𝗧𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸

𝗢𝗻𝗲 | 𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨  of the clinic floor made the soft crinkling of Mallorie's new patient's documents sound like an entire lecture hall of students turning their textbook page simultaneously thanks to the lonely echo. Due to the heightened need for security and privacy, the clinic's practice manager ordered the absence of all staff that were not a required presence for the visit. That meant for Mallorie that it was just her, her substitute supervisor, the practice's secretary and receptionist Heather and a few of their assistants. Despite the sparse amount of staff recruited for the day, that didn't hinder the secretive reason why from spreading.

The budding physician shook her head in dismay as she skimmed the notes from the patient's last visit and recalled what had happened months ago. Nurses and doctors, both male and female, had huddled around her in the break room, murmuring excitedly about her supervising doctor's freshly announced paid leave. Of course, they weren't buzzing about how cute his newborn child was going to be.

Mallorie ran her thumb across the name that headlined the medical history notes: Michael Joseph Jackson.

"Mallorie, are you kidding? This is amazing! Please have him sign my CD! Tell him I have the fold out poster from Off the Wall, too!"

"Ask him if he can hook me up with LaToya."

"I'm gonna have to talk to Dr. Heinsburg because this isn't fair! I've been here longer and he was my favorite in Jackson 5—"

"Marty, he's released two solo albums since then! You're such a schmuck!"

"Hey, Mal, I'll buy ya lunch if you get him to sign something for me!"

"Everyone stop," Mallorie began to address the small crowd she amassed, nearly feeling like a celebrity in her own right. "There won't be any of that. His security is top notch and gave us very strict rules of conduct. We're also under a disclosure agreement, so the most you'll be able to do is watch the security tapes."

"That's a load of bull! He's signed stuff for Dr. Heinsburg before!"

She pursed her lips, none too pleased about the sheer drama that the high profile patient was already bringing into her place of work. "Well, we'll just have to see won't we?"

The panicked tapping of heels against the linoleum floors plucked Mallorie from her flashback, and the volume of the taps increased enough for her to tear her eyes from the page. A visibly frenzied nurse met Mallorie's gaze, squirming with anticipation as she stood before her.

"Dr. Powell, your patient is ready! He's in room 207!"

Mallorie stifled a patronizing smile, amused by the way the nurse failed to calm the spirited tremors in her voice. "Thanks, Terri."

She took brisk strides to the examination office for the sake of her anxiety and for her desire to be done with the entire ordeal. Her brain cycled through hypotheticals of how the physical would go. Would he be hesitant to share with her since she wasn't her superior and his original doctor? Was he going to be as cold and reserved as he had appeared in interviews, inwardly protected by his flashy exterior, large Aviators and neutral expression? What if he simply didn't trust a woman with the workload and sought a male peer to take her place instead?

The latter thought upset her, and so much so that she noticed the pristine white fabric of her skirt had become a victim to the ball of her fist. She relaxed her hand then began smoothing out the wrinkles, letting out an exhale to dispel the breath along with the thought. Whether or not the popstar would accept as her doctor was irrelevant; she still had a job to do and a career to start, and she wouldn't let a celebrity's poor attitude be the end of it.