and skills associated with the title RN. She was a true gentle Southern woman, however, and prone to such pet names as “honey,” “sweetie,” “sugah,” “darlin’,” and on the rare occasion, when more reassurance was needed, even “sugah dumplin.’” (In the Deep South, the r’s and g’s were just too guttural and consequently, abandoned.) Gin was no exception to that rule, and today’s title was just a cultural remnant, never intended to be anything more.
As she pressed the intercom button, Kathryn wondered for a moment how her eight students would adapt to the locked environment they were about to enter. Inside, there were no more “norms” for behavior, no expectations, and certainly a total lack of predictability. Many equated this with a lack of stability as well, but to Kathryn, there was an odd sort of homeostasis about the unit. Admittedly, there were certainly flare-ups and many highly atypical behaviors, but they really didn’t surprise her much anymore. After eight years of bringing students here for their psych rotations, she had pretty much seen it all, or at least so she thought. And really, Kathryn sort of enjoyed the lack of convention and the unrestrained spontaneity she often encountered there. Here, there were no filters, no charades, no “appropriate” choices, no cover-ups—just raw, unrestrained emotions coupled with a conspicuous absence of normal controls. The unpredictability she found fascinating juxtaposed within her very orderly, sometimes too rational universe. Kathryn herself thrived on variety, and enjoyed exposing her students to worlds they had not encountered before, just to see how they would respond. Inevitably, those with the most flexibility, open-mindedness, and adaptability went on to become the most highly regarded professionals in their chosen field. So this ward was a proving ground of sorts.
“3B, Tom Jameson, RN,” crackled over the intercom and brought Kathryn back to the moment.
“Hey Tom, Kathryn Walker, OHSU. Got your new students for the semester here, all eight of them. If things are ok in there, we’d like to come in and let them get used to their new home!”
“Oouu, Katie, my favorite! Broke my heart when you left us last spring! Sure darlin’, come on in.” As Tom’s voice rasped over the intercom speaker, it became clear to all that formalities were refreshingly absent here. There was a collective sigh of relief coupled with anticipation as the electronic lock clicked the door open and Katie’s young brood somewhat hesitantly entered “Tom’s World” for the first time.
“By the way,” Kathryn reminded them as they walked through the doors, “if I were you, I would remove my school photo ID. These are definitely not the sort of people you want remembering your name, or somehow finding out where you live.” With that, she took off her own badge and followed them in.
Striding down the hall in their direction was a short, stocky, muscular, middle-aged man with a dark mustache and thinning black hair. Without a moment’s hesitation, he grabbed Kathryn, and after a 360-degree spin about two feet off the ground, parked her back on the glistening hall floor followed by an affectionate bear hug. “Katie, you’re always a welcome sight here. And what a good-looking flock you’ve brought with you!” he exclaimed, letting his eyes wander over the small group of students in her care. Finally fixing on Gin, he added, “And a redhead too! We’re gonna have some fun this semester!”
Gin probably would have blushed had she not been completely used to the attention her bright-red hair inevitably brought her. “No dumb blondes this time,” she quipped, knowing full well the remainder of the group had much darker hair than hers.
“Well, I may have to change my tactics, then!” Tom volleyed back. “Good to have you all,” he added quickly. “Now ladies…AND gentleman,” he added, noting the one male student, Arthur Middlebrook, “please close that door quickly before the Dobermans get out. For some reason, they just don’t do as well in the rest of the hospital,” he chuckled with a mischievous wink, as he began to walk back toward the nurses’ station.
Kathryn wasn’t kidding when she said “unpredictable environment,” Gin mused quietly, following Tom down the hall. This guy’s a real piece of work himself! Still mulling that over in her mind, her attention was abruptly redirected by the sounds of screaming and cursing coming from a room about ten feet down the hall on the left-hand side. Suddenly the door opened and a chair came sailing out into the hallway. “Goddamn motherfuckers!” echoed out through the door as the chair landed, and the source was soon identifiable as a disheveled young woman in her late twenties, now clearly visible in the doorway. “You got no right to keep me here! I ain’t done nothin’ wrong—just got a little pissed at my ex, that’s all. I’d a cut his balls off if I’d-a been able to get near ’em!” she shrieked with a swooping motion of her right arm. “He’d-a deserved whatever I done to him, though, after what he did to my daughter. If that fuckin’ cunt-licker ever gets near her again, he won’t be around to know what the hell hit him. I’ll bust his skull open like one o’ them ripe melons. Bastard! What the hell are you all lookin’ at bitch, huh? Ain’t you ever seen nobody pissed off before? By god, he’s lucky I only got him once with that knife. If he hadn’t-a fuckin’ sat on me and called the cops, I’d-a nailed his ass good. Motherfucker!”
Kathryn, Gin, and the group just stood there, literally with their mouths open in disbelief of the scene unfolding just a few feet in front of them. Kathryn, to be sure, had occasionally witnessed this sort of outburst before, but not often with the intensity and language exhibited by the young woman in their path. What an introduction, she thought to herself, as she wondered what might follow as an encore. Even Kathryn was somewhat taken aback by what happened next, however.
Without any warning, the young woman (they later discovered her name was Helen) planted her feet about a foot apart, squarely in front of them, grabbed the lapels of her plain white smock, and ripped it open from top to bottom, sending buttons flying everywhere. Covering her naked groin with one hand, and her prominent breasts with the other, she promptly dropped the hand covering her breasts, shook them at the students, and screamed, “Look at these tits! Don’t you think they’re big enough to satisfy any man?” Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that pussy either!” she shrieked, dropping her other hand from between her legs, as they all just stood there in total shock. “By god, he had no problem pumpin’ this twat full whenever he wanted! Why the fuck did he have to go and mess with my daughter too? Jesus, she was only nine. Guess her little cunt wadn’t big enough for that big cock o’ his and he had to use her mouth instead. I cain’t ever forget openin’ that door and seein’ him there, pumpin’ her mouth with that big dick. Goddamn, I’d kill him right now if I could just get my hands on him! I hate him, I just hate him for what he did to her. Fuckin’ pig! He deserves to die!” With that, Helen grabbed the chair she had thrown out into the hall and slammed it with all her might into the wall, sending pieces of wood flying in all directions. Kathryn ducked just in time to keep an aberrant leg from almost decapitating her, and Gin caught a piece of the back with her bare hands just as it was heading for her midsection. Her last effort seemed to have totally depleted her, however, and Helen slid down the wall to the floor and started to sob uncontrollably.
By now Tom had raced back down the hall from the nurses’ station and kneeled down beside her. “Helen, Helen, it’s ok, just calm down. He’s gone now, and your daughter is safe. These are students from the OHSU nursing program, and we’re all here to help you. I know you must be very angry and hurt, but we’re your friends. You’re safe here.”
The pain she must have felt had overwhelmed her anger now, and Helen sat sobbing, elbows on her knees and head between her hands. “Why…why did he have to go and do that?” she moaned. “That little girl never hurt nobody. She didn’t deserve that. It wadn’t like I didn’t give him all he wanted. Jesus, most o’ the time, I felt like a pincushion, with that thing poked into me from just about every angle, in every hole I got!” Helen had stopped crying now, and her anger was starting to build again.
Tom intervened quickly. “Come on, honey, let’s get up. We can’t change
