A Weekend with Dr. Ramsey

The Library

Landry Olsen, for better or worse, existed, and he was sitting right in front of her.

Instinctively, Charlie wanted to avoid him at all costs. Without any conscious effort, she was already devising an exit strategy that involved stealthily collecting her books and retreating to the deepest, darkest part of the library. And she might have followed through on that plan had it not outraged some deep part of her still bitter about his behavior.

Landry Olsen had taken enough away from her – her trust, her friendship, and potentially her career— and Charlie was not about to hand him the library, too.

With a defiant glint in her eyes, Charlie marched through the rows of books to the desk where Landry obliviously skimmed a medical textbook. Each step she took towards him was emboldening and powerful, and by the time she reached the little traitor, she felt like a walking hurricane ready to wreak havoc on her former friend.

"Olsen."

Charlie's chilling greeting was accompanied by the thud of her medical law textbook on the table, both of which left jolted the young doctor who had unknowingly encountered her wrath. Landry jumped, looking up at her with absolute terror before trying to settle into the appearance of a cold, angry opponent.

"Charlie, I was just-" Landry stammered, but Charlie cut him off when she peered over his shoulder to the computer screen in front of him. An email draft was still lingering on the screen, addressed to his former roommates and warning them that he would be moving out while they were all at work the next morning.

"Email... Wow," Charlie scoffed, crossing her shoulders across her chest as she levied a menacing glare in his direction, "What's it like to be such a coward that you have to hide behind a computer screen just to talk to your former friends? Are you merely wallowing in shame for betraying the people who cared about you, or do you fear Jackie's superior strength?"

"I'm not a coward!" Landry insisted, his voice peaking at a boyish high that made him seem more like a middle schooler than a grown adult, "You're the one who brainwashed the entire apartment into excommunicating me. I'm merely diagnosing the situation – that's what makes me a good doctor."

"Only the seventh-best," Charlie didn't hesitate to remind him of his insecurity regarding his ranking, but when she saw him flinch at the mention, she felt a momentary wave of guilt.

"One of us is being investigated for ethics violations, and it's not me," Landry sneered, "Who's the best now?"

Charlie's face twisted into that of horror and outrage at his statement, and her blood boiled until she could feel the rushing heat to her cheeks. How dare he? That little shit.

"Do you want to know the difference between the two of us?" Charlie leaned in, placing her hands on the edge of the table.

"I have a job, and you don't," Landry quipped.

Charlie slowly shook her head, "I don't hide like you do, Landry. When a patient made a decision about her body and her life, I fought for her. I didn't shrug my shoulders and put my career over her right to choose. When everyone turned on me, I worked harder to gain their respect. When confronted with my actions, I turned myself in and faced the hearing, even if it meant losing my career."

Charlie surveyed Landry, shaking her head before saying, "And what did you do? You got jealous of someone who cared about you, so you put your own ego over the lives of patients. Do you know how irresponsible it was to turn off my pager and lie to the staff? Those weren't merely inconvenient pranks. Real patients suffered because of my inability to treat them in the fasted way possible. You're just a rat, Landry Olsen, and no amount of studying can compensate for how morally bankrupt and selfish you are."