9. Verge Of Burning

Stassi

S tassi typed out the correspondence for her last patient and then scrolled down to the next one that would be there at any minute. Another two days passed, and while there were things that didn’t go quite as smoothly as she would have liked, she felt like she was getting into the job.

“Hey, Stassi.” Stassi looked up and smiled. Sage approached the desk, another smile on her lips. She had a beautiful smile. When Stassi wasn’t stressing, she could actually enjoy it. However, it seemed to be not as often as she would have liked, but she would appreciate what she could take. “I have to run to a lunch meeting. Joellen from ER is going to come to grab this chart. It’s imperative that she gets it ASAP. She’ll be up in about ten minutes. Also, if Lena shows up, tell her I have a lunch meeting and won’t be able to hit the cafeteria with her.”

“Sounds good. This goes to Joellen, and I’ll pass the message off to Lena. You can count on that.”

“Great!” Sage smiled and gave a generous nod. “Catch ya later.” She disappeared around a corner, and Stassi focused her eyes back on her computer. She released a yawn and shook her head, hoping to clear it before her next patient came in. Stassi grabbed some papers that needed filing and copied and headed off to do the jobs. Now that Darlene was gone, she had to manage everything independently. She did the copying and went to the filing room. She was just finishing her filing when she heard a bell at the reception desk. Stassi hurried back to the desk and saw a woman dressed in scrubs.

“Joellen, right?” Stassi asked.

“Yep. Just here to grab a chart. Sage said she had it. Is she around?”

“Just left, but she gave me…” Stassi’s words trailed off as she looked at her desk. The desk was empty. She had put the chart right there. She was confident about that. “Um, it was right here,” she mumbled.

“Excuse me?” Joellen asked.

“I mean…” Stassi cleared her throat. “Sage had to run off for a second, and she said that she would run it down to the ER when she gets back. Shouldn’t be any more than five minutes.”

Joellen frowned. “That’s weird. She knows that this is extremely important. And she knew that I would come up and get it.” Joellen frowned.

“I know, but I think she had a hundred things that had to be done. I’ll make sure it gets to you ASAP. I promise.” Joellen shrugged and accepted Stassi’s half-hazard reply. “If she can’t bring it to you, I’ll make sure someone else does. No worries.”

“Alright then. Hopefully, it’s no more than five minutes.” Joellen skirted away, and Stassi turned back to her desk. Stassi took a seat and frantically looked around her workstation, including the trash, just in case it accidentally fell into the trash.

“This can’t be happening,” she groaned, rifling through the HIPAA box that sat underneath her counter. She spun around, spotting Lena heading her way. She had only had a brief encounter with her, where Darlene introduced them, but she would have taken any assistance at this point.

“Have you seen Sage?” Lena asked. Lena, a pediatric nurse, had scrubs with little puppies on them. Stassi envied that Lena could wear something other than drab colors, but that was a situation that she could argue about later.

“She’s at a lunch meeting. She asked me to let you know that she couldn’t do lunch, but I need your help.” Stassi felt awkward making this their first attempt at a bonding moment, but it would definitely be her job on the line if she didn't find the chart.

“What’s up?”

Stassi told her everything about the missing chart. “I have looked all over my desk, and it’s just gone. I’m going to lose my job, and I really need this job.”

“Just calm down. Retrace your steps. Where were you after you had possession of the chart?”

“I went to the copier and the filing room.” Stassi took a breath, trying to calm her nerves.

“You go to the copier, and I’ll go to the file room. It couldn’t have just vanished.”

Stassi swallowed. “I also threw some things away in the compactor.”

Lena reached out and touched Stassi’s arm. “Don’t worry about that just yet. We won’t know until we’ve looked everywhere. Got that?” Stassi nodded and rushed off to the copier. She reached there and looked all around the counter, in the trash, along the ledge, but nothing. She turned and went to the filing room just as Lena came out. She had a chart in her hand and was holding it up.

“Is this it?” she asked.

Stassi grabbed it and recognized the name right away. She nodded and clutched it to her chest. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” She then paused and frowned. “I suppose you’ll have to tell Sage I goofed up.”

Lena shrugged. “Not sure it really does any good. It was found, so no harm.”

Stassi appreciated that Lena felt that way, but she was just grateful that her job was saved, and she could get this chart to Joellen. “I have to get this back to Joellen in ER.”

“Headed that way to the cafeteria. Want me to pass it along?”

“Thanks again.” She handed the chart back to Lena, and Lena went to the elevator. Stassi slumped into the chair, sighing with relief for what could have been a catastrophe she couldn’t have avoided.

The breakroom was quiet, with Stassi the only one in there at two ‘o’clock in the morning. She took a seat and let out a yawn. This was her first really late night, and she wasn’t sure how many of them she’d be able to adjust to. She leaned forward, her head resting against her arm as she closed her eyes. She felt herself nodding off, but she jerked herself awake. She was liable to fall asleep and miss going back at the fifteen-minute mark. She rubbed her face and looked around the empty room. She could get up and get a cup of coffee, but that would require moving, and the counter seemed too far.

The door opened, and a man entered. He gave her a nod, then smirked. “You’re a new receptionist on the therapy floor, right?”

She nodded, yawning again. “Stassi,” she mumbled as she shook out of a yawn.

“Marcus, I work in Pediatrics.” He headed over to the coffee maker, and you could really use one of these. It’s nothing to write home about, but it will keep you awake.

“That’d be great. Thank you!” Marcus worked on making the two cups, then brought one over to her. “Working thirds is a rite of passage. Not everyone is cut out for me. I’ve been doing it for five years, and I’d say I’ve gotten used to it.”

The door opened, and Sage walked into the breakroom. She glanced over at their table and gave a nod, then smirked when Stassi lifted the cup to her lips. “Marcus, are you trying to kill her?”

Marcus shook his head. “Trying to keep her alive to get through the rest of her shift. It’s brutal out there.”

“And he doesn’t think I’ll make it,” Stassi added.

Sage went over to the drawer and rifled through it until she had some sugar packets in her hand. She walked them over and tossed them down in front of Stassi. “The coffee is the worse, but it will get you through a few more hours.”

“I have six,” Stassi replied, dumping the sugar into the coffee and stirring it around with the offered spoon. Sage made a face.

“You might have to come back for another coffee. Just remember where the packets are.” Sage offered her a wink which brought a smile out of Stassi. She took a sip and winced. They weren’t joking. The coffee wasn’t the best.

“Besides the cafeteria, there’s only one machine. It’s in here,” Marcus continued. “Let me rephrase that. This is the only one working. Managers don’t much care to fix the broken ones.” He shrugged.

“Or making sure the coffee isn’t awful,” Sage added before offering a sweet laugh. “Guess they don’t much care for what the staff thinks.” She groaned. “Not that that’s anything new. We all know that’s right.”

As Sage talked, there was a gentleness about her. Stassi watched her, wondering what she would say next. Not really focusing on what she’s saying rather than the sincerity of her words. There was a lot of heart behind them, and Stassi appreciated that. And Sage looked beautiful as she spoke to them. Stassi had to look away from her, or else she would get too wrapped in the moment. The good thing was that Stassi never caught herself wanting to doze off. Was it the company or the coffee? She’d rather believe the company.

She took a sip of her coffee and took it in. The coffee didn’t even suck as bad. “I should get back to work,” she quickly stated, standing up and taking another sip. She held up the coffee. “Thanks for the suggestion. Anything to keep me awake.

“I’ll head out with you. Have to head to the same floor anyway,” Sage replied. “When does Lena work?” Sage asked Marcus.

“She comes in at six. Just in time for me to get out of here. Okay, I’ll stop by on my way out.” Sage waved, and both Stassi and Sage left the breakroom.

“How’s the coffee for your tastebuds?” Sage asked.

Stassi shrugged. “I’ve had worse.” The truth was, it wasn’t what she was used to, but complaining in the company of Sage wasn’t exactly how she wanted to get them out on the right foot. They stepped into the elevator, and the doors closed behind them. Sage pressed the bottom, and they took the long ride up to their floor.

They stood there in silence, the memory of the error still trying to creep its way back in. Lena had said she wouldn’t say anything to Sage, but it wasn’t right to let the truth be out there. She wouldn’t want something so drastic to be hidden from her if the roles were reversed.

“I have a confession,” she began.

“I’m listening.” Sage turned to her, waiting.

“Remember when you brought me that chart, and Joellen was going to come and get it?” Sage gave a slight nod. “The truth is that I was rushing around and doing things. I guess you could say I was consumed by exhaustion, too. Anyway, there’s no excuse to be had, but I had misplaced the chart.”

“I see.” Sage nodded. “Did you find it?” The elevator doors opened, and they both left the elevator and stopped right outside the door.

“Yes. Lena showed up, and she helped me search for it. I got it to Joellen and everything, but I should have mentioned it to you. I’m sorry I didn’t, but I was afraid that I would be fired, and I really need this job.”

“Well, there’s really no harm because you found the chart, and all is well,” Sage began. “But I have a confession, as well. Joellen cornered me and asked why I didn’t leave it at the desk since she was going to pick it up. I figured something must’ve happened and just said that I was running behind schedule, but I was a bit confused. This clears up that matter.”

“You covered me?” Stassi asked.

Sage shrugged. “It’s what co-workers do. Thanks for being honest. I have to go get some things taken care of, but I appreciate your honesty.” She left Stassi standing there. Stassi had never had anyone that went to great lengths to protect her like that. At least no one that wasn’t family. It was a nice feeling. She returned to her desk, finished her coffee, tossed the cup, and returned to work. Maybe she was making her own path. It felt good.