Part 3: Intermediate
Neil wanted the others to stop looking at him. He wanted them to look at the patient. Or look at the machine. It was the one working now.
As the computer made noises while it worked, Neil looked at Sam. Sam’s beard rustled against his mask as he smiled and breathed out with excitement. Neil felt comfortable when he saw his friend standing happily.
Neil’s name was actually Alexander MacNeil, but on his first day of work Sam gave Neil his nickname, stating that it was too hard to remember two very long names. Sam also asked Neil to call him “Sam,” and he never told Neil his last name. Sam was casual from the first time he met Neil, and this made Neil feel annoyed. But after ten years of working together, Neil became used to his nickname. He also became used to Sam.
Neil and Sam usually spent their lunch breaks in Sam’s car. They listened to the band Metallica quietly on the car’s speakers while they ate their cafeteria sandwich wraps. Neil was the best doctor at Johns Hopkins, and Sam was an average doctor. But Neil felt comfortable around Sam because all of the other doctors used big, fancy words. Sam just talked to Neil like a normal person.
Neil heard a sound and was distracted from his memory. A message appeared on Neil’s computer screen with the final report: “100% of HIV cells found. The computer will begin genome editing. The patient’s condition is safe.” Neil turned off the machine and felt very relieved.
Part 4>
Fun for Fluency! 