An Unfortunate Accident

Bailey

I watch the sun gleam off the roof of my car through the window of the breakroom at the Sunshine Clinic, a little urgent care tucked on a busy corner on the outskirts of New Orleans. I check my watch. It’s nearly 6:00 P.M., which means my shift is almost over, thank God.

I roll my shoulders and slouch in the creaky, plastic chair, drumming my fingers on the vinyl table top.

Jazzie, a fellow nurse and the clinic manager when the doctors aren’t around, walks into the breakroom looking bored and withdrawn. She opens the fridge and pops open a can of diet soda with a heavy sigh. “It’s hotter than hell.”

“At least it’s slow today,” I say, glancing at my watch again. It’s now 5:57 P.M., just three more minutes….

“Just go, Bailey. None of the doctors are even here right now.”

I glance up at Jazzie as she leans against the counter near the fridge and presses the cold soda can to her temple. Her blonde hair is pulled back in a tight bun, and her hairline is peppered with sweat.

“Are