Paging Dr. Morgendorffer
Quinn sat there in her cap and gown listening to the speaker talk about how they started out as a larger group all those years ago. His delivery had ring of being the same one he delivered to each class. As the boredom overtook her, she looked down at her feet.
揗s. Morgendorffer??/p>
Quinn looked up at the receptionist. 揧es??/p>
揟hey抮e ready for you.?/p>
揟hanks.?/p>
Standing up, Quinn smoothed a wrinkle out of her skirt, took a deep breath and entered the room.
When she was inside she saw three people sitting behind a table with a single chair in front of them. The woman in the middle looked at a piece of paper on a clipboard then spoke.
揌ello Ms. Morgendorffer. Please sit down.?/p>
Quinn went over and sat in the chair. It wasn抰 too comfortable but Stan had warned her this was something they did on interviews sometimes as a test so she played it cool. After taking a second to adjust herself to something acceptable she didn抰 move again.
The man on the right looked at a piece of paper, then looked at her and said, 揧ou have good grades but not as high as some of the other applicants. Would you care to explain why??/p>
Swallowing, Quinn said, 揑 did have a little trouble with some of my non-science courses. I will admit a weakness in that area. English has always been a difficult subject for me.?/p>
The woman on the other end looked at Quinn.
揋ood communication skills are essential if you wish to be a doctor. Science is only a part of what you will do. You have to know many things if you wish to succeed in this or anything you do in life.?/p>
Quinn bowed her head.
揑 understand.?/p>
The woman in the middle spoke again.
揂s previously stated, there are several more applicants for our program with better grades than yours. While that is part of the qualifications we use to determine who will be accepted it抯 not the only one. So tell us. Why do you want to be a doctor??/p>
Quinn smiled and began to relate how she spent her summers with Stan at the hospital learning what the doctors did, how she was impressed with the level of dedication they had to helping others, and how she discovered that she wanted to be a part of this field. When she finished she looked at all three interviewers. None had any expression on their faces. It seemed to Quinn they had heard the story many times before.
The man opened a folder and looked at her. 揗s. Morgendorffer. I have to say that is an interesting story. You must have definitely made an impact on those you worked with in Lawndale.?As he spoke he took several pieces of paper from the folder. 揢sually a prospective student has one, possibly two, letters of recommendation from a doctor or mentor. In your case we have received eight letters from staff members at the hospital.?/p>
Quinn couldn抰 believe it. 揧ou have??she asked.
As he sorted through the pile of letters, he said, 揧es. Here抯 a letter from a Dr. Willis, one from a Dr. Bert, and even one from the hospital administrator. We抳e never received one from an administrator before. We have to admit to being a little impressed.?/p>
Smiling, Quinn relaxed slightly. This definitely made her feel better. She didn抰 know her friends had done that for her. Sitting there, she suddenly felt that she could handle anything else they asked her.
The woman of the far end interrupted Quinn抯 moment.
揥e can see that you抮e pleased. You should feel good about that. Now we just have a few more questions for you.?/p>
The rest of the interview went well. They asked her many different things, some of which were medical related but many seemed to be focused to determine if she had the dedication to stay with the program. After several more minutes the interview was over. As Quinn stood up, the woman in the middle spoke.
揟hank you Ms. Morgendorffer. We抣l let you know our decision soon.?/p>
Quinn said, 揟hank you.?and left the room.
The applause snapped Quinn out of her dream, another speech down, one more to go. She saw the hospital administrator step up to the podium. As he began talking about what the future held for them and what their responsibilities were she glanced around the crowd trying to find her family. She eventually saw the faces of Daria, Stan, Jake, and Helen. When she found them, Helen smiled at her. Smiling back, Quinn remembered that day.
As all three sat in the living room, Helen asked, 揝o how is school going??/p>
揊ine.?Quinn said. 揑t抯 tough but I抦 enjoying it. It doesn抰 leave much time for other things but I know it抯 worth it.?/p>
揥e know you haven抰 been home much since you started.?Jake said. 揃ut we understand. It抯 just nice to see you now.?/p>
Quinn bowed her head.
揑 wish Mom felt that way.?/p>
Helen looked confused.
揥hat do you mean??/p>
Quinn sighed and said, 揑t抯 just when I talk about school she asks me to stop. It seems like her stomach can抰 handle it. I never thought she would be that way about this.?/p>
Helen smiles at Quinn. She was quietly amused at what she heard. 揑抦 sure she抯 not trying to hurt your feelings.?she said. 揑t抯 just that people change.?/p>
Looking at Helen, Quinn said, 揑 don抰 understand.?/p>
Turning to look at Jake, Helen asked him to get the box. Jake looked confused for a second then realized what she was referring to. After he left the room, Helen looked back at Quinn.
揥hen Daria was younger than you she had many different interests. We knew she would never be a doctor but she had an obsession with certain facets of medicine.?/p>
揕ike what??Quinn asked.
Just then, Jake returned with a large cardboard box. As he set it down he looked at Helen.
揥ell here it is. If you don抰 mind I抎 prefer not to see this.?
Helen nodded. She understood. It wasn抰 something she was too thrilled at looking at either. After Jake left, Helen gestured to the box.
揟his is what I抦 talking about.?/p>
Quinn leaned over and removed the lid. When she looked inside she couldn抰 believe what she saw. Reaching in, she pulled out a replica of a diseased kidney. 揥ow! This is amazing.?she said. 揟hese are almost impossible to find and they are in great shape.?Looking up at Helen, she asked, 揧ou mean Mom bought all of these??/p>
揥ith the help of my credit cards.?Helen said.
As she dug through the box, Quinn couldn抰 believe all the items in there.
揥hat made her change so much??/p>
Smiling, Helen shrugged, 揑 guess time changed her attitude and desire to see that kind of stuff. There抯 noting wrong with that. People抯 interests change as they get older.?/p>
Playing with a severed right arm, Quinn was so fascinated with her new toys she barely heard what Helen said.
揋randma??/p>
揧es Quinn??/p>
揇o you want to keep these or can I take them back to school with me? They would be invaluable for many of my classes.?/p>
揑 don抰 mind but technically they belong to Daria.?Helen said. 揧ou抣l have to ask her.?/p>
Quinn put the arm down and looked at her grandma. 揌ow do I do that??she asked.
Helen smiled.
揓ust ask. All she can do is say no. But I doubt she抣l refuse. I figure she抯 completely forgotten about those things. She hasn抰 asked about them in years.?/p>
That afternoon, as she walked down the hallway, Daria heard noises coming from Quinn抯 room. It sounded like Stan and Quinn were laughing. After knocking on the door, she heard Quinn抯 voice.
揧es??/p>
換uinn. It抯 me. May I come in??/p>
揝ure.?/p>
When Daria opened the door she was in shock. Scattered all over the room were all those skulls and organs she had ordered when she was a kid.
揥here did you find those??/p>
Smiling, Quinn said, 揋randma gave them to me. She said they were yours.?/p>
Daria nodded, 揟hey were. I can抰 believe she kept them.?/p>
Stan spoke up, 揑 can抰 believe you were holding out on me. I haven抰 seen many of these since I was an intern. And you had a whole carton of these all the time.?/p>
Interrupting, Quinn looked at Daria.
揗om. Would you mind if I took these to school. These would be very useful.?/p>
Daria wasn抰 sure. 揑 don抰 know.?she said. After thinking about it for a second she decided it would be okay if they didn抰 all vanish at once. While she had forgotten about them she kind of wanted to keep them around now. She didn抰 know why but she seemed to have more sentimental attachment than she would have figured. 揥ell okay.?she said. 揃ut you can抰 take them all. Just take what you think you抣l need. Leave the rest in your closet for when you will need them later.?/p>
揟hanks Mom.?Quinn said.
揧ou抮e welcome.?After looking around the room, she looked at both of them, then said, 揘ow you two clean up this mess. And Quinn, hang up your coat.?/p>
Fanny fatigue was setting in. As she adjusted herself in the seat Quinn caught the administrator talking about the late night study sessions. Slowly her mind drifted again.
All six people were sitting around the table. Alice looked over at Quinn.
揑抦 sorry if you抮e still having trouble understanding this but the exam is in four hours. We would all like to get a little rest so we don抰 fall asleep during the test.?/p>
As the others closed their books and gathered their belongings, Quinn was desperate. 揚lease. Let抯 go over it one more time.?she begged.
揧ou know this stuff Quinn. You抣l do alright.?Rex said, 揓ust get some rest okay??/p>
After they all left, Quinn sat at the table looking at her notes. She wished they抎 stayed a little while longer. As hard as she tried, it was difficult working alone. Reluctantly, she reached over and dialed the number.
On the other end of the line the phone rang. Daria answered.
揌ello??/p>
When she heard Quinn抯 voice, Daria knew what she wanted. 揙ne second.?she said. Rolling over, she nudged Stan awake.
揥hat is it??he asked.
揑t抯 Quinn.?Daria said.
Taking the phone, Stan said, 揙kay.?/p>
Getting out of bed, he headed to the kitchen. These late night study sessions required at least one bottle of water. As he walked down the hall, he put the phone to his ear.
揌ey Quinn. What抯 the problem??/p>
Once more, the applause roused her out of her dream. It was time for them to proceed to the podium to receive their diplomas. After accepting hers, Quinn walked back to her seat. Looking up at her family she noticed Daria had a smile on her face. This wasn抰 any ordinary smile. This was one she had only seen a few times before. The last time she witnessed it was the day she signed the adoption papers. Again, her mind drifted back.
She was sitting at the kitchen table. Daria was across from her. Taking a sip of coffee, Quinn shook her head.
揑 just don抰 know how much more I can take. It抯 so rough. They keep us up for days at a stretch and the routine is non-stop. I want to stick with it but there抯 one more year of this. I抦 afraid I抣l crack before it抯 done.?/p>
Daria put her cup down and looked her daughter in the eyes.
揇on抰 EVER say that again. Quinn, you抮e a strong, smart young woman. You have the ability to do whatever you want. I know you can finish this. It抯 only another year then you will be the doctor you have dreamed of becoming for years. I can抰 say I know exactly what you are experiencing but I do know you can handle this.?/p>
Quinn smiled and reached out to take Daria抯 hand.
揟hanks Mom. Of course I抣l stay with it. It抯 just that sometimes I don抰 even remember why I started this. I know it will be over some day but I just need some encouragement from time to time.?/p>
揥ell if you ever need a pep talk, call Stan, but if you need to vent call me.?Daria said. 揥e抮e both here for you. You can count on that.?/p>
Quinn smiled and said, 揟hanks.?/p>
揂nytime.?/p>
The ceremony was soon over. As the new doctors were dismissed Quinn soon found her family. After all the hugs were done Daria spoke up.
揥e抮e all so proud of you Quinn. We knew you would do it.?/p>
Quinn looked at all four of them.
揥ell I couldn抰 have done it alone. Thank you.?/p>
The End
As usual, Daria belongs to MTV. This was written for my own amusement.