Acting Out [Student/Teacher, GxG]

Fools

It wasn't until the nurse had drawn what felt like half of the blood in my body for testing that I realized I had no idea where I was supposed to meet Miss Lane that evening. It wasn't as if her phone number was listed on the school website. I supposed I could email her, but I'd only ever emailed her before to submit assignments — it seemed so impersonal. Then again, wasn't this supposed to be impersonal? She was doing me a favour by tutoring me, but it would be a reach to believe that her motivations behind the offer were personal rather than professional. Contrary to what I'd told her during one of our first conversations, she was actually a half-decent teacher. I loved the way her eyes lit up when she spoke about topics she was passionate about, and she seemed to genuinely care about explaining things clearly in a way we could understand. With guest lecturers, it was often hit or miss. You could always tell when the person supposedly 'teaching' you didn't give a fuck whether you had any idea what they were talking about.

The nurse carefully removed the needle and covered the tiny wound with a cotton ball and tape.

"I'm going to send these to the lab for analysis, along with your urine sample, and the doctor should have your results shortly. Sit tight and we'll most likely be able to send you on your way in a just a little bit."

I smiled weakly. "Thank you." My throat still hurt like a bitch.

It felt like ages after the nurse left me alone in my cot in my curtained off area before I was greeted by another familiar face. The curtains only provided the illusion of privacy, as evident by my uncomfortable awareness of the breathing patterns of the patients to my left and right. I found myself missing the luxury of my private room in the Intensive Care unit.

I raised an eyebrow as Dr. Williams ducked into my makeshift room through the gap between the curtains. "Good news, kid." She smiled. "You're not dying."

"You're not my doctor."

"Surprised? So was I when I read your test results and discovered that you still have a functioning liver."

"Ha ha." I replied, my tone dripping with sarcasm. "You're so hilarious. Why waste away in this hospital when you have such a bright future in comedy?"

"Well, you see, I shouldn't be talking about this, but I have this patient right now named Rowan Harris and she's so unbelievably high maintenance, I couldn't possibly leave my job and entrust her to a less qualified physician."

"Ah, so you're the best of the best, are you, Dr. Williams?"

"In my expert opinion, you are correct." She smiled cheekily. "But in all seriousness, you can just call me Elise if you'd like. 'Doctor Williams' makes me feel like my father."

"Noted. So, Doctor Elise, do you need anything more from me tonight or am I free to go?"

"No, you're free to enjoy the rest of your evening. I just wanted to pop by to check up on you and let you know that my secretary, Lisa, will be in touch tomorrow to schedule you for an appointment. It looks like they want to bring you in for an ECG, so I'm going to let Lisa know about that and you can book them back to back and save yourself a trip."

Damn, she was serious about making me come in and see her. I groaned inwardly. I really liked Elise; she was strong-willed and fiery, but she had a gentleness that put me at ease and made me feel oddly comforted. No matter how much I liked her as a person, however, there was no way I was seeing a psychiatrist. My dealings with psychiatry ended after I was prescribed Dexedrine as a child, and if this woman figured me out I'm sure I wouldn't be allowed within ten feet of a prescription pill bottle for the rest of my life. I didn't abuse pills, but it was safe to say I consumed them enthusiastically.