" Can you work my shift? "
Diana nearly dropped some of the binders she was carrying. She wearily glanced up at one of her coworkers who was always trading shifts trying to get every weekend and holiday off. She tended to go towards Diana because unlike everyone else Diana had no family to spend time with.
" Oh uh..."
" I can do your shift tonight and you can do mine tomorrow."
What this meant of course was Diana would be expected to work a 24 hour shift. She shook her head getting ready to refuse.
" Shannon! Oh Shannon! Diana's gonna work my shift tomorrow so I'll be here tonight ok? "
Diana's eyes widened in horror and she found herself juggling the binders again while their head nurse nodded and made a shooing motion at them.
" Here you go." The binders were taken out of her hands " Go on home I'll see you tomorrow!"
The young aide skipped off leaving Diana to stand there in the hall disheveled from trying to get all her patient's vitals, and there had been a lot! She had just finished them so all that was left was for someone to lay out the linen and make sure the patients had everything they needed.
For a moment a hot flash of anger went through her and she had a mad urge to scream obscenities at the aide who had left her there but she buttoned up. After a moment her shoulders slouched. Fine she would go home, take a hot bubble bath dress in a slinky new gown she had gotten in the post and maybe read that stupid romance novel while letting her cat warm her toes.
Diana went to the locker room to gather her things and headed out in defeat. Surely the week couldn't get any worse then this. Surely not.