Flossie managed to squeeze in an appointment the following Saturday morning. Quinn was glad she didn't ask what made her change her mind so quickly, ending the conversation with "Pearl and I are tho ecthited!"

Quinn felt a pit in her stomach. As far as impulse decisions went, she had done much worse. She knew free treatment from a highly rated orthodontist would be an incredible opportunity for some, and that apparently, the treatment would only last about two months, and give her a smile as pretty as Charlotte's. Her original reasons aside, this could still be beneficial long term.

However, she still had her doubts. Quinn always hated dentists, and shuddered at the idea of wearing a metal appliance like Charlotte's even for such a short time. She also remembered what little she knew about how orthodontics was done at the former Whites office. Orthodontic patients were treated in what was dubbed the "braces room", and Quinn recalled watching dental assistants leading in unlucky patients like death row inmates. Classmates would tell conflicting stories about soundproofed walls and sadistic treatments, which the doctors would neither confirm nor deny. In fact, Dr. Mary was even known to tell patients that a trip to the braces room would be punishment for unruly patients that wouldn't take care of their teeth.

While Quinn knew the rumors weren't true, they still made her feel queasy about Pearl's study, but she felt to embarrassed to ask Charlotte for advice. Nevertheless, when Saturday came, she reluctantly made her way to the office.

The waiting room was empty, but Flossie was sitting at the window. She grinned when she saw Quinn, showing off another full view of her appliances. "Pearl ith getting everything ready for you in the back, you can take a theat anywhere." Quinn nervously sat down near the window. Flossie must have noticed her fidgeting. "I wouldn't be tho anxiouth, Pearl ithn't ath thcary ath her parenth."

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "You remember Dr. Whites and Dr. Mary?"

Flossie giggled. "Yeth, I wath actually a patient of theirth for a while." She gave a small smirk. "Do you remember Ethan Park?"

Quinn raised her eyebrows again, connecting Flossie with Ethan Park. Ethan was a quiet nerdy boy she vaguely remembered from school, and also one of Dr. Whites' more unfortunate patients. He had braces all the way through high school, and was the only one unlucky enough to ever wear headgear to school, though it wasn't nearly as extreme as the appliances Flossie wore now.

"I didn't like my bratheth at firtht, but when Pearl thtarted working ath an athithtant, she helped me find an interetht in my own treatment and dentithtry in general."

As Quinn processed this, Flossie produced a thick packet of papers. "While you're waiting, could you look over thethe and thign them for uth?"

"What are they?" Quinn asked, flipping through the thick stack.

"Jutht general termth and conditionth for a medical thtudy." Flossie replied. "We'll fill you in on the important parth, don't worry."

The packet was far too long to read in one sitting, and Quinn didn't have the patience to decipher the legal and medical terminology. She flipped through to the end and signed where it said "Patient Signature", then handed it back to Flossie. Flossie gave one of her metal grins and put the papers back under the desk.

A short while later, a buzzing noise came from the desk. Flossie perked up. "Thoundth like everything'th ready for you now. I'll take you in." Flossie stood up and led Quinn down the hallway.

As Flossie turned the corner however, Quinn's heart sank. Flossie was indeed taking her to the infamous braces room. The clicking of Flossie's heels stopped, and she paused. "Ith everything alright?" Flossie gave a small empathetic smile. "Yeah, everything's fine." Quinn replied. Flossie put her hand on her shoulder and led her down the hallway.

Flossie opened the door and ushered Quinn into the room, giving her a first look around. The walls were painted a sickly shade of hospital green, and in the center of the room was a large white chair, wider than the one in the normal exam room, with a light above it that seemed better suited for an operating theater than a dental office. On all sides were trays of sinister metal instruments, which Quinn tried not to dwell on for too long. On the counters on the wall was a collection of model teeth wearing a variety of different styles of braces, as well as a couple of styrofoam mannequin heads modeling types of headgear. Flossie gestured for Quinn to take a seat, and she complied, allowing Flossie to wrap a paper bib around her neck.

"Exthited?" Flossie leaned over to ask. Quinn shrugged, but took the moment to look at Flossie's face. She noticed the incongruence with her gentle features and the harsh metal contraptions fixed around her soft face. She also noticed how her lips seemed to jut out slightly over her teeth, and how even her warm smile seemed almost queasy as it fit awkwardly around her appliances. For a second she wondered if she could count the rubber bands in her mouth without her noticing.

Flossie giggled and once again wrapped her mask around her orthodontia the best she could, as well as putting on what appeared to be pink elbow length examination gloves. Quinn heard the door open, and looked over to see Pearl had entered the room. "So how's our new test subject?" She asked, giving one of her perfect ear to ear smiles.

"I'm okay." Quinn replied nervously.

"Good to hear!" Said Pearl. "Now, just for starter's, here's the x-rays we took the other day." Pearl pressed a button on a computer monitor hanging above Quinn, showing an image of her teeth. "I've managed to devise a standard treatment plan for your case. Your bite is fairly average, and most orthodontists would not prescribe any treatment, but this study focuses on our ability to elevate typical smiles to perfection. I assume you've seen some of the results?"

Quin nodded, thinking of her ex's new girlfriend.

"And you've already read the terms and conditions for this study, correct?"

Quinn nodded again.

"Then let's get started!" she said, sitting down. Quinn heard a mechanical whir as the chair reclined, giving her a view of nothing but the ceiling tiles. Pearl leaned over, wearing her blue mask and loupes. "Before we begin, our orthodontic treatment can take a very long time, and you may feel some discomfort, so we offer sedation for our patients during their treatments. Would you be interested in this?"

"Yes." Quinn replied, wanting this to be over with as soon as possible.

"Very well." said Pearl. "Flossie, please prepare the anesthesia."

Quinn heard some fumbling, then Flossie's face appeared in her field of vision, holding a rubber mask. She gently placed it over Quinn's mouth and nose and placed a gloved hand on her forehead. "Breathe in very deeply for me now, and count backwardth from ten. Good girl." She cooed, lightly petting her scalp. The last thing Quinn saw was Pearl and Flossie's masked faces looming over her.

---

When Quinn came to, it took a while for her to remember where she was, but she could feel an immense pressure in her mouth. She groaned and put a hand on her jaw as her eyes fluttered open, once again having a look around the braces room.

"You're finally awake!" said a familiar girly voice. Quinn looked over at Flossie, and was taken back to reality seeing her tight uniform and disturbing appliances. "Tho, how are you feeling, thleepyhead?"

"My mouth hurts." Quinn managed to mumble.

Flossie giggled. "Yeth, that'th normal. Would you like to take a look? Thmile!" She held up a mirror to Quinn's face. Quinn bared her teeth and recoiled. It seemed like every inch of her teeth were covered in metal. "Thorry we don't offer any fun colorth, thethe ecthperimental treatmenth are pretty bare boneth."

"Is this really how I'm going to look?" Quinn asked.

"Oh no, I haven't shown you how to put on bandth yet." Flossie replied. "Open wide for me now!"

Quinn awkwardly let Flossie place a collection of rubber bands around her teeth, restricting her jaw even further. "You'll need to change thethe daily, and take them out while eating. But that'th not all!" Quinn raised her eyebrows as Flossie brought out the worst twist so far.

Quinn was in shock as Flossie clipped a metal bar into her mouth, and wrapped the black cloth strap around the back of her neck. "You'll need to wear thith ten hourth a day, probably ath you thleep." Quinn slowly nodded as Flossie took the device off. She barely paid attention as Flossie went over basic hygiene routines with braces, as well as what foods she could no longer eat and what activities she should avoid.

Pearl walked in just as Flossie was wrapping up. "There she is! Takes a bit of getting used to huh?" Quinn nodded.

"Well, you're just about ready to head out, but there's just a couple details left to go over. First things first, for an accelerated treatment such as this, we'll be seeing you every week. Would the same time work for you?" Quinn nodded.

"Very good, also, since these methods are so new, it would be better if you refrained from seeing any other dentists or orthodontists while under our care." Quinn nodded again.

"This brings us to one last thing, which is more of a reminder than anything." Pearl took on a more serious tone. "This treatment needs the utmost compliance to be successful. If you fail to achieve this, the treatment will not go well for you. Do you understand?" Quinn nodded once more.

"Perfect!" Pearl exclaimed, showing off another flawless smile.

---

Quinn walked home, still clutching her aching jaw, and holding a bag full of rubber bands, informative packets, and her dreaded headgear. She desperately hoped to not run into anyone she knew. When she got home, she chucked the bag under the bathroom sink to forget about it, and plucked out each rubber band from her teeth to throw in the garbage. Before she went to bed, she briefly remembered her headgear and Pearl's warning. Still, she went to sleep without it. "After all," she thought, "what's the worst that could happen?"