Convergence

Chapter Three: The Biggest Hug In The World

Nick was sitting in their office, opposite a customer who, to put it bluntly, was not having a very good day.

"So, the type of your arthritis—rheumatoid arthritis, more specifically—"

"Can you dumb this down for me, doctor talks a lot?"

Ella frowned from the corner, knowing Nick must have to deal with people like this all day. But she just sat, silently, waiting for their attention to be passed to her for her next show.

"Um, you'll need physiotherapy, or physical therapy, because there is no actual cure—"

"What?!" The patient stood up, his face boiling red. "What do you mean, there's no actual cure?!"

Nick didn't react, furthering Ella's suspicions that they deal with this every day. "There's no cure. At your age, it was evident to happen, seeing your medical history into your teenage years. And interplanetary travel doesn't help much on the bone structure."

"At my age?! Are you calling me old?!"

"Yes." Nick's eyes flattened. "If you're asking for a less polite way to say it, then there it is."

"Some doctor you are! My daughter told me to come here, and I should have known it wouldn't work out how I'd hoped!"

"Look, there are anti-rheumatic drugs in place for things like this. I can run you a prescription."

"Because you're soooooo busy, huh?" The man was just being mocking now. "I bet you have so many clients, big shot! Well, you can kiss my ass! I'm looking for a quick and easy fix!"

"I actually do have a lot of clients." Nick folded their hands. "There's one behind me, and she is politely waiting her turn, like a considerate person. Unlike the one that's staring me in the face right now."

"That brat probably pushed her way to the front of the line! Why don't people just keep their kids at home, is my question?!

Nick squinted, their entire expression shifting. "You wanna repeat that?"

The man blinked. "I mean, uh—"

"Ella," Nick turned to behind them, "ready for your next show?"

"What the hell do you mean by—?!"

The man felt a great gush of wind, and he was pushed back through the open door, falling flat on his back. Nick walked to the door with Ella, ready to slide it shut. "Mail us our check please thank youuuuu."

"Hey, wait!" The man yelled angrily, but got the door shut in his face.

"Nice one, Ella. Gold star." Nick walked away, hiding a smile from her view.

"Geez, he was rude. You were only trying to help him." Ella leaned against the wall next to the door.

"Well, that's how people are. You try to help, and they end up insulting you to your face." Nick shrugged, returning to their work. "We'll start our next show in a second."

It had been a week since Nick took Ella under their wing. She'd improved her abilities, and that was a good example of it—not only could she control wind, she could now summon it. Ella knew from the beginning it was a good choice to come to Nick, but she didn't expect to see results this early. It was a good thing.

"Gonna tell me what you're working on?" Ella smiled, leaning forward.

Nick laughed shortly. "You got clearance and a Ph.D.?"