[ CHAPTER ELEVEN ] : Topiramate

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(This chapter took awhile to get out, but I'm relieved to finally have it published. I've been planning this book out and trying my best to acknowledge the new lore.)

DISCLAIMER : This chapter involves the medical scene, don't read it if you are uncomfortable with that topic.

(I know jack shit about medicine, I just did a bit of research to try and make it seem at least a bit accurate.)

Tuesday, 6:00 A.M.

As a result of you passing out on the couch, your neck was in agony each time you moved your head. You forced yourself off of the couch, tumbling slightly as you regained balance. Man, how uncomfortable! ... at least I didn't dream of those Nights...

You yawned and lazily glanced over at the clock hanging on the wall. Once you read the time, your heart nearly dropped dead. Definitely late. Even if it was by thirty minutes—it was still eligible for penalty in the strict leader's book.

You tore through the messy pile of clothes on the other side of the couch. Once your uniform was on, albeit a tad messy, you dashed out the door and raced towards Headquarters. You hoped you could have a chance to explain yourself.

What was a good excuse? You didn't get enough sleep? No, the linen material of the couch left peculiar indentions all over your arm. You were held back by a civilian? ... that wouldn't work either... Great_Day would still reprimand you for choosing the civilians over the meeting.

... whatever. You have to face the consequences once in a while. This would be one small L you would have to accept before the multitudes of L's come crashing down on you for deceiving your boss. "Act for each employer as faithful agents."

Yeah, you would definitely be Great_Day's favorite Operative one day.

Finally, you arrived. Headquarters was empty, and you opened the meeting room door only to find it empty. Perhaps it was already done with. No matter, you searched for Great_Day. You had to show that you were a trusty worker after all.

You finally found him in his office doing paperwork. He set his pen down and cleared his throat, "you were late." Geez, thanks for telling me. Never would've figured it out. "I know, I'm sorry," you responded, "I admit to being unprepared and careless." You internally cringed, the last thing you expected yourself to do was suck up to your employer, but here you are.

Either way, Great_Day was satisfied with your answer, "I see. I was going to tell you this during the meeting... but you were obviously missing in action..." what a way to poke at someone, huh? "—you are assigned to work with [OPERATIVE] Benevolent for today."

He turned to his computer, clicking on a few things and reading something, "your objective for this week is to find a role you know how to handle, if you didn't notice. You did decent on yesterday's task, but it could've been better." With a last click, he hummed, "great. [OPERATIVE] Benevolent should be ready to work with you right now."

You nodded, turning to leave, "thank you, sir, I'll try my best." He nodded back, "have a great day."

The journey over to the infirmary was just fine, Benevolent_Day had ended up meeting with you halfway to escort you. You two used that time together chatting about the upcoming tasks you would have to be ready to perform. Being a doctor sounded stressful indeed.

Benevolent_Day led you to the back door of the clinic. It seemed to lead to some sort of storage room. The pink Operative rummaged through cardboard boxes lining the steel shelves until she finally pulled out a white coat. You caught it in your hands and observed it, "I wear this?" She scoffed, playfully, "no, genius, you eat it."

You pulled the coat over your uniform, "can't talk to me like that, I'm a doctor now." Benevolent_Day giggled, "you're absolutely right! Now, we have someone waiting to pick up some medicine. Let's go."

The waiting room of the hospital was separated; a section for the civilians awaiting a doctor's visit, and the other for a pharmacy. A teenager was seated at one of the uncomfortable looking plastic chairs, and they looked up when Benevolent_Day settled herself behind the counter with you following.

The Doctor smiled politely when the teenager handed her a clipboard with a form attached to it. She looked it over briefly and leaned down to circle something with a pen. Benevolent_Day passed you the paper.

"What do I do with this?" You asked. To you, this just looked like a bunch of random, sophisticated words crammed into a few lines with equally as confusing handwriting all over the blank sides of it.

The pink Operative motioned towards the back, which held a whole maze of tall shelves, "bring back the medicine circled on the paper. That's all!"

Seemed easy enough. Everything was in alphabetical order. Knowing doctors, you would've expected it to be more annoyingly sorted, like from least amount of ingredients to the most—or something evil like that. You filtered through the shelves with the 'T' label, plucking the white bottle off once you reached it.

When you presented the medication to Benevolent_Day, she double-checked it to make sure it was correct, giving a satisfied nod when she realized that it was the right one. She mouthed her thanks before turning around to the teenager. You watched as she pointed at certain parts of the bottle, listing every possible thing about the medicine.

It was impressive. Benevolent_Day really knew her medicine.

From the bits of information you eavesdropped in on, it was used primarily to treat epilepsy—but it suffices for the customer's migraines as well! The teenager thanked the Operative before scurrying off with the pale pink baggie carrying their prescription.

Benevolent_Day grinned cheerfully, "you did great!" She leaned closer to your ear, lowering her tone a bit, "even better than the other pharmacists! All they do is yak, yak, yakkity-yak!" You laughed half-heartedly, "sounds annoying." She groaned, "tell me about it."

Although you felt like you did better at this job, you really didn't see the appeal in becoming a pharmacist for the Days Union. You would have to go to school and study medicine, which sounded like torture in itself. Plus—no chairs. You couldn't imagine having to stand behind that stupid, white counter for hours.

Still, you had to stick with Benevolent_Day for the next six hours. You did minor things around the clinic to pass time like cleaning, organizing, and checking on patients. Once the clock hit 12:35 P.M., you were already with the Supreme Leader and planning out the next few days.

He ended up showing you his computer screen brandishing a huge schedule for the week filled with all these intimidating jobs just for you.

At the end of the tiny meeting, he gave you a smile, "thank you for being cooperative and flexible with me. I know this week will be challenging, but keep up your perseverance and you'll be moving onto smoother roads."

Admittedly, those reassuring words left you feeling slightly at ease. You didn't have to be perfect at every job, you just had to show that you are trying. Which, you sure were determined to.

(This is such a choppy ending but I'm starting to get annoyed with how repetitive and predictable my endings can get.)

You've reached the end of published parts.

⏰ Last updated: Nov 29, 2021 ⏰

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