part 14 {lib}

“Alright,” Bernice answered, shuddering as she closed the paper bag. She smiled weakly at Eliana. “It was very nice to meet you, dear. I’m sure we shall be great friends. Goodbye, Doctor.” She gulped. “I shall do my very best with the plant.” Rising, she put the paper bag into her purse, zipped it shut, and patted it firmly. “Until next week.” She opened the door and walked out, tripping over her heels.
“You can see that certain plants are very distressing to her,” Mrs. Zangler said. “But she’s getting much better. She used to live in her house and never go out because there were too many plants she didn’t like. Now she goes all over town, and even conducts nature walks! I’m very pleased with her progress,” she added.
“I’m sure psychiatry can be a very rewarding profession,” Eliana answered. “Who’s next?”
“Well, I usually get lunch around this time. If you want, you could join Hayden and Addison downstairs,” Mrs. Zangler answered.
“What are they doing here?” Eliana asked, surprised.
“Oh, I set up an internship for them downstairs, in the PT ward,” Mrs. Zangler answered cheerfully. “They should have their lunch break about now.”

A few minutes later, Eliana was wandering through the hallways of the PT ward. She stopped at the secretary’s desk.
“Hi, I’m here to find Hayden and Addison Zangler. They’re interning here,” Eliana explained. The secretary smiled pleasantly.
“I believe they’re in the break room,” she answered. “It’s down the right hallway, second door on the left.”
“Thank you,” Eliana said. She followed the woman’s directions and found herself in a bright, cheery kitchenette. Hayden was blocking her view of Addison, but she could tell they were having an interesting conversation.
“If you had just listened to Dr. Kitchener, this wouldn’t have happened,” Hayden said, chuckling.
“Easy for you to say. I was stuck. Ah! The ice is melting down my shirt!” Addison yelped.
“What is going on?” Eliana asked, laughing. Her friends turned around.
“Well,” Hayden answered, grinning, “Add hasn’t quite learned to listen to the doctor’s orders.”
“I got stuck!” Addison protested. He was holding a Ziploc bag full of ice to his left eye. “We were going through Mr. Quadrangle’s reps and I got caught between the door and Mr. Quadrangle’s fist. He got me right in the eye.”
“A real shiner,” Hayden added helpfully. Eliana stifled a laugh.

As the hilarious (but unadmirable) Oscar Wilde stated: "Be Yourself; everyone else is already taken." I don't see how you could argue with that.

Ciao.