Chapter 3 – Back on AAU
Eddi had barely walked through the doors when Max was right next to her, seeming very out of his comfort zone. "Where were you? We've been swamped!" Eddi surveyed the ward and noticed that there were still a couple of empty beds. They'd been dealing with a full ward for the past 5 weeks, and had been managing just fine, this new guy clearly wasn't up to much. She would've pointed this out to him, but she was too tired to argue. "Look, I was having a break, alright." Max looked intently at her face, before asking in a very insensitive voice, "Have you been crying? Your eyes are all red…" "It was windy outside!" Eddi snapped back, she didn't have time for this. But Max wasn't letting it go, "But-" "I thought we were 'swamped'? Stop wasting time and let's get back to work!" Eddi shouted, pushing past him and walking over to the nearest patient.
Eddi was back at the computer again, when she felt a presence next to her. It was Max, what a surprise. "Hey, Eddi, listen. I'm sorry if I annoyed you earlier, I was just a bit overworked." He paused for a reply, but Eddi was still ignoring him, so he continued. "Hey," he nudged her, and she turned to look up at him, "How about we go for a drink after work, get to know each other, you know." He winked at her, and flashed a smile that he clearly considered to be charming, but which Eddi found really rather creepy. "No, thanks." She replied curtly. "Are you sure? You look like the kind of girl that enjoys her drinks." "I bet you say that to all the women." Eddi replied sarcastically. Max had absolutely zero tact, and yet still seemed to think that he was God's gift to women. She got up to leave, and he stroked her arm as she passed, leaving her silently reeling.
It was nearing the end of the day, so Sacha came over to say goodbye. "How are you, Eddi?" It was an innocent bit of small talk, but Eddi felt the subtle question that it was hiding, 'Are you coping with Luc's having been replaced?' "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks Sacha." She hated lying to her friend, so she gave him a sweet smile to make up for it, and even allowed him to hug her. "I'm staying a bit later tonight, I have some paperwork to catch up on, so I'll see you tomorrow." Eddi called after Sacha, and he waved in acknowledgement, just as Max sidled up beside her. "I'm just leaving." He whispered, suggestively. "Congratulations," Eddi replied bluntly, "I'm staying." Max frowned briefly, but then returned to a smile. "Well, I'll be at the Red Lion most of the night if you wanted to meet up for that drink, after all." Eddi shook her head, "I'm staying until 9:00, and then I'm just gonna go home, it's been a long day." Max nodded, "Okay, well, I guess I'll see you later, then." He said as he made his way out of the doors. "No, you won't!" Eddi shouted after him, annoyed at the fact that he clearly hadn't been listening to her.
Max turned the corner and an evil leer alighted on his face. 'Yes, I will.' He thought.