Page 16 of Love Sick

I’m going to bed.

Grace

JULY, YEAR 1

Our educational series, called didactics, is a five-hour protected period on Thursday mornings. We give each other lectures over various topics, learn practical skills, receive wisdom from our attendings, and go over high-risk obstetrical cases and gynecologic surgery. The definition ofdidacticis “in the manner of a teacher, particularly so as to treat someone in a patronizing way.” Most accurately, it’s a five-hour pimping marathon, and as interns, all the questions fall to us first.

Luckily, I study a lot, so I’m not nervous about that part.

Meeting new people, however…

Since I fled the residency mixer before I met anyone, I’m walking into this blind. A ball of tingles and flutters expands in my stomach as I climb the stairs to our clinic space on the second floor of the medical offices. Perhaps the Starbucks venti blonde latte in my hand isn’t the best choice for my anxiety, but it’s good for my soul.

The conference room is messy like the rest of the resident areas. Broken dioramas and instruments clutter the tables, as well as flyers and candy from pharmaceutical reps. Our malfunctioning laparoscopic simulator stands in the corner, gathering dust. One wall is cluttered with resident posters from previous conferences, and the wall of windows across from it overlooks a Best Western. The projector screen glows with a classic Windows desktop—green fields and blue skies.

A million. That’s how many chairs are in this room. Chairs around the table. Chairs lined at the room’s periphery. Chairs stacked by the door. All are empty except for two at the center of the table.

Two women interrupt their conversation with shy smiles.

“Hi,” one says, pushing purple hair behind her ear.

“Hey.” I settle next to the other—a woman with dark skin, black hair and large dark eyes. “I’m Grace.”

“I’m Alesha Lipton,” says the first.

“Raven Washington,” says the other.

Fellow interns! The ball of flutters in my stomach eases. “Oh my gosh. I wanted to meet you guys the other night, but I had to leave the mixer early. You don’t look like your pictures!” I face Raven. “I heard you’ve got a son, yes?”

“Yes.” She smiles and shows me a picture of a small boy on her phone. “Monte.”

“So cute!” I lift my gaze to Alesha. “And I heardyou’rea genius.”

She snorts. “Hardly.” Her chair rolls closer, squeezing the three of us together. “I was wondering where you were the other night. Thought it was weird you’d miss it.”

“I wasn’t feeling well.”

Do they know about the rumor?

Raven nods. “Pre-intern jitters?”

“Something like that.” I sip my latte and my soul squees in happiness. Yeah, definitely a good choice.

Alesha unpacks her computer and notebook before her brown eyes flick to mine. Those are some enviable eyelashes. What mascara does she use? “Well, you missed out on a wild night,” she says. “Our attendings drink like fish. I beat Dr. Chen at beer pong.”

I snort. “You’re kidding!”

“Nope. Me and Julian. Have you met him yet?”

Managing to hold my smile despite gritted teeth, I shake my head. “No. Well, I mean, for a second I did. At the hospital.”

So Julian was busy ingratiating himself to our attendings while I cried over false accusations. Awesome. Guess he couldn’t have felttoobad for me. Any lingering guilt at my rudeness toward him disappears. Iknewmy dislike of him was on point.

Until this moment, I couldn’t decide if I was more embarrassed that I chose him to blow up on at the residency mixer or irritated that he called me out on it. Now I know. I’m grade A irritated.

Regardless, if our antagonism at the hospital earlier this week is any indication, he’s pretty peeved at me, too. We’ve established ourselves as adversaries. Joy.

Alesha whistles. “Boy’s got game.”

---