Free Falling

28 | tease

Clinical rotations at the hospital were fairly good. Minus the pale looks on the faces of a majority of patients and the monotonous routine than basically defined the place, it wasn't as bad as I'd thought it to be when I newly got into my program. Sans the sterile smell of antiseptic and bleach— that had needed a lot of getting used to.

But if I was being honest, I'd come a long way from the antsy freshman who'd dreaded the thought of seeing blood, or the sophomore who'd thrown up her whole first month of anatomy practicals.

Now I was made of steel— or at least that was what I liked to think.

I snuck another look at the breast watch pinned to my scrubs for the twentieth time in the past hour. I hadn't been this eager to be done with the day before. I thought about dinner that was planned for later this evening with Finn and Nate at a cool, homely bar at one of the quieter parts of the city. The one hour interval would just be enough for me to rush home, get dressed and drive over.

I imagined Finn and Nate getting there before me, the both of them talking about me in my absence. I could see Nate doing his thing where he quietly picks at my current love interest.

I shook the thoughts out of my head and focused on the task at hand. I had to retrieve blood samples from a patient and take them to the lab division for testing, and that was about it.

Twenty minutes later and feeling home free, I was strutting to the lockers when a hand latched on to my arm.

Luna's face was contorted in discomfort, beads of sweat forming on the skin of her temples. I heard a gurgling sound and realized that it'd come from her stomach.

"Amy, I need your help."

I grabbed on her forearms as she slouched in her position. "What's wrong?"

"I—I had a milkshake during lunch."

I blinked in comprehension. "Why would you do that when you know you're lactose intolerant!"

"We all make bad choices, Amy. It seemed like a risk worth taking at the time."

I opened my mouth to protest, to tell her that I was already done for the day. But she shook her head vehemently and pressed her clipboard against my chest.

"I owe you one, okay? Please."

Before I could word out a reply she was already scurrying down the hallway, no doubt about to go and wreck a stall.

I read through her clipboard and made for the patient's room. A boy named Felix who'd come in with a dislocated shoulder had already been attended to by a doctor and had his x-ray taken, and all that Luna needed to do was immobilize his shoulder. I exhaled and got straight to it.

Outside the doctor was stood talking with a woman I presumed to be his mother and I got in to find the little boy, not much older than six, perched on the edge of bed.

"Hi, I'm Amy. I'll be wrapping you up and you'll be in tip top shape in no time."

While I got to work, the lady walked in and took up position beside him. Her hand moved up to stroke his hair. She smiled meekly at me.

My one track mind focused on one thing and one thing only as I strapped a compression brace around his shoulder, taking great care in the process.

To my surprise, he barely winced as I wrapped his arm up, keeping a straight face all through. Either the pair was awfully quiet or I was just used to taking care of patients that loved small talk.

"You're a really brave boy, Felix."

"He really is. He was fighting off some bullies that tried taking on his sister. He often feels stronger than he actually is." She narrated.