Page 14 of Havenfall Harbor
“Well, thanks, Jon. It’s my first day, and I’m feeling a little nervous. It’s nice to see a friendly face.”
Jon’s eyes narrow on me like something I’ve said makes him suspicious. I relax in my chair a bit and rein in the overeager helpfulness. I’m using it to make him more at ease. I want to show him that he’s not the only one who’s uncertain, but maybe I was trying too hard to make him feel comfortable and doing the opposite of what I’d hoped.
After a brief moment of silence, I fold my hands in my lap and ask, “So, who is Mr. Albert?”
Jon lets out a small breath. “He’s one of my teachers.” I nod, hoping he’ll continue. “Well, I want to be a doctor.” Jon sits up a little, as if just saying the words makes him more confident in being here.
“That’s amazing. Even better, I can hear the conviction in your voice. So how can I help?” He might seem a little young to make such a big decision, but I’m not going to derail him. I knew what I wanted to be at his age, my mother’s insistence that I keep my options open only supplied the drive I needed to keep on track.
“I don’t want to be just a supe doctor,” Jon divulges. His shoulders take on a slight slump, as if just saying the words puts a weight on his back.
I now know why Mr. Albert sent Jon to me. Once supernaturals came out, or supes, like Jon called them, almost all the medical practices split into specialty care. Which left lots of supernatural doctors, nurses, and other medical staff without much work. Blooded vampires and mature shifters don’t have much need for medical care. There are no laws saying supernaturalscan’tbe doctors and such, but finding a hospital or practice that would accept them would be,will be, an uphill battle.
Jon’s eyes droop down to his hands. His fingers are long, almost elegant as he examines his palms. “I’ve wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember,” he mutters, as if he thinks I’m going to tell him he should find something else to do, something easier. I wouldn’t dare.
There are a lot of things humans trust supernaturals with, health and beauty are among those things, but it’s a closely guarded secret. My mother, who openly encourages separation among the species, sees a vampire for vascular needs. She would have a coronary if she was outed. Which is stupid, because I bet all her friends do the same thing.
“Jon,” I call to get his attention. Without any denial from me, he’s already lost a little of that conviction he came in here with. I didn’t expect to be hit with such a huge challenge on my first day, but this is exactly what I’m here for. “It’s not going to be an easy journey for you, but I promise to do everything I can to help you fulfill that dream.”
Jon’s eyes assess me. In that moment, he seems so much older than the fourteen I guessed him as. Something about his demeanor makes me think he’s a vampire, but I’m no expert, and I’m not going to ask at this point, it shouldn’t even matter.
“I think we should go over your classes and make sure you’re heading in the right direction, then we need to talk about colleges. What’s your dream school, what will you settle for? How much time do we have?” I begin to rattle off the questions as my mind starts to examine all the possibilities and options we have to explore.
“I’m a junior, and I want to go to University of Michigan. They have an amazing medical program, and…” Jon licks his lip. “I only want to go to Michigan.” He tips his chin down a little, seemingly worried about my reaction. Getting into U of M shouldn’t be a problem, but getting into the medical program might present an issue.
Speciesism and segregation are something that people like to pretend doesn’t exist, but we all know it does. “Well,” I start out slowly, “that puts us under a bit of a time crunch with you being a junior…” The young man’s shoulders fall again. “But we can make this work, Jon.” I remind myself not to make any assumptions on age when it comes to supernaturals, because I never would have guessed he is a junior.
His head jerks in my direction as I finish. A cloud of suspicion and a twinkle of hope twirls in his dark eyes as he stares at me. “They only take the mandated number of supes, and everyone has either failed out or dropped the courses.” Jon sounds like he’s delivering a warning.
I open my hands. “I’m not just here to make sure you get in, Jon, I’ll fight with and for you every step of the way. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.”
“How can you be sure? I mean, you just started here today.” He lets all the doubt he’s experiencing ring clear in his tone. I don’t know if he’s already been disappointed by many others, or if he’s just worried that I will be the one to let him down.
“Are you going to change your mind?” I give him the side-eye, letting him see I’m serious too.
“No,” he scoffs, like he thinks I’m not taking him seriously.
I look around the office and see all the fancy woodwork and the shiny new desktop. It’s all wonderful and unexpected, but even if they put me in a cupboard under the stairs, I would still be here. “I’m sure because this ismydream. To help kids like you the same way someone helped me. You grew up knowing you wanted to be a doctor, to help people. I grew up knowing I wanted the same thing, just in a different way.” I decide telling him the truth is the best option, and I hope it will go a long way to helping Jon trust me.
When Jon leaves my office, it’s with a gleam of determination. I know he understands that it’s going to be a long journey, but I hope he now has the confidence it’s one he can succeed at.
“Did you really mean all that?” I startle at the sound of Griffin’s voice. He slowly strolls into my office. I give him a quick once over, then glance at my clock. I don’t have a lot of time before my meeting.
“Have you been tasked with making sure I behave?” I stand up, preparing to head over to the conference room the meeting is scheduled in.
“Why would you think that?” Griffin tips his chin up.
“Well, you don’t dress like the security staff I’ve met so far, but you do seem to be around an awful lot, and you must have been listening to my meeting with Jon. So, one might deduce that you’re watching me.” I push my chair in and head over to the door. Griffin is left standing near the desk I just vacated.
“Where are you off to?” he inquires, not answering my question. I smile a little. Here I thought it was a happy coincidence that he kept popping up.
“I have a meeting,” I answer, and place my hand on the light switch, ready to shut it off when he comes nearer.
“With Mr. Brock, that’s been canceled.” Griffin pulls a phone from his front pocket and examines the screen. I wonder if that’s my schedule he’s looking at, or if he was supposed to be at the meeting as well.
“Really?” I walk back toward my desk and shake the mouse to check my emails. I was with Jon most of the time I’ve been back from lunch. “I don’t have any messages.” I try to refresh the screen to make sure.
“They may have forgotten to add your email to the outgoing post. Oversight, I’m sure.” Griffin pulls his phone up to his ear. “Brock,” he greets, his voice holding a slight edge. “I just wanted to confirm your one thirty appointment has been canceled.” Griffin pauses for a moment, his eyes on mine. “Ms. Shaw wasn’t aware it had been canceled. Make sure she is included in all notifications.”
