Page 42 of The Callahan Effect

"I'm beginning to think Coach goes easy on us compared to your professors."

Jack laughed silently before his fingers moved across the keyboard of his phone while we waited at a traffic light.

Don't tell him that. He'd probably add another conditioning session.

I groaned.

"Please don't even joke about it."

His shoulders shook with silent laughter.

The conversation returned to medicine as we crossed campus.

"So what happens next?"

He typed another reply.

I'm rotating through different departments this year. Long days. Sometimes nights. It depends where I'm assigned. I've already completed a surgical rotation and have several more before graduation.

" So you're seeing patients every day now?"

Every day.

"I'd be terrified."

Everyone is at first. That's why we're supervised.

"It must feel different once they're real people instead of simulations."

His expression became thoughtful.

It does. That's also why it matters so much to get it right.

There was something in his eyes when he wrote those words.

Not fear.

Responsibility.

The kind that couldn't really be explained unless you'd chosen a profession where mistakes carried consequences measured in human lives.

"I think you'll be an incredible doctor."

Color touched his cheeks.

He looked away before answering.

I hope so.

I wasn't sure why that simple reply affected me as much as it did.

Maybe because he meant every word.

Maybe because humility suited him.

Or maybe because every hour I spent with Jack revealed another reason to admire him.

By the time we left Riverfront Park, dusk had settled over Spokane, softening the edges of the city beneath amber streetlights and deepening shades of blue. Neither of us seemed particularly eager for the afternoon to end, and I found myself wishing the drive back to campus were twice as long.