Chapter 1
-Ava-
I sighed as I stared at my computer screen, feeling unfulfilled in my job as a hospital receptionist. While it wasn't my ideal career, I was grateful to have it, thanks to my best friend Chloe. After graduating from art school, I struggled to find work in my field and eventually gave up after three years. It was then that I turned to Chloe, who works as an anesthesiologist at the hospital, and begged her to help me find a job.
I am currently reviewing the records of all the patients who have visited our healthcare facility. This involves checking their insurance details and billing them for the medical services they receive. However, billing patients can be a difficult task, as some of the charges assigned by the nurses seem unreasonable. It is especially discouraging to see the exorbitant amount charged for childbirth. Nonetheless, most of these bills are covered by the patient's insurance, so it does not cause too much of a burden on me.
"AAAvvvaaa~" As soon as I heard the familiar voice calling out to me, my head jolted towards it, and my eyes scanned the surroundings to locate the source of the voice. And then I saw her. Chloe, standing behind the glass in front of me, her face beaming with happiness as she gazed at me with her beautiful brown round eyes. She had always been special to me, with her pale white skin that made her look like a porcelain doll and her bright orange hair that seemed to glow like pure flames. We had been the best of friends for years, and our bond had only grown stronger with time.
As I looked at Chloe, memories of our time together started flooding my mind. I remember the day of my graduation when I decided to dye my hair a deep purple to represent the sun and the moon. It was a bold choice, but I was determined to stand out. I knew blue would have made more sense, but it didn't suit me. Chloe had been the one to encourage me to go for it, telling me that I would look amazing no matter what. And she was right. Every time I saw myself in the mirror, I felt like a new person, full of confidence and self-assurance.
As I stood there, lost in my thoughts, I realized how much Chloe meant to me. She was more than just a friend; she was family. And I knew that no matter what happened, we would always be there for each other.
"It's lunch timmee~ come on, let's have lunch together." She sways from side to side as she speaks. I glance back at my computer, searching for the time. Realizing she is five minutes early. "Chloe, it's early. Can't you wait a little longer?" I asked as I turned back to her.
"Well, They won't notice plus as you can see" She steps aside, revealing the emergency room behind her. "We aren't busy today, I doubt you can get in trouble for it." I couldn't help but agree with her observation - there were only two people in the waiting room, both of whom were engrossed in their phones and drooling. My gaze shifted towards the check-in door on my right, which was where Mia could be seen. Mia was my replacement whenever I wasn't around.
"Since Mia is already here, sure." Chloe greeted me with a bright smile as I reached for my bag under the desk. It was unusual for her to smile as she usually has difficulty getting along with people, except for me, of course. After gathering my things, I left the reception area through the door. On my way out, I handed a couple of papers to Mia. "Only ten people actually checked in, so it's an easy day for you." Mia nods as she steps into the reception box, suddenly Chloe grabs my hand, dragging me out of the Emergency waiting room.
"Guess who spoke to me earlier," she said, looking at me with a smirk. It was pretty obvious who she was talking about. "Lewis?" I asked as I opened the door to the employee break room. She nodded quickly, jittering excitedly. "He asked me out on a date!" she whispered, her emotions making it seem like she might explode. "He did? What did he say?" I tried to keep my voice down as I sat at an empty table while Chloe walked over to the fridge, grabbing our lunch. "Well, he asked me if I was interested in sports films, right? So I said, 'of course.' And then it went on, turns out he's into basketball, sooo it just ended up with a film tomorrow night," she squealed quietly, so the other employees wouldn't hear.
I smiled at her, feeling excited for her. I believed she deserved all the happiness. "I'm so happy for you. Look at you, attracting the Doctor," I said, noticing the joy radiating from her. "This is totally my year. Maybe it will be your year too," she said, her voice filled with hope. I rolled my eyes. "Chloe, you know the Universe only blesses one person at a time." I didn't consider myself unlucky in relationships; I mostly avoided them, since my last few ended terribly.
"Maybe the universe will be nice to both of us; we work so hard," she said, taking a good bite out of her burrito while I mixed around my salad. "Maybe, hopefully," I replied.
