Medical School for Dummies- Part 2

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    Haily threw her hair into a messy ponytail. She took a brief sip of her coffee, then placed the mug back onto the counter. Camille mosied out into the kitchen, looking groggy and tired.
    "Does a certain college grad friend of mine have a hangover?" Haily asked.
    Camille rubbed her temple. "Ohh, just a little bit." She looked up at Haily. "Why don't you?"
    Haily rolled her eyes. "Someone had to be you and Sandy's designated driver for the night, don't you remember?" Haily handed Camille and already-prepared cup of coffee from the counter. "That means you owe me a night of designated driving, by the way."
    Camille took the coffee and mumbled something that sounded like "Mm", then sat down at the kitchen table.
    Haily sighed and sat down with her. "I still can't believe it."
    Camille looked up absentmindedly. "Hmm?"
    "Camille, we graduated college yesterday." Haily said. "We actually made it through, like... alive."
    Camille smirked a little. "I know. It's going to take me at least another four years to comprehend that much."
    Haily sighed. "Sooo... what now?" She stood to pour herself some more coffee from the pot as Camille took another sip.
    "I'll tell you what now." Camille started. "We keep these minimum wage jobs we all have so we can pay off all the late rent on this apartment and we wait for those god damn acceptance letters to come. Once they do, we pack out shit and it's sionara Boston, Hello New York. From there we try like hell to find a new apartment, even if it's the tiniest ugliest thing in New York, we get new minimum wage jobs to pay for it, and then we work our asses off to become three successful women."
      Sandy poked her head up from the couch in the tiny, adjoining living room. "New York? Success? Coffee? It's probably time to get up." Sandy pulled herself from the couch and trudged over to pour herself some coffee. She smoothed her sleep-mused dirty blond hair back with one hand and carried her cup to the table with the other, joining Haily and Camille. "Before we start arguing, I just want to let you guys know that I'm not getting the mail this morning. I did it yesterday."
    Haily and Camille both groaned, hoping not to find a grad school letter they couldn't bear to open but at the same time wishing it would just come. Haily sighed. "It's my turn anyway." She stood and slipped her fuzzy slippers onto her feet, then pushed the door open and headed down the stoop. Though it was the end of may, the morning chill gave her goosebumps. Reluctantly, she advanced towards the mail box. She opened it slowly and the hinges made an obnoxiously loud creeek. "junk," Haily recited aloud. "Phone bill, catalog,--" Something suddenly caught her eye. It was a long, thin envelope addresses to Camille Sommers. In the top left hand corner of the envelope, the sender was printed on a blue sticker as "New York University".
    "Camille!" Haily called loudly as she turned and ran back inside. "Camille!"
    "What?" Camille turned and faced Haily who was holding a life determining letter in front of her.
    "It-it's for you." Haily stuttered.
    Camille stood very still and silent. She slowly reached out her hand and took the letter from Haily, examining it between her fingers. She burned a hole through it with her piercing stare. After examining it for at least a few minutes, she simply sat down at the table. "I'm not opening it. Not now anyway. I might as well wait until you two get your letters."
    simultaneously, the three of them let their glances fall on the letter. Camille wasn't even wearing an identifiable facial expression. Finally, she mumbled, "I heard that skinny, long envelopes like that mean rejection."
    Haily shook her head. "That's ridiculous Cam"
    Sandy immediately joined in. "Yeah, five letters of recommendation, a GPA higher that Haily's IQ (Haily glared at this), about a thousand extra curricular activities, and you submitted two amazing screen plays just for the hell of it."
    "They were amazing." Haily agreed. "Seriously, if they reject you, they're insane."
    Camille sighed. "I couldn't care less about their sanity." Her voice went thick. "I still really want to go."
    Haily didn't say anything. She knew there was absolutely nothing to be said until that letter was opened. "Well, I need to go get a shower, I'm working at nine." She dumped her coffee in the sink, then trudged back to the bathroom to prepare for her first day as a college graduate.
   

..........

    Haily frowned as she studied the crossword puzzle in front of her. "11 letters." She said aloud, "Twelve letters for acute blank porphyria. Often abbreviated to A.I.P. and it's a metabolic disorder. Dammit, I know this." She looked from her receptionist chair at a tall, slender woman with long platinum blond hair and an unamused expression standing on the other side of the room. "Any ideas boss?"
    The woman rolled her eyes. "No Haily, none whatsoever. Will you please get your feet off of the counter?"
    Haily sighed and slid her feet to the edge of the sign in counter, letting them fall heavily to the floor. "What's the point, Sav?" She glanced out into the empty parking lot, then back into the empty tanning salon where she was seated. "I don't see anyone in here, do you? Apparently today isn't the best day to increase your chances of skin cancer."
    Sav sighed heavily. "Still, I just wiped the counter down... which, low and behold, is actually part of your job, not mine." She casually took a lollipop out of the coffee mug that was resting on the counter and sat in the rolling chair next to Haily, gazing out the window at the wet, overcast view of Harvard Square, Cambridge.
    Haily began mumbling to herself. "i-n-t-e-r-m-i-t-t-e-n-t... that's twelve, right?"
    Sav laughed softly. "Would it offend you if I told you that you are the biggest geek I know?"
    Haily grinned. "It isn't anything I haven't heard before." Her smile then slowly faded, and she sighed. "I can't believe that in a few weeks, I won't be working here anymore."
    Sav smiled reassuringly "You're going to be in medical school, Haily. Somehow, I doubt you'll be missing much."
    Haily looked down. She hesitated before answering, "That is, if I get into medical school. If I don't, well, my life may be over, but I'll still move to New York to support Camille and Sandy."
    Sav shook her head, smiling. "Right, you have a degree from Tufts University in cognitive and brain sciences and graduated with a 4.0. if you don't get in, I'm pretty sure your life is far from over."
    Haily looked up at Sav, unable to suppress a smile. "My point was that I'm going to miss you, the salon, and my cozy little apartment. Not only do I have to go find a new job, but now I have to find a new boss to manipulate too."