GREAT READS → DIARY SERIAL Issue 1023 · August 7, 2024

On Call — Chapter 18: Possibilities  

While there are quiet times in the ER, anyone with experience knows they don’t last long

On Call — Chapter 18: Possibilities  


“IT looks pretty quiet here,” the newest resident says to me, surveying the sparsely populated ER waiting room. She is all shiny and new, straight from med school, and I feel like it’s been years since I was so untested, so eager, and so clueless. Three years of residency can do that to a girl.

“Don’t say that!” comes the sharp exclamation from behind. I spin around to see Nicole, one of the night nurses, just coming off her shift.

“Say what?” New Resident is confused.

“It’s a thing in the ER,” I explain. “Never says it’s quiet, because soon it won’t be!” The truth? It’s not a superstition, but reality. While there are quiet times in the ER, anyone with experience knows they don’t last long.

It doesn’t.

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