Hospital 1

Annabell
While Khoo Teck Puat Hospital was modern, up-to-date, well staffed, and clean one could rarely accuse it of being slow for long. Yet there were a few moments where, between cases and emergencies, some of the staff could take a brief break and catch their breath before dealing with whatever came up next.
6:06 PM
In Annabell's case, 'break' meant 'get some coffee' and with the nearest machine being out of order she had to forage further afield than normal in search of the black brew.
6:09 PM Michael_Lin
Michael has spent so much time in the hospital, or rather, sitting in a chair out in the hallway outside his mother's room, it's almost like he's become a fixture. Except that a tiny teenage boy wearing the uniform of Victoria Junior College, sitting awkwardly in one of those 'waiting' chairs with his schoolbooks and homework in his lap, still kind of sticks out. Especially since there is a coffee machine just down the hall from where he is.
6:10 PM
*just down the hall from where he is.
6:16 PM Annabell
Dressed in scrubs, neat and presentable but not exactly flattering, Annabell looked rather different than she had at Babel's Brews. Yet the same could not exactly be said about Micheal and so she paused just after passing him and looked back, trying to place where she had seen that face before… and to wonder why the boywas sitting in the corridor as he was.
6:18 PM
"Excuse me," She said polite to the teenager, her ID as a member of the medical staff hanging visible around her neck, "Is there something I can help you with?"
6:20 PM Michael_Lin
abruptly jumps, eyes coming up from the textbook and notebook in his lap. "N-no, m-ma'am." he recognizes her as one of the two that had shown up late to the admin's meeting: he's probably recognizable as the jumpy boy who had had his head on the table most of the entire time.
6:25 PM Annabell
Having ones head down during such a meet probably doesn't help someone remember the face which was match to it, but Annabell did seem to find that he made her think of… someone. Pushing on a little she offered, "There is a room along the corridor you can wait in. I was just about to get coffee there and it's got a table you could use instead of your lap."
6:31 PM Michael_Lin
"Y-yes ma'am." Michael swallows nervously, gathering up all his things, his gaze drifting back towards his mother's closed door, before back to the doctor, and trying to juggle books + bag without dropping them all over the hospital floor.
6:33 PM Annabell
extended a hand to take a book, glancing at Micheal for permission first before actually taking anything from him, then murmured, "With the break room door open you can see anything happening in the corridor so if anything happens…"
6:36 PM Michael_Lin
nods timidly. The top book on the stack isn't a schoolbook: it's a copy of the Septuagint, a bilingual copy that wouldn't really be expected reading material for a teenage boy. "I-I'll t-try not to be in the way." …is he capable of speaking without stuttering?
6:39 PM Annabell
pushed the AR glasses she wore, still not having taken them off from studying a set of scans earlier, a little better onto her face then gave him a professionally reassuring smile, "If you're worried then I can understand. It's just that, more in the trauma wards than here, we try to keep the corridors as clear as possible."
6:43 PM Michael_Lin
"I-I'll t-try t-to r-remember that." Michael has no intention of going near the trauma wards, but recent events have shown him that 'intent' means nothing, really. And he's trying not to be so jumpy around the doctor, but it's not working so well.
6:46 PM Annabell
accompanied, rather than escorted, Micheal along the corridor and tries to make small talk as they walked, "I see that you have some 'light reading' here. Studying up for something in particular?"
6:47 PM Michael_Lin
"T-trying t-to practice reading Greek, ma'am."
6:52 PM Annabell
"Which is probably a little better than practising conjugating Latin verbs." She allowed then pushed the breakroom door open and held it for Michael. "Would you like some coffee? I think the machine does hot chocolate and there's the cold cans if you prefer a soda."
6:54 PM Michael_Lin
"N-no t-thank you. I-I'm n-not very thirsty." he is going to quickly dart into the room (his body language is very sparrowlike) and find a table out of the way, where he can put his books down neatly.
6:56 PM Annabell
If one didn't mind sitting directly opposite the door there was, as promised, a table which one could look over and along the corridor if sat at. It isn't as though staff might have a reason to want to be able to keep any eye on things there, is it?
6:57 PM Annabell
pushed the door far open, ensuring that it would stay open for now, then headed straight over to the coffee machine, "If you're sure?"
6:57 PM Michael_Lin
sits there, then, trying to resist the urge to shrink in on himself. "Y-yes, ma'am."
7:01 PM Annabell
Swiping her card, rather than fiddling with coins, Annabell punched the right sequence of buttons to get the required brew without thought and from sheer habit. Her expression was thoughtful though as the cup came down and began to fill, "I may regret admitting this, but I honestly have no plans to eat you so you don't need to be so scared of me."
7:02 PM Michael_Lin
stares down at his books. "I-I'm t-trying. I-I'm l-like this w-with e-everyone."
7:07 PM Michael_Lin
He immediately claps his hands over his mouth.
7:07 PM Annabell
took her cup with one hand then walked over, sitting herself down at the same table then sliding the book to Micah's, and gave him a mildly quizzical look.
7:10 PM Michael_Lin
"I-I'm s-sorry."
7:12 PM Annabell
sipped at her coffee and made a 'go on' gesture with her free hand.
7:14 PM Michael_Lin
"G-go o-on?"
7:15 PM Annabell
nodded and cupped the coffee in both hands, "You were starting to say something and I have a little time to spare. I was wondering what you were saying sorry for as I tend to apologise too much at times and the reversal is rare."
7:19 PM Michael_Lin
"I-it w-wasn't r-really important."
7:20 PM Michael_Lin
manages to lower his hands from his mouth to say that, in answer to her first sentence.
7:22 PM Annabell
"Have we met?" Annabell asked, looking at Micheal's face and giving him a chance to move away from the current topic, "You seem familiar, but I can't quite place you…"
7:22 PM Michael_Lin
"Y-you w-were a-at t-that meeting with the admin."
7:24 PM Annabell
"The admin? I've only seen the directo-" Annabell began, seeming a little surprised, then the metaphorical lightbulb went off, "Oh. Sorry, I thought that you meant the hospital admin." She cheeks coloured slightly, "I wasn't actually going to meet Hershey with her acting as an admin."
7:29 PM Michael_Lin
"O-oh. T-that's w-what s-she meant by…r-running late."
7:32 PM Annabell
nodded then sighed and seemed to be looking for another subject, "…so, have you been doing much in the game?"
7:33 PM Michael_Lin
shakes his head. "I-I'm t-trying to quit."

7:34 PM Annabell
"It's gotten in the way of your studies?" Annabell asked, seeming surprised by this revelation.
7:35 PM Michael_Lin
shakes his head. "I-It's much too stressful." he lowers his eyes. "I-It might b-be u-ungrateful of m-me towards my cousin, t-though…"
Annabell
"Oh?" She asked with a vague degree of curiosity then took another long draw from her cup.
7:41 PM Michael_Lin
"S-she g-gave the game to me as a gift." pause. "I-I'm s-sorry, I really s-shouldn't b-be boring you with this, ma'am."
7:46 PM Annabell
laughed, but it didn't seem unkindly, "A distraction from the taste of this is always welcome," She hoisted the cup illustratively, "It keeps me going but -urgh-. And better talking to you about this than having some random person describe how they've 'got a pain'.""
7:47 PM Michael_Lin
"O-oh. Y-you m-must h-hear a-a lot of that, e-even outside work."
7:52 PM Annabell
rolled her eyes, "Oh, yes…"
7:53 PM Michael_Lin
"M-maybe p-people will stop someday…?" he offers timidly.
7:55 PM Annabell
"Not according to other doctors, no." Annabell told him then asked, "Do you see your cousin often?"
7:56 PM Michael_Lin
shakes his head. "S-she's u-usually b-busy working. S-she works on the game, s-so…"
8:00 PM Annabell
"She's an unreasonable person?" Annabell asked rhetorically, "If not then I'm sure that she'll be fine about it. You tried it, after all, and if something isn't to your taste…"
8:00 PM Michael_Lin
shakes his head in response to the first query. He thinks she's not that unreasonable, anyway.
8:07 PM Annabell
"Anyway, you still probably managed better than I did." Annabell added, trying to be reassuring, "Somehow I managed to mess up registration badly enough that the 'magic smoke' came out of the hardware and I ended up skipping the tutorial somehow."
8:08 PM Michael_Lin
"O-our t-tutorial exploded a-a school, s-so y-you w-were probably b-better off."
8:10 PM Annabell
paused then, after recovering from her amazement, said in a deadpan manner, "You win?"
8:10 PM Michael_Lin
"I-it w-was a-apparently a-a bug." really downcast here. still feeling guilty.
8:15 PM Annabell
gave a nod and offered, "Then the system wins and it's not your fault?"
8:16 PM Michael_Lin
"T-there a-are a-a lot of things w-wrong with my account apparently." including causing a hard reset of all the gnOSis OSes in the vicinity. Quiet little sigh.
8:16 PM
Barely more than an exhale.
8:18 PM Annabell
"Ditto." She murmured then glanced around the break room and winces as she noticed the time. "I should go, if you don't mind losing my company?"
8:19 PM Michael_Lin
"I-I d-don't m-mind."
8:21 PM Annabell
drank the rest of the coffee, what little was left, in a long pull then stood up and gave Michael a polite nod, "I may see you around at some other time. Thank you for the company though."
8:23 PM Michael_Lin
"Y-you're w-welcome, ma'am."
8:24 PM Annabell
smiled then headed towards the door, dropping her plastic up in the bin as she passed, but called back, "Good luck with your studies!"
8:25 PM Michael_Lin
"Y-you're welcome." Michael murmurs, mostly to the desk.