Chapter I (unedited)

Evangeline Marino:

"Hello future nurses, my name is Evangeline Marino. I am the charge nurse here. I am going to tell you all, congratulations on making it to your clinical semester. Even more so, for making it into Johns Hopkins. Here, we support each other and are family. I do not tolerate incompetence. So do make a good impression. The next few months are going to either make or break you." I take a pause in my speech, looking over the group of younger interns coming in from Harvard. I mentally chuckle at their bright eyes filled with hope. The same look in my eyes when I was in their shoes. Oh, how I can't wait to break them.

I shuffle my weight over to other side and stand up a little taller, extruding my power to them. Hoping that I'm letting my aura to flow out; letting them know that I have the power. That I decided whether or not they pass this semester. That I'm a force to be reckoned with and that I am not some pushover. That I am not an easy person to please and that I am a proud bitch.

Clearing my throat, I continue to say, "I have a rules for you to follow. Rule one, respect your nursing assistants. They are your eyes and ears. Rule two, if you don't know something, don't hesitate to ask for help. Rule three, never and I mean never, laugh at any of your patients that come in. What they feel is valid, no matter how stupid it may seem. Rule four, when I tell you to do something, you do it. Rule five, if the soil is beyond that you're capable of doing, then say it. we don't need you killing anyone quite yet. Now, are there any questions?" The longer I talk, the more the tension in the students show.

I saw no one raise their hands. Thank fuck, I cannot be spending all day answering questions. Clasping my hands excitedly together, I let out a giant smile and conclude my speech. "That's wonde-" I got cut off by the loud beeping from one of the rooms. Shit, someone was dying. I waved my hand, instructing the students to follow me and I started to run. "Someone grab a crash cart, code blue in room 235!" I frantically shout as I had entered the room. Pushing the carts aside and lowered the bed railings; immediately jumping into chest compressions. "one, two, three..."

I look up and see the students standing in the doorway looking pale and horrified. Some look like they want to throw up. I rolled my eyes and screamed, "What the fuck are you all waiting for? The king? One of you, grab the fucking cart. Someone start bagging. You in the pink, start a line, and you in the purple, start scribing. Now hop on it!" I reached thirty compressions and I stopped briefly to bag. Tossing it to a student, I go back to chest compressions at a rate of 120 a minute. At this point, it has been five minutes. My arms are starting to tired and I am starting to get out breath.

"Let me take over." I think her name is Sarah, said as she placed her hands over mine, ready to start the next round. I nod and take my hands away allowing her to take control. I grabbed a shot of epinephrine and administered it. I quickly threw the needle into the red and white sharps container on the wall and briskly walked back over.

"You need faster compressions. You're going too slow!" Sarah took my yelling and went faster. My heart is beating and after another five minutes, I hear that glorious sound of beeping on the monitor, finally letting us know the patient was alright. I could hear everyone let out a tired sigh of relief. I gave a light smile and brushed my hair out of my face. "You all did great for your first code. Sarah, make sure the patient is stabilized and report back to me."

She stammered out a scared, "Yes, ma'am."

Staring at her, I assessed her. Making sure she seemed ok for the job. I hadn't found anything out of order, except maybe she was tired or a little spooked. Not giving a damn, I glared at the others and inadvertently orders the others to follow me. Making our way to the break room, I sat down and waved for the others to sit as well.

"Now do you all have questions?" All their hands went up. This was amusing for me. "Yes?" I pointed to the girl in red.

"What was your first code like?" This question took me aback. I never been asked such a question before.

"Well... It was definitely different. My first code was when I was in your shoes. It was my clinical semester and I was put in charge of running my first code. I had no idea what I was doing. All I could do was take examples I had seen on YouTube and from simulations and go from there. It took ten minutes to revive the patient. Ten rounds of chest compressions, five rounds of epinephrine, and two rounds of shocking the patient at the end." They all stared at me in disbelief. Almost as if I was ghost.

Chuckling lightly, I shook my head back and fourth. "Now, head back out to the front desk. Ask for Christine and she will give you your patients you will be looking after, as well as the nurse you will be shadowing." After they left the room, my phone beeped and I saw a message. Opening it up, my face paled a bit.

Message: unknown number

When I saw you that day, I knew you were mine. Do not talk to any boys, or I will be forced to do something you won't like. Also, congratulations on your save today, that was beautifully done.