Dr. Daven

I had woken up early for my morning jogging and afterwards freshened up. I had a big day ahead of me and I couldn't afford to get late. Getting downstairs, I saw Sara taking milkshake and her mother was busy blending fruits. Ever since I arrived, I never bothered to taste her cooking. I'd rather eat at Mabel's or at the eatery since I had savings enough to last me a few months before getting my first salary. I saw the keys to the Rolls-Royce I had owned before, I thought of driving myself to work but then snapped out of it. It has been two good years and I don't know if the Mistress had laid her filthy hands on it. I turned towards the direction of the door and that's when she called my name out loud.

"Care for coffee?" She asked while adding her little brat another glass of milkshake.

"I don't take coffee and could you please mind your own business? I don't want you talking to me." I couldn't care less if my words stung her, she ruined my family and there was no way I could call her mother.

I walked out and called a taxi. My phone pinged and there was a message from Mabel wishing me all the best.

Arriving at the hospital, I changed into scrubs and rushed into the theatre since I was already late.

"Miss Carson, you're late!" The surgeon leading a team of doctors in the surgery gave me a cold stare.

"It won't happen next time." I hang my head low like a deer in the headlights.

"Better not. Okay guys, let's do this." He turned to the rest. I was the only female nurse and four doctors. I don't know why the Surgeon was so serious as if his life depended on the old man breathing haggardly on the operating table. He was a few years older than me, handsome but cold. If he was walking such a direction then I had to stiffen up. Female nurses were always looked down upon, the reason why I didn't have a counterpart we'd gossip. My profession required high degree of manners and casualty because one of the rules in the code of conduct was, no doctor-patient relationship or doctor-nurse relationship. That sucked and definitely boring. I was jolted back from my thoughts when Dr. Matt tapped me.

"Your gloves."

"Oh! Thanks." I gave him a smug smile as I wore the gloves. The surgeon, Dr. Daven kept stealing glances at us as we had a little chat. He was obviously annoyed by how we were behaving and decided to punish us.

"Carson and Matt, prepare the anesthesia and make it quick because there's more you'll have to do. The rest, focus!" He ordered.

Matt was quick and in no time everything was ready. The next step was to inject the patient make him feel numb before the surgery. Apparently, the old man was having a hard time breathing since his lungs were collapsing. I had heard before that the old man was always in and out of the hospital because his condition was deteriorating. There were few chances that he'd make it alive. Even as we operated on his lungs, I felt uneasy because it was my first time handling a breathing being. In campus, all we did was conduct autopsies on dead bodies and even experiment on them. It was scary but I did it anyways. Midway the surgery, his blood pressure dropped and an emergency CPR was conducted but it seemed to that we were slowly losing him.

******

"He was the tenth person to die while on duty, we had done our level best but God knew it was best that he'd rest." Dr. Matt sighed heavily as we discussed the aftermath of the operation over coffee at the hospital cafeteria.

"God is the giver of life and only Him has the right to take it away." I concurred with him as if I believed in Him. My family was not that religious because I don't remember the last time I saw my parents praying or going to church. Dr. Daven decided to join us and I snorted inwardly, he was always bad news.

"I can see you're catching up, did I miss anything or should I say, did I perhaps interrupt anything?" His tone was full of pride, arrogance and mockery. No wonder no one seemed to like him, so full of himself. Just because he was an expert and a highly recommended surgeon, didn't give him the right to be spiteful towards others.

"No, you didn't interrupt anything. Actually we were about to leave. Please, excuse us." I faked a smile and winked at Matt's direction. That's was the red code.

We walked away and left him all alone. I wasn't ready for any of his show off. He bragged too much.