Chapter 4
FOUR
LEXIE
Two days later, Lexie was excited to get to class, it was the day before their test and while she'd heard that a few of the other student nurses were going to skip as the attendance wasn't part of their grade. It certainly wasn't part of their exam, but she wasn't someone who liked to skip steps.
She was, as her elementary school classmates called her, a goody two shoes, teacher's pet.
It had left her in tears when they'd said the words to her, but her dad sat her down and told her that there was nothing wrong with being a good girl.
"Listening to your teacher? Well, honey, that's why we send you to school." He'd put his hand on her head and gave her a warm, encouraging smile. "Never be ashamed for showing up and learning."
So there she was, seated in her customary place at the end of the front row, closest to the door when her teacher opened the door and preceded their guest speaker.
When she came to a stop, she gestured for their guest to take her place at the front of the room.
"To everyone here, I know you've all been working and studying hard for your exam and I'm proud of all of the work you've done in and out of class.
I asked our guest speaker to come here today because she's been in the same place you are.
If you are lucky enough to work with her at Cole Medical Center, you'll be thanking your lucky stars.
"One of the bright stars of the Emergency Care Center at Cole Medical, Thuy Nguyen!"
Lexie sat up a little more in her chair. She'd met Thuy when she'd gone in to interview at Cole Medical.
Thuy had given her a tour of the Emergency Room and other related areas after she'd gone through the oral interview.
Lexie had thought she was prepared for her internship at a busy ER, but she'd been wrong.
Just a few moments in the hustle and bustle of the Emergency room and she'd had to take a breath, standing off to the side.
But, Thuy had taken it all in stride, letting the rush and panic flow around her as they moved through the area.
Ducks.
When she was younger and they learned about ducks in school, she'd been fascinated about ducks and how they were so placid above the water, but under it, those cute little webbed feet were going a mile a minute.
Lexie had admired their energy.
That, and the way they waddled.
Too cute!
Later on she'd learned that duck dicks were... unique.
But that , was another story.
"Hello, everyone."
There were a number of greetings back.
"Hello!" "Hi." "Evening."
More that Lexie didn't hear specifically.
"As Laura said, I'm Thuy. You'll see me at the Cole Medical Center ER and I was sitting in one of these seats a... few years ago."
She cleared her throat and looked around the room.
"Thanks to all of you for not speculating how many years, but more specifically, I was sitting in your chair."
Lexie tried to hide a smile when Thuy pointed at her.
It didn't work, but she tried.
"First seat in the first row, not because I wanted to be seen, but my parents always insisted that I sit in the front row as a child in school and it stuck with me as a habit, but I picked the one right inside the door because it's the seat closest to the bathroom.
That's one thing you're going to learn as a nurse in a busy medical center, and every medical center is busy, is how to go to the bathroom like it's an Olympic sport.
"And no, I've never been handed a medal, we just go for our personal best."
The laughter in the room eased a lot of the tension that Lexie had been feeling.
"And humor is a must."
Lexie nodded.
"It doesn't mean that you have to be a comedian at the Laugh Factory, no one expects you to perform on stage.
But having a sense of humor and the ability to find moments of fun in the mundane can be the difference between making it through a shift and.
.. not. This isn't to scare you. By now you know that you're going to see blood, guts, and gore. None of that should be a surprise.
"But it's the other things that are going to leave you drained.
It's the patient who has reached the point where there's nothing left to do besides accepting the reality of what's about to happen.
It's the panic of parents when their child has been hurt and they've never felt so helpless before.
There are days when it will be moment after moment of heart-wrenching pain and emotion and you're going to find a little corner and take a breath.
"You're going to reach down deep inside for something to hold onto. It's not going to be a scene from Saturday Night Live or a slap-stick comedy. It's going to be a wry twist of humor. The ability to look yourself in the mirror and chuckle at the mess your hair has become.
"You're going to find a little chuckle in the way you trip over your own feet on the way outside to take your break and almost face-plant on the concrete.
"It might even be an old Knock Knock joke someone's child told you years before.
"It doesn't have to be big gut laughs. It just has to be the ability to find that little bit of humor when you need it.
And," she looked around the room at all of them, "just make sure you take care of yourself even in the rush of crazy on a full moon night.
Because you need to be functioning to help your patients. "
She gave the room a nod and Lexie leaned forward, folding her arms on the desktop.
All of Thuy's words struck a nerve, but it was going to take a while for them all to sink in.
Lexie learned facts well.
She picked up words and facts and had a great memory, but it was the emotional aspect that she was worried about the most.
She worried that she'd tense up at the wrong moment. Or she'd see the kind of emotional moment that Thuy had just talked about and that she'd react more like a patient than a nurse. The last thing she wanted to do was to fail a patient or their family when she was needed the most.
"Now that I've put all that out there, I hope none of you are going to run away before the end of this session. I just wanted to give you the perspective of someone who's been where you're going to be.
"Don't treat your shift like a pass/fail at handling these issues.
You're not going to have the floor open up under you every other second.
This is about how you handle challenges and things that don't go the right way.
A great doctor told me on my first day at the ER that a shift isn't like running the mile," she half covered her mouth, "which made me smile because I hated running the mile during P.E. "
Everyone laughed at that and much of the tension that had been in the room a few minutes before.
"But," she dropped her chin and looked around the room at everyone who was there, "it is a marathon.
So take a bathroom break. Drink water. Eat so you have calories to burn.
And... let the people around you bolster you when you're tired.
The finish line isn't the end of shift, it's saving the patients coming through the doors and treating them with all the humanity and grace we can offer. "
Her words fell off into silence and then she let out a breath.
They all heard the woosh of sound and then they saw her smile.
"Now, let's talk about the questions you have."
She walked around to the front of the desk at the center of the class room and sat down on the desktop with a relieved huff. "Okay, bring it on!"
KALEO
Kaleo was beginning to think he had a sign on his forehead that said a big ol' NOPE.
Of the four apartment complexes he'd been to, he'd been shut out of all four.
As he walked toward the fifth of the day, he was painfully aware that he was running out of the options that Lexie had pointed out as the best in his geographical area and his price range.
If he struck out of the next two, he was probably going to have to find someplace that had a built in roommate.
Or he'd have to Craigslist the search and look for someone to share with.
That would be a last resort thing.
He'd been living with his family for his whole life and while he loved his family that's what they were... family.
He loved them even when they were going a little crazy and doing their best to drive him up the wall.
The only things he liked on his walls back home in Hawaii were geckos.
They were at least entertaining.
But in Center City, he didn't know the layout of the land well enough to escape if he needed to. He'd even grab up a studio if it was in a decent area.
At least it was a beginning.
A place to 'hang his hat,' not that he owned one.
There was just a little under a week before he had to make his first appearance at the station house and he was actually starting to wonder if he couldn't ask to start sooner.
At least there he could sleep when he had the time on shift. And when there were calls, he could feel useful.
Finding his way around from listing to listing was starting to get old.
BORING.
No, not just boring.
Monotonous.
Frustrating.
He stood outside of the last apartment building on his list and shook his head. It looked like something he'd normally see down near Ala Moana Shopping Center back home in Hawaii.
The places in those buildings weren't apartments so much as they were condominiums.
To live down at the mall, across the street from the beach park would run you at least a million dollars.
Of course, life in Hawaii versus life in Center City were completely different from each other.
One was surrounded by water.
This place was surrounded by land, land, and more land.
It was most than a little bit of culture shock even though he'd only been there for a few days.
Things were still new and somewhat exciting.
He just had to find someplace a little more permanent than an Airbnb.
Then, he expected, he would feel more settled.
Like he'd actually moved.
His phone chimed and he looked down at the screen.
LEXIE: Any news?