Chapter 2

"Dr. Jenkins, hello. I'm Cindy Sawyer." Her voice was steadier than I expected, but there was a bit of awkwardness.

She said, "I know you rejected my application. I'm not here to beg you to reconsider. I just want to ask you something, face to face."

I replied, "Go ahead."

She looked straight at me, speaking each word clearly. "Is it because of my sister?"

I leaned against the edge of my desk, leaving a solid gap between us. "What did your sister tell you?"

"She didn't say anything." Cindy lifted her chin a little. "But I'm not stupid. I know you and she used to be close. I also know you two stopped talking."

"If you already know all that, then why did you apply to my department?"

Cindy's fingers tightened around her backpack strap. "Because you're the best mentor in neurosurgery at Harmony General Hospital.

"Last year, the brainstem tumor resection you led was named the best case of the year at the neurosurgery conference. I want to learn from you. This is my professional choice."

"There are other great mentors at Harmony General Hospital."

"But you're the best."

She didn't mince words.

I was silent for a few seconds. Then I said, "Cindy, let me ask you something."

Cindy replied, "Go ahead."

"Did Claire marry Eric?"

Cindy froze for a second, clearly not expecting that question. "Yeah. Last year."

"Alright." My expression didn't change. "My answer hasn't changed. You can go now."

"Dr. Jenkins—"

"I told you, this is a professional judgment. You're not a good fit for my team. If you're set on Harmony General Hospital, you can apply to Dr. Shaw's group or Professor Adam's in orthopedics. They're both excellent mentors."

Cindy didn't budge. "I don't accept that."

I asked, "What?"

"I said I don't accept that reason." Her voice was stubborn. "If you're rejecting me because of my sister, that's not fair to me. I'm not her."

Looking at this girl, barely twenty-four or twenty-five, I couldn't help but find it all a bit absurd.

Fair? Who ever cared about fairness when Claire and Eric wrecked seven years of my life?

But I kept those words to myself.

I said, "Cindy, after all these years in med school, you should know one thing. On the operating table, the lead surgeon's judgment is final. No need to explain to anyone."

I walked to the door and opened it. "See yourself out."

Cindy clenched her fists, silent.

She paused as she walked past me. "Dr. Jenkins, I won't give up."

The door closed behind her.

I went back to my desk and sat down.

Not giving up? I would like to see who could outlast the other.

*****

The next week, my life went on as usual.

From Monday to Friday, my schedule was packed with clinics, surgeries, and rounds. And on the weekend, I had to get ready for a mid-term defense for a research project.

But beneath the calm, the undercurrents never stopped.

Thursday afternoon, Reece from the medical department called again.

He asked, "Natalie, do you have a minute?"

I replied, "Go ahead."

"I wanted to give you an update on Cindy. Her application's been moved to the waitlist. If you don't accept her, she'll be assigned to another department. But—"

"But what?"

"She's filed a review request. Her reason is that the rejection doesn't match the facts, and her clinical focus is a perfect fit for your department. She even attached a detailed document to back it up."

"She has the right to request a review."

"She does, but now it'll have to go through the academic committee. You might have to answer a few questions."

"No problem."

Reece chuckled on the other end. "You're really something. Alright, I'll let you know when it's time."

After hanging up, I opened my email.

Sure enough, the hospital's academic committee had already sent out a notice. There was a meeting next Tuesday afternoon, and one of the topics was "Resident Training Review Request."

I clicked on Cindy's review materials and took a look.

It was impressively thorough. The logic was clear, the references were solid, and she even listed every paper I'd published and every type of surgery I'd performed in the past three years, arguing point by point how she was a perfect fit.

Cindy really put in the effort. But she didn't realize this was never about academics to begin with.

I closed the file and started prepping for next week's defense. I could take whatever was coming my way.

*****

Friday night, I got off work early for once. I called a cab at the hospital entrance, ready to head home.

As soon as I got in, my phone buzzed.

It was a WhatsApp message. The contact name was Eric.

I stared at the screen for three seconds.

I'd blocked his number before and changed my number twice. I also had a new WhatsApp account. How did he even find me?

I opened the message.

It read: [Natalie, long time no see. I heard about Cindy. Can we talk? If it's okay, I'll call you.]

I put my phone back in my pocket.

Outside the window, the city's neon lights lit up one by one.

It had been seven years.

Eric hadn't changed at all. He still thought the whole world should go along with him.

I didn't bother replying and went straight to the settings.

I blocked him from seeing my status and sending me messages.

After that, I tossed my phone into my bag and closed my eyes.

The car glided smoothly through the night.

I was fed up with these people bothering me.

*****

Tuesday afternoon, 2 pm, at the academic committee meeting room.

Twelve people sat on either side of the long conference table. They were academic leaders and department heads from across the hospital.

Peter sat diagonally across from me and gave me a slight nod.

The first half of the meeting was about other topics, so I waited quietly.

It was time for the resident training review. Our vice president, Max Mcleod, who was running the meeting, opened his folder.

He asked, "Dr. Jenkins, regarding Cindy Sawyer's review request, could you please briefly explain your reasons for rejecting her?"

I stood up and explained, "Cindy's research from undergrad to master's was mostly basic neuroscience. Out of her three published papers, two were about animal models, and one was a radiomics analysis.

"My mentorship is all about clinical surgical skills and making decisions in the OR. Honestly, we're on totally different tracks."

Max flipped through the materials in his hands.

He said, "But in her request, Cindy mentioned that she observed three skull base surgeries in undergrad and participated in the preoperative planning for two surgeries during her master's. She believes her clinical foundation is solid."

"Watching and actually doing surgery are two totally different things," I replied, keeping my tone calm but firm. "Just because you helped plan a surgery doesn't mean you can handle the pressure when you're actually in the OR.

"My style is to have residents scrub in as second assistant within the first month, which takes real clinical intuition and nerves of steel. When I pick students, I don't just look at grades.

"I care about their hands-on potential and whether they fit my team. After looking at everything, I don't think she's ready for my group right now."

The room went quiet for a few seconds.

Then, an administrator at the far end of the table spoke up. "Dr. Jenkins, I know the resident you took last year didn't have any surgical experience either. She came from the rehabilitation department. How do you explain that?"

I glanced at him. I didn't recognize him, but the way he was sitting indicated he was an admin type.

I replied, "That student didn't have surgical experience, but her sports medicine background gave her a rock-solid understanding of human anatomy. She showed amazing spatial thinking during the interview. That's a whole different story from Cindy."

He looked like he wanted to ask more, but Peter cut in, "Let me jump in for a second. The main point of the academic committee's review is to check if the rejection breaks any rules.

"Dr. Jenkins' reasons fall under the mentor's professional autonomy, which is spelled out clearly in Article 14 of our hospital's resident training regulations."

Max nodded and didn't press further.

The final vote: nine votes to uphold the original decision, two abstentions, one against. The review was rejected.