The Intern

Every life holds multiple turning points within itself. Some turn your world upside down, poisoning your existence; others give you a brand-new breath, a whole new excitement out of that chaos. My first turning point, the one that made me feel its arrival like crazy, dates back to my childhood. The people who would direct my life and fill my blank, white pages with countless colors entered my world back then. Right now, however, I was harboring a much bigger, much heavier feeling inside. I couldn't quite tell if this new wave coursing through my body was supposed to make me panic or make me happy with the pride of growing up. All I knew was that the second major bend in my life was approaching at full speed. Or maybe the strong filter coffees, which had increased to three cups a day, had just decided to play tricks on my heart rhythm today. Resting my hand on my chest, I slowly sat up from the bed where I was lying. The sound of the phone cutting through the silence of the room snapped me out of my thoughts. I reached out toward the device vibrating on the nightstand and turned the screen to face me. Tuna calling... I swiped the screen and pressed the phone to my ear. "Yes, Tuna?" The impatient volume added to his already loud voice only added to my morning groggy state. I tried to filter out his words through the background noise on his end: "Where on earth are you, girl? We are literally at the hospital cafe right now!" My brows furrowed slightly. "What cafe? What are you talking about, Tuna?" Tuna turned to whoever was next to him on the other end of the line and grumbled, "This girl hasn't even woken up yet." After a few rustling sounds, Sarp's calm but clear voice came through the phone. "Ladin, today is the first day of your intern clinicals. Did you forget?" Clinicals? As the pieces clicked into place all at once, I closed my eyes and gently tapped my forehead. How could I have forgotten? "It completely slipped my mind," I mumbled, trying to pull myself together instantly. "I’d be surprised if you hadn’t forgotten." I heard Sarp take a deep breath. "Anyway, we figured as much. I'm calling Toprak now; he's coming to pick you up. Be ready by the time he arrives." I nodded in agreement. "Ladin, do you hear me?" I startled slightly. "Yes, I hear you," I said in a firm voice. "Actually, Toprak doesn't need to come. I'll just take a cab." Ikren's voice chimed in from the background: "Toprak already hit the road, he said 'tell her to wait for me'." Classic Toprak. He always did things his own way. "Fine, I'm getting ready right now. See you," I said and hung up the phone. I got out of bed and headed straight to the bathroom. After washing my face with cold water and brushing my teeth, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Today was our first day in the hospital corridors, and even though we were just interns, we were stepping into a fast-paced environment where human lives were directly on the line. There was no reason to hesitate or panic; I could handle this. Standing in front of my closet, I reached for the effortless yet chic outfit I had planned the night before. I put on a pair of loose, cream-colored linen pants and the matching sleeveless blouse. I really wanted to wear a lot of jewelry, but everything except my tiny earrings was strictly forbidden. I quickly got dressed, brushed my hair, and pulled it back into a tight, modern low bun. From my jewelry box, I picked out my gold hoop earrings and star-shaped piercings for my ear cartilage. Moving back to the mirror, I applied a touch of mascara, a bit of brown eyeliner, and swiped a black cherry lip balm across my lips. I took one last look at my reflection. Casual, but definitely professional and sharp. I carefully folded my white scrubs so they wouldn't wrinkle and placed them in my bag. Once my clinical logbook, my signing pen, the three passport photos needed for registration, and my charger were all in place, I slipped my phone into my pocket and walked out of my room. Just as I put on my white sneakers by the front door and stood waiting for the elevator, my mother suddenly appeared beside me. My hand flew to my heart from the jolt of her quiet approach. "You scared me, Mom, where did you come from?" "I heard the door and tried to catch you," my mother said, scanning me up and down. "I figured you might have forgotten to take cash in all the rush." I bit my lip and smiled faintly. She was right; amidst the rush of running late, checking my wallet hadn't even crossed my mind. My mother slid the money into my bag. "Take this, you'll need it during the day, and maybe you'll sit down somewhere with your friends after clinicals." "I don't really need it, Mom, I have my cards with me," I said, but she put the money in my bag anyway. No matter how much I grew up, I was still that girl she wanted to shield in her eyes. Right at that moment, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Seeing the name on the screen, I gave my mom a quick kiss on the cheek and got into the elevator. Toprak calling... I knew they had arrived. I declined the call and pressed the button for the ground floor. After fixing my clothes one last time in the mirror, I pushed open the heavy main door of the apartment building and stepped outside. I walked toward the black car parked right in front of our building and took my seat in the front passenger side. As I buckled my seatbelt, I turned to his side profile. "Good morning." Toprak smiled faintly without taking his eyes off the road. "Good morning." He shifted into gear and smoothly drove toward the main avenue. I watched the road, letting the sweet morning breeze brush against my skin. The silence between us was calm, just like always. Without getting stuck in the morning city traffic, we arrived at the massive hospital campus in about ten minutes. Toprak slowed the car down just past the main entrance of the hospital. His blue eyes turned to me for a brief second. "Go ahead to the cafe, I'll park the car and catch up." I nodded to confirm. Getting out of the car, I walked toward the chic boutique cafe that had become the group's morning meeting spot before every shift. Stepping inside, I scanned the room; seeing our group at one of the wide tables near the windows, I made my way over. I locked my eyes directly onto Sarp. He already knew our morning coffee ordering ritual by heart. When our eyes met, he rolled his eyes at me slightly. In response, I flashed him my most seductive smile and blew him a kiss. He stood up from his seat and headed toward the bar counter. If you're wondering why I wasn't the one waiting in line, I should mention that I was milking a bet Sarp and I had made for all it was worth. Finally, as Toprak sat down in the empty chair next to me, the whole crew was complete. A few minutes later, Sarp placed the steaming cup of filter coffee and the chocolate brownie he brought along right in front of me. He had a playful smirk on his face. I threw him a grateful glance and reached for the coffee, which brought me back to life with its scent alone. I was practically falling in love with the pastry beside it. As the heaviness of sleep completely lifted, I could feel the caffeine levels rising in my veins with every sip of my coffee. Granted, like anyone studying medicine or health sciences, my body had already built up a tolerance to caffeine, but this morning ritual felt good mentally. When I finished my coffee and set the cup near the edge of the table, Toprak reached out, took the empty cup, and tossed it into the trash bin next to us. I smiled at him, and he gave a slight nod. Turning my gaze to the girls at the other end of the table, my eyes locked with Ikren's. She looked at me intently and pointed to the corner of her own lips. "You've got some chocolate left there, babe, wipe it if you want." My hand automatically went to the spot she indicated. As I cleaned the corner of my lips with the tip of my finger, I figured that only this sweet craving could suppress the stress of today's intense shift. We dove into a deep conversation, talking about the sweet future anxieties brought by the profession, the rounding hours, and the tough questions from the professors, just like we did every clinical morning. Checking the time, we saw that it was officially time to start. Standing up and straightening our clothes, we walked out of the cafe and took our first steps into the white, serious corridors of the hospital.