3. Megan
CHAPTER 3
MEGAN
M egan locked her bike to the hospital’s bike rack and took off the seat to keep with the rest of her things. She was a little more sweaty than she would have liked, so she was eager to change into her scrubs.
Though her locker was full sized, Megan was momentarily worried that she would not be able to fit all her things into it. It took a bit of doing but she managed almost everything outside her bike seat. Getting that in proved to be more of a challenge. Everything else threatened to tumble out no matter how she tried to cram it into the locker, and Megan began to worry that her first day was not starting out as well as she would have hoped.
Then, just before her books came tumbling out of her locker once again, a pair of small hands found them and stabilized them for her.
“Thanks,” Megan said, panting from the effort she’d expended before help had arrived.
“No worries,” the girl beside her said. She was short with dark hair, a round face, and a dark green ribbon tying her hair back. Megan wanted to ask her what her name was, but the second she took her hands from the pile of stuff in her locker, it threatened to come tumbling out again.
“How are we going to do this now?” Megan said with a laugh.
“We have to come up with a plan,” the girl said, her face scrunched up in thought. “Okay. I’ll keep holding the books, and you count. On three, I’ll remove my hands, and you close the door. You’ve got to be quick about it, though.”
“Do you think it will work?” Megan asked.
The girl shook her head. “It’s going to have to, or we’re out of luck.”
“Ready?” Megan said. When the other girl nodded, she counted to three. All at once, her new teammate released her hold, the books teetered dangerously, but Megan was already slamming the door on them.
“That was close,” the girl said.
“Yeah, it was.” Megan laughed and held her knees. “Wow. Thank you so much. I should not have brought that much stuff. Guess it’s nerves.” She stood up and offered her hand. “I’m Megan.”
The girl shook her hand a little too gently. “Kayla. I’m under Dr. Ralter. And you?”
“Same!” Megan shook her hand and buttoned up the scrubs she’d just changed into. “So we’re going to be in a group together?”
“Looks like it,” Kayla said.
“I’m so glad. I was worried I wasn’t going to make any friends on my first day. I’m so nervous, aren’t you?” Megan always had been one to overshare. She found herself immediately comfortable around almost anyone, and she tended to talk maybe a little too much.
But Kayla seemed to appreciate the openness. “Yeah, so nervous,” she said with a laugh. “I’m glad we’re in a group together, though. Maybe we can help chill each other out.”
“We may as well keep on helping each other,” Megan said as they both started out of the locker room. “Seems to be working so far. So hey, Kayla, you’re going to have a great day. Like, it’s going to be your best first day ever. I know because I’m psychic. It runs in my family.”
Kayla cocked her head. “Really?”
“Not really.” Megan laughed. “But I thought it made a good introduction. Way more interesting than, ‘Hey, I’m Megan, and I’ve got no idea what the hell I’m doing.’”
“You were right.” Kayla nodded. “The psychic thing was way better.”
They made their way through the bright white halls to the room where they were supposed to meet their attending physician, Dr. Ralter. They walked into a meeting room where three other people were already waiting for them. Tightly woven carpet covered the floors and exceptionally neutral beige paint covered the walls. The lights were all florescent, but at least the chairs were padded. Megan and Kayla sat down beside each other, and Megan took stock of the other residents in the room.
A man and a woman sat together on one side of the table, and one lone man sat on the other. The two residents chatted amongst themselves, clearly having made friends already. The lone man, on the other hand, couldn’t be bothered to even look up from his notepad. He seemed to be deep in thought, or study, or something else. He was probably the blondest person Megan had ever seen, looking every bit like the villain in a Bond movie. Megan imagined him menacingly petting a fluffy, white cat in his lap while they waited. She giggled at the thought. That, apparently got his attention.
He looked up, and Megan was taken aback by the shade of his eyes. Pale blue, like ice, she thought, or a very light topaz. She realized she was staring at him when he narrowed his eyes at her. Well, there was no use pretending she hadn’t noticed him, so she decided to compensate with an overabundance of friendliness.
“Megan Bright.” She stood for her introduction and offered her hand from across the table. “Sorry for staring. I was just noticing the unusual color of your eyes. They’re so striking, you know? Are you having a good first day so far? Mine’s just stellar, especially now that I finally get to meet my fellow residents. I hope we get to be friends.” All while she spoke, her hand hovered across the table, while the blue-eyed resident she addressed failed to take it.
Another of the residents must have noticed her discomfort because she reached across the table and shook Megan’s hand instead. “I’m Amy Shepherd. It’s great to meet you, Megan. Not sure what his problem is.” She was a pretty young redhead with braids in her hair.
Megan laughed awkwardly. “Good to meet you, Amy. And you?” She turned to the other man at the table, whose eyes kept darting between Megan and the as-yet-unintroduced blue-eyed resident.
“Oh,” the other man said as though he’d just woken up from a daydream. “I’m Keith. Sorry, I mean Brandon. Keith Brandon.”
“Two first names!” Megan said. “Nice. That’s always a good-luck sign.”
His smile broadened as he shook her hand. “Gosh, I sure hope so.” He had a nice Southern accent, Megan noticed, and he perked up quite a bit when he was engaged.
Though Megan had always been good at getting people to smile, there was still a challenge left in the room. She arched an eyebrow at him. “Guess you don’t have a name?”
Amy responded. “Oh, he has a name all right. He just doesn’t feel the need to introduce himself because everyone already knows who he is.”
The striking male resident glared at Amy and finally reached out to shake Megan’s hand. “Charlie Sullivan,” he said. “I’m not here to make friends.”
Amy rolled her eyes at him. “You didn’t have to tell us that. It was obvious.”
Megan squeezed his hand, noting how warm it was, and smiled. “Well, none of us are really here to make friends, but I’m hopeful we manage to do it by accident anyway.”
He blinked at her like he couldn’t even believe she existed. He seemed to have forgotten to let go of her hand, until he overcame his shock that someone so ridiculous was addressing him. At least, that’s how Megan interpreted his expression and behavior. He seemed to be about the least likable person in the world. Well, there always had to be a grump in every group, right? She would just have to look at him as a test of her own fortitude, her optimism, her positive?—
“I’m also not here to date, in case you were wondering,” he added.
Amy snickered. Kayla blushed on Megan’s behalf. And Megan did everything in her power to hold her smile and not explode at her new, extraordinarily unpleasant fellow resident.
She yanked her hand back and dropped into her chair just as their attending physician made his way into the room.
“Thank you for being on time,” he said while taking a seat at the head of the table. “I’m Dr. Ralter.” He was a large man with salt-and-pepper hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He passed out orientation packets to each of his new residents, sliding them down the table like he was the world’s fanciest bartender.
Megan pulled her glasses from her pocket and put them on to read the packet, just as Amy piped up. “Walter?” she said with an amused snort. “Your name is Walter Ralter?”
Dr. Ralter arched an eyebrow at his unruly resident. Keith suppressed a laugh. Kayla pinched her lips together with her teeth. But again, Charlie couldn’t be bothered to react.
“Well,” Megan said without the hint of humor in her tone, “I think rhyming names are the best names. If I ever have kids?—”
“God forbid,” Charlie mumbled.
Megan shot him a dirty look but quickly suppressed it in favor of a warm smile. What was his problem with her? She hadn’t done anything to him. She hadn’t even had time enough to do anything to them. “When I have kids,” she continued defiantly, “I’d love to give them names that rhyme.”
Dr. Ralter seemed about as unimpressed with Megan’s good will as he was with Charlie’s bad mood. “My name is about the least interesting thing you’ll be learning today,” he said. “Let’s move on.”
The entire time Dr. Ralter was giving them their orientation, Megan couldn’t stop wondering what she had done to deserve that kind of treatment. It was stupid, she realized. Charlie Sullivan didn’t owe her kindness, or friendship, or anything of the kind. In fact, they would likely eventually be in competition with one another, so he was probably right that they couldn’t be friends. Didn’t make it hurt any less, though.
They were given a tour of the hospital and asked various questions, likely to get them used to being tested on the job. Everyone seemed to be answering well except Kayla, who stumbled at every word. The more she failed to respond as quickly as she thought she should, the more nervous she got, which only fed her insecurities. By the time they got to their first patient, her hands were visibly shaking.
The patient was a middle-aged man with mild chest pain, and Dr. Ralter wasn’t going to take any chances. “Kayla, get an IV into him.” Then he turned to the patient and began listening to his heart with a stethoscope. “Just standard procedure, sir. No need to panic. We do this for everyone.”
The patient laughed a little. “Bull.”
“It’s true.” Dr. Ralter nodded to Kayla as he continued talking to the patient. “We don’t mess around with chest pain. It’s probably just gas, but you know how it is.”
Kayla hesitated, and Charlie stepped in. “I can take care of it, Dr. Ralter.”
“Nope,” the doctor said casually. “I already know you can do it. I want Kayla to show off her skills.”
The patient’s smile dropped. “What am I, some kind of guinea pig?”
“Not at all,” Dr. Ralter said. “But this is a teaching hospital. Not to worry, though, we only have the very best residents here. And I’ll be right here to supervise.”
The patient laid back and grumbled before Dr. Ralter shushed him in order to better hear his heart. “Kayla,” Dr. Ralter said, his tone bordering on irritation now. “An IV catheter, please.” Kayla took her time putting the catheter together, and Dr. Ralter got on her case again. “Today, if you don’t mind.”
“Y-yes, of course,” Kayla stammered. “I’m almost done.”
Seeing the way the patient watched Kayla, a thought occurred to Megan. However inappropriate it might have been, she decided to cheat a little, shifting the mood in Kayla’s favor.
“Don’t flirt with this one now, Kayla,” Megan said, winking at the patient and nudging Kayla with the toe of her tennis shoe. “She’s always getting a little too cozy with the patients, aren’t you, Kayla? Making the rest of us look bad. She says it’s just a good bedside manner, but we know better, don’t we Charlie?”
Charlie frowned, predictably, and for a moment, Kayla looked mortified.
Then the patient piped up. “Oh, we wouldn’t want the rest of your friends to look too bad, would we, honey? Don’t let them push you around, though. I can tell you’re a sweet girl, and you’re going to make a great doctor. Don’t you listen to the rest of them.”
Kayla’s face turned the color of strawberries, and of course, the patient misinterpreted it. But because he saw her as a person — a cutie-pie to be precise — doing her best, Megan was sure he would now be far more tolerant of any mistakes or hesitation.
No matter how long Kayla took feeling for a vein, the man didn’t seem to mind. He kept chatting with her, asking her questions about her age and why she decided to go into medicine. She blushed and apologized, and he just told her, “That’s okay, honey. You take all the time you need.” Megan would have bet her whole paycheck the man actually enjoyed his IV placement, regardless of whether Kayla missed the vein the first time.
Kayla smiled bashfully. “Well, thank you so much for being so understanding, sir. I’ll get you set up so we can run some tests and have you out of here as soon as possible.”
“You sure you don’t want to keep me overnight?” the patient joked.
“Oh, well, hopefully not, but if we do, we’ll spoil you rotten. You can be sure of that.”
When they finally left the exam room, Dr. Ralter pulled Megan aside and gave her a stern look. “That was deeply inappropriate. You know that, right?”
Megan bowed her head. “Yes, Dr. Ralter.”
“Good. Just let everyone know I told you to never do it again.” He glanced around to make sure no one was close before adding, “But between us, you did well in there, kid. Good improvisation. Mr. Barry always gives us grief, but I believe this was the least grief we’ve ever gotten from him. I was planning to hold your peer’s feet to the fire to get her out of her timidness, but I think your plan was better.”
Megan beamed up at her attending. “Thank you so much, Dr. Ralter. My mother always said I was good with people. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to go into medicine.”
“Well, way to play to your strengths,” he said, then his look got stern again. “And like I said, don’t ever let me catch you doing that again.”
Charlie passed by just then. Megan hadn’t seen him coming, but when he was gone again, Dr. Ralter winked one more time before patting Megan on the shoulder and walking her to the next patient.