HOME [TAMBER]

CHAPTER 17 (part 1)

Amber dragged her food tray to the cashier lazily. The queue was pretty long since it was lunch time, a lot of employees are having meal here. She purposefully ate at this cafeteria at the hospital basement to avoid certain people. She wasn't a spiteful person, more over to her own best friends. She just needed time with herself to heal. What Mindy said to her was really hurtful though she knew she never meant it that way.

Deep in her soul, she understood their concern.
They weren't just some people, they were her best friend, family, her persons. She hadn't asked Tara what they did at the night she was drunk. They came, and then what?

She sighed as she caressed her brows.

"4.99 dollars, doc." The cashier informed her bill. Amber took out her wallet from her lab coat pocket and gave him the amount of the charge.

"Thanks," Amber mumbled as she picked up the tray looking for empty seat. All of it was occupied, the only one left was near the trashcan. She sighed heavily but moved her limps anyway. She didn't have much time to wait for another table to finish. 

She put the tray then sat. She was side-eyeing the almost full trashcan. She nearly lost her appetite if she didn't remember she had surgery and she needed all the energy she can get. Besides, the smell wasn't that bad. She had eaten at the morgue full of dead body and formalin before. She shrugged off the horrible memory otherwise she'd leave her food to puke.

Amber stick the straw to the juice carton box and slurped the liquid. She started eating. The buzzing around didn't bother her. She was concentrating to finish her food rapidly so she didn't aware of a pair of feet walking closer to her.

"May I sit here?" A familiar voice politely asked
her permission.

Amber looked up only to choke on her chicken.

"Sis!" the newcomer quickly helped her
patted her back. "Oh god! Do I have to perform
Heimlich maneuver?"

"No!" Amber coughed more before she could breathe properly. "No, Olivia. Do not do that to me." Amber caressed her chest then grinned. She stood up as she pulled her lil sis into a tight hug. "Welcome home, Olivia! Why don't you tell me you're back?"

"Well, I'm hoping to meet you in person rather
than to call you." She hugged her back. "It's
already been a week, I haven't got the chance
to really seek you in this big- big hospital. You
know, paperwork, welcoming party and stuff."
The younger exaggerated.

"Yeah, yeah. Congratulations by the way.
Endocrine, huh? That's pretty cool." Amber smiled proudly.

"Thanks, Olivia. I mean fiiuuh," she pretended
to wiped her non-exists sweat. "I thought I'd be
dead before I'm done with the fellowship. My
supervisor is no joke, sis."

"Hardcore Australian people, that's just how
they do. Don't think about it too much. Now
you're done, you're our ob-gyn attending now."

"Yes, finally." Olivia sighed happily. "Why are you sitting here anyway?"

"No other seat." Amber replied.

"You usually have lunch upstairs," Olivia
commented as she chewed her food.

"Don't feel like it."

"Or you fight with the girls?" She said
nonchalantly.

"They told you?!" Amber frowned.

Olivia only shrugged.

"They told you!" She said as a matter of fact.

They don't. I was just kidding then you said
that, than it means you guys are totally not in a
good term."