{{{Forum:The Operating Room}}}
!--âThis,â Dr. Pine said as she held up a small tear-shaped mask, âis called an anesthesia mask. Now I know youâve read all the papers about this, and I can see youâreâŠless than excited.â
RenĂ©e glared at her, brushing her short black hair out of her face. âThatâs the understatement of the day.â Her mom gave her a look and she fell silent. The doctor just smiled.
âItâs OK, Mrs. Conner. Her angerâs not uncommon. The poor thing was just pulled out of a car accident, for heavenâs sake! Sheâs lucky that her right arm was the only thing that ended up broken. Now, here at Sterling General Hospital, we have a little project.â She pulled out her phone. âNow, here are some recordings of people as theyâre put under anesthesia. Iâm usually the one that takes them. âCourse it has me running all over the hospital, going âDonât start yet, this has got to be filmed!ââ She chuckled, her green eyes glittering in the lights.
âWhy do you have these?â RenĂ©e said, eyeing Dr. Pine skeptically.
âWell, we know most people donât like having this kind of thing read to them, so with consent we have these videos taken to make the whole ordeal look more natural. Less scary.â
Mrs. Conner smiled. âWell, that sounds like a fantastic idea! Letâs watch some videos.â
RenĂ©e rolled her eyes. âNot interested.â
âRenĂ©e.â Mrs. Conner smiled through her teeth. âWeâre going to watch some videos.â
âIâm not interested.â
Her mom waved her off. âCan we see some, doctor?â
âWellâŠit really depends on what RenĂ©e wants to do.â Dr. Pine said, giving RenĂ©e a small wink. âShe is the patient, after all.â
âBut Iâm her mother.â
âI know, I know, but I think itâd be better if RenĂ©e felt comfortable watching them too. Maybe sheâd feel better if she knew that her friend is in a video?â
RenĂ©e sat up. âHe is?â
âOh yes. You didnât think that you were the only one hurt on that drive with Jack and Lila that night, did you? Iâve got their videos all right here, on file, grouped together so you can see them-if youâd like to, of course.â
RenĂ©e sighed and looked at her mother, who was smiling at Dr. Pine as if theyâd known each other for years. She glanced at the roomâs wall clock in its right corner, a small hand-embroidered pillow on her windowsill, and her favorite stuffed animal-a teddy bear in a nightcap and pajamas. She took a deep breath in, letting her head sink back into her pillow.
âGo ahead. Play them.â
Her mom smiled and rubbed her shoulder, as if to say, I knew youâd come around. Dr. Pine grinned. âAlright then! So which video do we wanna start with?â
âUhhhâŠJack.â
âJack Donovan! Wise choice. Boy broke 7 of his fingers, we needed to fix that. He was sitting in the back with you, right? In the car, the night of the crash? Really, the only thing between you was-â
âCould we just play the video? â
âOh, yes, of course. Sorry!â She giggled and pulled up the video, and RenĂ©e found herself staring at Jack, the one whoâd always said nothing bad would ever happen in his quiet little town, now being wheeled away on his hospital bed to an operating room, Dr. Pine frantically trying to catch up behind him. RenĂ©e watched as Dr. Pine, out of breath, grabbed onto the bedâs sideboard, and the cameraâs focus shifted to Jackâs face. His eyes were closed, and he was muttering something, but RenĂ©e couldnât tell what.
As he was wheeled into the operating room, she found out.
He sat up, eyes open, and started screaming, âDAD! I WANT MY DAD!â
Dr. Pine set the camera aside and readjusted it so the viewers could still see her and Jack. âItâs going to be fine, honey. Youâre at the hospital, youâve had an accident- â
Jack grabbed her gown. âWhereâs my dad?!â
âJust relax.â
âWHERE IS HE?!â
In that moment, Dr. Pine grabbed a syringe full of something and fed it through his IV. He let go of her gown and stared at his hand as he looked up at the doctor.
âW-w-where- âHe muttered, struggling to talk as he was lowered back down onto the bed. âW-w-what did you- â
âItâs going to be okay.â She said, caressing his forehead. He looked back at her, his eyes struggling to stay open.
âI- â
âShhhh.â She put her finger to his lips as his eyes closed and the video stopped. Dr. Pine looked at RenĂ©e with a smile. âHe was a fighter, that one. But, in the endâŠâ She shrugged her shoulders. âAnesthesia wins. Now, anesthesia can be administered via mask or syringeâŠâ
RenĂ©e looked at the doctor in horror as she explained the different methods of putting people under, but she wasnât listening. Her breath was shaky, and her heart felt as if it was going to break out of her chest. Trying to relax, she put her hand on her heart and took a deep breath in. As she looked up at the doctor, she let it out.
âCan we watch my sisterâs video next?â
âSure! Lila Conner, pretty little thing. 6 years old! She was in the back with you, right?â
âYes.â
She pressed play, and RenĂ©eâs heart broke. Tears were streaming down Lilaâs face as she wailed, and the camera shook as Dr. Pine pulled something out of her purse-a little red blanket with butterflies on it. Red was Lilaâs favorite color and butterflies were her favorite animal.
âSweetie, look.â The doctor put the blanket on her body. âYour favorite.â
Lila wiped her nose on her sleeve and looked up at her, eyes glistening, then at the camera, then at the blanket. With a tearful gasp, she threw the blanket at Dr. Pine and sobbed even louder. The doctor stumbled backward as Lila entered the operating room. She came to her side and put her hand on Lilaâs shoulder.
âSweetie, Iâm gonna need you to stop crying, okay? Just try to relax. Look!â She pointed to the doors of the operating room. âWeâre almost there!â
She felt like she couldnât breathe. RenĂ©e looked up at Dr. Pine, who was justâŠsmiling.
âPause it.â
âNoted.â She paused the video. âDo you need a drink?â
âHow recent is this? This video?â
âUmmm, I think it was an hour ago. Iâve got some people still working on her as we speak. Why? Is something wrong?â
Renée paused and tried to recollect herself.
Breathe in.
Jack was fine.
Breathe out.
Lila was fine.
Breathe in.
She was fine.
Breathe out.
Everything would be fine.
She heard the doctor say, âItâs time to go,â and she felt herself being wheeled off, yes. But something wasnât right. There was something-
She looked up at Pine. âSeven broken fingers. Jack had seven broken fingers.â
âYes, he did.â
âAnd that was it.â
âYes, that was it.â She was holding her phone, pointed at RenĂ©e. She was recording her. âWhatâs the matter?â
âWellâŠâ RenĂ©e sat up, which was difficult considering her broken arm and forward motion of the gurney, âI broke my fingers once. I was ten. But I didnât need surgery. Wasnât horribly severe, so I just needed a cast.â She turned to Pine. âSo you can stop lying.â
She almost dropped her phone. âWh-what do you mean lying?â
âHis fingers didnât look too bad when he grabbed your gown, did they?â
Silence.
âTell me what you did to my sister and my friend. And donât try to lie to me again. Iâm in my schoolâs med program.â
Well, she had figured it out. Inconvenient timing, but she had figured it out, at least.
So why was the doctor still smiling?
ââŠCongratulations.â She said as the double doors to the operating room swung open, and Pine put her phone back in her pocket. Doctors in scrubs surrounded RenĂ©eâs gurney, and started putting stickers onto her body so they could monitor her heart rate. RenĂ©eâs mouth was dry. âYouâve uncovered my âevil planâ. I hope youâre proud.â Dr. Pine giggled as she grabbed an anesthesia mask. âRenĂ©e, darling, youâve simply got it all wrong!â
She heard a faint buzzing and slumped back down onto her pillow, her muscles relaxing. Cold hands gently grabbed her shoulders, another pair grabbed her head and tilted it slightly upwards, and another pair grabbed her arms. She shrieked in pain as her right arm burned with agony.
-->
Leave Feedback
Close the space between the four tildes in the box and hit the "Leave Feedback" button to begin your comment.
It's well written and well paced. No grammar errors as far as I've seen, roughly. I'm curious to know where the story will go after this point.
8} William See 18:50, 17 November 2020 (UTC)