tensed, and probably would have returned and knocked Frank’s scrawny body right out of the chair had Kathryn’s hand not remained firmly around her arm. “Don’t even think about it,” she cautioned intuitively. “Remember, class, your first psych lecture is at three this afternoon in the small conference room, number 102, I believe. Your clinical starts here in the morning from nine till noon. Wait for me outside the doors at 8:50. Arthur, would you buzz us out, please?” Releasing Gin’s arm, she added, almost inaudibly, “Sugah, we’re not in the ring here. Before we’re through, I WILL teach you to keep your cool!”
Gin nodded and secretly hoped she was right.
Three Weeks Later
Ryan had been looking forward to today since his first lecture in comparative anatomy class. This morning in the CA lab, they would actually begin dissection of a fetal pig! Not that he fancied himself as a surgeon or anything like that, but Ryan did love exploring, and today he would actually be able to see what interesting world lay just behind the taut, shiny skin of that little pig. Most of his classmates had been dreading the experience for weeks, with thoughts of cutting up poor Porky Pig tantamount to dissecting Donald Duck, or, worse yet, even Mickey Mouse himself. Such revolting thoughts were clearly evident in the behavior of Sarah, the girl next to Ryan, who burst into tears as the little pig was placed in front of her, and shortly thereafter, deposited the remains of her breakfast all over his shiny little body. Staring in total disbelief at the unfolding event to his right, Ryan quickly wiped away the errant remains of what appeared to be an Egg McMuffin from his side of the lab table and promptly alerted Ben, the senior lab assistant, of Sarah’s unexpected delivery.
“Hey Ben, Sarah just puked on her pig,” Ryan announced amid the muffled guffaws of several fellow dissectors.
“Jesus, Sarah,” Ben muttered, quickly striding over to her now somewhat egg-encrusted pig, “it’s only a baby pig!”
With the words scarcely out of his mouth, Ben realized he had made a fatal mistake in his choice of adjectives, as Sarah burst into tears once again, screaming, “A BABY! How can you expect me to cut up a pig’s cute little baby?”
Ryan now knew that he had to act quickly in order to preserve even some semblance of the porcine fantasy that he had been nurturing for weeks. “Sarah, Sarah,” he exhorted, “you want to be a doctor, remember? You can get through this. It’s just a lab experiment, and don’t worry—Ben, here, will be right at your side…absolutely nothing to fret about.” Reaching to wipe the remaining egg from Sarah’s chin, Ryan whispered to Ben that maybe he should remove the pig for now and at least clean it up a bit. “Ben’s going to take your pig for now, Sarah, and you can just watch me for a while. Is that better?”
The sobs had subsided a bit now, and Sarah seemed to be wavering somewhere between complete humiliation and overwhelming relief that the pig was gone. “Ok, Ryan, I think I can handle that. Thank you.”
As Ryan made his way up to the front of the class to speak with Ben regarding his friend’s plight, he turned his head back in Sarah’s direction and gave her a reassuring wink, just to let her know that he had the situation well under control and not to worry. Approaching Ben, he motioned him over to the corner, where they could discuss the situation privately.
“Ben,” Ryan whispered, “Sarah’s really freakin’ out over this ‘baby pig’ thing. How about if the two of us just work together on this one? She’s obviously never going to be a surgeon, and as long as she can identify all the internal parts for the lab exam, don’t you think that would be enough?”
“Hmmm,” Ben murmured as he pondered Ryan’s request. “Well, the lab objective here is to be able to identify all key organs, nerves, bones, and the like. Most students enjoy the dissection part, but clearly that’s not the case with Sarah. I guess it would be ok if you do the cutting for her, as long as she can identify all the internal structures. Why don’t you give it a go and see what happens?”
“Well, I have to admit that I’ve really been looking forward to cutting up that little guy, and wasn’t planning on a partner, but it’s probably better than her continuing the old ‘puke-and-sob’ routine! I’m ok with helping her out—if I can, that is. Just give her Egg McPig to someone else, and I’ll try sharing mine with her.” With that, Ryan turned and started to return to his table, but Ben grabbed his arm, as if he weren’t quite finished with the conversation.
“Hey, Ryan, you in a band or something?” he queried, wondering about the significance of Ryan’s shaggy orange tie-dyed hair, large looped earring, and skintight leather pants. “Or do you always dress like you just disembarked from the ‘Black Pearl’?” Ben winked, referencing the current filming of the movie ‘Pirates of the Caribbean.’ He had to admit that he was somewhat curious about Ryan’s outlandish (even for Portland) attire.
“Well, I used to be back in SC. At the moment, I’m just kind of biding my time, and making sure I do well in school. That’s definitely a priority. Why, you play music too?”
“Not in a group or anything like that,” Ben replied rather wistfully. “Used to, though, a couple of years ago. I’m pretty good on keyboards and bass, if you ever get another group together. I don’t have much stuff now, just a keyboard that I practice on at home.”
Ryan’s green eyes twinkled a bit. “Well, I’m not surprised that you play. You look like a remake of Yanni about twenty years ago!” He was referring to Ben’s tall lanky frame and definitely Greek appearance. His Mediterranean complexion, shoulder-length black hair, and enchanting dark eyes were indeed a dead ringer for a young Yanni. “I’ll bet you don’t play as well as he does, though!” Ryan taunted a bit.
“You’ll just have to make that decision yourself,” Ben smiled back. “Seriously, though, let’s get together sometime and just have a little fun. If your playing is as outlandish as your attire, I’ll be in for a treat!”
“Ok, you’re on, buddy,” Ryan added. “Gives me something to look forward to, besides this lab stuff! Speaking of which, I’d better get back to Madam Queasy over there and start cutting on our pig. With all her breakfast gone, it’ll probably be a faint next,” Ryan winked at Ben as he headed back to Sarah and their now jointly owned piglet.
“Sarah, Ben says it’s ok if we work together on the pig if you’d like, just as long as you’re able to identify all the internal parts on the lab exam. So…would you like for me to do the cutting, and you help locate the target organs?”
Sarah looked up at Ryan with the biggest look of pure gratitude that he could ever remember seeing. “Oh, thank you, Ryan! I just don’t think I have it in me to cut open that poor little baby pig. I’ll try my best to help out when you need me too, though, ok?”
“Sure, that’s fine,” Ryan replied reassuringly, finally getting to the moment he had been waiting for. “I’ll just get my scalpel here, and we’ll see what makes that little pig tick!” Grinning and turning the pig on its back, Ryan swiftly made an incision from the neck to the lower abdomen, then pulled the skin back with his forceps. “The arteries and veins are filled with red and blue latex,” he added, “so we will be able to identify them more easily.” With that, Ryan heard a muffled shriek to his right, and looking over at Sarah, saw her knees buckle and her body crumple. Jumping up from his stool, he caught her left arm with one hand and her right shoulder with the other, interrupting the trajectory of her head toward the oak floor. Gently easing his now completely unconscious surgical assistant down, Ryan called out, “Yo, Ben, got a faint here at table 4. Sarah’s out for the count!”
Ben looked up and walked over to Ryan, rolling his eyes and
