1.01

Helena smiled to herself as she walked through the halls of the hospital with her fellow interns. This was it, her new workplace, her new life, her future.

As the Doctor giving them the tour lead them to their locker room, she looked around. "This is where you'll keep your things, change and shower. There's quite a lot of you, so make sure you only grab one locker each."

As most other inters rushed to looks around, Helena stayed towards the back. She knew she would spend a lot of time in that room, there was no rush to try to see it. It seemed another intern had had the same idea, as she saw a curly haired man standing next to her.

"No need to hurry, we'll be seeing it for the rest of the year, right?" Her fellow intern asked her in a hushed tone and was met with a smile and a nod. She had been accused of being intimidating before, when her head was in the game, but deep down she'd always been a nurturing person.

"Exactly. I'm Helena Campos, by the way. You?" He let his eyes lighter on her for a bit longer than normal, and could barely contain a smile as he replied.

"George O'Malley. Pleasure to meet you, Helena."

——

The group was now in the hall, at the door of an OR, where Doctor Webber was waiting for them. Everyone should, by know, recognise the man as the chief of surgery: if they didn't, then they were already behind.

Helena suddenly heard the door behind her opening and closing, seeing a dirty blond entering, trying not to be noticed. Being late was certainly not a good way to start their internship, she though to herself. The young brunette herself had arrived half an hour earlier, since her anxiety hadn't allowed her much sleep. However, she couldn't help but feel for the girl.

"Don't worry, you didn't miss much. Just a tour of the cafeteria and locker rooms. I can always show you where they are later." She whispered to the woman in her slight accent, trying to offer some comfort. It seemed to help, as the taller girl looked at her with a grateful smile and a sigh of relief.

As the group entered the OR, a sense of peace and tranquillity washed over the foreign woman. This was a rare feeling for her, which only reinforced that she was where she was meant to be. The group scattered around the room and Helena approached the operating table. In little to no time, she could be be cutting into someone in this very room, saving their life.

"Each of you comes here today hopeful, wanting in on the game". She heard the firm but calm voice of her now chief. "A month ago you were in med school, being taught by doctors. Today, you are the doctors". The short girl smiled to herself. She was a doctor, a surgical intern in one of the best programs in the United States. At that moment, all of the hard work and long nights of studying were worth it. "The 7 years you spend here as a surgical resident will be the best and the worst of you life. You will be pushed to the breaking point. Look around you, say hello to the competition."

Helena looked at the faces surrounding her: some seemed scared, some excited and another few matched her own expression of determination. She recognised some that didn't yet have names and others were being looked at for the first time. Her eyes locked with George's for a second, before falling on the woman she'd spoken to earlier.

"Eight of you will switch to an easier specialty, five of you will crack under the pressure, two of you will be asked to leave. This is your starting line. This is you arena. How well you play... that's up to you." Helena's determination intensified and she lifted her head slightly, as the chiefs words echoed through her head.

This was her arena. And she was going to show everyone just what she was made of.

     ——

Now in the previously visited locker room, Helena had just finished pulling her scrub top over her grey long-sleeve, when she heard a resident calling out some names. "Okay, Martin, Robinson, Bond, Hawkins". She already knew she was in Dr. Bailey's service, though she didn't yet know who said doctor was.

Pulling her hair up in a ponytail, she shut her locker and looked around the busy locker room. When she spotted George, she smiled to herself and slowly approached him. "It's George, if I remember correctly? We talked earlier?" She asked while fidgeting with her fingers.

"Oh, hi!" The boy replied, slightly startled. "Yeah, and you're Helena, right?" The girl nodded with a tight smile.

"Do you know which resident you're with? I got Dr. Bailey, I hear they call them the Nazi."

George's smile seemed to fade a little as he asked with a high pitched voice. "Th- the Nazi?! Well, tha- that's one hell of a nickname."

She giggled quietly at his panic, before getting distracted by the blond who had been late. "Only six women out of twenty." She pointed out, to which an Asian woman standing next to her answered. "Yeah, I hear one of them is a model. Seriously, that's gonna help with the respect thing?"

Helena rose her brow at her slightly judgmental tone and approached the pair. "I bet it helped with the loans thing though." She suggested.

"You're Cristina and Helena, right?" They both nodded. "I'm Meredith. Which resident are you assigned to?" Asked the blond.

"I got Bailey." They both answered in unison.

"The Nazi?" The blond asked asked as she smirked slightly. "Me too".

"You got the Nazi? So did I. At least we'll be tortured together, right? I'm George O'Malley. Uh, we met at the mixer. You had on a black dress with a slip up the side, strappy sandals, and..." Helena furrowed her brows slightly as he spoke, trying to hide a smile while the other two women shared a look. "Now you think I'm gay." That's when the shorter brunette couldn't hold it in anymore and let out a muffled giggle. She placed a hand on his shoulder as to stop him from keeping on taking but it didn't seem to work. "It's- it's just that, uh, you know, you were- I mean, you were very... unforgettable".

"O'Malley, Yang, Grey, Campos, Stevens." They heard their names being called out and Meredith and Cristina left, leaving George and Helena behind. "And I'm totally forgettable." George muttered under his breath earning him a pat in the back from his new friend.

As they walked towards their new resident, Helena seemed to be the only one who wasn't surprised. The Nazi was a short black women, with an intense look in her eyes. "That's the Nazi?" Asked the curly haired woman.