Great. Not only am I in a group with Nico but we seem to be paired with the most adorably in-love couple in all of Tomlin U. Looking up at the ceiling, I quietly ask the big guy what I’ve done to deserve this.
“Huh?” The girl asks, as I realize I’ve said my prayers a little louder than anticipated.
“What? Oh, nothing. Hi! I’m Danika,” I say, trying to change the subject immediately. I don’t want to hold their coupley bliss against them. As a pair, they look quite cute together. I just cannot believe my luck–or lack thereof.
“Hi, Danika. I’m Paige and this is my boyfriend, Carter.”
I go to shake their hands but realize I’m already wearing my gloves and just give a little wave instead. The couple chuckles then start to gear up themselves.
The body is facing down on the table, and Paige and Carter have taken the right side while I’m standing on my own on the left side. Alone…meaning when Nico comes he’ll be right next to…
“Hey, Dani.”
Seriously, did I perform a mass murder in another life? Why am I being punished this way?
“Nico,” I say in greeting. I could introduce him to the couple across from us, that would be the polite thing to do, but I’ve already decided to limit my interactions with him as much as possible. He can introduce himself.
“Hi, I’m Nico,” he says happily to Paige and Carter, and they introduce themselves back.
“Do you guys know each other already?” Paige asks, curiously.
“Oh yeah, Dani and I were–”
“In undergrad together. We studied here at TU,” I finish. For some reason, I’m not quite sure at the moment why, but I don’t want these random people we’re about to spend all our time with to know that Nico and I dated. It’s a black mark on my record that I would like expunged.
Nico gives me a look but I choose to ignore it.
“Let’s jump in, shall we?”
Paige nods enthusiastically as Carter props his textbook up on the stand near the cadaver’s head. During the lecture, our professor told us about what we’d be doing in lab today. We’re starting with the back layer of skin, dissecting each layer until we get to the muscle.
I’m so enthralled in the work that I can almost forget that Nico is next to me. He hasn’t made any untoward comments or made me feel uncomfortable yet, so that’s something. The four of us work well together, taking turns lifting and holding so we can all experience the feeling and learn as much as we can.
“It’s really something, isn’t it?” Charlie says from behind me. As a second year, she and some of the other cohort leaders are TAs in this lab so she’s been walking around, assisting and guiding us.
“It’s amazing,” I say, totally awe-struck. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from today, it’s that I want to be a surgeon. The feeling of cutting someone open, looking inside their bodies, finding the thing that’s wrong—it’s exhilarating. Charlie smiles at me before heading over toward another group where a girl is looking a little more green than she had when she walked in.
There’s only one thing that can dampen my mood right now and it happens the minute I glance to my left. Nico’s staring at the body with the same intense fascination I have. He’s loving this as much as I am and it’s absolutely killing me. He’ll be a surgeon too and I hate to admit it but, he’ll be a great one. He’s always had a singular focus that he puts all his energy into and eventually achieves. It was me at the start of the semester, but hey, maybe now it’s surgery? Maybe he’ll realize his new love is a scalpel and he’ll finally leave me alone.
Nico looks over me and the elation on his face softens just a tad. The look he has now is that same look you get when you’re admiring the person you love doing the thing they love.Fuck.
I look away immediately. Luckily for me, the TAs are walking around, telling us to wrap up for the day and I take the opportunity to cut and run. This has been too much for one day. I need to debrief, maybe call the girls, maybe order a pizza and eat the entire thing myself. Who knows. All I know is, I need to get out of there and fast.
Chapter 15 -Arden
Arden
Throwingthestupidapronover my head, I punch in and make my way toward the counter. There’s already somebody waiting and I curse the early-caffeinated crowd. Seriously, who needs a chocolate muffin at five in the morning.
“What can I get you?” I ask the woman on the other side of the register.
“I’ll have a large mocha latte with skim milk and ginger.”
I want to tell her that that drink sounds absolutely disgusting but if I did, I would be fired so instead I say, “No problem. Anything else?”
“And a chocolate muffin.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes.