Hey, it's Nurse Cali! [COMPLETED]

Chapter 5

"What happened to your date? Was he cute? Come on, tell me," Jana asked eagerly. Then she noticed my broken glasses. "Wait, your glasses are broken. What happened?" She waited for me to respond as I pretended to be busy checking medicine bottles.

I already said the date went well, but she wanted more. Though I wasn't lying about having lunch with someone, in this case, Mino and I did have lunch together, but was it a date?

"Can we talk later? I'm busy," I said, hoping she would take the hint and leave.

"I could pretend to be sick and we could talk now," Jana teased, not giving up.

I sighed and gave her a look, suggesting she should leave. She backed off, saying, "Alright, I'll go, but we'll chat later."

Unlike me, who minds my own business, Jana always wants to know what's going on with me. We're total opposites.

I nodded and gestured for her to leave. As she left, I breathed a sigh of relief, but then panic overwhelmed me, and I sank to my knees. What should I tell her later? Should I just tell her the truth? But then she might be furious if she found out I was meeting Dom. Maybe I could say I had lunch with the CEO of Mino Cosmetics? After all, she didn't know that Dom and Mino were just one guy. But what if she asks how I know him? Mention the aquarium? But I already told her about meeting Dom there. I scratched my head in frustration. I felt completely doomed.

Suddenly, I heard a voice at the door, "Anyone here?"

Slowly standing up, I saw a young man, looking a bit nerdy, clutching his stomach with trembling knees.

"Yes, I'm here. Can I help you?" I asked.

"Um, can I get some loperamide? I think I have an upset stomach," he mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

"Ah, have a seat first," I said, gesturing for him to sit down."Is your stool loose? Any blood in your stools? What did you have for lunch?" I asked.

"Thanks, but yeah, kind of. No blood though. I had some fresh oysters," he replied.

"Ah, you had them raw?" I asked as I reached for the medicine from the cabinet. Instead of loperamide, I decided to give him Pepto-Bismol.

"Yeah, I didn't realize it could be this bad," he admitted.

"Do you usually eat them?"

"No, I was dared to try them. You know, trying to fit in," he confessed.

"Hmm, you shouldn't feel the need to fit in. Look where it got you. Also, eating raw oysters can lead to infections," I warned, sounding like his mom for a moment. Sometimes tough advice is necessary.

"I'm sorry, Nurse Cali. I'll keep that in mind," he said.

"If your stomach does not improve by the end of the day, I suggest seeing a doctor," I advised, handing him the medicine. "Could you write your name and department here?" I asked, giving him the logbook and he did.

In the afternoon, a few more patients came in — one had an asthma attack, and another got injured by a stapler. Time flew by, and before I knew it, it was 5PM. I began to pack my things to leave.

Stepping outside, I spotted Jana waiting for me. She was on time, clocking out just as I was. And unlike earlier, when she was very intrigued about my whereabouts at lunch, she's now unusually quiet. I had a bad feeling about this.

Throughout the afternoon shift, I struggled with the decision to tell Jana the truth. I couldn't keep lying to her. I knew I had to tell her, but the question was when? Perhaps in the car later when it's just the two of us.