Daily Drama (In American TV Shows)

Chapter 15

After a few minutes of walking alongside House in a glass-walled hospital room, Doctors Foreman and Chase were there, seemingly discussing something amusing as they were smiling and laughing.

When the two doctors noticed House approaching, and consequently me, they lost their cheerful demeanor. Dr. Chase simply put on a professional, serious face, while Foreman furrowed his brow, clearly annoyed by my presence.

"You were right, there's a lot of blockage," Foreman said to House, completely ignoring me.

"I've scheduled him for surgery. They're gonna put a shunt into one of the ventricles to give the cerebrospinal fluid an out," Dr. Chase said, standing upright and speaking as professionally as possible.

"No more pressure, everything goes back to normal," concluded Dr. Foreman calmly.

"He's lucky to have you," House said ironically, addressing the two doctors, "and I wasn't talking to you," he continued, causing the two doctors to be visibly irritated as he turned and walked away.

Feeling uncomfortable in front of the two disgruntled or disappointed doctors, I could only nod in greeting. Dr. Chase returned the gesture, while Dr. Foreman merely furrowed his brow further and seemed to want to say something.

"Come on, kid, we have to deal with the most boring part of my job," House interrupted, already several steps away from where I was.

Grateful for the interruption, I could only nod again. I didn't wait to see if either of the two doctors imitated the gesture. I quickly turned and followed House.

At a brisk pace, I quickly caught up to him. "Why do you do that?" I asked, annoyed.

House raised his eyebrow incredulously, nearly halfway up his forehead. "Do what?" he asked arrogantly, still walking.

"You know what I mean. I think Dr. Foreman already hates me, why do you have to give him more reasons to do so?" I asked, exasperated, trying to make him understand the seriousness of the matter.

House stopped abruptly, furrowing his brow, and turned to face me. "PJ, medicine is not a game," he said very seriously. "We hold people's lives in our hands, with families' pressure constantly on our shoulders, breathing down our necks, hoping we can help their loved ones," he continued, gesturing emphatically. "If you care more about people's feelings than your patient's health, you might overlook important things and, as a result, lose your patient," he continued, placing his hand on my shoulder, still serious.

"I understand that, House, but there's no need to antagonize Dr. Foreman or Chase, even Dr. Cameron, to save the patient," I said, now calmer.

House seemed to ponder for a moment on what I said. "You're right," he said, removing his hand from my shoulder. "Allow me to revise my answer, then," he continued, now with a small smile. "I do it because it's fun. Foreman's face when a kid is right and he's not, it's priceless," he finished with a big sarcastic smile, then turned around to continue walking.

Incredulous at his audacity, I could do nothing but stand still and watch him as he walked away.

"Come on, kid, I'll teach you how to conduct a real medical examination," House said, pulling me out of my thoughts, followed by a muttered remark that I didn't quite catch.

I quickly caught up with him on the other side of the hallway.

"Now, you need to understand that in outpatient clinic work, there are four types of patients," House said, still advancing. "There are those who obviously just have a cold," he said, annoyed, raising one finger. "Then there are those who want drugs from addictions to sexual reasons," he said, raising a second finger. "Then there are the hypochondriacs, they're the most fun. Sometimes you can pretend they have some horrible disease and watch them get scared," he said, raising a third finger before lowering his hand again and continuing to walk.