James wasn't the type to be easily intimidated, and although he was nervous, he wasn't afraid of what he was about to experience. Medical school had prepared him a great deal for what it was like in a real hospital, and with how expensive the program had been, the blond man assumed it was worth it. Besides, be was a people person, outwardly friendly and easy-going; day one would be a breeze.

After waving goodbye to doctor Morris, James walked over to the shiny, stainless steel elevators and pressed the call button. He tapped his foot while he waited, and wrestled with his suddenly tangled headphones before stowing them in his bag. Soon, the doors parted and out walked a myriad of people covered in a rainbow of colors, from white coats, to pink scrubs, and everything in between. He offered a polite smile to those who caught his eye and boarded the elevator upon their exit, pressing another button to get to the basement where orientation was being held. Digging into his pocket, James pulled out a piece of crumbled, and over folded paper—it had all of the appropriate information on it along with a few numbers and names of people he thought might be important. Before enrolling in the program, James had done his research and he liked to know who was who.

Orientation was standard, but informative and James listened to everything that was said, took a few notes, got his scrubs and a locker and was then sent on his way. He was a bit surprised by how quickly everything had gone, but that didn't rattle him. He was assigned to a floor with a group of other residents, and James got to chatting with them on the way up. The floor was supposedly special, where the patients were top priority and the blond almost-doctor had originally thought it to be a cancer floor, or perhaps pediatrics, but after a quick look at the charts, most of them were seniors. It seemed a bit odd to be assigned to such a place for the day, but James should have known not to expect much action so soon.

The hallways were quiet as James made his way down to Mrs. Cassidy's room, flipping through her chart as he went. It was easy to see from the many pages and the added on notes from previous doctors and nurses that the woman had heart failure, and was awaiting a transplant. “Easy enough,” he said to himself, flipping over another page to see the doctor he would be working alongside that day. The answer made him laugh aloud, and he couldn't help but grin. It was a small world, indeed.

James entered the room and laid eyes on Gabriel Morris for the second time that day, and saw that he was already tending to Mrs. Cassidy. Once upon a time, she had been a beautiful woman, but age and disease had caught up to her and now she was lying quietly, withering away. “Good morning,” he announced himself, “I'm James, I'll be helping out doctor Morris today.” 

Professional, always professional.