The Person- Dana Earhart-Mitchell, the Pompous Resident
Chapter 14- DANgerously Arrogant
Xxxxx
1995 Angel Grove St.
Angel Grove Regional
The spotlight- around me- diminished once my younger sister Taylor was born. This may sound rude and malicious, but I always thought she was granted more attention since she was manly. Isn't it a father's dream to have a son that would carry on his namesake? I could never possess a masculine nature, since one, men aren't for wearing pink, and two, it's no fun to be a boy.
My mom soon placed me into modeling classes, and in no time at all my ads were printing out left and right. Everyone adored my dolly blue eyes and beauty, and I absolutely made love to the camera. In return, the camera captured me amazingly. Taylor wasn't one for following in my footsteps, nor was Kendrix. Actually, our mom hadn't placed Kendrix in any modeling classes, probably because she was embarrassed of naming our youngest sister Kendrix and she didn't possess model good looks. Maybe it could be the geeky eyeglasses. Poor girl, I wondered how she felt about having dull brown eyes while her older sisters owned sparkly sapphires.
That's probably the only time I'll compliment Taylor. To this day, I still couldn't believe she enlisted into the army. Maybe she would've never suffered from that damn knee injury. I have respect for her, since she fought for this country, but if she had followed our mother's advice, then maybe, just maybe, her knee wouldn't hassle her like it does now. Another thing, it's not that I didn't want to help her get to physical therapy, it's just I was in rigorous and enduring classes that caused me to not have a life. I became as boring as Kendrix.
Modeling could've been my future, but it wasn't. There were only so many times a person could concave their back, twirl with a serious expression, or twist their body, or smize. Stupid Tyra Banks, 'smile with your eyes'. She came up with a crock of shit. Moving along, I couldn't do that anymore, but working with children I could do that. A rewarding feeling came about when I was surrounded by them. Their innocent faces, the mysteriousness of what the world truly had to offer, and the unsuspecting fact that the Earth held their own personal demons and not all people were good people. At least I could foster their growth by showing what health was all about. I had no doubt there would be times I would deal with a girl or boy that's been sexually molested, and what other people were clueless about was that I do have a compassionate side. I did not emit an icy air like Taylor, and I wasn't 'a turtle in hiding' like Kendrix; I was indefinitely viewed as a conceited asshole, who didn't give a fuck.
All which was not true, but I knew I was better than modeling, and I would never resort myself into joining the army, nor was I settling for an insurance job. A doctor was held of a high caliber, and a pediatrician, well that was even better. But, and this was a big but, my residency was in the urgent care. How or why? I had no clue, but I was aggravated to no end. I gave up my adulthood and part of my insanity to get to this point. For Christ's sake I traded alcohol for learning about different kinds of cough syrup, not that cough syrup couldn't produce the same kind of effect as alcohol, and which ones little kids were permitted to take. In addition, I swapped sleep, oh so heavenly sleep for late night cram sessions, and even more, instead of making out with men, I made out with a practice test dummy.
Go figure!
And to this day, there was still an implied misconception of me, and by choosing to be a pediatrician, no where was I thinking that I would change everyone's opinion. Because at the end of the day, I was who I was. No one could tell me otherwise, but I was positive several women wanted to be like me.
"Dana!" The doctor, who was overseeing my training period, called for me.
"Yes." I answered, as I came from one of the back rooms.
"Today, should be fairly slow. Once again, if there are any issues, please let me know." Instantly, my eyebrows rose at this thought. No where on me did I have the name tag 'dumbass'.
"Yes." I still followed his orders. Before he could open his mouth once more, I timely interjected. "If someone needs a prescription filled or asks for one, I'll make sure to check with you first."
He smiled in contentment, while 'duh' flashed in my head. I hated how I was treated like garbage. A pre-med student understood their place. I discreetly rolled my eyes, while I began to place, what felt like a straight jacket on. My lab coat resembled one but without the crossed arms and the buckles. But eh, fashion and healing sick people don't go hand and hand, unless this was a soap opera, which it really, really wasn't.
Suddenly, my mentor and I were interrupted by a panicked orderly.
"Doctor, you have to get outside right now." More shouts and outbursts were overheard, as people rushed out with stretchers like it was the newest accessory. "An unconscious woman has been discovered!"
Without any more words exchanged, they left. In shock, I couldn't possibly fathom the emotions encircling that woman's family. As I looked around the corner, they began shouting orders at one another. "STAT! I NEED ANOTHER NURSE IN HERE AND A DOCTOR! WHO FOUND HER? WHAT WAS SHE DOING OUT THERE? WHAT IS HER NAME?" I listened to their pained demands. I sat in my seat, and I prayed that she was okay.
If my day continued like this, I wouldn't know where the strength was to continue forth.
Xxxxx
The hours on the clock changed, as did the mood. There were no more surprises, and by this time, a slip of paper had came in. A woman arrived because she had been depressed for awhile. Poor thing, I mused, while I began to look over some notes. I always sat towards the nurse's station, since I could oversee some action but at least out of the doctor's way.
My stomach rumbled for some love, and I groaned. I had no money for lunch, but I totally adored the salads from Taylor's work. Smiling to myself, it was decided that I would phone her to get me some. Not to mention, I'd request a strawberry shortcake for dessert. If needed, I would pay later.
"Excuse me, are you using the phone?" An Asian nurse nicely asked. I presumed she was Filipino, since her skin was noticeably darker, it wouldn't be too far from the truth. There was no doubt Filipinos were more likely to be nurses than any other race. Not that it was a bad thing; they did have the epithetical capacity to hold that kind of a job.
"No, I'm not." I replied, and I could feel her eyes boring into my sole. Alright, so that was dramatic, but maybe she found me to be new. I had been here for about a month, and this was my first morning shift.
"Are you doing your residency?" She ended up asking. I hated being the newbie.
I gave her a small hint of a smile. "Yeah, it's not the greatest thing in the world." I rolled my eyes completely because I was missing a big opportunity to spend time with kids. "My name is Dana, what's yours?"
"Alyssa." She had a cheerful smile, and it was nice to see someone so upbeat. "I'm a certified nursing assistant. I hope to be an RN."
"Good luck with that." I encouraged her to continue. She owned the capabilities, and I wouldn't mind working with her in the future. I left her side and went to the opening, which led to the urgent care waiting room. It was time to call my patient for her walk in appointment. "Jennifer Scott?" I called for. I watched as a brunette raised her hand and nodded. I smiled, and she almost had a little accident by walking into the UPS man. There were some words exchanged, and she eventually made it back to me.
We walked past a few doors, and we finally arrived at the one towards the one by the emergency exit. Sometimes I thought that rookies were always given the last of the rooms. She sat on the appropriately assigned 'seat', and I grabbed the roller chair.
"Good morning, my name is Dana Mitchell, and I'll be your doctor." I greeted her, and I kinda rolled my eyes once more. I hated that I couldn't place the fitting title in front of my name. "Hopefully, one day you'll be able to call me doctor. I'm just doing my residency here."
"I can still call you Dr. Mitchell." She surprisingly offered.
"Nice to know my work is appreciated." I was still puzzled but grateful for her proposal.. I marked down some notes, and I earnestly looked at her. ."Now, what seems to be the problem?"
As soon as those words left me, I was met with a bombardment of sorrowful statements. She lost her fiance, and he was so young, barely the age of 25. Her voice was cracking so much I couldn't decipher her words. She described her family's antagonism of her brother coming home from England too. With her baring her soul, I knew I wasn't the right person to hear her out. I added more notations, and I consoled her the best way I could.
"Would you like to see a paleontologist?" I queried, since that was the more suitable person for the job. All of a sudden, my patient had an amused smile curling at her mouth.
"Don't you mean a psychologist or a psychiatrist?" She told me, and I felt really stupid.
The light bulb lit up and thankfully Taylor wasn't here to witness my mistake. "Yes, one of those."
"No, I was just hoping to be put on some medication. Sometimes, my moods fluctuate, and it causes me to not wanna do anything. I do work with children, and I would hate for them to pick up on my emotions."
She was right, and medications would halt the sad feeling, while speeding up some endorphins. I wrote out the prescription, and I knew the next step, but I hated to bother him, since he was helping with the unconscious woman. "Alright, let me get you a prescription for Prozac. "One moment, I need to get a doctor to sign off on this. Excuse me." I exited the room and left her to herself. Again, my stomach grumbled for some sustenance. I went down the hall. "Can you sign off on this?" I asked the doctor, since he looked to have some free time.
An African American man entered the room, and he looked frazzled. Poor guy, that must be his girlfriend.
"Mitchell, that's fine." He instantly put his 'John Hancock' and sent me on my way. Before I could go, I was stopped by a fellow resident doctor. He told me the news about the house fire on Ocean's Bluff Ave. The details were horrifying, and I made the choice to inform Jen, which was the name she felt most comfortable with.
I dejectedly headed back to be with my patient. I also clutched the prescription paper for some relief. The news was very troubling. Jen was talking on the phone, and I heard her brother's name. I sat down, but still kept processing the news of the fire.
"What happened?" She asked me, concern was evident in her voice.
I answered with the details, and she too, was shocked by the news. Because it was the right thing to do I hoped to meet the parents. Maybe I could encourage them to see their granddaughter. She was delivered prematurely, but maybe it could give them some peace of mind. With Jen granted the Prozac prescription, the two of us exited. We ended up separating, and I gazed at my watch. Taylor should be coming with my food soon. Earlier, I called. She of course was acting like a female dog with a never ending period, but she still agreed to bring my food.
Near the emergency room, a police officer was speaking to a distraught couple. I supposed, and this was an assumption, the police officer had responded to the fire, while the couple were the grandparents of the newborn baby in the NICU. I walked up to them.
The officer turned to me, and I was cursing mentally about my outfit. "Good afternoon, Doc. My name is Officer Collins. Is there any idea of how she passed away? Also, how is the newborn baby doing?" He rapidly questioned me. No wonder I wanted to be a pediatrician; the cases seemed easier than the adult ones.
I was ready to inform him of my true identity. "Sorry, I apologize. I'm just a resident doctor. I came by to pay my respects to the family." I explained my presence.
He, too, had his own blonde moment of the day. "I'm sorry about that. I really thought you were the doctor." Me too, this misunderstanding could've been prevented. "I'll be right back." He told the couple and left quickly.
I faced them with a heartwarming appearance, and I gave a dear apology. "I'm very sorry about your loss."
"Thank you." The father sobbed, while he held onto his wife. "Please, can you make sure to let the police officer know this is very important to us. We need his help to find our grandchild's father."
At a loss for words, I incredulously stared at them. "Well, do you have information?" I interrogated them, since there were about several million people in the LA area alone.
The mother nodded. "He lives here. From what our daughter has said, she carelessly slept with one of the tenants to our rentals. At first we were disappointed, but now, we just want him to know he has a daughter." She wept loudly. "I don't want my daughter's last thoughts to think her father and I are disappointed in her."
I nodded subtly. This was a disturbing situation. "I'll let him know." I said, and I turned to follow him, but I was stopped by them once more.
"Ma'am." The dad called for me. I walked back to him and wondered what else he needed to tell me. "My wife and I are desperate. We want some closure."
"You will get that closure." I guaranteed him.
"I don't know why I feel this way, but with my daughter's death, I feel like good things will happen." He cryptically enlightened me, while his wife and him spoke to each other in Spanish.
The statement was very odd, and it shouldn't have been said during this time of mourning. I shook my head, and I wondered where that police officer had gone. Then, I saw him with Jen and a guy, who I thought was her brother. They appeared to be in deep conversation, so I wondered what was going on.
"Is there a problem here?" I asked, and I looked at Jen. By the looks of it, she had seen a ghost.
Before an answer could come, another police officer made his emergence. It didn't take a rocket science to figure this man was at the scene of the fire with the other officer. He gave me and the others curious examinations, and his eyes were the story of pure angst. Of course he would seem perfect for Taylor, but two people of that attitude, fireworks erupting seemed more tamer. Shit, I shouldn't make that analogy since that had to do with fire.
And speaking of the devil, my sister had my food in hand and she was ready to pounce. "Dana, there you are. You know I fucking have to work too!" She bellowed me with the usual anger, but the second police officer had brought out an emotion in her I hadn't seen before. She found him to be cute. Oh come on, a woman knew what a woman looked like after she encountered a good looking man. Her jaw was practically glued to the ground!
"Uh, hello." I ignored her tirade, since a newly arrived man, dressed in a red sweater and jeans, was awfully handsome. Almost too handsome for words, and his blue eyes were deeply gorgeous. Not to mention, his height was of perfection. Oh God, he was too gorgeous for words, and surprisingly, he seemed into me.
"Good afternoon. My name is Carter Grayson." He cordially introduced himself, and I almost became nervous. He was of model good looks, but possibly we already had something in common.
There was absolutely no time for more casual conversation, since my sister rained my parade. She would do this to me, I thought.
"Alright, that's fine and everything, but Dana take your lunch." She shoved the plastic baggy with edible contents in front of my face. I gladly took it, but blushed at her backlash. Carter and I gave each other subtle glances, and he caused me to blush.
My already knight in shining armor defended me, and he backed down considering Taylor's eyes could possibly change into another color, the color of apples or bananas.
"My kind of woman!" The dark skinned and haired police officer obnoxiously praised. What a dumbass I comically mused to myself, since I couldn't believe this guy had the hots for my sister.
"Is there some sort of problem here?" Another doctor of this floor questioned with some irritation. He was awfully correct, our ministrations were appalling considering the events of this morning. He kindly and rudely escorted us out of the building's premises.
So outside, we continued conversing with one another. Jen's emotions were all over the place, while Officer Eric Myers and Taylor were getting to know each other. Soon after Jen's brother, Conner, emotionally felt displaced. Poor guy, he didn't have a woman by his side. Carter, displaying his chivalrous side, politely questioned Jen about her state. Instantly, my heart fluttered. Then, he spoke to Officer Wes Collins about the drunken paramedic. I was shocked to hear such a thing, since he could've caused a death. Unfortunately, it wasn't like that mattered since the victim in question was deceased. Jen, however, admirably stuck up for the paramedic, and I questioned her tie to the man. One by one the people of this newly formed group left for the cafeteria or elsewhere. Wes held quite a bit of attraction for Jen, and Eric and Taylor hit it off.
With Carter and I left, I confidently asked him to join me for lunch. He agreed, once we walked back inside, I let him know about the grieving parents in the back. "I overheard you were the firefighter, and I just wanted to let you know if you still needed to talk to them." My heart raced because Carter held a passion for saving people.
He added his own little anecdote, and I was shocked to know he knew them. "I'm not from around here. When I was looking for a house, they were the realtors that sold me the place my sisters and I reside in now." I gasped at how small this world really was. "I wonder if there was anything I can do for them."
"There should be, since they were hoping Wes could help them find the father of their grandchild." I tacked on, and he walked up to Wes. They conversed for some time.
Officer Myers walked up to the two, and he asked them if they were hungry. He wanted to head over to the bistro/bakery, and Taylor added she wanted something from there too. That caused me to quirk an eyebrow.
"Taylor, don't you need to head back to work?" I sternly interrogated her, and she introduced me to the fire breathing dragon she could be.
"I'll just call the Youth Center, and let them know I'll be having lunch with my dear sister." She curtly answered, and Conner unexpectedly left his sister's side and asked her about the worker of the Youth Center. "Yup, that's Kira."
"What about Kira?" Wes paused his conversation with Eric and Carter. "That's my sister."
"Your sister?" Conner mildly squeaked at the tidbit. Wes nodded, and he questioningly gazed at Conner. "Oh shit." He cursed.
Jen's mood elevated a lot, and she smiled at Conner. "So, that's the girl with the angelic voice you were talking about?" She instantly smiled at Wes. "It seems my brother has fallen for her."
"Well, I could introduce you to her." Wes kindly offered, and I was surprised.
"Are you crazy? What kind of brother are you?" Carter interjected. "If that was any of my sisters, I wouldn't do that."
"Oh Carter, live a little. Kira is performing tonight at the Youth Center. You could meet her there, Conner." My jaw dropped at Taylor's gracious words.
"Why don't we all go?" I suggested, since I had nothing else to do tonight, and this seemed like fun. I loved concerts, but usually I never had the time to go.
"I'm game." Conner obviously concurred with my statement.
"Then, we should plan this over lunch." Eric said, and he looked at Carter. "Come on, ride with me to the bakery."
"If that's alright with you Dana." Carter cared about my feelings. I couldn't believe it.
"Someone's already whipped." Taylor and Eric observed together, and they chuckled at their synchronicity.
Jen, Conner, and Wes laughed at their not so amusing thought, while Carter and I turned different shades of red.
Clearing his throat, and making sure the blush came off, Carter spoke up. "Come on Eric, we should leave now."
The two left, while Wes walked with Jen and Conner to the pharmacy. With Taylor and I lefft, we giggled about this morning. That was a surprise in itself. We gossiped about the two rescuers, and maybe, just maybe, this was the push that Taylor and I needed to be on one page. We continued talking, and she made an outrageous announcement.
"You know, you aren't as conceited as other people think you are." She informed me, and I smiled at her. "You aren't wrapped up in your own little world. You do care."
"You aren't a bitch either." I remarked nicely. "Do you think we need dicks in our lives?" The deplorable word felt great to say.
She shrugged, but nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised."
I giggled at her statement. "Do you think Kendrix needs some too? I wonder if Wes, Eric, or Carter has any brothers."
"What about Jen and Conner? Maybe they have another sibling." Taylor added, and I liked how we were all of a sudden getting along.
"Now that would make this world even smaller." I commented, and she nodded. Both of us walked to the cafeteria.
Up Next: Chapter 15- Leo Corbett Collins, the Biased Sufferer