A Visit to the Hospital

I knew Mom wasn't kidding when she made that statement which meant that we were only allowed to use the consul on weekends.

We all packed away our gifts and retired for the night.

Uncle Sam has always been generous in gifting us but this time around it was bigger.

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The days went by quickly and soon it was time for Uncle Sam to travel back. Fred cried so much that Uncle Sam promised him that he could come over to his place during the next holiday.

"Elsie, get prepared we will be going to the hospital tomorrow." Mom reminded me as soon as she got home from the airport.

Mom and Dad had gone to the airport with Uncle Sam to see him off. They normally don't do this whenever Uncle Sam visits, and all of a sudden they decide to go to the airport with him. It gave me the feeling that it will be a long time before we get to see him again coupled with the promise he made to Fred.

"Mom, I don't want to go to the hospital," I whined.

"Don't you want to go for the medical check-up you will be needing for your interview on Saturday?" Mom asked me.

"The interview is on Saturday!" I shouted in surprise.

I totally forgot about it. I rushed to the calendar to check the date. I had circled the date of the interview but still forgot about it.

I covered my mouth to stop myself from screaming again because my parents would reprimand me.

"Mom, Where's the letter that the school sent?" I asked her.

"It's in the drawer in the study," Mom replied.

I rushed upstairs to the study to take a look at the letter to know if we are required to take any other test at the interview, but there was none. I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Mommy, I don't want to stay alone tomorrow." Fred said to Mom as I was upstairs in the study.

"Don't worry, you will come to the mini-mart with me tomorrow." Dad said to Fred.

Fred nodded to show that he agreed with what Dad said.

"Why were you looking for the letter?" Dad asked me as soon as I came downstairs.

"I wanted to know if we are to write any other test again. There was no mention of such in the letter."

"You still have to prepare. Interviews can come in any form." Dad reminded me.

We spent the remaining part of the day quietly but Fred still was moody. Mom teased him saying that he loves his uncle more than his parents.

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"Elsie, don't eat anything yet!" Mom shouted from their room.

I was about to start eating and had forgotten that I wasn't supposed to eat anything before the tests.

We were having couscous today for breakfast, and I have been craving it for a long time now.

"Mom, can I pack up the food so I can eat it later?" I asked her.

"No, you can't. We are going to the hospital and it would be a bother to carry the food around."

"You can put it in the refrigerator and reheat it when we get back from the hospital."

"Okay," I responded.

Everyone finished breakfast and we all entered the car about to leave.

"Mom, did you bring an umbrella?" Fred asked quietly.

"No dear, why do you ask?" Mom responded.

"The weather forecast says there will be light showers today," Fred replied.

"You can't trust the weather forecast. Last time, I went out with an umbrella and it didn't rain." I said to Fred.

"The weather is very clear and bright today. Besides, we won't stay for long in the hospital and also I want to avoid having many things to carry." Mom added.

"Weather forecast that is as unstable as the weather itself," Mom said to herself.

Dad drove I and mom to the hospital and went to the mini-mart with Fred. It was a bit far from the town. Getting there, I realised why the school recommended that we get our checkups done there. It was two times bigger than the hospital my mom worked in. It was a specialist hospital with many areas and clinics.

As we sat down in the lounge waiting for our turn, I picked up a pamphlet and began to read it. We spent a lot of time waiting because there was an emergency at the hospital, and with so many people waiting, they had to prioritise those with serious and urgent cases.

After waiting for about two hours, I was finally called in for the test. It was a thorough test. They check for my HIV status, blood group, genotype, rhesus factor, pending ailments, blood level, glucose level, allergies and other tests.  When we were finally done, Mom paid the hospital bill and we left.

As we made our way to the hospital compound, I looked at Mom and noticed that she had a puzzled look on her face.

"Mom, what's wrong?" I asked her.

"Nothing, I am just wondering why the hospital bill was very low compared to what I expected for all the tests," Mom replied.

"Maybe, they use subsidised rates." I opined.

"This is the biggest hospital in our town. Sometimes, our hospital refers patients here if there are no specialists on ground. There's no how they would charge cheaper."Mom explained.

I had to wait for Mom at the gate while she went back to ask around to know why it was so. My mom is a very curious person and anything that intrigues her, she must find out about it.

"The school paid sixty per cent of the bills for the successful candidates in the entrance exam and the chief medical director is a relative of the school owner." Mom said to me.

"Ooh, that explains it," I commented.

"Let's hurry up and get home on time so I can report to the hospital on time if there is any emergency," Mom said to me.