"Sydney! Where are you going?"
Hearing his joyful voice, Sydney knew immediately who was calling her, "Snider!"
It was her brother Snider, who was taking up an Engineering course in a nearby university. She quickly sat on the front seat and locked in the seatbelt.
"I'm going to the provincial hospital."
"Ah, your ENT appointment? Alright, alright," and Snider started to drive the car.
"Where did you get the car?" Sydney was wondering because it was the first time she saw her brother driving a car.
"I borrowed this from my girlfriend."
"Who? Amy?"
"No. Amy and I broke up last year."
"Then, is it Jasmine?"
"No, Jasmine and I broke up last month."
"What the? Then… You have a new girlfriend? Again?"
"Yes," Snider smirked, "Of course. Your handsome brother always has a girlfriend. I'm never free."
Sydney raised her eyebrows, "Are you even studying, or all you do is flirt?"
"I study and flirt."
"Wow, should I learn from you?"
"No, don't. Not yet," Snider chuckled, "If I teach you the ways of 'Snider McKee' right now, you'll never be able to graduate high school."
"Hah! As if I'll have a love life. Music is my first love, and my forever!"
Sydney never once thought of having a boyfriend. All she did was sing, play the guitar, and listen to songs. For her, as long as she could sing her favorite songs, her life is complete.
"How can you have a love life, if you don't have suitors," Snider teased his sister, who was already pouting, "You should just confess to the person you like, or else nothing will happen."
"I don't have someone I like..."
"Impossible! When I was your age, I was even confused as to whom I should confess!"
"Isn't that because you were born a playboy, bro?"
"'Kay. Not gonna deny that!" Soon after, when Snider turned into another street, the provincial hospital could already be seen. "Almost there."
The white car stopped In front of the hospital, and Sydney took off the seatbelt, "I know you have a date, so I'm going alone."
"You're so thoughtful. I'm so lucky to have a cute little sister like you," Snider jokingly said as Sydney got off. "Call me if I'm needed. I'm just on the next block."
Sydney went straight to the specialists' area where her ENT doctor was. While waiting, she grabbed her earphones to connect them to her cell phone, opened her phone to activate the music player, and listened to it while sitting on the cold, metal bench.
Soon after, her name was called and she entered the doctor's room.
"Good evening, doctor Sophia!" Sydney greeted the doctor with a smile as she hurried to sit down.
"How are you, Miss McKee?" asked the otolaryngologist.
"I'm fine, and I'm ready for a check-up again."
"It seems like you're very ready, seeing that you're energetic," Dr. Sophia chuckled. She stood up from her seat, "Come with me to the examination room. I'll take a look at your throat," and then Sydney followed her.
After her check-up, Sydney sat again in front of the doctor's table to listen to her explanation.
"Your condition got worse... Did you eat something sweet again?" Dr. Sophia asked with a serious expression.
"Uhh… Yeah, I can't help it, Dr. Sophia. Whenever I have a bad day, I eat sweets…"
The doctor sighed, and disappointment obviously flashed on her face, "Sydney, you've been my patient since you were a child, and I know how stubborn you are," she said while looking straight into her young patient's eyes to convince her, "But if you want to continue singing, you should be wary of sweets. You know that you're prone to sore throats, and one factor is because your tonsils are abnormally large."
Sydney just kept quiet and listened to her doctor.
Dr. Sophia continued, "You want to avoid surgery, so follow my advice: quit the sweets for now. And if possible, you should rest your voice-"
"I can't, the inter-school concert is near! I have to practice a lot!" Sydney retorted.
"Unfortunately, you have to prevent overstraining your vocal cords. Sydney, you have two problems right now. One is you have abnormal tonsils, and the other one is you have strained vocal cords," the doctor tried to explain, "If you want to continue singing, please don't be stubborn and do as I say. First, cut the sweets and desserts, and second, plan a practice time wherein your voice can rest more. I never stopped you from singing because I know how important music is to you. Be obedient this time, so you won't regret it in the future. Okay?"
"Doc…" Sydney was disheartened by what she heard because she realized that her situation had become serious. "Okay… I'll do my best…"
She thanked Dr. Sophia and started to walk sluggishly in the hallway. Sydney knew that it was all her fault that her disease got worse because ever since she was a child, she had always disobeyed her doctor.
But the inter-school concert will be held in a month, how could she slack off?