Sophie spent the weekend wallowing in a confused self-pity. The braces wouldn't budge no matter how much she picked at them, and the tightness was almost impossible to get used to. Not to mention that odd hum, which continued all through the night and made Sophie's brain itch. Dr. Park was definitely wrong about it being something one could get accustomed to.

Still, there was something ever so slightly fascinating about them. The fact that someone had went into her mouth and installed something so disruptive gave Sophie a peculiar feeling she didn't know how to describe. And there was a strange beauty to them, not only was pink obviously her favorite color, but something about the harsh metal and plastic juxtaposed with her soft feminine mouth made her want to stare in the mirror forever.

For a moment, she wondered if there was such a thing as a braces fetish...

---

Finally, dreaded Monday came around. In any other class a mouthful of new braces would be a tad embarrassing, but not very noticeable. Dental hygiene school was a bit different, however.

Dr. Woods began the class by announcing a special lesson for the day: Caring for patients with braces. Sophie could see Abby practically bouncing in her seat, while she just sank into her desk.

Sophie and Abby were both be the class guinea pigs for the day, and were directed to a pair of examination chairs in the corner of the room. This wasn't unusual, Abby was always the first to volunteer, and Dr. Woods always seemed to like picking on Sophie.

The rest of the class was split in two, each surrounding one of the girls.

Sophie always hated this, looking up at a sea of her masked classmates, while they all took turns poking and prodding every inch of her mouth. Not to mention, part of their job was to recognize any failures in hygiene, of which Sophie was notorious for. She always dreaded being lectured by Dr. Woods while her classmates scraped away.

Today was especially uncomfortable, not only was there the added discomfort of her already sore jaw, her classmates had to explore every nook and cranny of her new appliances. She heard Dr. Woods remark that Abby's mouth was "spotless as always."

However, when it was time for Sophie's appraisal, the instructor raised an eyebrow. "I'm seeing quite an improvement today. Not perfect, but I can see you've been trying a bit more..."

Sophie was surprised, though, she did find herself brushing more often, for some reason it just satisfied that strange itch in her brain...

---

That night there was an online quiz posted about the day's lesson. Sophie opened it up, though she typically ignored these assignments. She finished quicker than usual, and her eyes widened at the result. A full 100%. There was no way she could have gotten that from just pure luck, was there?