Ethereal Love (Book 2 LS Series)

Chapter 48

Skipper's POV

For the first time in my life, I feel big.

I've always been a physically small person. From Kindergarten on, I was always the shortest person in each of my classes. Until puberty, I was the skinniest too- but that changed when my body turned from a noodle, to a hilly countryside.

I stopped growing when I was twelve. I'd just begun to bleed monthly, and I was uncomfortable with myself. I was soft spoken, invisible beneath the heads of my fellow classmates. At least when I met Michael I didn't feel invisible anymore, in fact I felt too exposed.

But now, in this moment, standing alone on a stage before thousands of other surgeons who have come from distant places for the purpose of hearing me speak, I feel big. Advertisements were made. Tickets were sold. And as I showed my power points on the overhead, as I shared the knowledge I alone had collected, I was the biggest person on the planet.

I walked along the edge of the stage, examining the bright faces that stared back at me. Some were interns, sitting beside their residents and scribbling my every word furiously into their notebooks. Some were the resident surgeons, who stared at me with awe and envy. Some where the most seasoned attending surgeons, who knew I was only fifteen, yet hung on my every word, and nodded in agreement with my statements.

Still, I found myself searching the crowd for a pair of sparkling green eyes, and a playful half-smile. I searched for a red bandanna, and a black baseball hat turned backwards. I wished desperately that Will was somewhere among the throngs of doctors, watching me too. But he wasn't.

Cameras recorded my every move, broadcasting my findings to doctors all over the world. Maybe Will is one of them.

The lights shine down on me, every pair of eyes in the room focus on me as I finish my speech. There is still much do be done, I tell them. This is just a start.

I let a long and lingering silence occur, as I sweep the room with my eyes again. The medical interns stare up at me expectantly, poised over their notebooks and ready to write. The residents watch me with their skeptical eyes, and the attendings wait patiently.

"Questions?"

A split second passes, before almost every hand in the room shoots up, the interns almost match the curiosity of the seasoned surgeons. "Okay, um..." I walk toward the edge of the stage, and look down.

"You," I instinctively choose the first female I set eyes on. Her hazel eyes light with pleasure, and she speaks up loudly. "Yes, um, how did you first begin this investigation?" Everyone leans in to hear my answer, and I grin. "Good first question. Well, one day, a man with 'GRID' stumbled into the ER, and everyone cleared a circle around him. I didn't understand why nobody was tending to the man. At that moment, I didn't know he had GRID, and he was asking for help. Being a doctor, I went and helped him. At this point, my boss was screaming at me. He didn't want me to 'catch GRID.'"

The whole auditorium laughs. "I was the only one in the entire ER who helped that man. Even after we admitted him, everyone avoided him like they would catch the disease from standing next to him. I just... knew something was wrong. So I launched my own investigation. Next question?"

After an insane amount of really insightful questions, I end the seminar. The round of applause is definitely the best part, when everyone in the room, interns and surgeons alike, rises to their feet to show me their support.

Forget the billboards, that is the only recognition I'll ever need. With a final wave, I skitter backstage.

"You were so amazing!" Michael wraps his arms around my middle, squeezing me to his chest as he greets me. "Thanks," I laugh, leaning into him and wrapping my arms around his neck.