Chapter 1

Shaun Murphy woke up to the sound of his phone alarm, did his morning routine, and walked out the door. As he walked down the hall, his phone chimed. Shaun looked at his phone and saw weather advisory. Before putting his phone back in his pocket, Shaun noticed the date on the phone.

"Oh," Shaun said to himself. "It's that day again."

Shaun pressed the elevator button and the elevator opened. As Shaun entered the elevator, tears started to roll down his face, but he quickly wiped them.

Shaun arrived at San Jose Saint Bonaventure hospital, went to the locker room, and changed into his doctor clothes. Shaun then walked out and walked over to the desk where Dr. Melendez was standing, turned around.

"Good morning Dr. Melendez," Shaun said.

Dr. Melendez turned around to see Shaun.

"Shaun?" Dr. Melendez asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here," Shaun replied. "Are you being sarcastic?"

"No," Dr. Melendez replied. "I'm surprised that you're here this early Shaun. Your shift doesn't begin for another three hours."

"I just wanted to show you how responsible I am," Shaun said. "So who's my first patient?"

Dr. Melendez stood there without responding.

"Not responding usually means that you are thinking," Shaun said.

"Okay," Dr. Melendez said grabbing a clipboard and handing it to Shaun. "There's a female teenage patient who's complaining of side pains."

Shaun took the clipboard and walked down the hall. As he walked down the hall, he accidentally bumped into Dr. Andrews.

"Sorry," Dr. Andrews said.

"My fault," Shaun said. "I was looking at the clipboard and not paying attention."

"Shaun?" Dr. Andrews asked.

"Hello Dr. Andrews," Shaun said.

"What are you doing here?" Dr. Andrews asked.

"I'm about to examine a patient who's complaining of side pains," Shaun said.

"I mean what are you doing here this early?" Dr. Andrews asked.

"I decided to come early to show how responsible I am," Shaun replied.

"Shaun," Dr. Andrews said. "It's not that I don't appreciate you showing up early…"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you Dr. Andrews," Shaun interrupted. "But this patient is waiting for me and she needs to be examined. We can talk about this later."

Shaun walked off and Dr. Andrews walked over to Dr. Melendez.

"What is Shaun doing here three hours early?" Dr. Andrews asked.

"I don't know," Dr. Melendez said. "It's strange."

"And he interrupted me," Dr. Andrews said. "That's unlike him."

"Should we write him up?" Dr. Melendez asked.

"Let's not for now," Dr. Andrews said. "Let's just see how his behavior goes."

Meanwhile, Shaun entered the patient's room where the patient lied on the hospital bed and the patient's mother sat on the chair by the bed. Both the teenager and her mother had light brown hair with blonde highlights.

"Hello Jasmine," Shaun said. "I'm Dr. Shaun Murphy."

"Hello," Jasmine said.

"It says here that you are having side pains," Shaun said.

"Yes," Jasmine said. "I got up early this morning to go for a run, and I felt this intense pain."

"Do you often run early in the morning?" Shaun asked.

"Yes," Jasmine replied.

"She's on her school's cross country team," Jasmine's mother said.

"Could it be appendicitis?" Jasmine asked.

"Tell me," Shaun said as he gently pushed Jasmine's right side. "Does this hurt?"

"No," Jasmine replied.

Shaun pushed on Jasmine's left side.

"Ah!" Jasmine screamed.

"We can rule out appendicitis," Shaun said. "Your appendix is on your right side. It could be kidney stones."

"Kidney stones?" Jasmine asked.

"Yes," Shaun replied. "Do you drink any shakes or juice?"

"Yes," Jasmine replied. "Before and after I run, I drink a mixture of fruits and vegetables."

"Is spinach one of them?" Shaun asked.

"Yeah," Jasmine replied.

"Too much spinach can cause kidney stones," Shaun said.

"Can she just pass them?" Jasmine's mother asked.

"It depends how big they are," Shaun replied. "I will go inform Dr. Melendez that we need to x-ray Jasmine. If the stones are too big to pass, we may have to operate."

"Operate?" Jasmine asked. "As in surgery?"

"That's what operate means," Shaun replied.

"Thank you for stating the obvious," Jasmine's mother said.

"You are being sarcastic," Shaun said. "I will go get Dr. Melendez to determine if you need an x-ray."