Acquaintance

I was ten minutes late clocking in. I didn't bother taking my things to the locker room. Instead, I hurried down the hall and into the report room where I was thankful to find that several of my coworkers had not yet arrived. Like me, I was sure that the heavy rain slowed them on the road. The sleepy nightshift nurses slumped in their chairs; one nurse cradled her head in her hands while another bowed his head and closed his eyes.

After a few silent minutes, the door swung open and in breezed one of my dayshift coworkers and another nightshift nurse, Donna. The tired graveyard woman sighed with relief when she saw me sitting there with a pen and paper laid in front of me, my hair and scrub top still a little damp from the morning's downpour.

"You're picking up my team. Are you ready?" She said to me. I could tell she had a bad night. That always worried me.

"Yeah." I answered. She moved in and sat at the round table, pulling a sheet of notes from her scrub pocket.

Donna filled me in on all the patients and I was surprised to find that all was well. Then, she threw a curveball at me. "There's one more." She said grimly and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

I flipped my paper over and continued to scribble. She gave me the name of a man who was previously in a room on the opposite side of the hall. Benedict Eversmith.