Mantoux Reading Time Novels & Stories

Leaping to his feet, he inched closer to me and asked me to open my mouth. “So, when can I get it? Remember, it’s urgent.” I inquired when he finished taking my oral swab. “Two days.” He sighed, walking back to his seat and settling on it. “Can’t it be faster?” I asked impatiently, squinting my eyes. Two days was a very long time, and I didn’t think I could wait for that long before my anxiety killed me. “It can’t. I’ll send the samples to the laboratory now, and the result will be delivered to you in two days. You may take your leave now. I have patients to attend to.” He informed me, dismissing me.

Vivian asked, after explaining the procedure in detail. Margot barely heard anything she said but nodded anyway. She was blank most of the time while the doctor conducted the tests. It took them almost an hour to finish everything. “Thank you for your cooperation. Please expect to receive the result in two days. I hope you can come back by then,” Dr. Vivian said and gave Margot a lovely smile. “Thank you,” Margot mumbled and smiled back. As much as she wanted to know the result as soon as possible, she had to wait. “I will be back in two days.”

Just exactly what you’d expect to hear when emotions should have no place in the sentence. “We’ll swab the inside of your cheek,” she said, demonstrating with a little stick. “Both parties. It takes ninety seconds per sample. We log the chain of custody, each sample gets an ID number and is sealed. Results are usually ready in 72 hours. There’s an expedited option for an extra f*e which is 24 hours to 48 hours.” I watched the tech’s hands move precisely. It was easier to watch her do something than to listen to the shape my life was taking.

It’s the right time, and I still have the termination meds with me. Biting my lip, I unpack the box, pee on the stick, and read the instructions; it makes the waiting time seem shorter that way. Five minutes. “Five? Isn’t that too much?”

Austin then asks, “How close are you to finding out the duration of the effects?” “Well, we are just reviewing our latest findings. I feel pretty confident that is has a twelve-hour window.” Dr. Higslee says. I look at both doctors and then Austin. “I can make that work. How long does it take for the effects to work?” “Considering this will be topical and inhaled, I think we can cut the fifteen-minute timing to about five to seven minutes.” Dr. Higslee said thoughtfully. That is drastically better. I lean forward and with some excitement, “Okay, so here is the plan then…”

While we waited, he was still reading the tests box, and it was the longest three minutes of my life. “How accurate is it?”, I had to know what were the chances of it deceiving me “Ninety nine point something accurate”, he shrugged a little before checking on the timer he set on his phone. The second it went off, he stretched out his hand to read the results. “Wait, wait”, I stopped him “Lay, I know you peed on it. I'm just reading the results”, he took it in his hand and focused intensely on it for a couple of seconds before raising his eyes to look at me.

"We have everything ready." "Good," Damian said shortly, handing over a small plastic bag containing Alva's hair. The doctor accepted it carefully, then gestured for Damian to follow him into the room. Inside, the room was sterile, full of sophisticated equipment. Damian sat in a chair while the doctor got to work, feeding samples into an analyzing machine. "How long does it take?" asked Damian impatiently. "Usually one week, Mr. Damian. But if you want express service, we can give you the results in twenty-four hours," the doctor replied in a careful voice.

He nodded once, like he’d known, and held the door. The hallway was exactly what I needed it to be. Loud, crowded, completely indifferent to me. People in hoodies and leggings, backpacks half unzipped, someone carrying a poster for a game that was already four days past. My locker stuck the way it always did and I yanked it open at the angle that worked and stood there for a second with my hand on the cold metal door. PET done. CT done. Results Monday. Sixty-three hours. I put the number away and went to class.

"Mira's first reading is due at eight ten." "I have it." "Her dose remains at the current level if her hand tremor increases by more than two points." "I wrote the threshold." "The secondary line may delay the motor test by eleven seconds." Dr. Chen picked up the kit. "Elara." She looked at him. "The schedule is in my file," he said. "Go and do the work you moved there to do." He carried the kit outside. Elara followed with the final manifest. Alexander stood beneath the portico beside the security officer. He wore dark trousers and a white shirt with the sleeves folded back from his wrists. His attention moved from the medical kit to Elara's document case, checking the load as she had.

she tells me and I shake my head as I watch her reading the leaflet. “Yeah, I was right, now you need to dip it for five seconds,” she says and I grab one after the other doing what she says and putting them face down. I don’t want to look before the three minutes are done. Carly puts the chronometer on her phone while we look at the tests. “This is the longest three minutes of my life,” I say and she nods when the doorbell rings. “It must be Harlow,” I say and Carly rolls her eyes and crosses her arms.