Chaotic Tangles!

5|| Dilemma

I am sick to death of cleverness. Everybody is clever now a days. I so wish we had some fools left.
- Oscar Wilde.

Nandini jolted down the notes in the patient record for the last patient of the unit and sighed, tilting her head to see if the residents were paying attention. The first year was hurrying up to draw all the labs she asked for the respective patients while the second year was addressing the nurses to start with the medication as mentioned in each patient's file. The IPD admissions were less in Psych as compared to Medicine or Surgery, which gave the residents enough air to breathe but then Psych had its own share of trouble too.

Smiling at the patient's attender, Nandini clicked her tongue as her eyes again landed on the entrance of the ward, her stance impatient as she waited for Manik's arrival. Her phone pinged again, Dev was already at her flat with Pizza and coke as per their plan. And she was stuck here, waiting for the consultant of the hour to arrive so that she could do with the rounds and leave for home. It was her first day to say for the record, Nandini thought and rolled her eyes to herself.

Her phone pinged again, a picture of a pizza slice and some Netflix movie was teasing her from the chat window.

"Just chilling", the text from Meera said, along with a winking smiley.

"Tomorrow is Wednesday, You will be here and I will be home, teasing you. Don't forget", Nandini wrote back, more irritated at Manik for being so late. It was past six thirty in the evening, the round was supposed to be at six.

"Let Tomorrow come!", Meera texted back, and Nandini smiled, imagining how she would have said it, in person. Stressed, she kept her phone back in the apron pocket and tried to concentrate on her surroundings.

Out of the three units, Manik's was Unit 2 and she was supposed to be working under him for this month, at least. Just so that her impression doesn't go haywire any further, Nandini had returned back to hospital soon after her lunch, around four and had been helping the residents with the initial charting and medications. To say she had a long and tiring day was an understatement.

Ruffling of sheets and other noises brought Nandini back to reality and she looked around to see all PGs alert and standing, for Dr. Malik had just walked in.

Nandini frowned, HOD for an evening round? She shifted a little and nudged Shweta who was standing beside her.

"Dr. Malik takes evening rounds everyday?", she asked softly and Shweta shook her head as an answer.

"He sees patients only if called for, or referred for a second opinion, most of those calls we make sure to do by the morning shift. Sir doesn't come in the evening usually, unless he needs to meet Dr. Manik", Shweta informed, and Nandini frowned some more, not able to get the hang of it. By then Dr. Malik had reached closer to the group.

"Dr. Malhotra haven't reached yet?", he questioned, his voice calm and composed, but a hint of worry highlighted his eyes, Nandini noticed.

The first year resident denied, politely so and Dr. Malik swiftly turned to take his phone out when he noticed Nandini.

"Oh, Dr. Nandini? You are here?", he smiled at her and it uplifted Nandini's spirits. She nodded, informing him being the senior resident on Manik's unit. Dr. Malik nodded in acknowledgement, before checking his phone again, for a text or call. Finding none, he instructed the resident to inform him while he was waiting in his office, and left, still concentrating on his phone.

Nandini followed him, slightly worried for the old man. In this new city, he was the one person whose presence comforted him, and for some reason she saw him as the father figure of her life in Delhi.