Love in labcoats

CASE FILE 02

Mavis pov

BEEP!... BEEP! 4:00a.m . The alarm rang as I was already awake staring into the darkness faintly illuminated by the already rising sun as I sipped my warm coffee, black with no sugar and, as for milk… an abomination to my morning routine.

I sighed deeply and took a slow sip.

In nothing but my navy blue sweatpants hanging low on my hips.

Calmly, I find my way to the shower while dropping the mug gently on the well-arranged shelf.

Every item aligned, even the pens.

After my very long shower of 30 minutes, I stare at myself in the mirror. My wet black hair fell across my eyelids, water still held on my lashes as I quietly began to apply my shaving cream as I rubbed it round till it foamed then I began to shave.

6:30 am

Already in my obsidian black S-class Mercedes-Benz as I started the engine pulling out of my penthouse driveway out the gates into the busy street of Manhattan, New York.

RING!... RING!! As the car's speaker rang, an older man's voice came through deep but clear.

“Good morning, Dr Quill,” the chief spoke.

“Morning Sir,” I said, turning up the volume as I glided down the streets, its dark window reflecting the city lights as it moved with effortless precision.

“I hope you are aware of what the intern orientation is today and I hope you are prepared?” he said, more like stating rather than notifying me.

“Yes, sir, you have nothing to worry about,” I said in my deep, gravely voice clear enough for him to hear me.

“Oh and before I forget”," he said as my eyebrow lifted a bit.

“ These 3 students keep a close eye on them for me …uh Joanna Lucas, Rule Desmond and uh… Silvia pears. They are the best graduating medical students from Oxford, Boston and Stanford respectively, so, keep an eye on them. For me, they are special even though we won't say it," he finished.

A smirk creeped up my lips as I replied …

“Yes sir. See you at the hospital, sir” and with that i hung up.

The call ended, but I didn’t lower the volume immediately.

Silvia Gwendolyn Pears.

The name lingered in my head longer than it should have.

At the next red light, I reached for the slim black tablet resting beside the gear shift and opened the intern files the chief had forwarded earlier that morning.

Silvia Gwendolyn Pears — Stanford University. First-Class Honors. Valedictorian. Research distinction in cardiovascular medicine.

Impressive.

Too impressive.

I had been in medicine long enough to know that excellence on paper was often the easiest kind of excellence to achieve. Grades did not tell me how a student reacted when a patient stopped breathing. They did not tell me whether she could make a decision with three nurses waiting for an answer and a monitor screaming in the background. They certainly did not tell me whether she could keep her composure when someone’s life depended on her hands.

I swiped to the next file.

Joanna Lucas — Oxford University.

Disciplined. Published. Awarded.

Then the next.

Rule Desmond — Boston University.

Top of his cohort. Emergency medicine distinction.

Three exceptional students.

Three potential disappointments.

The city moved around me in flashes of yellow taxis, glass buildings, and impatient horns, but my attention remained on the files. Every year St. Catherine’s welcomed brilliant young doctors who arrived believing intelligence was enough. By the end of their first month, most discovered that medicine demanded something far more difficult than intelligence.

Consistency.

Precision.

Endurance.

The traffic light turned green. I closed the tablet and set it aside.

If Silvia Pears truly was Stanford’s best, I would know soon enough.

7:42am

I arrived at the hospital, got to my quarters and changed into my scrubs and lab coat . Suddenly, I hear that annoying voice that always makes me cringe anytime I hear it.

“Dr Quill, good morning,” Patricia greeted.

I hid my irritation and replied.

“morning"

“ I was just thinking maybe when you're free we can….”

“I'm busy.. I had to introduce the interns to the hospital, group them and I had to attend to Mr Dan Carter, the 58-year-old with crushing chest pain. Now that you're here, get me a CXR (Chest X-ray) on Mr Dan.” Thanks. As I walk away, leaving her speechless because honestly it's better she stays that way.

8:00AM

The interns were ready and waiting as I walked into the orientation room. They were prepared, too prepared I must say, but just how I like it.

“Let's begin," I said, turning on the projector to explain properly what they are getting into.

As they all settled down, I began.

“ Good morning everyone and welcome to St Catherine's Medical Center, one of the best hospitals in New York City, if not the best. This is not something you are familiar with. This is not medical school where you get to use props and dummies or learning how to stitch up a banana …no. This is an actual hospital where we save the lives of actual people, so treat your patients as people with families, friends and loved ones. I'm going to assign you to groups with the best students as your leaders, but anything you can't handle… Report to me, Dr Joe, Dr Finn and Dr Annabel. Now you need to know us all and your group leaders for proper co-ordination”. As I continued

“ And that's the reason why this orientation…” I stopped my teaching because an incompetent intern, I'm guessing, interrupted me.

“intern?” i asked

“Yeah,” she replied in such a casual tone, I already hated it.

“ And you're 27 minutes late?” I spoke sternly while arching a brow in shock as she just stared at me looking so unprepared and don't get started about the shoes. I checked the files one last time. The name read: Silvia Gwendolyn Pears.

God help me if this was Stanford's best.