Never Break

Chapter Five: Hospital Drama

Ralph stared at the door intently. It creaked open slight revealing a disheveled Mr. Smith sitting on the bench.

He was wearing a white shirt that was crinkled everywhere. There were  eye bags the size of teacups under his eyes. His face was pale like an onion and it seemed he didn't sleep for days. He stormed in as soon as Ralph's family went outside.

'Good gracious God! Thank god! Mr Murphy! You are alright! I am so relieved!' he exclaimed as soon as he saw Ralph sitting up, eyes wide open. He entered the room, trembling slightly and sat on a chair beside Ralph that was previously occupied by his sister.

'Mr Murphy I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am. I really shouldn't have left you alone that day. If I hadn't, all this wouldn't have happened. I am truly sorry.' he said with a penitent look at Ralph.

Ralph smiled slightly at that.

'It's okay Mr Smith,' he said, 'I'm sure it wasn't your fault. It was...that horrid engineer's.' Ralph tried to joke...to make Mr Smith forget about that incidence.

'Would you please kindly tell me what happened after I passed out?'

'Well, you see Mr Murphy, your assumption that the cement was a cheap one not fit for use was correct. The worker you saw had leaned against the wall, as he was slightly tipsy. The wall broke due to his weight and he fell down as you saw. It was because the wall was too weak.'

'I knew he was heavy.' Ralph joked again, earning a dry chuckle from Mr Smith. Nevertheless, he continued.

'A bunch of trusted engineers of the company are currently inspecting the walls on each floor to see how many of them are made of the cheap cement. The engineer who committed the fraud has been fired and then sent to jail.'

Ralph nodded, understanding everything.

'Oh! And Mr Murphy, you would be happy to know that since you were so loyal and intelligent, Mr Daniels has not fired you!' Mr. Smith informed smiling slightly, happy at Ralph's success.

Ralph was very surprised. He was expecting a lot of things. He was expecting his boss to be angry. He was expecting to be fired.

What he wasn't expecting was a promotion...from being sacked. His eyes widened. Not believing Mr. Smith at all. When the news finally settled in his mind, he became curious.

'Mr. Smith?' he began, his eyes narrowed slightly.

'Y-yes, sir?'

'You are an intern in our company aren't you?' he asked.

'Well, umm, you see Mr Murphy, Mr Daniels was sceptic about my skills. He wanted to send me with a skilled actuary so that he, the skilled one, could give him feedback on whether he should employ me or not.'

Ralph nodded. It wasn't surprising his boss would do that. He wanted the best of the best and he made sure he got it.

He contemplated whether Mr. Smith was good enough or not. He didn't want to accept nor reject him on basis of a short meeting.

'Well it seems I couldn't make my judgements due to the circumstances. I will ask Mr Daniels for another day of practice.' Ralph concluded.

Mr. Smith beamed. He looked like the happiest man alive.

'Oh thank you, Mr Murphy! Thank you so, so much! The boss did in fact told me to inform you there's another site at Manchester that needs visiting, we can go there after you recover!'

The smile Ralph had at seeing Mr Smith's joy fell instantly. He was hoping they could work in the cubicles but....... Ralph slapped his forehead. '

'Not another site! Not again! This time I am spared with my life...maybe next time...I WOULDN'T BE LUCKY ENOUGH!'

'I-is there s-something wrong, sir?' Mr. Smith asked nervously.

'No, no everything is..... Fine.' Ralph sighed disappointed.

'Oh...o-okay' Mr. Smith replied...still unsure.

Ralph realised that besides that one certain person Mr. Smith was the first person he could talk properly to. He felt relieved. And happy.

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That's chapter five for you chucks!

We know that it's not funny enough...but that's what we got. :-).

Sorry for typos and bloopers... :-)