of parents, teachers, politicians, protesters, musicians, artists or students. Imagine the effect that authors have on young people learning about themselves. The effect of children’s tv shows or the effect that you had on your childhood friends. Imagine the effect you’ve had on people on public transport or at school. The effect that you’ve had just by being here, just by talking and living, reading and learning.
One person told me that the way a girl in her music class pronounces the letter “t” has, for some reason, had a great effect on her and she notices it all the time. Another person said that her friend that she’s grown apart from gave her a friendship bracelet but recently she’s started wearing it everywhere. Another said that someone once said that she eats slowly and now she notices it all the time. All these people were being perfectly unremarkable and yet somehow, they were remembered and their effects are felt to this day.
Taking Riley off the earth is not like scooping water from a cup, size decreasing but the shape never changing. It’s slashing fabric with scissors, sniping and hacking until you’re left with a giant hole in the centre of the universe of fabric.
If you want more proof, the receptionist at the orthodontist doesn’t know she inspired this article.