Focus

5. Focus on the consequences

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple."
—Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest.

                                         •••

"Dr Fooze?" She heard the gentle familiar voice of her old nurse. That last time April had seen Kazumi Furukawa was when she'd first woken up. After she and Dr Gaine sedated her April had woken up to find new doctors and nurses who made her feel more alone. More like a test subject. Since then, nobody— other than Conan Clarkson— had spoken to her. Despite how many times the frustrated and confused woman yelled at them to talk to her and give her any information about when she would get discharged they ignored her. Murmuring to each other as the scribbled notes.

"Good morning." And she actually meant it.

"Can you lend me your arm? I'd like to check your glucose levels." Her old nurses never even bothered to ask. They typically did these tests when she was asleep. Feeling dignified by the request April simply offered the nurse her arm.

After a furious call from her father— August Fooze— everything about her stay at Viceroy had changed. Her new security guards, provided by her family, had replaced the ones provided by the police, which meant she was finally allowed visitors.

Her best friend, Lucas, came to see her the previous night, and it was the first time April felt normal. She didn't realize how much she missed seeing a familiar face until she saw Lucas with his shaggy blue wig that was slightly skewed.

The young man had already resigned as her personal assistant on the last week of March but he had offered to assist until she could get discharged and find a new one, which she was thankful for. After a few minutes of catching up April asked Lucas to postpone her meetings with Carter (who was the CFO of her new business) and twatted to her fans to refrain from sending gifts and flowers.

The fragrant foliage filled up the room and gave her a headache but she was soothed by the thought that she wouldn't have to deal with them anymore. April realized that her old nurses didn't even bother to reduce the amount of gifts that filled the room. Every morning just after breakfast a nurse with short cropped hair would come in with a heaping pile of items and place them in front of the old ones. April tried asking the woman to stop but she quickly shuffled in and out every morning, constantly leaving April a heavy burden in her wake.

After noting down her results, Kazumi turned to April and asked if there was anything else she could help with. It didn't take a moment before the tired celebrity perked up and asked when she could leave the hospital and go home.

Kazumi hesitated before replying, "I'm not sure. That's something you'll have to discuss with Dr. Gaine."

April frowned, realizing that although Emma was now her doctor, she hadn't had a chance to speak with her yet. She wondered when she would get the chance to find out what was going on.

She didn't have to wait long, as a few minutes later Dr. Emma Gaine walked in, her smile small but welcoming. "I see you've finally decided to use your daddy's money for good."

To onlookers, this comment may have been inappropriate and unprofessional but that was because they didn't have context. April gave a small smile, understanding that Emma was referencing a conversation they had had a year ago. The doctor had wanted to know why April decided to make her own money instead of taking from the empire her father had built, and that was the answer April had given her.

"Okay, April, it's time to use that med school knowledge. The emergency medical services personnel who were onsite were swift in retrieving you from the river, mitigating the severity of your symptoms. You do not presently display signs of hypothermia, although we'll be closely monitoring your vital signs and blood pressure to ensure your stability."