MADMAN'S ARMS

2

Friday, July 19th

"Thank you for your time, Ms. Frazier. I will recall to you in the afternoon to give you a notice," The middle-aged woman with short dark hair and a severe face said as she shook my hand. Her eyes were stiff brown looking into mine, and with her straight, all-black uniform, she terrified me a bit, but I hid my emotions and kindly smiled at her to show her my greatness.

"Thank you so much, Ms. Schwartz, I can't wait to hear from you!"

"Margret in the reception will help you out of the gates," The woman said while looking down at a paper on her desk, showing no more interest in me. I nodded my head and smiled at the woman once again even if she couldn't see it, then I opened the creaky door to leave her office.

I was filled with hope and happiness as I walked through the cold, mysterious hallways. I didn't want to be too excited, I hadn't got the job yet. But I couldn't help to feel proud of my accomplishment. I smiled for myself all the way down the long corridor of the first floor of the hospital.

I looked around out of curiosity and didn't witness much more than the dusty lamps on the walls. Some of them warmly lit up the otherwise dark corridor and some of them flashed with the bulb screaming to be changed into a new one.

I passed by a pair of young nurses dressed in their uniforms, grey knee-long dresses with a white apron highlighting their waist, and white tied shoes with the smallest heel, leaving a tapping sound as they walked over the stone floor. Their nurse's caps were perfectly placed on their heads, making their hair stay in place probably for the whole day.

The two younger women smiled at me as we passed by each other. They both looked very friendly, which made the hope grow even stronger inside me. I really wanted this, I wanted to be one of them.

I continued to walk towards the entrance to search for the woman in the reception, and when I reached the big, a lot brighter entrance of the hospital, I kindly smiled at the older woman behind the reception desk and walked over to her.

"Hello, are you Margret? Ms. Schwartz told me you could help get out the gates?" I inquired as I looked at the small, tubby woman with curled blonde hair ending just beneath her ear. She inspected me with her enlarged eyes behind the round glasses before she smiled back at me.

"Of course, dear," She winked.

"Oh, Donald, would you help this young lady out the gates?" Margret shouted over the room as she waved her hand at one of the guardsmen standing by the big entrance doors. The dark-skinned, handsome man walked over to me and he looked at Margret with a friendly face before he pierced his gaze on me and I met his face with a bright smile.

"Anything for you, Margret," He said as he winked at her. The older woman's cheeks got rosier than before and the man, as I understood was by the name of Donald, giggled.

The tall man began his way towards the doors and I followed his steps. In front of the high, black gate, Donald picked up a keychain from a pocket of his navy uniform trousers and used one of the many rattling keys to get the gate opened. I glanced at him once more before I walked out of the area.

"Thank you, Donald," I said in delight.

"My pleasure, miss?" The man answered while looking at me with questioning eyes.