Michael was sitting in the waiting room with his leg bouncing up and down like a jacked up kangaroo. He wasn’t always the best with hospitals. Bad memories start to creep into his mind and he was even worst at pushing them away. A woman sitting nearby glanced back at Michael and gave him a look that warranted some sort of response. “It’s been a sort of crazy night.” He said and then looked away.

He couldn’t stop his eyes from rolling. After all what he just said was likely now in the running for biggest understatement of the year. The last several hours were spent at the hospital, but it was the 20 minutes before those long hours that were some of the most horrifyingly exciting moments of his young life. 

When he had gotten to the café the several regulars all greeted him with a smile. It was a hidden gem of a café which had amazing service provided by the two staffers. They were both more than competent and Michael wasn’t oblivious to how cute they both were. Still he liked them more for their ability to handle the eccentric clientele more than their looks. 

His regular spot next to the window was open so he plopped down and pulled his laptop out. From there he started his normal routine of grading papers and winding down from the night at the club. A cup of hot chocolate found its way over to his table no more than a minute later. It was his regular order and they always treated him well. Michael was somewhat confident that one of the baristas had a crush on him.

Later on in the night was when it got hectic. One minute everything was pretty normal. Quiet in the café with a drunk or two walking past shouting about how amazing the world is. The next minute a somewhat sizable explosion rocked the second floor of the building across the street. The resulting panic was what you would expect. Most people in the café went outside to see what was going on while Michael went to check on his scooter which was parked under the building. As he did this someone asked for him to help.

Before he realized it he was running up the stairs following someone shouting about helping people get out. Looking back at this Michael could see as plain as day just how stupid this choice was. Still the results made it clear it was the right one. Upon getting to the second floor he found Ashley Deblin lying on the ground near what looked to be a blown out part of the wall. Rushing over Michael could already hear the sound of sirens getting close. 

He opted to stay with Ashley while the paramedic started to work on her. He wasn’t sure what happened, but he might have lied and said he was someone closer to her because a few moments later he was in the ambulance with her to the hospital. There he waited while the doctors did whatever it was they did. He spent most of the time thinking about his past times in hospitals as well as the whole experience of tonight.

When that got to be a bit much he tried to pull his attention to something else and that led to him thinking about Ashley. He had only know her for a few months but she had made an impression. He was sure that was something she had a habit of doing, and it wasn’t just because of her red hair. She seemed wicked smart and also wholly witty with plenty of personality. The only thing that wasn’t really clear was where she spends all her time. Outside of her vital responsibilities at the university no one really saw a lot of her.

“Michael was it?” A person said after coming out of the back hallway. This had the man stand up and look to the person for an update on Ashley’s condition. “Firstly I want to say that overall she is okay. The paramedics were able to see that there was no major damage and that she is going to make a recovery over the next several days.” The doctor then looked back and asked if Michael wanted to go and visit. He simply nodded in response and followed them into the back rooms.

After walking into the room Michael felt a wave of awkwardness fill his entire brain. What was he actually doing here now? He knew Ashley was okay and that was more or less the main reason he was in the waiting room. He could have just been happy with that and then left. Still there he was standing in the room with Ashley looking like she had just had an even more dangerously exciting night than Michael.

Completely put on the spot and having no idea what he should do Michael did what he always did in awkward situations and deflected with humor. “So when people say they are going to blow it up in all the dance songs I don’t think the slang means to do so literally.” He then scratched the back of his neck and then gave a sort of personal laugh to the joke. “Good to see you awake Ashley.” Michael added after a brief pause.