The first shift

Sophia POV

My current name is Sophia Turner, you might wonder why these days, well, I've had a lot of names and all that just to survive my past and not let it catch up with me, I'd rather die than go back to the way I was.

Today I am a nurse at Gillian's Memorial Hospital, I have few friends, but these are very dear to me and are the only ones who know my story.

I am a beautiful woman, today I see it, my short hair is dyed an intense red, a color that highlights my greenish eyes, with bluish lines, many say they look like cats' eyes. My nose is thin and so are the general lines of my face, yes I've had plastic surgery and I don't mind saying that. This new face is who I am, who I was born to be: A grown woman, independent, with likes and dislikes, with strong opinions and who doesn't take shit home.

I'm 1.72 m tall and I don't wear high heels, after all, spending 12 to 48 hours on my feet isn't for everyone and even less should be done in heels, but the good thing is that I manage to stay a while bigger in high heels without complaining.

At the hospital I only wear what is necessary, the light blue uniform, with hair tied back in a net, nails always short, without nail polish, but cuticles always well-groomed and without makeup or perfume. After all, fingernails can pierce gloves, makeup can fall on top of a wound and become infected, and some patients can be allergic to perfumes.

My hobbies? They are as varied as the number of patients who enter the emergency room. I've played RPG, actually I still play when I have time, I love rock and classical music, I watch funny videos on TikTok and then read the news of the day, I'm still studying, I just wrote myself an article about special treatments in case of burns. Yes, I know I'm a nurse, but I like to stand out and I've been asked why I'm not a doctor, I simply answer: And when will I have time to study to be a doctor? Besides, I love being a nurse and I love trauma!

I'm not perfect, I have my flaws, but I don't hide them. I am diagnosed with bipolar disorder with depression and more currently hypomania, which means that I undergo psychological follow-up twice a week and once a month with the psychiatrist and no, I am not ashamed of that, I know the causes of my problems, but I don't I can change them, I'm just trying to accept them and move on with my life.

This, this is me, at least a very summarized part of who I am, I think so much is missing.

“Hey! Soph!”

“Soophhh!!”

“SOPHIA TURNER!”

I turned my head to the side and saw my friend, Luciana O'Conner, she has blonde hair, brown eyes and a body that makes many people jealous.

“You were on the moon again!”

I smiled and rolled my eyes.

“You know, I love to ramble!” I then looked around and saw the trauma light coming on and jumped up.

"Excellent! Now it's back to Earth!" Luciana's laughter echoed and a few heads turned towards us.

"C'mon C'mon! In 10 minutes the ambulances and firefighters and police arrive!”

I shouted to the group of nurses and nurses who were there, I already had the tablet with the information application in hand.

Working at Gillian's meant having access to the best technology to work with, we were the number one trauma hospital in the United States. The report indicated that three people were arriving with multiple cuts and bullet holes, they had already lost a lot of blood, I sent the request to the blood bank, requesting O+ and O-, while looking at the operating rooms and already asking them to reserve three . Well, that's not the exact role of a nurse, but I was the head nurse in that sector. I texted the head of trauma who was on duty today, Doctor Victor Benedict, one of the best in the country.

Soon I was in the waiting room, while the medical team was waiting outside, there were others who were less injured and who were also about to arrive, I separated the team according to their strengths and weaknesses, the beds were already made, all that was left was to wait for them to arrive.

“Come on guys, it looks like we have an assassination attempt that didn't work out and many of those that will arrive are what we call collateral damage, all that are not cases of surgery will be taken care of by us and the resident doctors” I pointed to the doctors who would stay there with us. “We are the number one hospital and our loss rate is very low and I don't want that rate to increase precisely on my shift! So let's get to work and obviously, after the shift, if there are no incidents, John's bar will have two paid rounds for everyone on this shift! So don't let me down!"

I heard the scream of joy from most of those there, of course there were some who didn't like to drink, so I completed it.

“For those who don't like to drink, next shift I'll bring my famous brigadeiro cake!”

I smiled seeing them get happy too and as soon as I finished my speech the emergency door opened and people started to arrive.

Time passed quickly while all the wounded were attended to, it didn't take more than five minutes for someone to call me and ask me for permission, or ask me something and then I saw my 24 hour shift almost over.

“Sophia!” 

I heard my name called as I was walking to clock in and go change. I turned to see Doctor Miriam Davis approaching, she was the head physician of the hospital.

“I know it's been a long shift, but I'm going to ask you to stay for at least a few more hours. The Heroux family specifically asked for you to take care of the floor they are on.”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, leaning against the wall.

“That shift was full, I hardly stopped to rest.” Honestly, I needed at least a few hours of sleep. “I'm already awake for 24 hours, I need at least 3 hours of sleep. You know…"

“I know, that's what I answered them. You can sleep in one of the rooms, I'll have them call you in four hours if there's no emergency."

I felt Miriam's hand on my shoulder and I opened my eyes again and smirked.

“Okay, I’ll just stop by to check on everything and then I’ll go to sleep.”

I let go of the wall and started walking to the 42nd floor, passing by one of the reception desks and took one of the tablets, entered my password into the system and went to look at the rotation of people on the indicated floor.

I smirked ironically, they had booked the entire floor just for their family and friends, upon entering the floor I saw that the last name really did justice to those who were there.

There were several men and women along the corridors, standing beside the entrance doors, wearing black suits or black military uniforms.

“Army of Wolves.”

I whispered and rolled my eyes and started walking to the reception of the floor, I realized that some eyes turned towards me, probably they had heard my whisper. People trained like this are used to noticing things around them, so I wasn't surprised by that.

“Hey Julie, I need you to make these modifications.”

I passed it on to the woman at the front desk, she was one of my closest friends.

"Clear!"

Her voice was a little thinner and some would even say irritating, but I had gotten used to it by now.

“Soph! Thank God!"

I heard a male voice speak a little louder and I turned my head in her direction. Joshua Gregory was there, probably the doctor in charge now. He has short, spiky black hair, he's wearing the light gray lab coat over his suit, his body isn't as muscular as the guards who were there, but he was shapely, like a model. I know he spends a few hours a day at the gym.

“Joshua, if I had known it was you here, I would have denied the request!”

I replied in a joking tone and then hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

“Or it would have come faster!”

I rolled my eyes and smirked.

“At the very least I would have come just because of the 42.” He continued and I yawned.

"Of course, after all it is the answer to the meaning of life, the universe and everything else."

I answered and started walking towards the elevator again.

"I've already asked for some modifications to the floor staff and put in some treatment suggestions." I handed the tablet to him.

"Bom they are!"

I heard some people talking to me and I waved at them.