"And then?"
"Then the cursed spirit appeared and let me tell you!" she turned more toward me again, "if it looks like that again, like from The Ring or The Grudge, then I'm out! I'll just leave it standing there! Never again! Like a pale doll..."
Shoko burst out laughing and I? I tried hard not to laugh. Both movies had been pure horror for her. Even her insults were far weaker than usual in that case.
"It's partly because of such ugly cursed spirits that I became a doctor in the first place."
"Maybe I should give it a try too," she mumbled, her eyes shining.
"No, not happening," I interrupted her doctor dream.
"Oh man," she sighed theatrically, "and here I already have such a good hand for emergencies!"
"You? A knack for emergencies?! I agree! You were one yourself just now!"
"What exactly did you do? Sure, I saw the IV, but was there an antipyretic in it? For the fever?"
Medical battle in 3... 2... 1...
Shoko's gaze flickered. Began to sparkle skeptically, "yes, it was. I started with ibuprofen and switched to metamizole as the fever increased."
"Novalgin," shot out of Mayu, "into the infusion or directly i.v.?"
Shoko crossed her arms and leaned back a bit in her stool.
"Intravenously. Slowly titrated… to avoid a dose-dependent peripheral—", Mayu interrupted and finished the sentence.
"Peripheral vasodilation with consecutive hypotension."
And there she was again – the silence. More question marks added to all that medical gibberish.
"Hypotension, translated?" Shoko began.
"Low blood pressure."
"Tachycardia?"
"Fast heartbeat."
"Hemochromatosis?"
"Iron overload in the body."
"Nephrolithiasis?"
"Kidney stones."
"Hypotensive crisis?"
"Severe blood pressure drop with circulatory collapse."
I flinched. After this brief and heated exchange, the images of Mayu instantly rushed back into my head. Shoko had mentioned that term on purpose. Yet she kept firing at Mayu, who swiftly gave the correct answer to every term thrown at her.
"Doctor?"
"Medical assistant."
"Which field?"
"Ten years in general practice and just recently a good half year in trauma surgery."
"For that, you know an astonishing amount."
"I've acquired the knowledge over the years. Some through work experience, a lot through learning. I worked in a general practice in a networked medical center – so I had the opportunity to get insights into other specialties."
"Why don't you study and become a doctor?"
"To be honest, that's too much responsibility for me. I love this job, no doubt, but I couldn't do it. I'd rather be a helping hand at a doctor's side."
Suddenly, a sharp and concise pain shot through my thigh.
"Hey! Did I do something wrong?!" I looked at Shoko in shock, who had suddenly smacked me out of nowhere.
"Yes! Why didn't you tell me earlier that I'm getting the assistant I wanted?!"
I grinned mischievously, "Come on, you know I'm still the best when it comes to timing. But now that you know – maybe you feel like thanking me a little?"
"Well, if this isn't the perfect time to leave you two alone for a moment," Mayu interjected, placing the half-empty water bottle beside us and hopping off the bed.
Shoko caught her sleeve lightning-fast, "your first shift starts the day after tomorrow at nine o'clock. Here, in forensic medicine."
"Forensic medicine?!" she began to grin from ear to ear, which Shoko echoed with a nod.