Chapter Two
"Neela, there's no one around and my shift ends in fifteen minutes. Do it now." Abby told her.
They had been wandering around the ER for the last half hour, talking and trying to not get run over by the others, who were placing a fierce game of wheelchair soccer. Needless to say, there wasn't a single patient around.
With a frustrated sigh, Neela gave up. "Fine! Make sure no one comes by."
Abby nodded her head and smiled.
Neela walked over to the counter, picked up the phone and dialed home.
"Hello?" A sleepy voice answered the phone.
"Hey, Ray. It's Neela. Did I wake you?"
"Nah, I got up a little while ago. What's up?" He replied.
"Um, I was wondering… uh…" Neela struggled with her words.
"Neela?" Ray prompted.
"Sorry, Abby was distracting me." She lied. "I was wondering if you would maybe want to go out to eat tonight?"
"Sure. You wanna go to Ike's after your shift?" Ray suggested.
"Make it three o'clock and it's a deal." Neela replied, feeling a little bit more confident in herself.
"All right. It's a date." He said. "I'll see you then. Bye."
"Bye." Neela hung up the phone. Feeling as though she was on cloud nine, she replayed what had just happened. "It's a date." She repeated with a smile.
"Neela! Earth to Neela! You in there?" Abby's voice broke into her daydream.
"Huh? Oh, sorry… did you say something?" Neela snapped back into reality.
"What did he say?" Abby asked.
"It's a date." Neela smiled.
"What?!" Abby exclaimed.
"That's what he said. He suggested Ike's after my shift, and I said make it three and it's a deal. That's when he said 'it's a date'."
"Ahhh!!" Abby squealed, jumping up and down. "I'm so happy for you!"
Neela laughed at her friend's ridiculousness, but quickly joined in, ecstatic about what had just happened.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Girls, what is going on?" Pratt had left the game and walked over to the two.
"Huh? Oh, nothing." Neela replied with a smile.
"Yeah, nothing important." Abby added but couldn't contain her laughter.
"Was that really necessary?" Morris asked, rubbing his ear.
"Yes, it was." Abby replied.
"Aren't you off?" Pratt asked Abby.
She looked down at her watch and realized that it was almost ten past seven. "Oh, yeah, I am. I'm going. Neela, call me as soon as you get out. We have more to talk about before… you know."
"I will." Neela nodded her head and watched Abby head to the lounge to gather her things before heading home.
"Is anyone else completely confused?" Morris asked.
"They're girls, man. What do you expect?" Pratt shook his head, laughing, and walked away.