| |
I stop a few meters from the pediatric wing. As always, the place is noisy and rowdy. Kids are running around like the whole area is a playpen. I wonder how Alex manages his department. If it were not for his mother, the doctor wouldn't land the department chief job.
“Doctor James,” Alex calls me from behind.
I turn around and freeze when Carmen walks out of a room in her nursing uniform. Her shoulders are down. She looks my way, but her mind seems somewhere else. She doesn’t seem to notice the people around her.
“Ah. That’s Carmen,” I frown when Alex calls her like they know each other. “I just fired her.”
“What?”
“Not exactly. But Carmen has a decision to make."
Alex explains that Carmen has to adhere to the conditions of the hospital regarding her application for an internship. Other than requiring the applicant to have fully paid tuition, we also require them to focus on their studies. It means no part-time jobs, sports competitions, or any activities that can affect their last year.
I am the author of that stipulation. This is Osler. Along with our state-of-the-art medical facilities, the hospital is also known for its skilled doctors. We only hire interns with exceptional potential to become the country's bests. Hence, the intern applicants should only focus on getting the grades we require.
“Carmen!” A few kids run to her.
Her brown eyes twinkle as the kids keep calling her name. Despite her frustration and fatigue, she still puts on a smile and entertains the bickering and gossiping kids. I chuckle when she teases a kid by imitating the way he talks.
"I don't think Carmen's upset about losing her part-time job," Alex tells me. "She chose that part-time job to learn more about being a doctor."
“She wants to be a pediatrician?”
“A surgeon,” Alex replies. “Thoracic. She applied to be on your team.”
“What?”
"That is, if you let her," Alex adds.
Alex stops talking when my phone rings. I check the caller and frown when it's the pimp from the escort service. I have already told her I will not take Carmen despite being the best of all the women she offered.
Carmen walks with the kids, and I watch her. My heart stops for a moment and suddenly races like a wild horse. I take a deep breath and exhale loudly. Alex becomes worried, but I ignore him and walk away.
“What do you mean?” I ask the pimp.
“I have another offer for the girl.” My blood boils at the words. An offer for Carmen? “She rejected it and asked to convince you again.”
My knees shiver as panic consumes me. I look back and find Carmen walking away from the kids. Carmen is no quitter. Being a doctor isn't only achieving her dream but a life-changing profession for her. She will escape from her damned poor life after finishing her internship.
She may accept the pimp’s offer! No! I will not let that happen. If she must be a whore to a man, I have to be that man. “Fine. I'll take her. Brief her and be careful with the contract."
“I’ll have her on a flight by Sunday, then,” I look back to see Carmen.
Her desperation to see me that night before I left did not only prove that she enjoyed the night. She also let herself enter a fantasy world where she can be Cinderella. It's not the first time I met an escort who aimed for a fairytale ending. I know how to handle them. But Carmen is a risky choice. Why? Because she’s no Cinderella. She’s worse; she’s real.
#
