Late, late, late, a spectacular way to start her first full shift.
Y'know, public transit was great, really fabulous. Environmentally friendly, fiscally responsible, really lined up with her belief system. But christ on a cracker, could it be any more confusing? Lines and colors and not a damn thing to scale.
"You'll get used to it," she mumbled in self-encouragement, all but sprinting the last few dozen feet into the warm safety of the hospital. She paused in the entryway to catch her breath, just a moment's respite before anyone important could see her wiping her runny nose on the sleeve of her jacket. She'd get used to the cold, too, right? Her southerner's blood would toughen up and her eyes would stop watering at every gust of wind?
She shook the shivers out, smoothed her jacket, and lifted her chin. Night shift psych consulting in the ER: relative to what she'd be asked to treat, she was plenty put-together.