Dr Cuddy's office looked just as organized as it usually did. It had a woody feel to it-the sign of a typical winter office. However, it didn't look as inviting to me that day. I had to get my papers signed. That wasn't new, but the kind of result I had that day definitely was. She was used to signing papers with a result close to a 100. She knew me as a perfect student with straight A's and a merit card with my report. I'd seen her angry only twice before, both times with Dr House. That was scary. But he doesn't back down no matter what anyone else thinks. That didn't matter much because he was always right. I wondered how she would have reacted had he apologized to her when he'd made her mad. But that was a pointless thought-he wouldn't have apologized. He never did.

I couldn't evade it forever. I knocked.

She looked up, and beckoned for me to come in. I did, hoping that she would sign the papers without looking through them as she sometimes did. That wasn't the case. She smiled warmly when she saw that I had aced my Physics paper. I had done Biology fairly well too. I loved her smile. It was so beautiful, and I hated that it was going to disappear when she saw the next paper. It did. She stared down at my math paper, shocked at the 24 that stared back at her. I looked down, waiting for her anger. It didn't come. When I looked back up, she was looking at me, disappointment etched on her face. That was a thousand times worse, for it was not the anger of a boss or teacher. It was the silent reprimand of a mother.

"What happened, Allison?", she asked, her expressive eyes making me feel guiltier than her question did.

"I didn't prepare properly", I mumbled, unable to look at her eyes. She didn't usually call me Allison. It was always 'Cameron'. 'She must be angry', I guessed.

"That doesn't sound like you", she said, her blue-gray eyes showing more concern than I expected. "And I thought you liked math?", she said, her statement more of a question.

"I did. I still do. It's just…", I let my voice trail. "I'm sorry. I'll do better the next time", I managed.

She looked into my eyes one more time before signing my papers. "I know", she said, her eyes suddenly somewhat stern. "Meanwhile, you'll be filling your afternoons with math". I nodded, relieved that she had remained calm. I hated letting her down. I promised myself that I would do better the next time even if it meant staying up all night.

I let myself out of her office, shutting the door softly. I made my way to the lab, where Dr Wilson was testing something. I walked into the familiar lab, and greeted Dr Wilson before joining him at the end of the table to set up the apparatus for the next test.

Although I had been in Princeton for three months, I met Dr Wilson only a month ago. In that short span of time, we became close. He patiently put up with all my questions and taught me more about medicine than I had learnt the previous two years while preparing to get here.

I was one of the lucky fifteen year olds who got selected to study medicine at the Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital (PPTH). There were only a handful who got selected, and they were distributed across teaching hospitals in New Jersey. I continued with regular schooling side by side, with the highly qualified doctors of the hospital helping me.

As Dr Wilson worked, I noticed how tired he truly looked. I knew that Dr House and his team worked days on end for certain cases, but I never expected their jobs to be that tiring. I knew that being a doctor was a demanding job, but being a doctor under Gregory House was a much more demanding job.

At that moment he walked in, cane in one hand and a bagel in another. His right leg was crippled and he hobbled around on his left with a cane. "Test him for Erdeham Chester", he said, apparently not registering the shock on Dr Wilson's face. "It's obviously not…", Wilson begin but House cut him off. "Test him anyways".

I slipped out of the room quietly, not wanting to witness their argument. Besides, it was nearly 4, which meant that my practical lab time was over. I walked into the office room adjoining Dr Cuddy's room. It was not as large as her office, but still spacious enough. I could see her from there and she could see me. It felt right that way. Being a teenager selected to study medicine was an honour but a lonely affair. Watching her work made me feel as though I was still a part of the world, and not a puzzle piece that didn't fit.

I opened my schedule for the week, which Dr Cuddy had filled in her neat handwriting. It was time for chemistry. I looked down at my work, and quite soon got completely absorbed in it. I got so absorbed in it that two hours later, I didn't even notice my phone buzz. When it vibrated a second time, I picked it up. I had two messages, both from Dr Wilson.

'Hey. Lecture about new cancer radiation techniques in diagnostic room 2. Cuddy wants you to attend'

'It starts in 10 minutes'

I looked up, wondering why Dr Cuddy hadn't told me herself, only to find her office empty.

'I'll be there ', I responded, wondering who was going to be delivering the lecture and why I needed to be a part of it. Twenty minutes and a welcome speech later, the lecture began. I tried to pay attention, but my mind began to wander as the middle aged man on stage droned on about radiation therapies. I focused on the audience. All of them seemed to be undergrad students at least 20 years of age. They only exception was a light haired boy at the other end of the room. He seemed to be around my age and looked at least as bored as I felt. I wondered whether I looked that bored and immediately straightened my expression. 'I wouldn't have been asked to attend the lecture without a reason', I chided myself. 'Perhaps I would be asked to write a report on it'. I pulled myself together and concentrated on the rest of his speech. He spoke about the need to increase access of cancer medication not just in America but all over the world. He ended his speech at 7:40 by which time all I could think about was dinner. Since dinner lasted half an hour, from 7:30-8:00, I had only 20 minutes to grab a bite at the cafeteria before I had to get back to work.

As people filed out of the two doors, I noticed the light haired boy again. He seemed to be making his way towards me. "Hi. I'm Dan, he introduced". "I'm Allison", I said, hoping he'd go to the cafeteria with me. "Please tell me you're fifteen too", he said, his dark eyes flicking to the notebook I carried. "Yeah, I am", I said grinning. "Did you come here three months ago too?"

"Yup. But I bet I know more than you", he said confidently.

I liked him instantly.

"C'mon, let's go grab a bite", I said, and we walked downstairs together. The cafeteria was not as crowded as usual, and we had our dinner trays much earlier than I expected. I headed towards a table, but Dan stopped me. "Do you really want to eat here? It's so boring".
"Okay, let's go to the nearest McDonald's", I joked.
"Let's not eat here", he insisted. "Let's go up to the terrace".
"You've been to the terrace?" I asked, my eyes widening.
He chuckled. "No, I meant we should explore".
"All right, Columbus", I mocked him. "Where do you want to go?"

The glint in his eyes reminded me of that of a child's, sparkling with a kind of youth and innocence one rarely sees, and I got quite lost in them. I was, therefore, utterly shocked when he pulled me into Dr Wilson's office.

"What are you doing?", I asked, pulling back.
"My dad won't mind", he replied casually.
"Wilson is your dad?", I asked, stunned.
"Yup", he said noncommittally, and sat down in one of the green leather chairs as though he had been doing that his whole life. He probably had, considering that the head of oncology was his father, but I couldn't digest that information. He looked nothing like Dr Wilson-he had brown eyes but the similarities ended there. He had hair the color of lemons and a pale and slightly freckled face.
"But you said that you came here three months ago too", I said, the thought occurring to me all of a sudden.
"Yeah, I did. Just because my dad is a doctor doesn't mean I get a free ticket to become one", he said, looking mock offended.
"Wow", I said, as I processed this information.
"Don't you think we're overworking?", he asked, as he pulled the notebook out of my hand. "
What's this, anyways?"
"Notes", I replied, and giggled as he examined the extent of my note taking. There were a few doodles on the corner of the page, and the word 'boring' written in capital letters, but the notebook was otherwise empty.
"I thought you were a nerd, but this says otherwise", he said, finishing the last of his hamburger.
"You're underestimating me", I said, narrowing my eyes.
I looked down at my nearly untouched food, and decided that I wasn't hungry anymore. I had been, but it was nearly time to get back to my room, and I was too excited by the prospect of having a friend. We exchanged phone numbers, and as I made my way back to my room, I couldn't help but wish that I could study with Dan. 'Maybe I could ask Dr Cuddy', I thought. But that didn't seem fair, even to me. She'd let me off easily for my mishap earlier that day, after all. I walked into my study space only to find Dr Cuddy already waiting there. I was late, quite predictably, for I had had quite adventure with Dan considering my regular schedule. She asked me how the lecture went, and I told her that I had found it interesting, but she seemed to see through that.

She was filling in my schedule for the next week. I leaned forward a bit to see better, and noticed a group study session for the next day.
"What's that?", I asked, wondering if it was going to be another lecture.
"You'll meet the other students and have a regular class like school", she said.
"How many students in total?", I asked, wondering whether Dan would be there.
"Only six", she replied, and smiled at me.
"I haven't seen even one of them, I said, amazed. "Weren't they present at the lecture today?"
"They were", she replied, and stood up.
"You haven't filled in anything for the rest of the day. So… am I free?", I asked hesitantly.
"Yes. It's been a long week and I figured you could use a break"
"Thanks", I said, smiling.
She nodded slightly and left the room.

I decided to work on a fanfiction I had been writing.

The next morning, I looked into the mirror one last time before leaving. I had taken time to pick my clothes, for I knew I would be meeting other students, and I hoped that jeans and a light leather jacket were casual enough. For the umpteenth time, I wondered what the other students were like. I knew that I would find out soon enough, as I walked down the hospital's hallways, to the large auditorium. When I first walked into the auditorium, I thought I was alone, but when my eyes got accustomed to the bright light, I noticed another girl.
"Hi. I'm Allison", I introduced.
"I'm Katherine Mary Winslet", the girl said, sounding rather nervous. She was repeatedly curling a strand of her already curly brown hair.

At that moment three others students walked in-two boys and a girl. They were laughing together as though they had known each other all their lives. The girl was remarkably pretty. She was an Asian, with black hair and dark eyes set in a perfectly chiselled face. One of the boys was African-American, and the other was blonde with blue-green eyes almost the same color as mine.
"Told you that you needn't have gone that early", the African-American said looking at Katherine.
"I like being early", she replied defensively.
I wondered again how they all knew each other.
The African-American sniggered. "Yeah, right", he said sarcastically. "Who's your friend?
"I'm Allison", I said seizing the opportunity to get to know them. "And you are?"
"Eric", he said, looking at me curiously.
"I'm Robert", said the blonde haired boy.
"And I'm Emily", said the Asian.
"How is it that you guys know each other?" I asked.
"We were all assigned to House", said Robert.
"But you know what House is like-he told Cuddy that he couldn't take care of more than four kids", said Emily, exaggeratedly stressing on the word 'kids'. "As if we to be taken care of".
"So you and the other guy were assigned to other doctors", Robert finished.
"The other guy? Dan?", I asked.

At that moment Dr House walked in, abruptly ending our conversation.

"All of you here?", he asked, reading names off a notepad.
"Cameron"
"Chase"
"Foreman"
"Ross"
"Wilson"
"Winslet"

'So Dan was one of the six students', I thought, and wondered why he wasn't there.

Dr House didn't seem bothered by that fact.
"I'm going to divide you into groups and give you a case to solve"
"A real case?" asked Robert excitedly.
"So real that you'll find unicorns in it", said House rolling his eyes.

Robert and I were in one group while Eric, Katherine and Emily were in another.
House started writing symptoms on the whiteboard while we wrote down the possible causes.

Dan burst in all of a sudden. House didn't even turn from the board. "Next time, don't even bother to turn up", he said sarcastically. Dan didn't bother to reply. Instead, he joined our group. "What happened?" I asked him in a whisper. "It's called being fashionably late", he said, the unsaid duh hanging in the air. Robert gave him a strange look. I felt annoyed too. There I was, worrying about him while all he'd been doing was trying to look cool.