THE REAL ILLUSORY

Chapter 6

"Nicole are you okay?" Kate asked as she walked towards Nicole who struggled to lift herself up but couldn't. She turned to her left side where doctor Shamen stood and puked all over the floor.

"Oh my gosh Nicole......I just got these shoes and now you've ruined it" Doctor Shamen cried out as he looked down at his shoes.

"I'm so sorry doctor Shamen" Nicole apologized slowly as she held her head and groaned. Kate rushed to her and asked once again

"Nicole are you okay?".

Nicole didn't reply but looked around seeing a different room which was definitely not the surgery room she was.

"Where am I?" she asked as she laid back on the bed.

"You passed out so we brought you to one of the rooms for patients" Kate replied while holding Nicole's hand. "Shamen can you call someone to clean that up?" Kate asked as she pointed at the vomit.

"Kate who do you think you're talking to? I'm a Doctor and you're a nurse......Jeez!!" Doctor Shamen replied.

"I know you're a doctor but please my friend needs me right now and I'd appreciate it if you do this for me"

"Okay fine.....you owe me one"Doctor Shamen replied as he slowly walked out of the room.

"Yes I owe you one...." she replied

"You know what?.... you owe me more than one because I've taken some risk for you and your friend so you both owe me" He replied as he turned around to make his point clear.

"Okay fine I owe plenty..... can you just go? I don't think I can stand the stench any longer"

"Alright I would be on my way now" Doctor Shamen replied as he walked out of the room.

"Thanks love" Kate screamed a little so she wouldn't disturb the other doctors who worked in other rooms.
    Nicole lifted her head a little and stared at Kate with so much curiosity."What?" Kate asked.
"No nothing really ....... you were so nice to Shamen all of a sudden" Nicole replied.

"Well I had to.....I was sending a Doctor on an errand"

"You called him love.... you've never called Shamen Love....... Kate do you like Shamen?" Nicole replied with a little smile on her face.

  Kate touched her on the forehead to feel if she was okay "Okay Nicole you're burning up, I think you're having a fever". Nicole removed Kate's hand from her forehead and said "I'm fine".
   Kate smiled at her but still Nicole could see concern written all over her face. She placed her hand on Kate's and asked "are you okay?". Kate looked at her and said "Nicole I'm really worried about you". Kate said.

"Don't worry about me Katie I'm fine". Nicole held Kate's hand firmly as she told her not to worry.
    After a while Kate withdrew her hand from Nicole's and walked out the room. Doctor Shamen met Kate as she stormed out the room. "Two questions....... where are you going to and why are you walking out of the room looking so angry" Kate walked passed him paying no attention to what he had said. "Are you kidding me? .......Kate I'm talking to you......come back here!!!" She paid no attention to him but walked away hastily. "What's wrong with her?" Doctor Shamen asked. Nicole just shrugged her shoulders and asked "how would I know?" The doctor was confused when he heard her reply "But you guys were alone for some minutes...... how wouldn't you know?!!" all Nicole did was to shrug her shoulders again. "I do not understand black people" Doctor Shamen said to himself.

"What did you say?" Nicole asked.

"Nothing really.....I just said I don't understand people of your particular nature"

"What do you mean by people of my particular nature"  Nicole asked.

"Well you know people who are genetically less white than I am or better still my fellow brethren whose progenitors were darkened by the sun...... do you understand what I mean?".

"Are you trying to call me black doctor Shamen?" Nicole asked.

"Oh no, no.....maybe?....you know what Yes I was....... how come you guys get to say hey look at that white man over there or he's a white man with a mustache and it's cool but the moment we call a dark skinned individual BLACK it becomes a problem....."

"You could've just said black from the start, I would have been cool with it" Nicole said as she smiled and laid back on the bed.

"Whoa really?" Doctor asked as he was shocked by her reply.

"Yeah I'm proud of my skin color" Nicole replied.

"Wow...... that's not the reply I got from the black Individual at the mall" Doctor Shamen said to himself. He sat on the black leather chair next to Nicole and said "Look I know I'm not everyone's favorite but for real Nicole I want to know, what's going on with you?". Nicole sighed and said "I'm fine, why do you guys keep asking me that?"

"Cause you're definitely not fine Nicole!!....... what the hell is wrong with you?!!!...... I can see why Kate walked out on you" Doctor Shamen became annoyed with Nicole saying she was fine all the time so he got up from the chair and started walking away then she said "I really don't know what's wrong with me" Doctor Shamen stopped and turned around because she sounded so sad and frightened.

"What exactly happened to me at the surgery room?" Nicole asked. Doctor Shamen folded his arms and said "well according to Kate, you kept staring at the patient for over 20 minutes nonstop then you collapsed and we had to bring you here."

"Wow I collapsed?" She asked.

"Yes you did.......you said a lot of things while you were in here, it was as if you were communicating with someone..... Who's Michael?"

"I don't know who Michael is...... who is he?" Nicole asked. "Well I don't know who he is but you kept on calling his name" Doctor Shamen asked Nicole who sat on the bed with her face down. She never wanted to reveal the trauma she faced while she collapsed. "What else did you hear?" She asked.

"Nothing really..... you were speaking gibberish and I was also trying to save your life". The doctor walked towards the bed and said to her "Nicole you need to rest for a month or two". Nicole was the kind of person who never wanted anyone to see her as an incompetent staff. She got up from the bed gradually and said to Shamen "Don't worry I'm alright".

Doctor Shamen couldn't put up with her attitude anymore so he spoke to her angrily
"No Nicole you aren't!!!......we put our jobs on the line for you, how can you be so selfish?!!"

"What do you mean by we put our jobs on the line for you?". Doctor Shamen explained to her the implications of carrying out a surgery with a staff who is not mentally, physically or emotionally fit for it. "I could lose my job, Kate could also lose her job just because you're being too stubborn to take a break.......what are you trying to prove?". As Shamen spoke to her, they heard a knock on the door. It was the  janitor who Shamen asked to clean the room.

"I hope I'm not interrupting, I was asked to tidy up this room" said the cleaner.

"No you aren't, come in" Shamen said politely as he cracked a smile.

  As the janitor cleaned the room Nicole arranged herself so she could get back to work. "Oh no!!" She said because she remembered Doctor Richards wanted her in his office immediately after the surgery. "What is it?" Shamen asked. She told him that Doctor Richards wanted to see her after the surgery. "Do you know why?" he asked. She told him she didn't know the exact reason but she had her fingers crossed. "Whatever it is just know we care about you" Doctor Shamen said to Nicole as she walked out the room, "Thank you? I guess..."Nicole didn't know how to respond because she doesn't hear Shamen say that often.

"You're welcome Nicole.....Hurry up Doctor Richards is waiting for you".

"Alright" Nicole walked out the room in a hurry.