Imitadora: VII
𝐎𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫 "𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐲" 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐳 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫
The fluorescent lights of the skills lab hummed overhead, casting a sterile glow over the epoxy floors. Their soft buzz, alongside the faint scent of antiseptic and latex, filled the room. Every Tuesday [Y/N] spent hours in this laboratory. That meant getting up at six so she'd have three hours to get ready for practicing injections and wound care until noon.
Professor Garcia's voice cut through the quiet, sharp and precise. "Now, as you bandage the mannequin remember what we've been practicing," she instructed, pacing between the rows of students. "Too loose and it'll fall off, too tight and you're cutting off circulation."
[Y/N] exhaled slowly, her fingers slowly moving inside her pink latex gloves. She adjusted her goggles with her arm, glancing at her reflection in a nearby glass anti-septic bottle. She rolled her eyes. 'XTra XTreme Holding Gel,' she thought wryly, shaking her head. 'Fake ass advertising.'
Her brown eyes locked onto the mannequin in front of her, its wounded plastic waiting to be covered. Today, [Y/N] was practicing deep wound care, something she'd grown to have an interest in. Being effective while keeping the patient as comfortable as possible was something Professor Garcia stressed continuously. [Y/N] wanted to perfect that. The bandage in her hands felt fragile like porcelain, like if she pulled it too hard it'd crumble to pieces in front of her. She tested the tension cautiously until it felt perfect. She slowly began to wrap the bandage around her mannequin's thigh.
"For anyone around [Y/N], the pressure she's applying is perfect." Professor Garcia echoed through the room as she paused beside [Y/N], nodding in approval. The compliment warmed her chest, but it didn't ease the gnawing doubt in her gut.
The students nearby leaned in, their own bandages forgotten for a moment, watching as she wrapped. Their silent judgement weighed heavily on her.
If [Y/N] were to say nursing was easy, she'd be lying. However, the thought of being someone who could bring light into people's lives while they were drowning in darkness made it more than worth it to her.
It had been weeks since she'd last done any hard substances. There was vodka now and then when she—occasionally—went clubbing, but it was only enough to give her a buzz. College had become hectic these past couple of weeks as [Y/N] entered the final semester of her last year to earn her ADN. This meant a lot of studying, cramming, and mental preparation for her preceptorship. Finally, she'd get a taste of the real deal. To say she was nervous was an understatement. Staying on track to take her NCLEX exam meant everything to her, if she fell behind she wasn't sure if she'd be able to afford the financial strain of catching back up.
That paranoia was the exact reason she took a step back from the routine she had grown so used to over the past five years. Whenever she felt herself slipping, she called it a night. Walked away before things got ugly. Her tire popping had been a wake-up call. She'd rather drown out her problems with her academics in the safety of her home, where she wouldn't have to worry about anything rather than being drunk at the club, risking getting herself into major trouble.
Her friends had been very supportive, which helped her attempt to sober up a lot. While they still went clubbing—which [Y/N] had no problem with—they made sure to plan alternative hangouts that [Y/N] could participate in. Coffee dates, movie dates, whatever helped make sure [Y/N] was still included. She'd also noticed her mother had started taking more morning shifts, and fewer night shifts. It was clear what the driving factor behind that was, but [Y/N] brushed it off. Her mind focused instead on the nights she now got to have with her mother and brother. They were just like old times.
Dinner was always cooking, if not already done, when [Y/N] got home now. The house was regularly warm and bright—unlike how it was when her mother took night shifts. Her mother's favorite music would be playing in the kitchen, while Matteo would be in the living room either playing video games. It was like a scene from her earlier days in high school got repainted, except this time she was a young adult and her brother was in his early days of high school.
"Once you finish, get ready to start cleaning your stations." Professor Garcia said, glancing at the clock above her desk.
[Y/N] was one of the students who had finished first, so she began cleaning up her area. She celebrated silently with a soft smile on her face. She wiped down the mannequin's surface, her movements methodical, before gathering her supplies. Today was one of the days [Y/N] was able to leave a few minutes early, which wasn't often. Usually once class finished up, Professor Garcia would have some finishing notes to go over before she'd commence class, and that tended to take about fifteen minutes. Today, [Y/N] was more than ready to go home. She'd have a couple of hours to herself to study in bed before she'd have to pick up her group information and patient assignments for the next day.
She slid into her car, the engine purring to life as she tossed her bag into the passenger seat. She sighed softly, closing her eyes as she sank into her seat. Finally. She could relax for a moment before she hit the road.
Knock Knock.
Her eyes fluttered open, darting to her window. At her window, she saw her classmate, Simone. She was a woman with beautiful brown skin and the prettiest pixie cut [Y/N] had ever laid eyes on. It had tempted her to get one of her own. She rolled down the window, softly smiling. "Hey girl, what's up?"
The two were well acquainted as their schedules aligned almost perfectly. Due to this, they tended to work together in lecture halls and labs whenever the assignment permitted. They were able to connect quickly due to their shared opinions on the ways the healthcare system was lacking. While [Y/N] wasn't sure if Simone was from Freeridge, it sounded like the communities they were brought up in were very similar.
"Hi! I hope I'm not bothering you," Simone softly chuckled, waving. "I just wanted to catch you before you left. We're having another study group, do you wanna join?"
[Y/N] grinned, she knew exactly what Simone was referring to. For a few weeks now, she had been going to a couple of study groups with some of her classmates whenever she got invited. She liked connecting with them, the interactions always left a warm feeling in her heart. Plus, one day they'd be coworkers. Better to learn how to work together now rather than later. It wasn't often that she was able to do things with them outside school, so she more than happily accepted it whenever the opportunity presented itself during the school day.
"That sounds fun," she said. "Sure, why not? Which library is it today?"
"The Burbank Public Library, I'll see you there." Simone smiled, waving [Y/N] off.
"Okay, see ya!" [Y/N] replied, waving as Simone walked off. She rolled her window back up, the hot California air no longer hitting her face. Her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten since breakfast that morning at seven. [Y/N] glanced at her watch: 12:32. That made sense. She'd stop by a cafe and pick up something to eat before heading to the library.
***
The Burbank Library was unusually empty that afternoon, with predominantly elders or women with toddler-aged children strolling around. [Y/N] was located in the study area of the library, where there were glass, soundproof rooms that housed small groups of students. She sat with four other of her classmates, including Simone.
To her right was Simone, her notes spread out neatly in front of her.
To her left was Javi, a cinnamon-toned young man with a grown-out buzz cut and thick glasses. He was the one who set up these study groups. Like Simone, his schedule aligned with [Y/N]'s often. He was pretty technical, which got annoying at times, but he was very reliable when it came to needing quick answers and academic support.
Across from [Y/N] was Gia, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed young woman. Before the study groups, she didn't know much about her besides the fact that she seemed nice. Their schedules rarely aligned. However the more the two interacted, the more [Y/N] learned that Gia was soft-spoken yet fierce at times. She had a lot of patience, but didn't stand back when her buttons were being pressed.
Then there was Hassan, who [Y/N] really knew nothing about before the study groups. He tended to keep to himself. He was the type to only engage in professional conversations, never aiming to reach his classmates on a personal level. He was still like that, however, it seemed like he was slowly starting to open up. After all, he agreed to participate, so there had to be some part of him that wanted friendship.
"Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug," Gia said, raising her hand. Her natural blonde hair glowed softly under the overhead light. The group was having a flash round, where one of them would call out the abbreviation name of a medicine or condition, then the rest would race to be the first to call out the first term.
"Correct!" [Y/N] replied, softly smiling.
Javi muttered to himself, adjusting his glasses as he repeated the phrase under his breath. "Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug..."
"You like repetition a lot, don't you?" Hassan asked, observantly looking over at Javi.
"I do, I retain the information a lot better that way," Javi replied, his gaze flicking up to Hassan before down to his notes. "I'm taking it you're not a big fan of repetition?"
Hassan shook his head. "Nope," he began tapping his temple softly "What goes in once, stays in forever."
"That's cool," Gia said, pushing her notes forward slightly. "As you guys can see, I don't know what I'd do without my notes." She softly chuckled, watching as the group leaned in to scan her tiny, densely packed writing.
Simone nodded, studying Gia's notes. "You gotta do what you gotta do," she then leaned back. "Okay, next. My turn." She picked up a small piece of paper from the bowl in the middle of the table. "This one's easy," she muttered, frowning. "What's short for glucose?"
"Gluc!" [Y/N] called out, her hand springing up before the others. "That was really easy, who put that in?"
The group shrugged in unison.
"I think these are just from the flash game templates Dr. Gale offered us in lecture hall," Javi said, glancing over at the bowl. "I only used them twice, I kinda underestimated them."
"I didn't," Hassan said, a rare smile tugging at his lips. To [Y/N]'s surprise, he seemed to not only be enjoying himself—but even opening up a little. "This is kind of fun, though. We should include a prize."
"No prizes, we'd only focus on winning rather than learning," Javi snapped. There was that annoying side [Y/N] had come to know. Javi looked dead serious, his face straightening.
Hassan shrugged. "Just an idea."
Gia turned to Javi, her tone gentle but firm. "Soften up, you sound like a strict high school teacher." She adjusted herself in her seat, flipping her hair back. "Competition means working harder to earn the winning spot. Plus, we'd have to actually know what we're talking about to win."
Simone nodded in agreement. "I like where your head is at."
Javi hesitated, his brow furrowing. He wasn't against having some fun—he was just worried that feelings could get hurt with competition. He didn't want the study group to go awry after it had been doing so well. He had gotten them together because he wanted to start making some nursing friends, and so far that had been a success.
Hassan gestured towards Simone and Gia. "You heard them."
Javi looked over at [Y/N], his expression expectant. "What do you think, [Y/N]?"
[Y/N]'s eyes flicked up from her notes, she wasn't expecting the attention to turn to her. She looked around the table—all eyes were on her. "I mean majority rules right?" She questioned with a small smile.
Gia grinned and leaned in towards [Y/N]. "I knew I was gonna like you!"
Javi sighed, throwing his hands up in mock defeat. "Alright, alright. We can add prizes," he looked around at the others. "What are we thinking?"
The group paused to think.
"Winner gets a bottle of wine," Simone suggested, her eyebrows raised. Her eyes darted around the group, waiting for their responses.
"That works for me," Javi shrugged "It's gotta be white, though, if I win."
The speed round ensued. Each term that was called out, created a scrambled frenzy from each group member as they tried to find the answer. As quiet as they tried to keep it, the room couldn't help but burst into an uproar now and then, causing people passing by to give them looks. It was moments like these that gave [Y/N] a sense of stability and a hope for her future.
When things got rough in high school, she didn't have a vision for her future. She didn't really want to think about her future as a matter of fact, however, that changed when her mother practically dragged her into volunteering at the hospital. [Y/N] had always been very familiar with her mother's compassion—she had always known she wanted to continue it. The question was just how. When [Y/N] helped tend the hospital grounds, she got to interact with patients who were on a morning stroll. The more some of them saw her, the more they stayed to chat for a bit while she picked up trash or weeded the garden. Slowly but surely, she began developing a connection with not only the patients, but the nurses wheeling them around.
The patients always seemed very comfortable with their nurse, which always made [Y/N]'s heart melt as she wasn't clueless to the horrors that went on in corrupt hospitals. It was good to know that her mother's hospital was far from that. It made [Y/N] want to fight against the corrupt hospitals and aid in growing the number of good ones. Then it clicked. She could become a nurse.
"Alright so," Gia said as she finished up tallying. "It looks like Simone was able to answer the quickest, so she's our winner!"
The table softly clapped, smiling at Simone. "So when am I getting my red wine?" She questioned, softly smiling back at them.
"The next time we meet up," Javi replied. "However I think Hassan should cover it since this was his idea after all."
"I'm way ahead of you Javier," Hassan interjected, his head down as he counted the dollar bills he had on him. "You'll have your wine before next week, Simone."
[Y/N] glanced at her watch: 2:45pm. "We should probably start wrapping up right now," She said as she looked back up at the group. "I know some of us have to get our patient assignments for tomorrow, myself included." Her gaze turned towards Simone, who nodded in agreement.
"Well today was fun," Gia smiled. "I don't have a clinical shift tomorrow, so I can stay a little bit longer if anyone else wants to"
"I'll stay," Javi said "I could use the extra studying." He then looked over to Hassan, who was packing up. "I'm taking it you're leaving too?"
"Yep," Hassan nodded. "I don't like overstaying my welcome."
"Well I'll see you guys next week then," [Y/N] said as she finished gathering her things. She softly waved off the group before exiting the room, heading towards the exit. Today felt like it was going to end in yet another success. Not only did [Y/N] get to further connect with her peers, but she could clearly see the rest of the day ahead of her. Once she'd get her patient assignments, she'd be able to study them until her mother got home, and then the night would end the same way it had been ending for the past couple of weeks. Dinner with her mother and Matteo then off to bed she'd go with a smile on her face.
