Affinity (RDJ)

Chapter 32 - Want and Warning

'What's shakin eggs and bacon?' Lexi chirps as she throws your curtains open, blinding you with the beam of light that pokes through your window. You squint and pull your pillow over your head letting out a groan. 'Nope, come on sleeping beauty, we got classes to attend!'

You feel a chill as she whips your comforter off you and groan again, your head feeling more than a little worse for wear. 'God, Lex, what time is it?' you grumble, sitting up and hugging your pillow. She's stood next to your bed in her fluffy slippers and night dress holding out a bacon sandwich and a glass of orange juice.

'Time to eat and drink these! I made them for you. You'll feel better, I promise.' You sit up and take the food from her, smiling gratefully as you scarf it down but also envying how she always wakes up smelling of roses when you feel like literal shit. 'Get dressed, we're leaving in 15. We're already late!' she chimes, rushing out to dress herself. You take a glance at yourself in the mirror and it's a sorry sight. It'll take a miracle to look half decent in 15 minutes. Rolling your eyes, you gulp the orange juice and get to it.

Amazingly, the three of you pull into the school parking lot at 9.13 - only slightly later than usual. George actually looks worse than you do and you enjoyed poking fun at his bed head on the journey in - it made you feel better about your messy self, even if just for five minutes.

Pulling out your timetable, you do a double take when you see that you have a skills lab with Robert first period and it starts at 9.15. 'Shit, see you guys at lunch!' you call as you scramble out of the car and run across to the entrance. You make it to the lab a minute late and take a second to calm your breathing before heading inside.

You spot him immediately. He's scribbling something on the whiteboard as students file in and your eyes wander to the pulled tautness of his shirt on his torso as he reaches up to write. He doesn't look directly at you but he must notice you staring. A small smirk forms on his lips and he clears his throat as if to move you along. You oblige and take a seat at the front of the lab.

'Okay people, simmer down,' he announces, rubbing his hands together as he always does. 'In this here refrigerator, I have 25 hearts. Human hearts,' he announces to the approval of the class. 'Each one has a different problem with it. Some are missing veins, some are leaking, some have clots inside them. Your job is to diagnose which problem your heart has and decide how to fix it.'

A wave of impressed murmurings ripples through the classroom and his eyes light up. 'Now, I don't expect you as pre-med students to have all the answers so I have also provided you with a selection of medical journals relevant to the problems you will discover today.' He opens the door of the large refrigerator behind him and pulls out a tray covered in a white sheet. He whips it off with a dramatic flourish to reveal the hearts sitting on the tray.

'So, this goes without saying but please be gentle and respectful. These hearts were donated to medical science and the people who donated them were real people once, like you and me. Holding a heart in your hands is an amazing privilege that's not to be taken advantage of.' His eyes flick in your direction as he says this and you feel like he's talking straight to you. 'Please bear that in mind,' he finishes, eyes softening and a warm smile spreading on his face.

He makes his way around the room, holding out the tray for everyone to take a heart in turn once they're gloved and ready. He gets to you and you take the heart closest to you, marvelling at its beauty and intricacy. Smiling up at him, you place it down and get started with your inspection.

'I'll be around to help you if you get stuck and I'll also be doing a round every now and then to see how you're all doing, so don't go stabbing each other. The journals are laminated but please wipe off any blood you get on the pages - I can't afford another library bill...' This gains a chuckle from around the room and then it's silent as everyone gets to work.