Chapter 6
Chelsea was early into her shift today, and, at her first break, she already felt the stress headache coming on.
She went to the lunchroom, sat down with her food, and took a few bites, knowing that if she didn’t eat fast enough and got called back in again, she wouldn’t get the chance to eat at all.
One of the other students in training came in, took one look, and declared, “Well, I’m glad you’re here.”
“Yeah?” Chelsea muttered. “I’m not sure I belong here though.”
“Don’t let Gladys get to you,” her coworker said. “I don’t know why all the sudden she’s decided that you’re some sort of pariah, but you haven’t done anything wrong.”
“And you and I both know it won’t matter, not if she winds up giving me a bad reference. Right or wrong, I’ll be screwed for getting work.”
“She doesn’t have that kind of power. She can make life difficult for a little bit, but I’ve already put in complaints about her behavior.”
“And you know nobody gives a crap,” Chelsea muttered. “Has she treated you rough too?”
“Sometimes she does but never the way she’s been picking on you. It’s almost as if she thinks you made up the whole thing about the truck and the body and the detective.”
She stared at her. “She only has to call Richard to confirm.”
“That’s the stupid thing about it. I mean, obviously if she really thought you lied, she could have made a quick phone call to the cops to find out.
But she doesn’t do quick phone calls. She doesn’t do anything other than get pissed off because, as far as she’s concerned, you should be doing only what she says, which is also kind of BS. ”
“I’m doing everything I possibly can, and she still doesn’t give a crap.”
“I’m not telling you to ignore her because that could end up badly, but at least get through this last couple weeks and then put in your complaint.”
At that, the door opened, and several other nurses in training walked in.
They were all friendly and smiling, but then again they weren’t the target of Gladys’s ire, so it was easier for them to be happy.
One of the women came over, patted Chelsea on the shoulder, and said, “Hang in there.”
“I’m trying,” Chelsea whispered, “but it’s been a rough go.”
“I know,” she muttered. “I just can’t imagine all that added grief. Just the stuff with your mother was too much.”
“Yeah, and that’s a reminder I don’t need.”
The other woman winced. “Sorry, I swore I wouldn’t bring it up.”
“I understand, judging by the frequency of the comments I’ve gotten and the apologies afterward.” She sighed. Tossing the rest of her lunch in her mouth, she stood up and muttered, “I better get back out there, or I’ll be in trouble yet again.”
“I don’t even know what you got into trouble for,” one trainee shared. “I’ve been looking over my shoulder in a panic ever since that happened because I don’t know what you did wrong. So how in the heck can I keep myself out of trouble when we’re doing nothing wrong?”
“When you figure that out, let me know,” Chelsea suggested, “and then maybe we’ll both get through this with the least amount of pain.”
“She shouldn’t be allowed to do what she’s doing,” someone added.
“I mean, talk about harassment,” one of the others chipped in.
At that, Chelsea laughed. “I don’t know what the story is with her either.
I actually wondered if she was friends with my mother, or maybe she doesn’t like something about what’s just gone down with the truck and the dead body and all that.
I couldn’t tell you, but it’s really crappy timing because I just want to finish. ”
“Yeah, I hear you there,” her coworker confirmed.
With a quick wave at the other trainees, Chelsea headed back out to continue her shift, and that’s how her day went right through until the end. Even then she couldn’t leave timely as she was with a patient. So, by the time she got back to her station, she was twenty minutes past her shift.
As luck would have it, her super came around. “We’re not paying overtime,” she stated in a crappy tone.
“I know that,” Chelsea murmured, “but the patient needed help.” Without another word she turned and headed out, just in time to see the administrator of the hospital looking at her in surprise, then back at Gladys, Chelsea’s supervisor.
Gladys didn’t say anything and just kept on walking.
When somebody called Chelsea’s name from behind, she turned to see the hospital administrator looking at her.
“Hey, I wanted to talk to you.”
Upon hearing that, Gladys glared at her.
Chelsea ignored her and turned to the administrator and replied, “I don’t know what you want to talk to me about,” she replied warily, “but I’m free right now if you want.”
“Sure,” he said. “Let’s go down to my office.”
He led the way to his office, and, when they were almost there and alone in the hallway, he noted, “I’m getting complaints about the treatment you’re receiving from Gladys.”
Chelsea nodded. “I haven’t made any complaints though.”
“No, but apparently she’s been extra hard on you.”
“I don’t want to even go in that direction,” she replied. “I just want to finish the program, find a job, and move on with my life.”
He frowned and asked her, “You do know she’s not entitled to harass you, right?”
She looked at him with a chuckle and said, “No offense, but have you met her?”
He winced. “I know that her time here is coming to an end, but she’s been a huge help all these years and turned out some highly qualified nurses. So anything we can do to keep this flowing without any major cacophony would be nice.”
“You’re right,” she acknowledged. “That would be nice.”
“What’s the story?” he asked.
“It’s nothing big, and I don’t really understand it at all.
She’s always been tough, but this has been next level.
A couple days ago I was a witness to something that turned out to involve the transport of a murder victim.
The police wanted my statement,” she explained, with a sigh.
“Then, when I got here, I get severely harassed by her because I was a few minutes late for my shift. It’s not as if I had a choice in the matter, and I did call in. Plus, I wasn’t even very late.”
“So, you’re the one who had that problem.”
“Yeah, I’m the one who had that problem,” she muttered, “and, ever since then, no matter what I do, she’s been brutal.”
“Has this been going on for a while?”
She thought about it and shrugged. “It’s been gradually getting worse. I just don’t know why. I’ve actually wondered if it had something to do with my mother.”
He frowned at her in surprise. “What’s going on with your mother?”
“That’s a very long sordid story and not exactly something I want to explain right now. Suffice it to say, my mother and her boyfriend are now in jail, and it’s been a long time coming.”
“Right,” he muttered, frowning. “So obviously, where Gladys is concerned, we have some sort of personality conflict going on.”
Chelsea smiled. “I don’t even know what to call it. I’m just trying to finish my training, so I can be done with it and Gladys.”
He hesitated, then asked, “Are you planning on leaving town?”
“No, not necessarily. I don’t know what I’m going to do yet,” she murmured.
“But, according to what everybody says, if Gladys doesn’t give you a supreme reference, then you won’t find work in town.
So, considering the way it’s been going for me,” she pointed out, “I’m not expecting much luck getting hired locally. ”
“That’s not true though,” he argued. She stopped and gave him a hard look.
He flushed. “I guess we need to take a look at the hiring practices right now.” He smiled.
“We need people, and I have spoken to several other nurses here, and they’ve all been extremely pleased with your training, your work ethic, and how well you fit in. I was hoping to offer you a job.”
She looked at him, stunned.
He laughed. “You really are surprised, aren’t you?”
“I sure am,” she declared. “That was the last thing I expected.”
“Well, consider it,” he suggested, “because the hospital needs quality nursing staff.”
She nodded slowly and asked with a sigh, “Will Gladys still be my supervisor?”
“No, her responsibilities are solely for the training program.”
She smiled. “In that case, I would be very interested.”
“Good,” he said. “We’ll talk in another couple weeks.
Let me speak to the HR department and see what I can pull up for paperwork, contracts, and the like, and see what we can offer you.
In the meantime, if you could do your best to stay out of her way, that would be the easiest thing for right now. ”
“Yes, it would,” she muttered, with a smile.
Feeling a heck of a lot better, she let herself out and headed to her vehicle. She was still smiling when a voice very close to her whispered, “Time to leave town.”
And, with that, something tripped her up, and somebody shoved her, and she fell down hard. She rolled and came up in a fighting stance, not sure what the hell was going on but mad as a hornet. Realizing Gladys was glaring at her, she stared at her shock. “Did you just attack me?”
“Of course not,” she stated in disgust. “Good God, what do you take me for?”
Chelsea looked around, but nobody else was here. “We’ll see about that because this area has cameras all over the place.”
Gladys stared at her in shock, as Chelsea pointed out several cams for her. Gladys paled and Chelsea nodded. “You really did just attack me, didn’t you? Jesus, what have I ever done to you?” She glared at her and continued. “I do not understand why all of a sudden—”
“Not all of a sudden,” Gladys snapped. “You definitely don’t belong here, and you never have.”
“And why don’t I belong here?” she asked Gladys, even as Chelsea’s knees were throbbing from the fall. “I don’t understand.”
Just then came a commotion outside, and security came. One of the guards walked over to Chelsea. “Are you okay?”