Perhaps Meant To Be's Our Specialty.

Abigail's Point of View.

Six years of medical school. Six years. And now here I was. My heart thudded against my ribcage like I had never felt it before. It was in sync with my shaking hands. I quickly hid the left one in the pocket of the blue scrubs we'd been given earlier and I tried not to squeeze the plastic coffee cup in my right hand to ruin. Inhale. Exhale. That was all I could do. I knew I was going to have to step inside, yes, but in the meantime, I found comfort from the outside looking in.

The parking lot was almost filled to the brim, which gave me a little bit of understanding of what I was going to be facing once I stepped my feet into this hospital. I glanced around and quickly went to the bench that I found for dear life. Sitting down, I gripped the arm of the chair so hard that I was convinced it would have bled if it was human. I took another gulp of the carbonated caffeine, careful not to spill anything on my dress. I wasn't about to go in there looking like a child. On my first day! My left foot soon started tapping on the ground, following the rhythm of my heartbeat. Maybe I should have taken Dad's offer. Perhaps, it would not have been so horrible to go to a hospital where everyone knew and wanted my father's autograph. The workload wouldn't be too much and pressure wouldn't even make its way to me. But... I did want the pressure and the workload. I no longer wanted to find life too easy only because my father was a renowned actor in the US and my mother's book covers always made their way to some major billboard, along with a huge picture of her face. No, I wanted to work for this.

"Hey..." A voice called from behind me, startling me. She had a wide smile on her face. Perhaps it was too wide because my heartbeat only grew.

"Hi..." Cut me some slack. That was the best I could offer. I was not a people person. Never had been. Never will be.

"You look great in your wear. The changing room had no mirror so standing here right now, I have no idea what I look like. But seeing you now gives me a little bit of confidence." Her wide smile only widened as she spoke. "A girl always needs her mirror. Always. Surely, there must be some female doctors here who know this. She should rally for the changing room to have mirrors." She paused again, patting her lips together to give the top lip more moisture. Then she resumed.

"I would love to look great for my patients in the morning, then look absolutely better when heading home. This profession must be respected!" She threw her fist in the air. What? Okay, this girl could talk. My feet no longer tapped crazily. I had completely been carried away by her babbles.

I chuckled. "You do know why you're here, right? If you made it through medical school then surely you must know. In fact, you should know that it's only a matter of time before this stylish hair of yours grows into a bun and your eyes develop hideous bags, you'll probably cause the patient's concern." She drew back, stunned. Her hands flew to her pigtails and then she bursts into laughter.

"That's absolutely crazy." She held her stomach, possibly trying to quieten her loud cackles. She was absolutely goofy and I liked her already.

"But it's true."

"You talk like you've witnessed this before. So what, your parents are doctors?" She shrugged, then took a sit at the bench next to me. My heartbeat started ticking off again. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to recognize me. I loved my parents, but I wanted to be just Abigail here. Espérer stays at home. I mean I did cut my hair just to avoid looking too familiar.

"Nope, not even close. I guess you could say that I started watching a lot of doctor's stuff before I even got into high school. I would go to a local clinic and although the doctors seemed excited that I was pretty sure of my interest in medicine, I couldn't tell if the stories they told me were to motivate me or scare me to death." I shook my head. I didn't want to start remembering here. Please not here. Not now. "Plus, I watch a lot of G's Anatomy. Emphasis on 'a lot'."

She smiled. "You're funny. I like you." Okay, that was pretty forward. It wouldn't kill me to say it back, right? After all, I did like her goofiness.

"Well, I'm sure I like you just as much."

Her smile held and I wondered if her cheeks ever hurt from smiling all the time. I could smile for a minute straight. Not since high school. She held out her smile. "Normal people normally start a conversation with this part, but I guess maybe we're not normal. I'm Arty."

"Abigail."

"How do you feel now?"

"Huh?"

"I'm talking about your heart. I don't mean to be creepy at all but I sensed you were about to have a panic attack." Wait, what? Woah.

"So, you knew I was about to have a panic attack and you intervened with your babbling."

"Well, that is one way to put it. But before I sensed your panic attack, I saw your scrubs. So this is not just me being a caring medical student, it's me wanting to step into this place with a friend."

It was my turn to smile. I shook my head. She was absolutely good at what she does. She didn't try to buttheads with my feelings, no she just took my mind away from it. Maybe I had nothing to worry about. What were the odds that everyone inside this place was just as nice as her? "Thank you. I am hoping you would teach me that."

She nodded, smiling. "Maybe I'll start whenever we have coffee breaks and perhaps you can tell me more about this G's anatomy stuff." Her eyebrow hung.

"You have got to be the only person I know who has not seen G's anatomy and wants to be a doctor."

"Well, I guess that is what friends are for. To replace television."

I laughed at that. I had never thought of it this way, but if my panic episode just sent me a friend then perhaps it was not a bad thing. We grabbed our bags and made our way inside...

And just as I suspected, the place was loaded. Wheelchairs grew too much to count and the disinfectant tickled my nose. I sneezed once or twice. Arty, on the other hand, looked as confident as one could ever be. She didn't avoid looks before flipping her pigtails. No, she did them anyway. Even the squeaks her sneakers let out as she walked on the super neat floors sounded confident.

"You look like you have done this before," I whispered as we made our way to the elevator, which couldn't be more far away. This place was enormous.

"Look like I have done what before?"

"Like you've somehow been an intern before. Or maybe, you've been here before at least. Am I right or what?" She waved at the older doctor, who waved back. Huh.

"That is because I have been here before. Actually, since medical school, I've been coming to Graceland. It's kinda affiliated with my school, so..."

"Oh, why did you not say that when we were outside?"

She stared at me and smiled, pursing her lips. "Probably the same reason you failed to neglect that you are Joanna Espérer's daughter." Woah! Would it be crazy if I was to deny it? Just lie that I had no idea what she was talking about. That would be absolutely crazy. She didn't say it like she was unsure. She seemed sure. I didn't say anything until we were inside the elevator and moving. Before I could say anything again, she started.

"I hope that you know that I didn't recognize you from the first sit. It was absolutely not the reason why I sat with you. I pray that you know that, please." She looked sad.

"What? No. No, I'm not mad. In fact, I think I respect you more now that I know that this new haircut did not fool you and even at that your first action wasn't to ask for my mother's signature. I've had too many papers shoved to my face, asking for my parent's signature than I know what to do with seriously."

She chuckled softly. "Was that bad growing up, or did you sort of enjoy the attention, then?"

"Are you kidding me? I hated it as a child. I would make friends and then they would just turn out to be mad fans of my father's newest or oldest movie and just wanted to meet him." The elevator dinged, then halted.

"That must have been awful. I am a fan of your mom's books but I promise never to ask for her signature, if that makes you feel better. If I do get the signature, it would be a thing of my own trial and success, that is if she signs it." She chuckled.

"Thank you," I said and she nodded. The elevator doors slid open and a young man entered. He held his own bag and coffee and he had a hoodie over his scrubs. He exhaled and turned around to wave to us. He seemed nervous. He was nervous. Weren't we all?

"Hey."

"Hi," Arty called back and I nodded.

"You guys seem pretty chill about this." He said after a few seconds. His lips tugged.

"Hmm, do not judge a book by its cover." I chuckled. "You should see the turmoil going on in here." Those words seemed to loosen him up a bit because he turned around and smiled at me, then at Arty. He immediately looked away. Then back up again. Was he shy? He had to be. He wouldn't stop wiping his sweaty hands on his scrubs and avoiding gazes.

"I heard that the doctors that are in charge of internships are pretty strict around here. Like, I know they are not supposed to be all smiles with us but from what I heard, they are strict. Like hardcore strict. Scary strict."

Arty and I exchanged glances. By the mechanical way of things, we were the ones that were supposed to be shaken to their core. Yet, here he was. "Who told you this?" Arty queried. She sounded like she was holding in laughter.

"I know someone here. He says it gets bloody around here. Interns even end up dropping. Some fake injuries. They literally operate on a part of their bodies just to flee from Graceland. That's when you realize that the name of this hospital has nothing to do with the internship experience. Nothing at all!" He was freaking out. That was understandable.

"What's your name?" Arty asked again.

"Jacob."

"Jacob, calm down. I can assure you that nothing like that happens here. Maybe that person was just trying to scare you, hence the story. Calm down."

"Look, I'm telling you that he works here. I know what I'm saying."

"This is the USA, that would probably fall into abuse. Don't be afraid, tension only reduces your IQ by 16%, so if you do not want to start thinking low by the time we get to the famous third floor, I suggest you suck it up." When she realized she didn't sound as kind as she must have wanted to. She sighed softly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound like that. It's just that I am a little bit tensed up and you freaking out is not helping out, ya know."

He smiled and shrugged. "I get it. I'm not being that much of a help. I just, I guess I just needed to let out a little bit of it and this is what I needed." He smiled and so did Arty. They must have realized I was staring at them because they both looked away and started chuckling awkwardly at the same time. That was a surprise.

"Um... I didn't quite get you guys' names. What are your names?"

Arty didn't speak, she just stared like she'd just forgotten her own name.

"Um... I'm Abigail and this is Arty."

"AA. What are the odds that you both are going to be a full force when paired together." He said and laughed at his own joke. "You don't get it? Oh, alright." His goofiness only matched Arty's. Was it weird that I wanted to see where that would lead?

With a couple more dings, we were there. And the more I walked, the more nervous I felt. Jacob too. The only person who seemed pretty confident was Arty.

"They seem pretty cool with all these, but why are we the only ones standing as a squad?" Arty glanced around. The other interns stared at us like we were crazy.

"You really need to start binging G's anatomy. This was one of the reason why I was pretty surprised when you started talking to me. Interns are pretty competitive against each other. They don't get to choose all of us to settle here, so it's more like a Darwin situation. Survival of the fittest and stuff."

"Oh."

"Wait, she hasn't seen G's anatomy before?" Jacob asked me, then turned to Arty. "You've really never watched G's Anatomy before?"

"No, why is that such a big deal?"

"Well, you have to be the first medical student I've seen that hasn't seen G's anatomy. It's kinda part of the drill. I think the only thing that hasn't been done is it being added to the curriculum. Even lecturers indulge their students to dip their feet in."

"Huh. That intense, huh?"

"Uh-huh."

"I don't-"

"Alright, listen up." A female voice called from behind. "You've found a friend and had your fun, but now is the time to listen up." The doctor looked average, but there was nothing average about her voice. No single noise was heard.

"I don't know where you all come from. I am not really interested in any of that stuff. I don't want to know who your family is. Do you know what matters? What matters is what you can deliver here. What you can make up of yourself here." She walked to and fro, determination set. Her co-supervisors nodded. Some frowned still. I swallowed. "I don't know If you have looked around, but you have competition. It's not just you here." I looked down my sneakers and just as I stared back up at her. I saw him. I saw Jack. That was the last thing I could remember. I saw Jack.