My name is Caitlin Spencer. My folks are practically rich, and, growing up, I never wanted for anything. Seriously, I never knew what it was like not to get what I wanted. As a result, I guess, I developed an attitude that there must be something wrong with those less fortunate. I hardly gave anybody the time of day at school, just my boyfriend, Brad, and my best friend, Trish.
What happened to change my outlook? Simple. I turned into a freak.
"It's called alopecia," Dr. Stone said.
Three days before, I noticed my hairbrush was picking up way more hairs than before. A quick check of my scalp confirmed that I now had a few bald spots. I quickly made an appointment to see what was wrong.
In the three days between then and my appointment, I lost all my hair. I had stuck on false eyelashes, drew on new eyebrows, and threw a scarf over my head, hoping nobody I knew would see me like this. "So what's causing it?" I asked. "And how soon can we undo it? School starts in, like, a week, I can't let anybody see me like this!"
"Have you been under any stress recently?"
"Of course I'm under stress! I've lost all my hair!"
"Before that, I mean," he said. "There seems to be nothing wrong with you, physically, that would cause such rapid hair loss. Since you don't go playing around with radiation, that would seem to leave stress as the cause. So, I ask again: Have you been under any stress recently?"
I shook my head. "My folks are out of town, but that's nothing new. They left me the credit cards, and Marisol drives me wherever I need to go. I've got a great boyfriend. I've really got nothing to be stressed about. At least, I didn't, until all this started."
"Well," Dr. Stone said, "unless we can find a physical cause, I'm afraid there's not much I can do. The only treatment is cosmetic: There's a discreet shop, where you can obtain wigs and false eyebrows. I can send you there. Hopefully, your hair will grow back. If it does, call me."
As I turned to leave, I heard Dr. Stone say, "I think I'll have tuna for lunch."
"Whatever you want," I said. I didn't really care what he wanted to eat.
"Pardon?"
I turned to face him again. "I thought you said something?"
He shook his head. "Nobody said anything, until you said, "Whatever you want.'"
That puzzled me. Sure, it was strange that he told me he wanted tuna. But it was just as strange that he would deny something so innocuous.
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