Coffee

Part Ninety-Six: Hidden Behind A Smile

"You need a new ID badge, Dr. Sharpe- so I'm going to need you to look here and smile." Jason,our Tech guy, states and I do, but as he's about to take the photo, it turns to a heavy frown. "Oh...um...do you want to take another..."

"It's fine." I say.

"Okay- then let me just go get this uploaded and I print it out for you." Going to his computer- he types away and then inserts the plastic badge into the special printer and in a matter of seconds the ID is created. "Here you go, Dr. Sharpe. Does it look okay?"

"Sure." I walk out and shuffle through the halls. I feel out of place here. Demoted feels like I fell into a black abyss that suffocated you the deeper you fall into it. Making my way down the south entry hall, I pass the conference room and hear Max telling the department heads about his new zany idea he came up with. I feel sick to my stomach. Between last night and the demotion- I don't know which is gonna make me vomit first. Heading up to oncology, I feel that every step I take only gets heavy each time I try to pick my feet up. The cut on the bottom of my foot feels better since it started slowly healing. Though the heels don't entirely help- I need to remove the image of myself in work out attire from the hospital's memory. Not like they care what I wore for five minutes yesterday morning. My phone goes off and it's Lauren.

Lauren:

Don't forget! You gotta watch me pee!

Helen:

Lord, how could I forget?

Lauren:

I'll be in the ED Bathroom waiting ;)

Shaking my head, I climb the rest of the stairs and go to my office, passing Valentina's on the way- her new sign searing my soul.

Dr. Valentina Castro PHD
Chair of Oncology and Hematology

I want to throw up right in front of her door and maybe she'll slip in it and be put in a coma.

Is that bad of me?

No.

I set my things down in my office real quick and make my way down to the bathroom.

***ED Bathroom Five Minutes Later***

"Yeah- totally took my pill. Tried to say I already took it. I can't believe him." Lauren whines as she waits to pee. "I mean the nerve of him."

"Well, hopefully he gets the help he needs." I state.

"How are you holding up?"

"Perfect." I say as happy as I can.

"Helen..."

"It's horrible. I feel like a trespasser in my own hospital." She nods with a frown and finally starts going. "On top of it all- I'm a mental case."

"Yeah...I heard there have been some....questionable actions." She finishes and hands it to me after capping it. "Can you?"

I set the specimen cup down for a moment and help her up and into her chair. Her walking boot is apparently suffocating her leg at the moment so she decided to chair it for the time being. As she sits down, I sigh heavily.