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Seth hums as he rings up my order. “Black,” he says with a pout. “You seem like you could use a little sweetness in your life. Won’t you try our special?”
My eyes dart to the sign in front of the register. It says today’s special is an iced mummified macchiato. I wrinkle my nose, shaking my head.
“The black coffee will be fine. Thank you.” I hand over my card and pay for my drink. It only takes a moment for Seth to pour it and hand it over. I turn away, finding a place to stand and sip my coffee while I wait.
Thankfully, I don’t have to wait long.
The dean floats towards me on her mortar, giving me a small wave as she approaches. I tip my coffee to her, automatically stepping in line with her.
“Thank you for meeting me here, Maverick.”
“No problem,” I say, giving her a smile. “Thank you for the tour.”
“Of course! Anything to welcome you to the faculty. I know you’re contracted with Creelin General Hospital, but I’m very glad to know it’s you the students will be coming to. I trust you.”
“That’s a high honor,” I tell her seriously.
Dean Yaga shows me the library, then we go into some of the university itself. She shows me where Professor Robinson’s classroom is. I’ve known Octavia for a while and have worked with her before in the past. She teaches Monster Anatomy 101. It’ll be nice to see her from time to time now that we work in the same place. I might even audit her class sometime. It’s never a bad idea to refresh myself on the basics and when it comes to learning about monster anatomy, there’s never a point where I’ll know too much.
After that, Dean Yaga shows me the cafeteria. With my contract comes a certain amount of money on my faculty ID which can be used to buy myself food here. I’m pretty sure I can use it at Mocha Mummy as well.
Finally, we make our way outside and towards the athletic department where my little medical center will be located. Well, not mine. The school’s. Though, if I’m honest, it already feels like mine.
I take great pride in what I do. I like taking care of people. I like knowing what it takes to help. I’m constantly reading articles and medical studies. I love learning about the latest procedures and protocols. I want to know what’s working and what’s not.
When the Halloween Wave hit, that desire for learning seemed to double. Now, I wasn’t just learning about the human body, I was learning about as much monster lore, anatomy, and health as I could get my hands on. I still don’t know everything and that makes me excited. It means I’m not at the end, I’m still firmly in the middle of life. There’s still so much to learn.
“Here we are,” the dean says, unlocking the door and ushering the both of us inside. I look around the area, unable to keep a grin from spreading across my face. “I cannot go without saying it at least once more, Maverick, how glad I am that you’re here. Monsters, as a whole, tend to be quite sturdy but with the influx of humans last year, we learned that having medical on staff would do us wonders.”
I nod my head, remembering last year. There were a few incidents that resulted in paramedics on scene here at the university. It’ll be good to be close by for emergencies. It’ll be nice that the students will have a place they feel safe to come to, even if what they’re experiencing is minor.
“I’m happy to be here. I’ve been trying to take a step back from the emergency department, so when the call came, I knew this was the right next step for me.”
“Pleased to have you on board,” she says with a grin. “Well, sort of,” she adds with a chuckle. “You might be on staff, but your contract is through the hospital so you’re not technically faculty.”
I’m not sure why she’s bringing that up but I nod along.
“It simply means if there are events or certain after-school extra-curricular activities going on, you’re free to join in.” Then she quickly adds, “or help supervise.”
“Right,” I say slowly. “Is this your way of telling me you’re hoping I babysit some of the students when they’re getting too rowdy.”
“I never said anything of the sort,” she says with a warm chuckle. “I hope you enjoy your time here, Maverick.”
I watch as she floats out of the medical center. I look around again, taking it all in with new eyes. There’s a desk in the front with some chairs near the door for waiting. Behind that is a little doorway. I duck through, smiling at the curtained off areas back here with patient tables and rolling chairs. There’s already a cabinet filled with supplies but I’m already making a mental list of the things I’ll need to request.
It’s not perfect, but I can make this my new home.
I think Dean Yaga was right; I think I’m going to enjoy my time here.
Chapter Two
Thane
“Pull the van into that spot right there,” Tess says, pointing at the road ahead of us. “There’s a spot.”
“Someone’s pulling into that spot. Let’s just do another circle.”
“No, they’re fucking not,” Tess blurts out. I slow down the moving van and she leaps out, not even waiting for me to completely stop.
