"How can you quickly recognize skin infections, Professor Jackson?" I asked without raising my hand. "I mean, how do you know the difference between an irritation and an actual infection?"
"Good question, Ms. Pierce," she said. "Let's talk about the differences!"
For the next half hour, Professor Jackson laid out the various ways in which we could differentiate between irritations and actual infections as I scribbled notes as fast as I could. She covered bacterial, viral, and fungal skin infections in detail explaining that when in doubt, we should always ask for a second opinion from someone who is outside of the case. She explained that sometimes the caretakers working on a case were too close to see things clearly, so it was always good to get a second set of eyes on the problem.
"In closing, I'd recommend that you also remember that while it is tempting to go for the most c
omplex diagnosis," she said looking around the room, "often the right answer is the simplest answer. Now, I want to remind you that we have exams coming up at the end of the term, and you'll need to score 90% or higher in order to move on to the next level of your training. This means you need to hit the books, ladies and gentlemen."
"Why is she looking at me?" Liz grumbled as we packed up our things, pulled on our coats and gloves, and got ready to head to our next class.
"Maybe she can sense that you are a lost soul who needs saving?" I teased as we walked across campus toward the hall where our psychology class was held. It was freezing outside, but the sun was shining and it reflected off of the fresh snow, making the campus look like a winter wonderland. Chicago could be brutally cold in the winter, but days like this, the ones just before we turned the corner and headed toward spring, were the ones I loved best.
"Maybe she needs to focus on straightening out the attitude of little Miss Rich Girl," Liz said, flipping her ponytail. "I'm not the problem, she is."
"Maybe Professor Jackson has given up trying to teach Violet anything because Violet doesn't see the value in learning," I suggested, pulling my scarf more tightly around my neck as the wind picked up. "She's right about the fact that she's not going to have to work in the field like the rest of us will, so why expend energy trying to make her see things differently?"
"Good point," Liz muttered as she reached around and dug into her backpack with one hand, pulling out a tube of lipstick and then proceeding to freshen the color as we walked.
"I cannot for the life of me understand how you do that," I said admiringly. "I'd have it all over my face if I tried that."
"Eh, it's not so difficult once you get the hang of it," Liz said as she started to instruct me in the art of walking and applying lipstick.
"You really should reconsider learning that skill," a voice behind us said. I turned and found Violet Metzler walking five feet behind us with a knowing look on her face. Little puffs of frozen air drifted from her mouth as she sneered, "It's so tacky and common."
"Well, Vi, takes one to know one," Liz said as she turned and stared at Violet while she continued to walk backwards.
"Funny, Baker," Violet said in a voice that indicated she thought it was anything but funny. "You really should spend more time focusing on your studies and less on your appearance, since you really only have hope of improving the former."
"Why you--," Liz growled as I quickly grabbed her arm and squeezed it hard.
"Ladies, ladies, ladies," I said, stepping between them without letting go of Liz. "Let's not start a brawl in the middle of campus, shall we? Violet, I'm sure you have much better things to do than to stand around trading insults with Liz, so why don't you move along and get to them?"
"You should hang out with better company, Alex," Violet said as she walked past us toward the student center. "Someone like that will only drag you down and keep you from achieving your highest potential."
"I'll take my chances," I said dryly. "But thanks for your overwhelming concern."
"I swear to God, I'm going to lay her flat one of these days," Liz fumed as we picked up the pace so we wouldn't be late to class. As nursing students in the same cohort, we all took the same classes together. Fortunately, Violet had gone to some fancy prep school where she'd received credit for many of the general education classes we had to take, so she wasn't in our psych class.
As we sat down and pulled out our books, I looked over at Liz who was staring down at the textbook on the desk with a look of mixed anger and sadness. I grabbed her hand and squeezed gently as she reached up and wiped away a stray tear that had escaped her eye.
"I'm going to kick her ass someday," Liz said fiercely.
"Let's work on doing it in a way that doesn't end up with you being booked for assault, okay?" I whispered as Liz flashed me a grateful smile.
If I was honest, I, too, wanted wipe that smug grin off of Violet Metzler's face. I just didn't know if it could be done.
Chapter Three
Cam
When Tesla and I arrived at the station for my shift, I saw that Danny and the new guy, Victor, were cooking breakfast for the squad. Once everyone had said good morning to Tesla, she settled down in her usual spot next to the television and proceeded to chew on a bone that Mike Kelly had brought from his father's butcher shop down in Pilsen.
"What's up, Connor?" Victor asked as he stirred the scrambled eggs in the pan. "Haven't seen you in a while."
"Not sure why, I've been here." I shrugged as I picked up a copy of the Tribune and read the headlines. "Where have you been?"
"Around," Victor said, concentrating intently on the eggs. "Just making friendly conversation, no need to get your boxers in a twist."