Page 1 of That Last Secret

I havea love-hate relationship with my job.

I enjoy helping people and using my placement as a foot in the door for future opportunities in nursing.

But Ihate workingin the Emergency Room.

Every night is unpredictable. You never know what will come through those doors.

Stroke alert.

Code STEMI for a heart attack.

Code blue.

Will we be prepared for whatever comes in?

Will we be able tosavethem?

The unknown always causes my stomach to churn with anxiety each passing hour.

Yet, despite all that, I love my job.

“It’s only one hour into our shift, and I’m already over it,” Brooke groans to my left as she sits at the open computer nextto me. She throws her head back and swivels back and forth next to me. “Hear me out, okay? What if you take the empty bed from room three and accidentally run me over so I can go home?”

I choke out a laugh. “It’s a little early in the shift to be this dramatic.”

Brooke has become one of my best friends since we started nursing school. We met on the first day of classes after we sat beside each other. When we had time to chat that day, we discovered we lived only a block from each other and were both obsessed with iced coffee. We also have similar study habits, and if there’s an area where one of us struggles, the other understands.

After our first study session, we felt utterly lost. We agreed we needed more hands-on experience than school offered us.So we both got a job working in the Emergency Room at City General.

A few months into this job, we can confidently say it was the best and worst decision ever. It’s the worst because working nights while in school is not fun. But despite that, the nurses we work with are some of the most supportive people we’ve ever met.

When a patient would come in, they’d explain to us what they had, what to look for, and which treatments are commonly used. It was a perfect way to experience what we learned in school firsthand.

Brooke isn’t just a coworker or a nursing school buddy anymore, I’m lucky to call her my best friend.

“I was considering asking you to run me over five minutes before the shift started,” she scoffs, sitting upright in the chair. “And then I got stuck on the B side. You know, the opposite side of the ER from you. Which is so rude, by the way.” She dramatically rolls her eyes. “Tonight seems to be filled with people who have no respect for common coughing etiquette. I’mtaking a blood pressure test on the patient in room eighteen, and instead of turning his head away from me to cough, he turns and directs his face toward me and lets it out. I felt the germs spray my face.”

“Say it, don’t spray it.” I chuckle.

“Tell him that,please,” she begs, with her hands joined in prayer.

“There’s not much happening here on the A side. But it’s still early.” I lift a shoulder.

Brooke’s eyes widen in my direction as she smacks her hands on the table in front of her. “You just jinxed yourself. You never talk about theQ wordor so much as insinuate it. It’s Nursing 101. You’ve worked here long enough to know that.”

She’s right.

It’s one of those,if you know, you knowthings. You never say the word ‘quiet’ and talk about how it’s not busy. When you do, the universe sends the bat signal out, and we’re flooded with patients.

“At least if we’re busy, tonight will go by fast. It’s my last shift this week. I have to study for my board exam. It’s two days away, and I’m already freaking out about it.”

“Please.” Brooke leans her forearms on the counter to level with me. “You’ve been at the top of the class since day one of the nursing program. You could take that test with your eyes closed and get the highest score in the state. You’ll go from maroon to blue scrubs with an RN beside to your name by next week.”

I open my mouth to respond, but our nursing team leader comes rushing behind the desk. “Listen up,” Kim announces, her tone laced with concern. “We have two serious motor vehicle victims five minutes out. Brooke, I know you’re on B side tonight, but I need you in room one with Lisa. Joyce and Emiline, I need you both in room six for extra hands. You all know what to do. Be ready when they get here.”

“I hate this,” Brooke mutters as she retreats to room one.

Me too.