Vincent Memorial Hospital

Today is my first day of surgery residency. All my hard work has finally paid off! Medical school was hard and honestly, there were times I thought I wouldn't make it. Now here I am, standing with five other residents in the emergency room, waiting for our introductions.

"Hey, what's your name?" Asked a red headed guy. He seemed way younger than the rest of us. His bubbly face was a strict contrast against the rest of our agitated faces.

"I'm Andrea", I replied. Did he say his name or did I already forget it?

"I'm Peter", he said. It makes sense. He looks like a Peter.

Suddenly, the doors of the room we sat in burst open. Three doctors walked in, all with really stern faces, not to mention old. The fourth doctor lagged behind, and before I could notice him the first one had started speaking.

"Good morning, residents. I'm Dr. Sherin Jacobsen, the head of the department of surgery. And these are my associates: Dr. Amber Duncan and Dr. Geetha Nair", she said, pointing to the people who walked in with her. The fourth doctor finally entered, and it would be an understatement to say that everyone was staring in awe.

He was young, definitely not as old as the others. He was an African- American man with a really strong build. He works out, I thought. He looked about 6 feet 5 inches. But the thing I focused the most on was his face.

He was extremely handsome. He had hazel eyes and prominent cheek bones. He had a scar running through his left eyebrow. He was really muscular, but not to the point that he looked like a WWE wrestler. I could hear all the girls swooning behind me.

Dr. Jacobsen cleared her throat. "And this, is Dr. Richard Peters. He's a new addition to our team."

Dr. Peters caught me staring and frowned. I blushed and turned my face. So much for making a good first impression.

"Since this is your first day, you will be able to leave early after your rounds. There will be an orientation class after which is mandatory. The reporting time from tomorrow onwards is 8 a.m and there are no exceptions. Your seniors will update all of you regarding the rest of your duties."

A free day was exciting. That means I will be able to catch up on three weeks worth of laundry. I can finally wear clean clothes.  I got out of the room feeling happy. I will have time to squeeze in a nap as well.

                                ♡

Rounds were pretty intense. I was with Dr. Jacobsen, and she was not as sweet as she looked. As strict as she was, I had to admit that she was pretty efficient. All the patients looked happy to see her. After the rounds, she scrubbed in for a Whipples procedure, which meant I was free for the day. I grabbed my bag and was trying to leave the main gate, when I saw Peter and some people surrounding him.

Run before they see you, I thought to myself. But it was too late. Peter had seen me and was waving for me to go join him.

"There she is! We were waiting for you."

I smiled weakly and joined him. There were two girls and two guys beside him. They smiled at me.

"Guys, this is Andrea. Andrea, this is Shiloh, Dylan, Carlos and Lauren."

I'm never going to remember all these names.

"So what were you guys talking about?" I asked even though I don't care.

"We are planning a party next week at Shiloh's house. Her parents are loaded!" Peter said, extremely excited.

I looked at Shiloh, a blue eyed blonde girl who looked like she just walked off a Louis Vuitton photoshoot. I was thinking of excuses for not going when suddenly my phone rang.

"Sorry, got to take this", I said as I walked off. I answered the phone.

"This is Dr. Peters. Report to OR1 immediately. I will not wait."

                            ♡

I ran to the OR with every breath I could muster. Wow, I'm really out of shape.

When I reached the OR, Dr. Peters was already scrubbing in.

"You're late", he said, without looking at me. "Scrub in."

"But Sir, Dr. Jacobsen said..."

"Have you seen the duty list, doctor?" He asked. The sterness in his voice scared me.

He looked at me as if waiting for an answer.

"N-n-no".

"You are assigned to me, doctor. You are on duty until I say you're not. Many come, but only a few stay."

Saying this, he entered the OR.

I swallowed.

                             ♡

Dr. Peters had already started the procedure by the time I scrubbed.

"Do you know what we are doing?" He asked.

Was he kidding? Who doesn't know what an appendicectomy is?

"Yes, it's an open appendicectomy."

"What is the name of the incision we put?"

"Lanz incision."

"What is the anaesthetic agent we usually use?"

I was blank. I had no idea.

"Umm... "

"So you usually perform this surgery without sedating the patient, is that correct?"

"No, we do."

"Well then, how would you know what complications to expect if you don't even know what anaesthesic agent we use?" Dr. Peters smiled, but it was not a kind smile. It was a smile of arrogance.

I already hated him.

He was silent for some time, focused on the procedure. I had to admit he had great skill. I was keenly watching what he was doing. His arrogance finally had an explanation- he was amazing.

"I need hourly follow up of this patient. I will check", he said, glaring at me.

What is this guy's deal?

He quickly finished the procedure and walked out. I looked at the patient and saw an open wound.

Apparently, I have to suture it. He didn't even ask. The nurses looked at me with pity in their eyes. They must have seen so many residents driven to madness by Dr. Peters.

This is going to suck so bad.