6:44 P.M.
I have one minute. Damn. Lexa thought groggily.
The last light of the day filtered piercingly through the cheap blinds highlighting dust particles and cat hair drifting lazily and with all the condescension of a cleaning job not well done.
The alarm starts screeching as Lexa pulls herself out of bed. Curly hair in disarray. She stumbles to her small bathroom to brush her teeth and hair in preparation for her first 12 hour shift of the week.
Working as a nurses aid wasn't exactly in her life long plan of success, sports cars, and video games, but hey, it paid well. Unfortunately no one else will pay my bills, she thought wryly.
Besides, meeting different people and hearing their stories was always entertaining, and getting to know them throughout the night and into the morning hours was an excellent way to pass the time.
Todays shift will be another round of endless cups of water, vital signs, and "ma'am, can you get the nurse?"
I just hope i get to work on the GI floor today, I'm pretty sure Echo works tonight. Lexa pondered the idea of having a quiet night with absolutely zero excitement with her old friend. Out loud she said, "Zeus, you lazy shit!"
A very large maine coon cat cracked his eyes to glare at her. After a lazy flick of the tail, he rose and approached yawning.
"Yeah, o' so important one." Lexa grinned. Zeus was a special cat. She took him in one rainy morning roughly a year ago. She was enjoying the sound of the rain and had her door open to bask in natures soft sounds when her ears picked up on a neighbor returning home. He was on his cell phone as he got out of his truck and Lexa could hear his conversation through her open door.
"I can hear it! Dude this is freaking me out, I really don't like cats" Lexa went outside to see what was going on when she heard faint meows from the truck.
The neighbor popped his hood and the meows got louder. Lexa could recall the amazement she felt at the little kitten being alive after being under the hood of a vehicle that has been driven for who knows how long. The man grabbed Zeus and tossed him carelessly aside and ran for the comfort of his apartment.
A demanding growl broke her from her thoughts.
"Sorry, sorry." Lexa said. She found her unappealing hunter green scrubs, donned them, scratched Zeus on head as she entered her kitchen. After feeding Zeus and grabbing an ice cold Red Bull from her fridge, she sat down in front of her computer. As had become her habit of late, she pulled up the university website to check the status of her application to OT school.
Occupational Therapy was the universe's olive branch to Lexa when she had just about given up on a career. Getting paid good money to help people learn how to live again was something she didn't know she needed until a random school email detailing the new program was sent out to the entire school 6 months ago.
That is how Lexa started her day, checking the status of her application, and everyday until now it had been the same. Processing. Today it read, Processed. Such a small change but it held such significance. Or so she thought.
Lexa took a deep breath and closed her eyes trying to calm her nerves and prepare herself for yet another let down. When she opened them, she realized there was not a place for her to find out more information.
Sighing she closed her laptop and ripped her phone off the charger. Lexa knew without looking at a clock that it was time to leave for work at the hospital, however all she could think about was her application. It would be a four year program, and she would have to work and go to school full time in order to survive, but she had been in worse situations before.
I just have to get into the program, and the rest will take care of itself, she thought.
She took one step towards her '96 Jeep Cherokee and a stray curl fell in her face.
"My hair!" she shrieked. Turning back towards her apartment she let herself in and rushed to the bathroom to find a hair tie.
I might as well cut it, I only ever wear it up anyway. She toyed with the idea of cutting her hair the entire way to work and up to the fourth floor where she would get her assignment for the night. Lexa worked as an aid but did not have a floor where she worked consistently. She was a part of the float pool. A strung together group of aids and nurses who would fill in when floors on the hospital were short staffed.
It worked out quite well for Lexa because she got to see and learn so much. So far she had worked on the cardiac, pulmonary, GI, and senior care floors. She had even worked one grueling night on the med surg floor on the west side of the hospital. Med Surg was known for its long days and even longer nights because the patients that were sent there were all recovering from surgery and in various states of health.
Lexa walked into the float pool office and said, "Harper, what do you have for me today?"
"Any news on the application?" was the response as she shifted through papers and ignored the ever constant ringing of the float pool phone.
"It went from 'processing' to processed' so I suppose that means we are getting somewhere." Lexa replied.
"Don't worry, you will get it. I have something new for you today, and I am 99 percent sure you will enjoy it." Harper glanced up slyly and said, "5 west."
"The rehab floor! I have been wanting a permanent position up there but there hasn't been an opening!"
"I am aware," she laughed. "Go on up, John will be waiting for you."
"You are an absolute gem Harper." Lexa said failing to see the slight blush that dusted Harper's cheeks.
Across the hospital, Clarke was scrambling to get ready for her shift. She had already answered three call lights and she had not even managed to reach the time clock, much less clock in.
"Clarke, take two seconds and clock in! You know I get my ass chewed every time the pay period is up because you are too busy working to clock in." John whispered fiercely.
"Please tell me they are sending someone tonight! And that is what I'm about to do! How do you expect me to walk past the call lights like they aren't there and someone DOESN'T need help? That is why they are called CALL lights" she huffed.
"Calm yourself and clock in, Avery is still here from day shift and handling the floor for the moment." John replied. "Plus there are four nurses out there, they will be done with report soon enough to help out."
Still irritated, Clarke asked again as she swiped her badge to clock in, "So they aren't sending anyone huh?"
"I just got of the phone with-" his reply was cut short by another woman walking up in green scrubs. "Ah, this must be her. Lexa?"
"The one and only." the woman - Lexa replied.
Her hair looked hastily pulled up and her scrubs were wrinkled. Clarke looked at the book held in her hand as she gestured to the nurses station.
"Can I have a place to stash my stuff? I plan on getting through at least half of this book tonight" Lexa asked.
"Doesn't look like we will get much down time tonight but throw your stuff anywhere and I will give you a quick tour of the floor so we can get started." Clarke said. She was already predicting to cover the entire floor herself tonight. Nothing against Lexa, but in her experience, if an employee can't show up to work looking decent, then for the most part they didn't truly care about the patients.
"Don't waste your time, I can figure it out" she said, "we can get started and please just ask if you need some help."
Clarke almost let her jaw drop. She thinks she knows this place eh? She thinks I will need HER help?
"Suit yourself," she said aloud, and turned to answer the closest call light.
She didn't even introduce herself. Lexa thought. Grimacing at the expected long night ahead of her with huffy staff, Lexa quickly found all she would need for the night. The galley was a few doors down and the linen was just behind the main elevators. The ice machine was always located next to the nurses station so that one was easy. She approached a nurse to get her room assignments and started in the first room, furthest away from the nurses station. She didn't like backtracking. Despised it actually, so working from farthest to the closest was the most efficient way of keeping her patient's vital signs done on time, and made sure the few turns she would have would also be on a reasonable schedule.
After a few hours, Lexa gave her nurses all the vital signs they needed and sat down with her book. All was quiet and it was approaching 11 p.m. I have a good hour of reading before I have to start again, she thought. She had not seen much of the other aid on the floor since the beginning of the shift, so she decided to seek her out and see if she needed help.
She should be sitting down now if she is any good. Maybe she is just hiding out somewhere sleeping. Lexa had worked with some bad aids before and some had the nerve to "work" night shift and just sleep. She had worked many a night covering all the patients of a floor for the other aid on staff to show up right at 5 or 6 claiming to have "accidentally" fallen asleep. The stories were always similar but that didn't matter. Lexa was there to make money yes but the job was to take care of other people, not to sleep.
She found herself getting more irritated as she continued her search for the other aid. She checked all of the rooms and eventually approached John.
"Lexa, are my patients doing ok?"
"Yes everything is how it should be" One thing you learned while working in a hospital was to never say it was quiet. That was an open invitation for shit to hit the proverbial fan.
"Where is the other aid? Have you seen her? She should be getting done about now and I don't want her to tackle something alone while I am sitting here reading." Lexa pried.
"Who? Clarke? She is probably in the doctors nook. She usually studies in their when its qui- when everything is as it should be," he smiled catching on to the phrasing.
"Okay, thanks."
The doctors nook was a space for doctors and APN's to come on the floor and dictate their charts. Throughout the night it was very rarely utilized, and for the most part other staff members weren't allowed to use the space. Lexa approached thinking to catch this 'Clarke' at sleeping, what she saw though would end up changing her entire perception.