“You could make a good doctor, if you wanted.” He put his hands behind his back, a position he took when he taught class or addressed the boys. “Sang, what prompted you to do it?”
“Hm?”
“I mean, you were hesitating. I could see it. You were going to tell me off and walk out.”
“I thought about walking out.”
“But you didn’t. Something changed,” he said, he slowed and stopped, turning to me. “What was it? What made you go ahead and yank the nail out?”
“You did.” Wasn’t it obvious?
He tilted his head, his eyebrow going up. “What do you mean?”
I wasn’t sure I was supposed to mention it, but something Mr. Blackbourne said to me before echoed through me. He was always so blunt with what he was thinking. “Mr. Blackbourne told me to not let you all treat me like I’m a helpless girl. You were teasing me and wanted to show you I wasn’t going to run off like you expected.”
Dr. Green broke out into a grin. “You thought I was teasing?”
“Weren’t you?”
“Well, of course I was. I just didn’t think you’d go through with it. Even the interns get squeamish and ask to be excused the first time they’re looking at a wound like that.”
“So you wanted me to run out?”
“I was waiting for you to snap back at me to do my job. I had this joke in my head. I was going to tell you off that you thought I was working too much.” The smile on his face softened, his eyes lit up. “I never thought you’d do it.”
I bit back the urge to grin. Suddenly I wasn’t scared. I was proud. I didn’t want to admit it, but the boys often predicted what I was going to do, and the few times I could pull off surprising them, it made me feel good. “Maybe I should have warned you that Mr. Blackbourne gave me permission to show you guys up whenever possible.”
“The traitor,” he said. He turned again down the hallway, his shoes making an echo in the emptiness. “Didn’t he realize he would unleash something .... I don’t even know what. You’re yanking nails out of a guy’s leg. With your bare hands.”
“You said to do it!”
Dr. Green laughed. He turned the corner. “I’m going to have to be more careful around you.”
“You mean treat me more like a girl.”
He stopped short in front of a door, spinning on me and bracing a hand at the wall, cutting me off. He was close enough that he was looking down at me. His eyes shadowed. “You are a girl, Sang. That’s not a bad thing to be. Owen’s got a good idea to teach the other boys not to walk all over you, but you need to remember who you are.”
I blushed. “Is it wrong if I say I don’t know who I am? I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Dr. Green released a short breath. He lifted his hands, cupping his palms over my cheeks and directing my gaze into his green eyes. It was the first time I noticed the hazel ring closer to the middle. “I guess we all need reminding every once in a while. Your name is Sang Sorenson. You’re a teenage girl going to high school, who has had a sheltered life with ... well let’s just call it a practice family. Now you have the real one with us. You’re going to get through school, come hell or high water, because you’re resilient and graceful and you’ve got this impeccable outlook on life that despite everything that has been thrown at you, it doesn't hold you down. There’s only three things you have to remember: The first is to stay safe. We’re having a hard time with that right now but we’ll sort that out soon. The second is to keep yourself out of trouble. No drinking, stealing cars, or anything that would get you into trouble with the police ...”
“Like performing minor surgery without being a doctor?”
He smirked, and released me to chop me on the head. “You’re also a smart ass. Did I forget to say that before?”
“What’s the third thing I have to do?”
His eyes focused on me and his lips parted as if he was going to say something smart again. He stopped. His lips shut. An eyebrow arched, as if he saw something he didn’t expect. “Remember that we’re always right behind you. I might tease you. Owen might push you. The boys might go too far sometimes. The only thing you have to do is speak up when we’re going too far and not treating you like girls should be treated.”
There was only one problem. I wasn’t really sure how a girl should be treated at all. What did I know about anything? Outside of what little I gathered around school and through books, I had my mother’s constant warnings always echoing in my head, telling me men were bad, that the world was horrible and I should stay locked away. I knew she was wrong, but I was constantly treading in unfamiliar territory. I sighed. “Just tell me to patch a guy’s leg wound shut. That’s easier to figure out.”
He laughed. He opened the unmarked door we were standing beside.
Inside was something that might have been an office at one point, but the central table was clustered with manila files, the walls were lined with couches and sofa chairs, I counted off enough spaces for nine people. There wasn’t a window, but along one wall was a fake one painted in. The ‘window’ looked out onto a sunny beach, with a palm tree and white sand.
“Gabriel?” I asked, nodding to the mural.
“Of course,” Dr. Green said, moving to the desk and hovering over the manila folders, looking through them. “He finds a blank wall or piece of furniture or anything to play with and he’ll draw on it. That includes your face, by the way.”
I gazed at Gabriel’s work, wondering what he was doing. For that, I fingered the new phone I had tucked into my bra. Victor had said to use it for emergencies and it was for them to call me when they needed. It was hard not hearing from them all. I felt so useless waiting here at the hospital, being babysat, when I might be helpful somewhere else.
Dr. Green’s shuffling behind me caused me to turn. He was shifting through the pile of folders. “What are we doing now?” I asked.
“I have more doctoring to do, unfortunately,” he said. “So I might ask you to sit here for me while I go do that.”
“Not one where you can pretend I’m the doctor?”
He turned to me, his eyes lighting up. “Not when you look like you’ve just run off the set of a horror film.”
I looked down at my clothes, realizing I must look like a real mess with blood stains. No wonder he brought me downstairs. “Oh.” And this time I really was disappointed. Walking around with Dr. Green had been bizarre, but he was a lot of fun.
“I don’t have any spare clothes for you here, I’m afraid. I’d have to go get you some. And I’ve got to go into a place I can’t take you anyway. I thought you might be more comfortable down here for a while.”
I gazed over to the faux window, frowning. “How long do I have to stay in the bubble?”
“Pardon?”
I turned to him, unsure. “You said to speak up when something is wrong.”
“What’s wrong now?”
“I understand why I’m down here, because of this,” I motioned to the blood stains. “What I don’t understand is why I’m in a bu
bble. Why was I sent here when I could be out there helping?”
“Because someone is threatening you,” he said. “Isn’t that obvious?”
“Someone is also out there threatening Mr. Blackbourne.”
“Yes.”
“And he’s out there trying to figure out who it is.”
Dr. Green pursed his lips. “You don’t think Owen would approve?”
“I understand not being at school and being a target when there’s unknown danger,” I said. “I feel useless enough in this group without being stuffed in a bunker until someone else figures things out.”
“You’re not useless, Sang.”
“Is that why I’m sitting here in an office protected and not out there with someone? Victor was targeted, too. He’s not down here.”
Dr. Green shook his head. “I don’t have the answer for you. It sounds like this guy is after you. He’s come after you too many times. Maybe we are being protective. Maybe it is because you’re a girl. You’re the first one we’ve had, and there’s a strong probability the only one we ever will.”
“What do you mean?”
His lips parted like he wanted to answer me, but he shut them closed again. He shook his head quietly, his eyes telling me that he had said too much already and couldn’t say any more. Academy secrets.
I was the only one allowed in their group? No other girls could join? Was it a possibility? The more I learned about the rules, the more questions I had. I touched the cuff of the shirt I wore, smoothing the fabric absentmindedly. “Sean, give me something to do. Please? I don’t have to go bad guy hunting.” I snapped my fingers. “The diner! Can I go work at the diner?”
Dr. Green rubbed a palm at the back of his neck. “I suppose you could. It is closer to home than I think the others want you to be.”
“I don’t have to go home, but I can work in the back at the diner. I wouldn’t have to be in the way here. And at least I’m doing something useful.”
“You were pretty good today, I thought.”
“I’d rather do something that’s not probably considered unethical doctoring.”
Dr. Green sighed. “If that’s what you want.”