Maryam woke up earlier than usual the next morning. After indulging in a leisurely breakfast of fresh fruit and coffee, she gathered her things and headed out the door to drive to work. She rolled up to the hospital, taking her time to park. Entering the building, she made her way to the ward, wondering what lay in store for her today. She grabbed a pair of scrubs and headed towards the changing room, getting changed and then walking towards her ward.
As Maryam reached the doors to the ward, she paused outside, gathering herself before entering. Steeling herself with a deep breath, she swiped her ID card against the reader and pushed open the heavy door and stepped inside.
She started her usual pleasantries with some of the nurses on the ward, immediately noticing Laura, the nurse-in-charge for the day. "Morning!" Laura and Maryam greeted each other. Andrew looked up as Maryam entered the ward. A sly grin spread across his face as he glanced her over appreciatively, lingering on her figure before returning to the screen of the computer he was using.
After exchanging pleasantries and polite smiles, Maryam purposely turned in Andrew's direction, intending to say hello. He looked up and acknowledged her presence with a nod. Maryam felt her heart drop a little at such seemingly disinterest in her. In just a few seconds, she was wondering whether all the looks he gave her, the conversations she had - were all misread signals on her part.
"You doing okay?" Maryam asked casually, feigning disinterest despite the butterflies in her stomach. She wanted to gauge his reaction, desperate for any signs that may have proved her hunch wrong.
Andrew appraised her nonchalantly, replying dryly, "Just working hard." He smiled, letting his gaze drift lazily over Maryam's face, then her body as she brought out a chair for herself and logged onto a computer, skimming through some drug charts to screen them for any errors she could spot.
She struggled to focus on the task at hand, crossing and uncrossing her legs nervously, feeling Andrew's gaze on her, only to find him focusing on something else when she turned towards him for confirmation. As the hours ticked by, she became increasingly aware of Andrew's proximity.
There were a few times however, Maryam was sure Andrew's gaze had drifted toward Maryam throughout the day, causing her to blush and fidget nervously each time. As the ward round finished, the afternoon was left for the junior doctors to finish up the jobs that the ward round had generated. Maryam sat in the office on the ward, and Andrew sat next to her, where the only free computer lay.
As Andrew sat down beside Maryam, he stretched his legs out under the desk, accidentally touching her foot. He noticed her pull away quickly and apologised, but not before he caught a glimpse of her blush. They were soon joined by the other junior doctors on the ward, and a few minutes later, the office was bustling in conversation with Andrew leading it.
Maryam nonetheless felt a little ignored by Andrew - at various points of the conversation, Andrew seemed to turn down the opportunity to involve Maryam in the discussion, leaving her politely laughing along with everyone else without saying much herself. He did pause a few times to look at her, almost as though he wanted to say something to her, but ultimately refrained from it.
An hour or so later, all the junior doctors had to leave the office, whether to review patients or make important phone calls to other specialities. Andrew, having not insisted on taking any of this responsibility, was free to sit at the desk until he and Maryam were alone.
Maryam, left alone in the office with Andrew, tried to focus on her work but her mind wandered. Andrew, for his part, seemed a lot more comfortable making conversation with her now that they were alone.
Andrew looked at her with a curious smirk on his face, "What have you been up to all afternoon?" he asked, his tone light and playful. Maryam looked up from her computer screen, slightly flustered and surprised at his willingness to make conversation.
"I've been catching up on admin mostly," Maryam replied, avoiding direct eye contact. "We've got a paracetamol shortage, prescribing mistakes from your colleagues... the usual. How about you? How was your afternoon?"
Andrew smiled casually, "Long day at work." As he spoke, he casually extended his foot underneath the desk, gently bumping Maryam's ankle, this time without apologising. "But I can't complain. Especially not when I get to chill with my favourite pharmacist."
As Andrew spoke, Maryam felt her cheeks flush. She barely registered the compliment amidst her racing thoughts. Or was it a compliment? Did he just flirt with me? Under the desk, Maryam's foot froze, stuck in place for just a second.
Avoiding direct eye contact, Maryam forced a small smile. She shifted her foot, attempting to extricate herself from the warm tingles shooting up her leg. "What did you think of that Dr Patel, it's your first time working with her today, right?"
Andrew leaned back in his chair, letting his eyes travel over Maryam. "She seemed pretty competent," he mused aloud. He offered her a sly grin as he added, "Unlike some people."
"What do you mean?" Maryam asked Andrew. "Oh come on, don't tell me you haven't noticed how useless Helena is. I mean, I'm more useful on the ward round - and I just stand around pretending to know what everyone's talking about," he says as he laughs.
Maryam couldn't help but let out a giggle. Helena was one of the other junior doctors but often appeared a little slow - Maryam herself had grown to become irked by her mistakes. However, Andrew's self-awareness surprised her. "Is that how you operate? Standing around pretending to know stuff?"
"But to be fair, I'm quite impressive when it comes to that particular talent." Andrew pushed his luck, a smirk lifting the corner of his lips. His leg subtly brushed against hers under the desk.
As Maryam giggled at Andrew's playful remark, she was shocked by her body's reaction to his innocent flirtation. She felt a warmth spreading through her, a blush rising to her cheeks once more.
"How have you found being on medicine for a change? Do you miss operating a lot?" Maryam asked, genuinely curious and finding the conversation easier now with him.
"You know - the thing about operating is that... it's like getting laid. I live for it," Andrew laughed.
"I don't think you're doing it right, then," Maryam said, surprised at how quickly her brain had come up with such a response, before laughing.
Andrew seemed a little surprised and taken aback by such a reply, but did laugh along with her, as they were joined by the other junior doctors on the ward, interrupting this part of their conversation.
As the group continued conversing, Maryam scrolled through her phone casually, a message from Rahim appearing suddenly on her screen. 'How's your day going babe?'
Maryam's pulse quickened as she read the message. It was as though his message had brought her back down to reality from her bubble. She took a deep breath, composing her thoughts before lying: 'Nothing much. You? X' She figured she wasn't really lying anyway - she doubted that the conversation with Andrew would be considered by Rahim as flirting. She did however, get the feeling that any awkwardness between her and Andrew had been defused for the first time.
As the end of the day approached, Maryam found herself eager to stay on the ward, wondering if she could engineer a situation where it was only her and Andrew in the office, to test whether the flirting was genuine or not. Unfortunately for her, she was called by one of her colleagues in the pharmacy dispensary, asking her to go and help with the workload there.
