Untitled
850 Words
Ella Morgan discovered something important about hospital placement.
It was exhausting.
Not the kind of tired where sleep fixes everything.
It was the kind of tired where your feet hurt, your brain feels full, and you start questioning whether your body was designed to stand for eight hours.
She dropped her bag on her bed the moment she got back to her room.
“I survived,” she announced to the empty room.
The room, as usual, did not respond.
Ella nodded.
“Good talk.”
She changed into comfortable clothes and checked her phone.
A message from Sophie appeared.
Sophie:
You survived your first placement.Proud of you.
Ella smiled.
Ella:
Barely .My legs are planning a protest.
A reply came immediately.
Sophie:
Come get coffee tomorrow before class.
Ella looked at the message.
Coffee.
A simple thing.
But for some reason, she remembered someone else.
A certain clinical instructor with calm eyes and a serious personality.
She quickly shook her head.
“No.”
She pointed at herself.
“Absolutely not.”
The next morning, Ella arrived early.
A miracle.
She even surprised herself.
She walked into the hospital café, expecting Sophie to already be there.
She wasn’t.
Instead…
Daniel Scott was standing at the counter.
Ella stopped.
Of all people.
The universe really had a sense of humour.
Daniel noticed her.
“Miss Morgan.”
Ella smiled awkwardly.
“Mr. Scott.”
A small pause.
Then Daniel looked at her.
“Coffee?”
She nodded.
“Yes. I need it to survive.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Your first placement was that bad?”
“No,” she replied quickly.
Then thought about it.
“Okay… yes.”
A small smile appeared on his face.
Barely there.
But she saw it.
Ella ordered her coffee.
Then waited.
The café was quiet.
A little too quiet.
She suddenly became aware that she was standing beside him.
Not as a student.
Not during a lesson.
Just two people.
And somehow that felt more intimidating.
“You’re adjusting well,” Daniel said.
Ella looked at him.
“Really?”
He nodded.
“You were nervous.”
“That was obvious.”
“Very.”
She sighed.
“Everyone keeps telling me that.”
Daniel looked slightly amused.
“You have a very expressive face.”
Ella frowned.
“Is that a polite way of calling me dramatic?”
“Maybe.”
She gasped.
“You just admitted that?”
For a second, Daniel actually laughed.
Not a big laugh.
Just a quiet one.
But Ella noticed.
Because Daniel Scott rarely looked like someone who laughed.
And somehow seeing it felt like discovering a secret.
Their coffee arrived.
Ella took hers.
“Thank you.”
She turned to leave.
Then Daniel spoke.
“Ella.”
She stopped.
It was the first time he called her by her first name.
Not Miss Morgan.
Ella.
She turned slowly.
“Yes?”
He hesitated slightly.
“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”
The seriousness returned to his voice.
“Everyone struggles at the beginning.”
Ella looked at him quietly.
That was not what she expected.
Daniel Scott seemed like someone who had everything figured out.
Perfect.
Calm.
Unshaken.
But maybe he wasn’t.
Maybe he just hid it better.
“Did you struggle?” she asked.
The question came out before she could stop it.
Daniel looked surprised.
A little.
Then he looked away.
“Everyone does.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
For the first time, Ella saw a different side of him.
A small crack in the confidence.
He finally answered.
“Yes.”
A pause.
“When I started, I thought being good meant never making mistakes.”
Ella listened.
“But nursing taught me something else.”
“What?”
Daniel looked at her.
“Being good means learning from them.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Ella smiled.
“That’s actually good advice.”
He nodded.
“I have those sometimes.”
She laughed.
“Sometimes?”
A small smile.
“Don’t get used to it.”
Before Ella could reply, Sophie entered the café.
She stopped immediately.
Looked at Ella.
Looked at Daniel.
Then looked back at Ella.
Her eyes widened.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
“Am I interrupting something?” Sophie asked.
Ella nearly choked on her coffee.
“No!”
Daniel calmly picked up his cup.
“Good morning, Sophie.”
Sophie smiled.
“Good morning.”
But her eyes were still on Ella.
Later, as they walked away, Sophie leaned closer.
“Ella.”
“What?”
“Daniel Scott?”
Ella frowned.
“What about him?”
Sophie smiled.
“Nothing.”
“That smile means something.”
“It means…”
Sophie looked at her.
“You’re in trouble.”
Ella rolled her eyes.
“I am not.”
But deep down…
she wasn’t completely sure.
That night, Ella lay in bed thinking.
Not about London.
Not about nursing.
Not about her future.
But about one simple thing:
Daniel Scott had smiled.
And somehow…
She wanted to see it again.
- Writer
