TOUCH OF GREY
CHAPTER 1: Neela
"Hey, Neela!" I heard Ray call from the bathroom. "Have you seen my skull ring?"
"It's in the medicine cabinet!" I answered as I stuck four waffles in the toaster and turned it on.
"Really? What's it doing in there?"
"I didn't want it falling down the drain again!"
To be honest with you, that was the last thing I wanted to deal with this morning. I looked at the clock, and saw that it was a quarter after six. Our shift was to start at seven on the dot, and I didn't want to be late again and face the Wrath of Weaver. Ever since she had that hip operation, she's been even grouchier, according to a lot of us in the ER. You'd think that she'd be just a little nicer now that she no longer needs her crutch.
I was pouring us some coffee when Ray came into the kitchen wearing his Grateful Dead T-shirt, black jeans and black Doc Martens with the yellow laces. "What do you think?" he asked.
"You're kidding, right?" I said, trying to keep a straight face. There's no way anybody would know that he was a doctor with the way he was dressed.
"What?" he said defensively. "I told you about that Grateful Dead convention that was going on all this weekend."
"Since when are you into the Grateful Dead?"
"Since eighth grade," he answered as he poured some cream into his coffee. Way too much, if you ask me.
"I dunno, I'm just afraid that people will mistake you for a bum," I told him.
"Well, if anything, my shirt'll give the psych patients something to look at to calm them down."
"If the picture of the skeleton doesn't scare the crap out of them first," I joked.
Ray laughed as sarcastically as he could manage. In case you're wondering, I was not looking forward to what the day would bring.