Impuls

The smell of coffee and cookies is soothing, and Emily lets herself linger at the counter for a moment, gazing out a large window with paper airplanes glued to it, at Turner Street. A stack of colored squares is freely available on the windowsill, and Emily, unable to resist, folds an unsophisticated figure.

And then – very unexpectedly for herself – she pulls out a pen and writes on the fold: NEVROLOGY. A piece of scotch tape and the bright orange airplane finds its place among others like it.

Emily herself does not know why she did it, but Mr. Co

The door creaks open, and two voices, male and female, fill the coffee shop with frantic energy:

– What, R&H coffee no longer works for us?

– We need to drive more carefully.

– How did you tie these factors together?!

Still looking out the window, Emily freezes in place: she recognizes the Clark couple perfectly. In the reflection, she sees Charlie's disheveled curls and the perfectly styled (by chaos and wind) blond hair of the neurosurgeon whose name she never learned.

– Double, and more caffeine," Clark voices u

– Milk and syrup! – Charlie finishes.

– No coffee? – The barista says cautiously.

– Half a cup," the psychiatrist graciously allows.

Emily lowers her gaze and pulls her head into her shoulders, trying to blend into the space; but trouble evades her – Clark-whose-woman quickly picks up her cup, says something to her brother in a low voice, and leaves, closing the door carefully behind her. Charlie is left waiting, leaning against the bar and dropping the incessant calls on the phone every now and then.

And then…

– Miss Johnson, I know it's not the best omen to see my sister in the morning, but I thought you didn't believe in them.

– Who? – Emily turned, blushing to the tips of her ears.

– In omens," Charlie repeats patiently.

He didn't look like a doctor at all, Emily thought to herself as she glanced around him, his short parka, his backpack, his worn sneakers. His dark eyes reflected the light from the light bulbs that hung from the ceiling like garlands. Charlie sprinkles his coffee generously with ci

– I'm sorry.

Charlie waves it away:

– Never mind. Have you made a wish?

– What?

Why, why does he make her feel so stupid when she's around him?

– You should have a stronger coffee," Clark laughed. – Origami. – He points to the paper airplanes. – They write their wishes and glue them to the glass. As soon as it comes true, they take the airplane off. You didn't know that?

Emily shakes her head.

– It's my first time here. Somehow… it wrote itself, – she answers honestly. – Do you think it's stupid?

– No." Charlie shakes his head. – No," Charlie shakes his head. "It's great. That you believe in something like that. We all need a little bit of magic sometimes. – He closes his glass with the lid and heads for the exit. – Have a nice day, Miss Johnson.

The door slams shut.

Emily scolds herself: she should have said something, maybe been more polite, said hello, for example. But she doesn't have time for self-consciousness – she grabs her coffee and storms out of the coffee shop: she's minutes away from the start of her work day.

But now she knows what kind of coffee they like in the Clark family.

* * *

– Johnson, get in here now!

Melissa, who was just telling Rebecca off, turns to Emily. She looks menacing: in her hand, the head nurse has another mountain of files – paper, stapled heavy staples, they balance on the bend of her elbow.

– Don't change your clothes!

Emily frantically goes over all of her screw-ups in her head – she could get fired for anything, just as she could get promoted. Forgotten bandages, unthrown garbage, even a stain on her robe – Royal Hospital is too strict about that.

I should have said hello to Clark.

While Rebecca removes the top layer of makeup and Dana adjusts her high stockings, Melissa stands across from Emily and hands her a sheet in a clear file.

– I just got it," she informs her. – Clark really asked to have you transferred to neurology, they never got anyone there after they got sick. So take the thirteen and don't forget to check in. – Grumbles: – That's how you come to work, and a man's gone off the staff. Who will work for you, I ask you?

– What?

BOOM!

It was the ball, falling downward at lightning speed, that bounced off the ground and ricocheted back into the sky.

Emily's legs shook.

Charlie. Why Charlie? They'd only seen each other a couple of times, hadn't even spoken to each other; it would have been more realistic to get a transfer request from Harmon or Higgins, though they probably didn't even know her name. But Charlie?

Charlie Clark!

Who asked very much for a translation.

Translate!

Emily feels something burning in her chest.

She knows how lingering it is, waiting to be noticed, to be taken under the wing of experienced doctors, to be given a real job, to be guided and forced to learn. Dana is wi

It's all so mundane, so transparent, but it's still happiness, even if it's simple as hell, stupid as hell. Not to be involved in endless ru

And then Emily realizes that's the end.

Because if you're noticed, you're no longer invisible.

And she doesn't know if she needs it that way; because when they take off your mojo of invisibility, all that light-reflecting foil, you become someone else. Not yourself.