Sitting there, waiting, she felt as though something steel-edged had smashed into her chest. She felt cold, and adjusted her thermostat slightly. The steely sensation increased. Her hands were clenched. She felt something inside of her pounding and pounding.
I can tell you all my thoughts at last now, Master Kelsey, darling darling Kelsey. I can tell you all the hopes without achievement, all about the endless dark hours alone—
Her number was called and she went in through a door that seemed to lead into an endlessly narrowing white funnel lined with shiny doors.
The room of hope was a square white box filled with shiny chrome cabinets. In the center was a table on little silent rubber wheels, with a lamp looking down upon it like a gigantic unblinking eye.
A slight willowy man gushed at her and gripped her arms with exuberance, and covered her over with the moist film of his bright and eager eyes.
His voice was high and shrill. "So you want to be beautiful, lovely to look at?"
"Yes."
"You shall be, my dear. Lie down please, lie down and trust me. You will have to trust me, of course. Simply have to trust me just the same."
"Will I be really beautiful—like the receptionist in the outer office?"