Big Day

 

I nervously set my alarm and, checking the time again, went to bed. I knew I wouldn't fall asleep anytime soon. Tomorrow was my first day at my new job. My dreams would finally come true. I would be an independent doctor. The responsibility involved terrified me, so I nervously shifted from side to side, thinking about the upcoming challenges. I imagined my patients and colleagues. After the interview, I only knew my boss. I composed possible dialogues in my head, imagining myself in different roles. Despite the rush of thoughts, I finally managed to calm down and fell asleep. I slept briefly, a light, restless sleep that felt more like running than resting in the land of Morpheus. Suddenly,

I jumped out of bed and, startled, glanced at the clock. "7:30" flashed on the screen. "What time? Impossible!" I glanced at the small screen again and rubbed my eyes in surprise. But the numbers refused to change. They pulsated with a red rhythm like a fire alarm, digging into my flesh like sharp needles. Finally, the message reached my still-sleepy mind, and in an instant, I jumped out of bed.

"Sure! First day at work, and I must have overslept. Damn! This has never happened to me before. I should be leaving at this hour, not getting up. Take it easy, take it easy. Wait, where are my clothes?"

Thoughts bombarded me from all sides, leaving me completely speechless. A few minutes later, dressed, with a rinsed-off, still slightly sleepy face, pale and tired from having run out of time for makeup, I ran out of the house. I instinctively glanced at my watch. It was 7:40, so with a good wind, I'd be only slightly late. Good thing I'd pulled on my sneakers. I briskly jogged down the familiar hill, muttering to myself how lucky it was that it wasn't raining on this October morning. After a moment, I focused solely on covering the distance between me and the hospital as quickly as possible. When the morning remnant of some Azorean tree appeared ahead of me, blooming on the sidewalk like a cactus in the middle of the Mexican desert, I stopped for a moment to avoid it. And then I felt a strong blow from behind and a strange force propelled me forward. I only had time to stretch out my arms and let out a sort of scream as my knees hit dog poop.

"Watch where you're going, you wimp!" I heard behind me, from where the teenager was lying next to the cool mountain biker.

"You should watch where you're going, you little brat! The sidewalk is for pedestrians, not bicycles," I snapped angrily.

"If it weren't for ladies like you, there wouldn't be a problem. You stepped in front of me," he sneered. He quickly got to his feet and rode away on his bike.

When I finally managed to pull myself together, I saw someone's morning pet droppings on my pants, and tears welled up in my eyes. There was no time to change, though. Luckily, I had my uniform in my bag, so I didn't completely break down.

Around 8:10, I finally reached the hospital. I knocked softly and entered the office. A report was being given.

"Good morning. Excuse me. I'm the new resident and I start working here today," I said quietly.

"Welcome, ma'am. I see you weren't in a hurry to get to work. Or maybe you had trouble getting here?"

"No. Just a little accident on the way," I groaned, forcing a smile and pointing to my lap.

He glanced at me briefly and burst out laughing.

"You've got yourself quite dirty. I suggest you change, or we'll soon die from the stench here. And next time

, I suggest you avoid the lawns."

I quickly changed into clean work clothes, washed my hands, and, refreshed, headed back to the office.

"Please sit down. You'll be working with Dr. Nowak," my boss said, gesturing to a short, slender brunette.

I smiled at her and perched on the edge of a nearby chair. The report was over, and I didn't really have much to do. I leaned back, crossed my legs, and at that moment I heard a crash, finding myself on the ground next to pieces of wood scattered in all directions. Everyone looked in my direction at once. Feeling a crimson flush spread across my face, I quickly stood up and gritted my teeth.

"Please go to the nurse and tell her to report the chair for repairs. And please, sit somewhere else.

" "That chair was broken a long time ago. It shouldn't have been here," Dr. Nowak tried to comfort me. "I'm sorry it happened to you." I hope you haven't been too bruised?

" "No," I said with a faint smile and went out to find the head nurse.

A moment later, the awkward seat was cleared away, and I was studying the patient histories. Gradually, I began to calm down and settle into a normal workday. My supervisor was friendly and patiently explained the technical intricacies of working on the ward. After our visit and review of the latest results, she suggested a short break. Only then did I realize I hadn't eaten since morning and hadn't even had time to drink my morning coffee. So I gratefully accepted the offered cup of caffeine. Savoring the hot, fragrant infusion, I decided to review the more interesting cases again. I settled comfortably at my desk, sipping the delicious brown infusion.

"Oh my god! I've never seen a PSA result like that! 2,500!" a doctor whose name I hadn't yet memorized shouted from somewhere behind me.

Curious, I turned around, feeling my elbow soaked in the hot liquid. I quickly jumped up and, using disposable towels, tried to contain the spill. Unfortunately, the coffee seeped into every nook and cranny of the documents spread out on the desk. Like an amoeba, it crawled between the letters, moving onto subsequent pages and wreaking ever greater havoc. Terrified, I quickly cleaned up the damage I'd caused. Everyone had already gathered in the office, watching my efforts with ironic expressions. Now it was certain that some pleasant nickname like "the weakling" or "the clumsy one" would be attached to me. "How can I salvage this situation? What can I do to avoid becoming the biggest laughingstock of this year?" I thought intensely. After cleaning up the mess, I turned and, with a beautiful, if not sincere, smiled, said,

"That's enough damage for one day. I'll save the rest for tomorrow.

" "Don't worry. Everyone gets distracted sometimes," replied Dr. Michalik, the deputy head of the ward, just as honestly.

Everyone slowly went off to their respective jobs, and I, keeping my nerves in check, tried to get through the day. When 2:30 p.m. arrived and it was time to leave the station, I slowly, feigning calm and complete indifference to myself, changed into the clothes marked with the unfortunate morning accident and, with a polite "goodbye," left the torture chamber.

I made the journey home at lightning speed, not considering how interesting a sight I must be. The yellow stains on my knees, clenched teeth, and a look that would have crushed the strongest man caused most people to move out of my way.

When I finally reached my apartment, I sat down on the couch with relief. I was so exhausted I didn't even feel like crying. "Water soothes"—the title of a story by a friend came to mind, as he'd just washed away the afterglow of a miserable day in the bathtub. Without a second thought, I stripped off my clothes and jumped into the tub, where puffs of foam were already beginning to form at the bottom, promising a truly soapy bliss. The water flowed in a thin trickle, and I relaxed every muscle in my body, trying to forget the hours that had passed. I felt all my sorrows slip away, and time, like a turtle, began its leisurely afternoon stroll. "OK. Enough of this water," I thought, reaching for the faucet. Suddenly, the hot stream threw me backward with all its force. I jumped as if scalded, practically scalded, from the tub, only miraculously avoiding a circus landing with my head on the edge of the tiles. Holding a piece of the faucet in my hand, I threw a colorful bouquet at the top of my lungs, a bouquet I never would have imagined myself capable of.

After closing the main house valve, I started leafing through the phone book, looking for a plumber. Finally, after fifteen attempts to locate a plumber, a blasé voice replied that he could arrive in "about two hours" and asked for the address. I had time to tidy up a bit.

Almost on time, only an hour late, the plumber rang my doorbell.

"What happened, honey?" he asked charmingly, dropping his enormous bag on the floor and strutting into the bathroom. "Did it break?

" "As you can see." I wasn't in the mood for much conversation, especially when I saw the chocolate ice cream dripping onto the floor in his hands.

"Because you have to be gentle, like with a woman, not force it.

" "Yes. You have to be gentle. I know," I said mechanically, not going into detail, as you have to be with a woman, because the high-class specialist surely had a few theories on the subject.

"Okay. I'll do it." I think I even have a gasket. "Give me your bag, please," he waved his hand in my direction.

A bit stunned not only by the direct address but also by my promotion to assistant foreman, I dragged my stuffed bag into the bathroom. Afterward, I couldn't bear to look at the efforts and actions of my savior, no matter how you look at him. He wasn't particularly bothered by it, anyway. He was humming a disco polo song, whistling every now and then and wailing, "What if, my dear, she gave me..."

After about an hour, a disheveled head popped out from behind the door and announced with a delightful smile,

"Done, ma'am. You can check."

I briskly went to the bathroom and, pretending not to notice the black paw prints left everywhere, turned on the tap a few times. I breathed a sigh of relief when everything worked properly.

"Thank you. How much am I paying?" I asked.

"Like 250 złoty for you.

" "How much?! For a gasket and turning on a faucet. You're crazy!

"What about transport? You think it's free? What about materials, labor? What am I, Santa Claus or something?

" "I think I'll retrain, because I have to work a week to get that kind of money, and you only need an hour.

" "Ha, ha, ha. With your energy, you'd do more damage. So what are we paying?

" "Just a moment. Fine," I grumbled, cursing every professional in the world under my breath.

After settling the bill, the plumber left my kingdom. Now I could get down to the "cleaning" operation and get the bathroom up and running. It took me a while, and before I knew it, evening had finally entered my world. Tired beyond endurance and discouraged by anything that moved, I decided to go to bed.

I quickly made my bed and threw myself on the covers. I was asleep in the blink of an eye. My

alarm clock roused me from my sleep. I lazily raised my head and rubbed my eyes. "6:30" flashed on the screen, and nearby the date "October 1st." I sat up, unconscious, slowly returning to reality.

"I had a dream. Brrrr. A nightmare." I smiled involuntarily. "I hope it doesn't come true."

I slowly rose from the bed and, in a sleepy rhythm, went about my daily duties, happily anticipating the moments awaiting me on a new day – my big day.