Open Heart: Second Year {On Halt}

Chapter 4- The Interns

I signed in the patient and ordered for biopsy. After the samples were taken, I was paged by Ines to meet her at the Nurse's station. Since the patient was in 5th floor and the elected nurse's station was in the ground floor, I had to dash quickly towards the elevator. But I found the elevators cramped with queued people. Hence, I had to use the stairs and climb four floors below.

When I reached nurse's station, I found my rommies waiting together near the other residents. It was late morning and the hospital saw the initiation of the busiest period. Ines and Zaid were standing in front, holding their tablets and charts, and behind them stood a group of fresh-faced interns who eyed us residents with caution and curiosity. They were clustered together, wearing the blue grubs while I found a few wearing white coats of their own as well. I slightly frowned at their numbers which seemed fewer but ignored it, as it was none of my business. The administration had it so no point probing my mind.

But...still.

I joined my roommates who gave me questioning glances citing my still breathing form. Last night, there was a bet that either I would be swallowed by the whale shark (Ethan) or I will manage to survive in the surface. Gladly, I lived.

My eyes found Zaid and my stomach did a spin on its own, still disoriented from meeting his twin brother. I was sure the feeling would linger within me for the first week. Zaid had his arms crossed and was glaring at us and the interns alternatively. His fingers were classically ornate with numerous rings which served no purpose. But there was definitely stark difference between both the brothers. They might be identical twins but their personalities made them very unlike.

Zaid caught me staring at me and his scowl deepened, "What? Why are you making that face?"

"No reason." I thinly smiled and looked away awkwardly. I would definitely confront him about his secret twin brother later.

"Welcome, second-years!" Ines greeted us with a contented expression, "You've all heard by now about our new mentorship program. Each of you will be paired with one intern over the course of the year!"

"So, while the likely outcome is unmitigated disaster, we're gonna shoot for the stars here and aim for 'mitigated disaster'." Zaid added barbarically. I rolled my eyes while Ines shot him a dirty look and sugar-coated it immediately, "I know you're all excited to get acquainted, but remember to keep extra-careful watch over our interns, especially today!"

Sienna raised her hands, "Why? What's gonna happen today?"

"We will be having a visit- coded for inspection by the Governor of Massachusetts today. She would be touring the hospital ahead of the state budget meeting." Ines informed, "It's important we show her the excellent work we do here in order to preserve both our funding and gain international status of our newly formed non-profit free clinic."

Jackie whispered to our group, "The governor? Huh...she's never come here before."

"A lot of chip went down after the Diagnostic Reset and with the slash of American Boards." Elijah said, "After all, it took them two months to replant from the foundation. I wonder what state funding he is talking about."

Jabbing a warning finger in our direction of residents, Zaid glared, "If your intern so much as sneezes in front of the Governor, I'll personally write a ten-page recommendation transferring both of you to a hospital in Antarctica."

I inwardly rolled my eyes again at his comment, attuned to his ways of delivering peaceful mitigation methods for our careers. Sneezing will lead us a transfer ship to the cold barren land of Antarctica. How thoughtful.

"And as our newly elected, Chief Resident, Dr. Mirani will introduce you to the interns!" Ines announced. It was no surprise that Zaid would become the Chief Resident at the hospital. Even with his brutal methods, he was one of the best among his peers and was just a year away from becoming an attending himself.