Chapter 16
1539 Words
Tuesday mornings were always the busiest at the Willow Creek University nursing building.
Students rushed from lecture halls to simulation labs, coffee cups in hand and backpacks half-zipped. Conversations echoed through the hallways about quizzes, clinical hours, and the growing stack of assignments everyone swore they’d start “tonight.”
Ava slipped into her seat just as Professor Lewis closed the classroom door.
“Good timing,” he said with a smile.
“I’d hate to lose my perfect attendance.”
“You and I both.”
The class chuckled.
Professor Lewis adjusted his glasses before projecting the day’s lesson onto the screen.
“Today we’re talking about patient advocacy.”
He looked around the room.
“Sometimes being a good healthcare provider means speaking up when no one else will.”
The words immediately caught Ava’s attention.
Throughout the lecture, he shared stories from his years as a pediatric nurse.
Stories of frightened children.
Overworked parents.
Patients who simply needed someone willing to listen.
Ava filled nearly six pages of notes.
Not because she thought they’d be on the exam.
Because she wanted to remember them.
When class ended, Emily caught up with her outside.
“You’ve got your interview tomorrow.”
“I know.”
“Nervous?”
“A little.”
Emily laughed.
“A little?”
“Okay.”
Ava sighed.
“A lot.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“I’ve never interviewed for a hospital before.”
“You’ve interviewed for jobs.”
“Coffee shops are different than children’s hospitals.”
Emily smiled.
“True.”
She looped her backpack over one shoulder.
“But remember something.”
“What?”
“They already liked you enough to invite you.”
Ava stopped walking.
“I didn’t think about it that way.”
“That’s because you overthink everything.”
“I do not.”
Emily raised an eyebrow.
“You’ve rewritten your photography contest application three times.”
Ava stared at her.
“…How do you know that?”
“You left two copies in the printer.”
Ava groaned.
“I thought I threw those away.”
Emily laughed.
“You did.”
“After printing a fourth one.”
Ava couldn’t help laughing too.
“Maybe I overthink a little.”
“A little.”
⸻
Between classes, Ava stopped by the student center to turn in her photography contest application.
The art department had set up a small table beneath a banner reading:
Capture Willow Creek
A cheerful student volunteer smiled as Ava approached.
“Submitting?”
“I think so.”
The volunteer accepted the application.
“Photos are due Friday by five.”
“I’ve still got time.”
“You do.”
She handed Ava a participant badge.
“Good luck.”
Ava looked down at the small sticker.
Photography Contest Participant
It seemed silly.
Just a sticker.
Yet it made everything suddenly feel real.
She was actually doing this.
As she turned to leave, she nearly walked straight into Jordan.
“Whoa.”
“Sorry!”
Jordan laughed.
“Either you’re really distracted or you secretly wanted to tackle me.”
“I’ll let you guess.”
He noticed the badge.
“No way.”
“You entered?”
“I did.”
Jordan grinned.
“See?”
“I told you Emily would convince you.”
Ava smiled.
“I guess she did.”
“Good.”
He started walking beside her toward the quad.
“So…”
“Football game Saturday.”
“You coming?”
“I’ve actually never been.”
Jordan stopped walking.
“What?”
“I always worked.”
“Or studied.”
“Or both.”
He shook his head dramatically.
“No.”
“We’re fixing that.”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
She laughed.
“I don’t think that’s how invitations work.”
“It is now.”
Emily joined them from across the sidewalk.
“What’s going on?”
“She said yes.”
“I absolutely did not.”
Jordan looked offended.
“Details.”
Emily smiled.
“I’ll text you the time.”
Ava sighed in defeat.
“I’ve been outvoted.”
“Exactly.”
⸻
The afternoon at the Willow Bean was unusually slow.
Denise stood on a ladder changing one of the chalkboard menu signs while Ava polished mugs behind the counter.
“I’ve been thinking.”
Ava looked up.
“That usually means I’m about to be volunteered for something.”
Denise laughed.
“You know me too well.”
“What is it?”
“The town harvest festival is next weekend.”
“Oh.”
“I signed the café up.”
“For?”
“A booth.”
Ava smiled.
“That sounds fun.”
“It will be.”
Denise climbed down from the ladder.
“I need someone to help.”
Ava already knew where this was going.
“You.”
“I had a feeling.”
“You’ll get paid.”
“I wasn’t worried about that.”
“You’ll also get unlimited cinnamon cider.”
Ava gasped dramatically.
“Now you’re negotiating.”
“I negotiate to win.”
Ava laughed.
“I’m in.”
“I knew you would be.”
Just then, the front door opened.
A familiar golden retriever bounded inside.
“Cooper!”
His tail wagged so hard his entire body swayed.
“Easy, buddy,” Ethan laughed as Cooper trotted straight to Ava.
She knelt, scratching behind his ears.
“I think he likes you more every time.”
“I think he likes everyone.”
Ethan smiled.
“Not the mailman.”
Ava laughed.
“Fair.”
Denise looked between them.
“I’ll make your usual?”
Ethan blinked.
“I have a usual now?”
“You’ve ordered the same thing three visits in a row.”
He smiled.
“I guess I do.”
As Denise prepared his latte, Ethan leaned against the counter.
“How’s the photography contest?”
Ava looked surprised.
“I turned in my application.”
“Congratulations.”
“I haven’t turned in the pictures yet.”
“Still.”
He smiled.
“You took the first step.”
She found herself smiling back.
“I guess I did.”
He reached into his backpack.
“I actually wanted to show you something.”
He carefully pulled out a large sketchbook.
Inside were architectural drawings.
Buildings.
Parks.
Bridges.
Every page filled with incredible detail.
Ava looked up.
“These are amazing.”
“They’re just practice.”
She laughed.
“That’s exactly what I say about my pictures.”
He smiled.
“Maybe we’re both bad at taking compliments.”
“I think we are.”
Denise returned with his coffee.
“You two are impossible.”
They looked at her.
“What?”
“You both keep complimenting each other.”
“But neither of you believes compliments about yourselves.”
Ava and Ethan exchanged embarrassed smiles.
Denise shook her head.
“You’ll figure it out eventually.”
Neither of them knew how to respond.
Cooper solved the problem by dropping a slobbery tennis ball at Ava’s feet.
She picked it up.
“You want to play?”
His tail answered before he could.
She tossed it gently across the café’s dog-friendly patio.
Cooper raced after it with complete determination.
Ethan laughed.
“He’ll do that for hours.”
“I can tell.”
For a few minutes, they watched Cooper happily chase his ball.
It felt peaceful.
Simple.
Easy.
Eventually Ethan glanced at his watch.
“I should get going.”
“Studio?”
He nodded.
“Big project due Friday.”
“Good luck.”
“You too.”
“With the interview.”
She blinked.
“I forgot I told you about that.”
“You mentioned it last week.”
She smiled softly.
“You remember everything.”
A faint blush crossed his face.
“I try.”
He clipped Cooper’s leash back on.
“It’ll go well tomorrow.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so.”
For some reason, hearing those words from him settled the nervous flutter in her stomach.
“Thanks.”
As Ethan and Cooper left, Denise quietly watched through the front window.
After they disappeared down the sidewalk, she looked back at Ava.
“Can I tell you something?”
“Of course.”
“That young man looks at people.”
Ava frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Most people look at faces.”
Denise smiled gently.
“He looks at hearts.”
Ava glanced toward the empty sidewalk outside.
She wasn’t sure why Denise’s words stayed with her.
Maybe because they felt true.
Or maybe because, without realizing it, she had started looking a little closer too.
That evening, as Ava laid out her outfit for the children’s hospital interview, excitement mixed with nervousness.
Tomorrow could open a door she’d dreamed about for years.
She didn’t know whether she’d get the volunteer position.
She only knew one thing.
For the first time in a long time, she wasn’t afraid to believe something wonderful might happen.
- Writer
