Meet Me In The Middle

Chapter 1: Some Things Don't Change.

The cool breeze hits me once more. Its chilling but I don't care. My heart is already freezing. Since when? I don't know. I saw Yulo beside his mother at the hospital. And that's when, maybe, when I realized my life is cold. No words. Just a nod. After I have taken the blood sample from her, I left. The proximity gave me the privilege to examine him closely for a few seconds. He's changed. He's far from the boy next door kind of guy that I used to know.

Honestly, I am always aware of his presence in the town. But never had the chance to be that near except this morning. This morning when the old Dr. Salvacion asked me to take a blood sample from a patient diagnosed with anemia. I did not expect him to be there. But there he was. Leaning against the wall in the emergency room on his white sleeveless shirt and blue jeans. No emotions but I can tell he's still sleepy. His eyes tell me.

My trail of thoughts were cut when my phone rang. "Hello." Seconds passed. No answer. "Hello?!" And three beeps ended the call. I checked the number but its' not on my list. I shrugged my shoulder. Maybe a prankster saw my number on the retailer's notebook when I bought cellphone load at the store across the hospital. I better sleep. I have an internship tomorrow.

"Scheherazade, you will be late for your duty!" And here is my wake up call from my mom. My mom. My monster mom. The adulterer. The very reason why I almost ended up in juvenile centers. I don't know how and why dad accepted her inspite of all the shame she has brought to the house. If it weren't for the respect I have for grandma, I could have dragged her out of the family compound head first. My older sister was dumped by her boyfriend, a military official because of our family background. And almost everybody in the town thinks that we will end up like our mom: an unfaithful bitch. I roll my eyes as I fix my bed. The hag came back and assumed her responsibility when we're already old enough to take care of ourselves. I hurried my way out of the house. Her voice alone made me lost my appetite.

"It's too early for your shift" said my co-intern Jaime. "I had a bad morning Jaime, see you around" I replied as I rush to the cafeteria and eat. I was finishing my coffee when the nurses sitting in the next table start to talk about the latest gossip in town. It's about Yulo again. Well, the story is still the same. Yulo leading the illegal drag race in town. Yulo picking up a fight in the Old Valley resort. Yulo bedding different women. I almost spat my coffee when I heard the last gossip. Yulo being with different women?! Well, that's new. I sigh as I realized that I totally missed the old Yulo. The gentleman.

I was about to turn right towards the staff's quarters when I heard a familiar voice behind a concrete post. I peeked in and it was Yulo talking to himself. He seems to be rehearsing some lines. "Hello H, remember me?" "Wrong. Uhmm." (Clears throat) "Long time no see my friend. How's life?" I smiled before I replied "I'm fine. Really. And you?" then ran away towards the staff's quarters. I know he'll be wondering who the hell answered on the other side.

It's past nine in the morning. I'm on my way to the nurse station to submit the laboratory test results when I met him on the hallway. And we just walked past each other. Again. Strangers. Our worlds are apart once more. After dropping by the results, I headed straight to the doctors' office to ask permission from the head if I can stay at the staff's quarters for my entire internship. Everything went well and all is set. I just need my parents consent/waiver signed and I'm good. And just like the good old days, Grandma will be my guardian.

The resident medtech asked me to assist her as she make her rounds to some wards. "What's your nickname?" "Hera ma'am." "You got a long name you know, Sie-raa-zeid?" "She-he-ra-za-di." She let out a whistle as she smiled at me. She's on her thirties but her appearance does not. She looked older than her actual age. And the two of us went into each room. Pricked a finger or two, tricked a pair of twins just to get a little blood samples and asked a guard to help us with an uncooperative overweight seventy year old. There are seven pairs of us in the hospital. One is for the day shift. The other one will be for the night duty. I wonder where our clinic instructors are. They must be busy supervising the others assigned in the other departments. Well, I'm assigned at the pediatric and geriatric departments. I was busy with my self thoughts when I realized we are outside Rebecca's room. Yulo's mom. And there they are. Rebecca stood up the moment she saw us. She's smiling. I think she recognized me. But before she can even utter a word, she fainted and the needle on her IV slipped out as she fell to the floor. Blood was gushing out like fountain and the sight of it made Yulo unconscious. Now we have two patients. I immediately pushed the emergency button to ask for assistance. We prioritized Rebecca because she already has anemia and losing blood can be fatal. We put pressure on the wound to slow down the bleeding. The nurses arrived and took care of the situation. And so we rushed to the watcher turned into a patient to see if he's okay. I called his name. No answer. The other nurse checked his blood pressure and his temperature. Everything is fine. He woke up only to faint again at the sight of us. Just then we realized that we're soaked in blood. Confirmed. He's still hemophobic. After our business, we left to change clothes. We smell like blood.

We went back to the private ward after changing. We still haven't got the blood sample of Rebecca. The doctor instructed us to let her rest for a while
before pricking another finger. The doors slide and I saw Yulo holding an ice pack on his forehead. The Maintenance was spraying antiseptic and so I turned my back the moment I entered to open the doorway so the smell would diffuse. He was in the middle of thanking Ma'am Lucy when he stopped and stared at me. So he does remember us. I try to suppress my laughter by smiling and repeated the same lines just this morning when I was hiding behind the other side of the concrete post. He was lost for words. And started laughing at himself. "Some things don't change, eh?" I smiled at him. "You two know each other?" asked Ma'am Lucy. Unfortunately, before we can even answer, Rebecca quipped "they were lovers." And the atmosphere changed as Ma'am Lucy's jaw dropped and so does the Maintenance.