The Anatomy of Love

The screeching of the chairs against the floor made me jump up in fright. I yawned, looking around me in a daze, Dr. Ingrid was saying goodbye to the students and the projector was turned off. I rubbed my eyes tiredly, coming to the conclusion that I had slept through the entire class hour, being that the last thing I remembered was the introduction of the presentation. I took my bag, sighing, I stayed up studying late at night for my anatomy test yesterday and now the whole world seemed to go slow and blurry. "You drool on the table" I turned to the right, seeing my friend Sophie. She, like me, had huge circles under her eyes in contrast to her pale skin. However, unlike me, she had her notebook full of class notes, with bright colors and post-its. Before I could even open my mouth, as if she were reading my mind, she pulled out her phone with a soft smile and a nod. "I'll send you pictures. Don't worry" "God, I love you. Now let's get something to eat, I'm starving." I sighed. "You didn't have breakfast, did you?" Sophie looked at me suspiciously as we made our way out of the classroom, already outside was another class of one year younger who eagerly wanted to go inside and find the best seats. "Of course I had breakfast" I say, as if it was a healthy breakfast. "A redbull and a bag of chips, that's all I need for the morning and... a loot of chocolate for the test we had. C´mon Sophie, you know I need sugar to study" "Cat, I can't believe you're a future dentist who can't give up sugar for just one day" she laughed while we went down the stairs to the first floor where the cafeteria was located. I couldn't help but stretch my legs a bit, since my first year in University it had been a challenge to climb the stairs and even after four years my muscles still ached. When we got to the cafeteria, the first thing I ordered was a coffee and two brownies plus a bag of chips, in my words "to counteract the effect of cavities" scientifically proven by the way. Meanwhile, Sophie, who was a little healthier, ordered a tea and a sandwich, which didn't take long, once they gave us our orders we went to the nearest table and the first thing I did was look at my phone. I had many messages from the family chat, there were only four of us, but even so, thirty-two messages seemed a bit excessive. After a quick reading of all the messages, I smiled proudly and all the tiredness disappeared from my body, now I couldn't wait to go home. Sophie, who had her mouth full, looked at me curiously: "And that smile? Has a class been cancelled?!" she suddenly began to see her phone but quickly denied it. "No, no, no! It's about my older sister Dalia" I couldn't help but brag about her like I always did every time I talked about her "She already passed her last exam from her practice; next week she will receive the title of cardiothoracic surgeon! There will be a private party for all graduates to bring their families. A gala" The fact of a gala made me emotional, when I was a child, I always loved elegant dresses and refined things, I still remember being little and putting on my mom's jewelry and her dresses, walking through the living room like a movie star. The only problem was social interaction, it's not that I had trouble talking to people, it was the simple fact that I liked being at home and painting, although my artistic skills would have to wait for my patients at the clinic. I was exhausted from the patients at the clinic and the exams, and a party where they were going to celebrate my favorite person in the whole world with free drinks and food sounded like a good idea. "That's sounds awesome!" Sophie grinned "Just don't get wasted in front of your parents, trust me, it ain't the best" I laughed softly, I like to drink, and I had already gotten drunk many times, however, never in front of my parents who, being me the youngest of two sisters, still considered me the baby of the house. Sophie put her phone down the table and slid it in front of me, it was her Tinder showing the picture of a cute guy around our age in the gym. I frowned, knowing I'd seen him somewhere until finally another face came to mind, a younger one with braces. "Hey, I know this guy, he was my classmate in school!" I yell. " Glow up or glow down?" " Mhmm. Hard to tell, barely even talked to him, I think he borrowed me a pen once" "You on tinder?" another voice but behind me made almost jump. I turned to see Jack, my friend who seemed to have just left the clinic since he was still wearing his navy blue scrubs, a mask and his box of supplies in one hand. I laughed nervously as he sat next to me, I couldn't help but blush as soon as someone assumed that I was looking for a partner. "C'mon you know I am not into those things." I shook my head as he smiled at me and he told to us that he would also go to order a coffee from the barista. "C'mon we all know he likes you, except you, so why not?" Sophie asked once Jack left. "He doesnt...uh... turn me on?" "Why?" "He uhm... god, I don't want to sound superficial, I just don't like him like... that" He was cute, but not my type. Jack had long brown hair long enough to be pulled back into a small ponytail, he was pale and thin but somewhat of a dancer's build, being that he had contoured arms, and although thin, he was pretty strong. But it wasn't just his physique, it was his presence, it was as magnetic and passionate as having my pet Sonny by my side, it didn't cause me desire or emotion. "Got it, he doesn't make your lady parts tingle." "Sophie!" Jack came back with a coffee in his hand and sat again by my side. " Hey, Cat, I was wondering if you'd like to go study Oral Pathology. I'm pretty lost" "Uh sorry... I... have to... take care of my grandma" I replied trying not to hurt his feelings. I practically ran home, the apartment where I had always lived with my family was only a few blocks from the University, so it didn't take me long to get there, I only made a brief stop to buy Dalia her favorite sweets. When I finally got home, I was first greeted by my dog Sonny, and immediately hugged my sister in the living room, congratulating her, our parents next to her looking as proud as me. "Even the head of surgery of the hospital will be there. All the students and the doctors of the Hospital will be there!" she smiled. After eating Chinese food in celebration of Dalia, we watched her favorite movie and chatted a bit more about her job at the hospital and her engagement to her boyfriend, Theo. But the tiredness of the day won me over and I had to apologize by going to bed. Even so, my sister entered my room after a few minutes. "I brought you a fortune cookie, it's the last one left." I gave her a grateful look and tore it in two, eating half of it and reading; "Love can last a lifetime, if you want it to" I lifted an eyebrow "I think this is yours, you are the one engaged" She laughed. "Hey, want to see photos of my colleagues and my boss?" Dalia lifted her phone. "They are all pretty cool" "Maybe later, I am tired". I yawned and snuggled in the bed. But I didn't see the photos of the sexy man who was going to change my life forever, my world, my emotions, my sensations forever with the arrival of Doctor Garcia, the chief of the hospital and my sister's future boss, twenty-two years older than me, my boring and ordinary world would never be the same.