/* Firstly I would like to thank all the readers who have taken the time to read and vote on this story. A big shout-out to voyeur73 for your encouragement and your positive feedback. I would request the new readers to start their journey from Chapter 1 onwards. All the names, places, characters and things in this story are imaginary and any relation to them in real life is a complete coincidence. I have exercised my writer's prerogative in altering events and their timelines to suit the narrative.
The earlier version of this episode had punctuation and other issues, which I have tried to correct in this version. All constructive criticism will always be welcome.
I would like to personally thank all who have earlier read, voted and marked as favourite, the earlier version of this story. It is your encouragement and support that motivates me to keep writing.
Happy reading*/
The next couple of weeks passed by in relative tedium.
Sam was gone the next day. She just left a note behind saying "Take care, Sis!" I would have liked for her to have stayed and for us to further get to know each other, but I knew Sam would interpret it differently. Because I had no intention, at all, of repeating that night's activities.
I got settled in my new department. The work here in Radiology was more hectic than in Neurology, but at least I didn't have a toxic boss.
But my Neurology HoD did make sure to extract her pound of flesh. She intentionally spread rumours about my less-than-prudent behaviour in snogging my brother. In the couched and refined phrases befitting an erudite and renowned doctor that she was, she evaluated my performance in the Neurology department as meeting expectations but requiring additional training in handling the repercussions and impacts of interpersonal relationships vis-a-vis the professional obligations.
I didn't bother much with her comments because, at university, everyone knew what a stuffed cow she was.
At least now I wasn't the only one who had to deal with the unsolicited attention from the hospital staff. I had Helen to share the attention. What was more hilarious was the fact that the rumour mills at the Uni hospital made us out as rivals in our relationship with Johan. Every day there was some new gossip regarding our supposed rivalry. All of us housemates had a great laugh about it.
But, in my case, the laughter was a bit forced. Because I had not forgotten how Johan had rebuked me the last time we spoke. The memory of that encounter was like a bit of a thorn embedded in the skin, not visible in plain sight but causing quite a bit of pain.
I was additionally handicapped by the fact that now I had to tone down the content and tenor of the messages that I could leave for Johan, knowing that Sam would be listening to them. But at least I knew that he was listening to my messages because every couple of days, I would get either an emoji, a gif or a sticker from different numbers.
Those were my most sought-after talisman, which kept me sane and functional in those weeks.
It was a Saturday afternoon two weeks after my last meeting with Johan.
Brady had a shit-eating grin permanently on his face today as it was the Six Nations (Rugby championship) between Scotland and Wales. Luckily for him, his HoD was also a fan and both had bets on opposing teams. And so by afternoon, they had planted themselves squarely in front of the giant screens in the Atrium with Coke and Chips.
They had asked me to accompany them too, but it was Saturday, and I was assigned to Emergency as part of the Radiology team. I was getting prepped for the expected flood of broken bones due to the on-pitch and post-match brawls that were sure to happen in and around the football fields today.
Already by late afternoon, the number of people waiting in queue for their scans was growing and all of us there, were already mentally cursing ourselves and anticipating a long and knackered evening. I was in the middle of setting a cast on the forearm of yet another teenager, a goth girl with piercings and tattoos, when I felt my phone vibrate for some time and then stop. A minute later a ding on my phone told me I had received a DM. After I was done with that girl, I came out to the corridors and unlocked my phone to see that the missed call was from Brady. And there was an unread message from him as well.
"What's he doing watching a game of ruggers(rugby)?" There was only one particular 'he' whom Brady could be referring to. "You should come down here if you can! The cameras love him!" And he had tagged it with a winking emoji.
I was totally bamboozled.
Sweden was NOT a part of the Six Nations, that much I knew. But what could he be doing in a game of ruggers?
Maybe his Scandinavian league had some sort of sponsorship or promotion deal or something. And leaving that question unanswered with myself I responded back "You won't even get a sniff...So stop salivating!" And I also tagged this with a winking emoji.
I went back to Emergency, to continue with the rest of the patients. But I was mentally unsettled. His choice of the sport, his choice of the teams, and most importantly the history of the rivalry between the teams was something which was just not sitting right with me. But as the evening wore on, I was able to put that out of my mind as the patients just kept coming. I did not hear or receive any more DMs from Brady.
At the end of my shift, I went to the Ladies and splashed myself with water and looked at myself in the mirror. Yup, I looked knackered. It had been a very tiring Saturday. But then I remembered looking at myself in the wall-length mirror in the Ladies at the Palladium and that memory brought a smile to my lips. I was not likely to forget that day anytime soon. I came out, in much better spirits than I had gone in with, and called Brady. "Where are we going for a pint?"
As per the rota in my new department, I was assigned the evening shift for the coming week. Which meant I could get up late tomorrow. He did not reply. "Come on mate! I need a pint!" I persisted. Then I heard him put the phone on speaker and it was Helen who spoke. "Come down to the cafeteria Meeghan. Have some iced coffee" and then the call was disconnected.
The whole trip to the cafeteria I was on pins and needles( anticipating bad news) What Helen had indicated, was that some stressful situation had occurred and she was asking me to keep my cool. As it was pretty late in the day, I did not meet many people in the lifts or during the walk to the cafeteria hence I was spared the hassle of having to explain the pinched look on my face to other colleagues.
I found the three of them sitting around our favourite corner table in the cafeteria, only now it was quite dark outside the window.
"You know it was Scotland vs Wales in the Six Nations today, right?" Brady started and Helen took it over from Brady. "You know it's like a war between these teams whenever they face each other in the Six Nations! Multiple pitch brawls are quite at par for this game!"
"What's happened to him?" I asked urgently because there could be only one reason why they would be patronizing me with such a build-up. It was Afreen who replied succinctly. "During the pitch brawls, a few fire-crackers and other incendiary devices were set off on the field as well as in the substitution benches. Quite a few people were injured."
"Is he.....?" I could not complete the sentence. I was too terrified of what the answer might be. "He was alive and moving" Helen hastily added. "But we saw him being carried out on a stretcher!" "How.....?" though I could not complete this sentence either, they understood. "The cameras were following him. His shirt was soaked!" Afreen also supplied this information, as expected.
I was rooted on the spot for a second, while I evaluated my options.
Then I picked up my phone and dialled Mom. She picked up on the eighth ring. "So late?" was her sleep-addled enquiry.
"Karri, wake up! Johan is in..." Here I had to pause and ask Brady where today's game was played and he replied Edinburgh. "He is in Edinburgh...Six Nations... There was some sort of explosion in the pitch and they showed him on TV being carried out on a stretcher. I will try and find out which hospital he has been taken to." I paused and then, unable to control myself any longer, spoke in a tearful voice. "Please, Mom! Help me get there. Get me a chopper or a private charter!"
"No!" was her stern command. And then more gently she instructed. "You stay put!" And in a gentle soothing voice which I don't remember ever hearing from her before, she replied "Are you at home? If not, get home! I will get quicker and more accurate answers about him, through my network. Will call you in an hour or two and provide updates. Go home now" and she hung up.
Realising that both her reasoning and her resources were far superior to mine, I had no other choice but to proceed home with my housemates.
Reaching home, I made a beeline to the drinks cabinet and before I could get out my favourite Glenlivet, Helen stopped me. "Have some wine! You will have to stay awake for who knows how long! Have some wine and cheese! Save your stomach from perforation!" Agreeing to her logic, I got a bottle of red and filled up a generous quantity in a wine glass and started sipping from it. Afreen quickly got some cheese and sandwiches. I asked my homies to go to bed, but they refused.
I switched on the TV. All the shows on all the channels were dedicating airtime only to today's events at the Six Nations match. As usual, the cameras caught a lot of punching, kicking and eye-gouging, which as per the news anchor was the special entertainment section of every Six Nations match between these two countries.
