Interview [Crystal]

[Kyle Ehrlich]

4 days, 18 hours, 23 minutes since Kyle had last slept

Kyle was sitting cross-legged in the center of one of the infirmary bed. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slowed to an almost unconscious rhythm. He was still dressed in his “normal” attire, sans lab coat. The area of bed surrounding him was covered in papers. If one were to enter the infirmary and look at Kyle, they would probably think he was meditating, and they would be absolutely correct.

This was how Kyle managed to go for days without sleeping. He had learned a long time ago that, though meditation, he could enter a state similar to form of stage 2 NREM. This gave him full control of his body and mind while making him feel rested. Granted, he still did have to get real sleep occasionally, lest his body completely shut down, which was why Kyle was doing interviews for an assistant. The idea had occurred to him a while ago, but he kept finding reasons not to act on it. It also helped that things had be exceptionally quiet, medicine wise, since Kyle had begun working at Somnium.

A beep emanated from Kyle’s pants pocket and his eyes opened. He reached down and silenced the cell phone alarm. 16:25, the next applicant would be arriving any moment. Kyle was becoming a little miffed about the whole interview process. So far he had interviewed two students and neither of them felt like a good fit. He reached down and picked up a stack of papers next to his right leg. Kyle stood and stretched, glancing through the information on top of the papers. He had already reviewed Crystal’s resume, school and medical records, but doing so one more time helped get his mind ready for the interview.

Kyle left the infirmary through a side door and paused upon entering his office; he really did need to clean the place. It was a rather small room, which suited Kyle just fine. Three of the walls had doors leading to the hallway, infirmary, and Kyle’s room respectively. The fourth wall had a window overlooking the gardens. Kyle’s desk and chair stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by bookshelves packed full of a mixture of medical and fiction books. Kyle took a seat behind the desk, shrugging on his lab coat in the process. For the purpose of the interview, he had placed a somewhat comfortable chair opposite his desk. A scalpel, hammer, roll of gauze, stethoscope, and pair of synthetic medical gloves were set on the desk, in front of the chair.

16:29. Kyle took a deep breath and waited for Crystal to arrive.

[Crystal Dinaia]

“Applicants should report to the Infirmary, then take the side door to the office of Kyle Ehrlich..” Crystal read of the paper she roughly pulled from her purse as she ran down the hallway. She had read the words a hundred times after receiving the letter that let her know she was in the running for the job offer from the school infirmary, but somehow she needed the confirmation that she was going to the right place. Only moments ago, her rather slow day had turned into a busy flurry of activity. The upperclassman had forgotten her cell phone in the library, met someone new and had a halting but interesting conversation with her, realized she was late for her meeting with Ehrlich, and had clobbered a guy walking down a hallway with stacks of papers in a mere eight minutes, a personal best for her. Crystal liked to think of herself as put together and organized, but it seemed as if in the last moments of everything she tried to do, everything always went haywire.

As she rounded the corner to the Infirmary, the girl was a tornado of red hair and heels but adjusted everything as she entered the infirmary itself. Slowing down to a mild walk, she smoothed down her hair and caught her breath, which evidently was strained because she needed to take more physical education classes. Wasn’t there a new cute P.E. teacher now that she thought about it? Crystal smiled slightly at the idea of taking a class simply because there was a cute teacher teaching it, but alas, that was the reason why she was still taking Chemistry even though she needed more Biology and medical terminology classes, wasn’t it? Her heart raced at the thought of him but she couldn’t get distracted now, she had to have her game face on. Calm. Cool. Collected. It was 4:29.

Crystal recited her triple-c mantra to herself, a habit she had picked up lately, as she knocked lightly on the door, then walked into the office. Despite the size of the infirmary, it seemed like the office had some how shrunk in upon itself. Her eyes couldn’t help but try to take everything in, bouncing from one thing to another until they finally landed on the school nurse. She had only passed by him once or twice while in school this year, having not needed to go to the infirmary for any reason, and hardly knew his name. In fact, Crystal would have had to have done extra research on faculty members if she had not received the interview letter earlier that week. The fact that she didn’t know him yet made her feel a little guilty which, in turn, made her a little bit more nervous. So much for calm, cool, and collected.

Her voice came out slightly wavery as she spoke, but she corrected and tried to stand straighter as she introduced herself. “Hello! I’m Crystal Dinaia. I had an interview slot for the nurse assistant position?” It wasn’t as if she wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know, but getting the few words out made her feel better and slowly, she felt herself relaxing.

[Kyle Ehrlich]

Kyle instinctively stood when Crystal entered the room. His eyes were immediately drawn to her hair, which was they shade of red that screamed for attention without looking fake. Next his eyes slid to meet hers. Kyle’s gaze paused longer than he meant it too; he couldn’t help himself. He blinked, slightly averting his eyes in the process. The interview had yet to start and Crystal already had two points in Kyle’s book, which boded well for her. And no, Kyle wasn’t examining and rating Crystal’s looks for his own pleasure. Half the battle in medicine was making the patient feel at ease, or at least distracted, while you attempt to help them. Personality, attitude, and appearance were just as important, if not more, than the medical half of treatment.

He smiled and held his right hand out to shake. “Pleasure to meet you Ms. Dinaia. I’m Kyle, as I’m sure you’ve already guessed.”

“I’d tell you not to be nervous, but I’ve had more interviews than I like to think about and know it won’t help.” Kyle shrugged and returned to his seat. “Twenty seven to date, actually.” He nodded to indicate the chair across from his desk. “Please, have a seat.” He picked up the pile of papers containing Crystal’s information and an agenda for the interview. He tilted his head slightly, “Shall we just get into it? No sense in prolonging the torture.”

Kyle flipped to the agenda page, pretending to actually look at it. “First, I’ll give you a quick run through of the position: what I’m looking for, what you’d have to do, hours, payment, etcetera. Boring, I know, sorry. And yes, I do have a paper copy for you too.” Mentally, Kyle signed. He could run the first half of the interview in his sleep… “Next, I’ve got a couple basic questions for you, followed by a short written test. Finally, there’s a quick pop quiz using the lovely items on the desk before you.”

Kyle paused again, raising an eyebrow. This was the point where the last two interviewees had begun to show signs of panic. One had hid it well, but the other began sweating. Kyle had intentionally left the job description vague: something about basic paperwork, receptionist duties, inventory, and other responsibilities. He had also neglected to mention there would be a test and/or quiz involving actual medical instruments/practices in the application. Did that make him a bad person? Kyle suspected it did on some level at least.

“Please feel free to interrupt me at any time should I be going to fast or you have a question. I’ll only be slightly offended.” Kyle mentally kicked himself. He hoped Crystal would realize he was being sarcastic. Kyle looked up from the papers and smiled softly, awaiting Crystal’s reaction. “Questions, comments, complaints before we move on?”

[Crystal Dinaia]

Crystal murmured a pleasantry in return to his greeting, but was immediately swept into the interview process by his methodic procedure. He moved swiftly through things, explaining them as much as they needed to be explained without overloading her with information, an interesting process to say the least. She supposed that was what it took in order to assess and deal with medical emergencies and happenings, one always had to have a plan of attack that they had to begin with and follow through to the end. Somehow, though she was in an interview setting, his voice was soothing and she found muscles growing less tense as she settled into the chair. Crystal nodded when he addressed her, asking if she would prefer that they just jump into the interview and answered him with, “Of course.” She gave him a half smile, an action that turned her usually plain face into a façade that could be considered beautiful. It was a lingering effect even after she had stopped smiling, her eyes wide as she listened to what he was saying intently, as if missing something would cause her to fail some hidden test.

It wasn’t until he had asked if she had any questions that she noticed the pile of medical equipment on the desk. The rest of his words jumbled into her brain and she missed the slight sarcasm in his voice as she stared at the roll of gauze. What type of test would she be given with what was at hand? As she looked up toward him, her blue eyes showed traces of confusion as well as a willingness to try anything to get the job. This job meant more to her than just wrapping up cuts, scrapes, and bruises. The first few interactions with students that needed medical attention would prove to her whether or not her future career plans and dreams would work out. Of course, a psychologist wouldn’t need to take someone’s temperature or apply pressure to a wound, but at the same time, they would have to have the same manner of approaching an emotional emergency. She would have to learn the proper way to help people now in order to ever be able to help anyone down the road.

Crystal leaned forward to examine the pieces on the table and came to the conclusion she could use all of them well enough to be trained in the medical arts. A bit of relief washed through her, followed by confidence as she looked back up at the school nurse. She still sat on the edge of her chair when she answered his question, her voice soft and tinged with the slightest bit of self-satisfaction. “No sir, no questions or comments and definitely no complaints. I’m ready to continue when you are..” Her last statement was polite, but a bit questioning, wondering exactly what this interview had in store for her. Even though she was eighteen years old, she had never before attempted to get a job. This would be her first experience interviewing for anything at all. In a way, she was excited, tempted by the idea of competition in a field she desperately wanted to break into. Then again, she knew she would be simply devastated if she choked and couldn’t complete the tests in a way that pleased him.

[Kyle Ehrlich]

“Excellent” Kyle nodded approval and passed a piece of paper to Crystal. This was the aforementioned written copy of everything Kyle was about to say. He also slid a pen across the desk incase Crystal wanted to take notes and didn’t have a pen in her purse. “Here’s your copy,” he said, although it wasn’t quite necessary. At this point in the interview, Kyle was running through a practiced and repeated routine. “Again, let me know if I’m going to fast or what not.”

Kyle took a breath and began his litany.

“Ok, in case you didn’t know, I’m the only medical staff member on site at Somnium. This is fine and dandy up to the point where we have a major crisis on our hands.” Kyle knocked on the wood surface of his desk. “Knowing my luck, I’ll be asleep or out of the building when it happens. So the headmaster gave me the ok to hire an assistant.” Kyle made a sweeping gesture with his hands, indicating they had now reached the present. “So, at first the position will be strictly clerical: you’ll be learning the system the school uses to store student’s medical information, the various forms and quirks I use for paper records, the tools I use to treat patients, where those tools are stored, fun stuff like that.” It pretty much boiled down to a glorified secretarial position but Kyle didn’t want to say that.

“I’m going to have the school set up a desk and computer in the infirmary, that way you would also serve as a receptionist if I’m not in the immediate area. Eventually, if you would like, I would like to have you learn some medical basics so you can field the infirmary for a while on your own. It would only be basics like what to do if someone’s got a bloody nose or cold or was trying to skip out of gym class.”

Kyle flipped his copy of the job description page over. “Hour wise, I was looking for someone who could cover 15 to 20 hours during the week negotiable, and at least a couple hours one Saturday out of the month. Schedule can be made around your school work slash social life no problem; I’m pretty flexible.” Almost done, thank goodness. Kyle took a breath and plowed on. “Finally, the headmaster has given me permission to grant compensation for the position any way you see fit: college credit, in lieu of a class here at Somnium, cash, or chocolate.” There was that sarcasm again…he shrugged and ran with it.

“Questions? Thoughts? Please feel free to appear overwhelmed…although if you’re going to run from the room screaming because this is nothing like what you thought it would be, I would ask that you please use the office door as it leads directly to the hallway.” Kyle smiled again, realizing full well it was a lot to process in a short amount of time.

[Crystal Dinaia]

As soon as he handed her the paper, Crystal set to jotting down some of the things he said that stood out to her. As he spoke, every once in a while she would write something down, but most of the time, she focused on his face with interested eyes. She had hoped she wouldn’t only be showing people where the Bandaids were and sitting in the Infirmary for hours on end. The position seemed reasonable enough, especially all of the forms of payment for her hours worked. When he had finished speaking, she looked down at her paper, frowning for just a moment. “Would the chocolate be considered on a pound level or a certain allotment of bars per week?” Crystal smiled, a small grin just to let him know that she wasn’t immune to his little bits of funny sarcasm before she sat back in her chair and recrossed her legs, no longer needing to write on the edge of his desk. “In all seriousness, everything sounds perfect so far. I'm interested in the learning a few medical tricks business and I’d love to earn college credit during this next year because,” Crystal gulped a little before continuing, her eyes downcast for a moment,”… I honestly don’t have any clue about what I’m going to do after Somnium.” She said the words a bit lightly, a bit flippantly, though it was a tough subject for her to even think about.

One of her slight fears surfaced a bit as she thought of anything else she had to mention. “Would… I have to give shots or draw blood at any time?” Crystal winced visibly, thinking about needles entering human skin. There was something that almost made her gag when she saw the clean, glinting metal piercing her own flesh, something that made her stare all the harder when someone was drawing her blood. It was something she could get over, but it would take some time and some definite wincing with students or patients. “And.. I know this is strange to ask, but is it possible to add a counseling triage type of thing into the infirmary visits? I know Dr. Peterson does counseling on a larger level, but sometimes people who come here could just need to talk about things. It might be easier for the Academy to have some sort of referral process that began on a student level and advanced to a professional level when the situation was dire enough?” Crystal knew it was a big jump for her to suggest such a thing, but sometimes it was easier for someone to speak to a person their own age rather than to be intimidated to approach counseling from an actual psychologist. This would also give her an opportunity to further understand the human condition, but it was a selfish request. Her next words were rushed, a little less thoughtful than the statement she had already made. “Feelfreetosayno! It was just a thought,” Crystal smiled weakly, hoping she hadn’t overstepped her bounds. Here she was doing an interview and asking to add more onto an offered position. She felt incredibly awkward for a few moments, wishing she hadn’t opened her mouth and hoping that the words would fade away into the air with one of Kyle’s questioning looks. “Eh-heh.” She murmured, a half laugh before continuing. “But other than that, I don’t think I have any questions..” Perhaps he would find it insightful rather than insulting?

[Kyle Ehrlich]

“The chocolate would be allotment per week, but I’m sure we can come to some sort of arrangement.” Kyle watched Crystal’s whole face when she smiled. The effect was stunning. He shifted his eyes down the papers and he scrawled ‘College credits & perhaps some chocolate.’ He watched over the top of the paper as Crystal asked about blood and needles. The girl was obviously uncomfortable with the idea of receiving shots and possibly the sight of blood. That conveniently answered one of the later questions Kyle had for her.

At Crystal’s suggestion, he unconsciously raised an eyebrow and his gaze drifted slightly to her left. It was a good idea, one he probably should have thought of earlier. Honestly, the thought hadn’t occurred to him because there had only been a handful of students who came to him for ‘casual’ counseling. Kyle scribbled a note at the bottom of his page, returning his gaze to Crystal. “I like the idea. While Dr. Peterson and I are nice enough people most days out of the week, I’d imagine we can be a little…intimidating. I’ll have to talk to Dr. Peterson and the Headmaster first, but good suggestion.”

Kyle flipped to the next page in his packet, glad to be done with the “boring” part of the interview. His mind was still mulling over Crystal’s suggestion and he paused before blinking himself back to the present. His eyes scanned the agenda page, not really reading it. He placed a slash next to the demonstration section about blood work. Pity, Kyle had been somewhat looking forward to that part of the test. It involved seeing if the interviewee would actually use the scalpel to make a small cut on Kyle’s arm. The scalpel blade wasn’t dull enough to cut skin, though. It was more just a test of the person’s nerves and willingness.

He returned his eyes to Crystal. “Ok then. Now that we’re done with the nitty-gritty detail-y part of the interview, lets move on to some more fun stuff.” Kyle grinned. “This is the part where I ask you some simple yet vague questions about…you! Such as: tell me about yourself. I know about your academics,” he tapped the sheets of paper he was holding. “…but how about you? History, hobbies, likes, dislikes, whatever.” Kyle shrugged. “You may want to tie that question to the follow-ups: ‘Why should I hire you for this job?’ and ‘What would you like to get out of this job?’ But you don’t need to.”

[Crystal Dinaia]

Her past? Crystal winced inwardly, knowing that her family didn’t have the exact glowing reputation that most southern families strove to put forth. They once had, but now both of her parents had done disgraceful things in her eyes, though she would never say that out loud. “I.. Um.. I’m from the states, Mississippi to be exact. I was born and raised in Biloxi, it’s a little beach town off of the gulf coast – absolutely gorgeous. My parents.. Are divorced and have gone their separate ways. My father now lives in California and my mom- We don’t know exactly where she is. I haven’t heard from her since the divorce when I was 13. Pretty much the rest of my life as a growing adult life has been spent here at Somnium, so it’s really a large part of who I am now. I got into some bad things and a car accident my first year here, but after I recovered from that and started looking again, I made some great friends here at the academy…” Crystal trailed off as she tried to think of anything else to say, “and that’s it, I suppose?” The girl thought it might be best to express the truth of what had happened in the past, with a few key details left out. Like the fact that her mother had simply up and disappeared one day or that in the car accident she had explained, a boy had died. Her stomach was clenched with the last bits of nervousness she had in her as she rolled over the bits she had left out in her mind. She gave a glance to Kyle and it didn’t seem as if he wasn’t believing what she had said or as if the suspected her inner guilt in both matters. So, without hesitation, she continued.

Crystal sucked in her breath for a moment as she thought about what to say. Being the type of person who preferred to talk in roundabout, vague terms herself, it was rather hard for her to describe her own personality in a nutshell. Despite that fact, she was determined to do well in the interview, even if it meant stepping out of her comfort zone. She couldn’t very well tell him all of her hobbies, like peering around corners to see if Paris Musuko was heading her way, or doodling what their kitchen would look like when they got married while other teachers were speaking in class. The girl also didn’t think it would be a very good idea to mention that she enjoyed spending hours getting dressed before daintily stepping out to Chemistry class. When she had taken a few seconds to formulate what she would even talk about, she flashed him a slight smile and began speaking, her voice staying as calm as she could keep it. “Well.. Mr. Ehrlich, I enjoy shopping in little thrift shops and finding vintage expensive things for inexpensive prices…” What was she doing?! He would think that she was vapid and vain if she talked about shopping, but somehow the honest truth had just popped out the moment she had begun speaking. Without skipping a beat, she tried again. “I read quite a bit and I’m a regular in Ms. Arden’s library, I especially like the psychology section and romance novels.” There she went again, making herself sound like a fanciful little girl, but at least he already knew her academic record, so he must have known she wasn’t a complete fake. It was as if each time she tried to speak, she simply couldn’t sound impressive or rehearsed.

“I do yoga every day in the gardens here on campus and I enjoy that quiet a bit. It’s a stress buster for me, but I’m not a hippy type, cows are meant to be eaten and trees do fine without being hugged.” Crystal smiled a bit playfully as she finished speaking and scanned her mind for exactly what he had asked for again. She had been considered one of those type of people several times before when people saw her doing her little exercise routine, but she definitely didn’t want to give off that vibe right now.

“I… Hate cars and trucks and trains and buses and mopeds with a passion.” Crystal grimaced a little, hoping she wouldn’t have to travel for this position, “But, if given enough forewarning I can handle them.” The girl thought for a minute more, pulling on the ends of her hair with one hand, as was a habit of hers. She relinquished her hair and faced Kyle honestly, looking him in the face earnestly while she continued. “I would like this job most of all because I’m interested in people and in helping them as much as possible. Maybe it’s for the warm fuzzies or maybe it’s because that’s truly what I need inside.. I don’t know at this point, but I’d like to find out.” Crystal sighed softly as she sank back into the chair, “I want to be that person for someone because someone has been there for me and it made all the difference during a hard time. This job, though it seems simple now, will help me see if I’m cut out to go for my passions or if I should take the time to find something else before the time comes. I know it sounds a bit selfish, but.. I think I could help people while finding myself at the same time.” Her statements, in her mind, gave answers to both of Kyle’s last questions. When she was finished talking, she leaned back further into her seat, looking a little deflated from all of the thoughts and ideas that had poured out of her in the few moments. The student was curious to see the school nurse’s reaction to the little bombshells she had just plunked down at his request. Lacing her fingers together, she focused on trying to not look as if she was really as hung up on this job as she truly was.

[/size]

[Kyle Ehrlich]

Well that had been unexpected. Kyle had been anticipating a short, to the point, marginally vague answer. Not a “Hey, you know what? I’m going to take this seriously and actually open up to a complete stranger and potential boss” answer. So far as Kyle was concerned, and unless she had any objections during the latter half of the interview, Crystal had the job. He sensed that she was keeping some details to herself but Kyle didn’t mind. Honestly, he was a little unsure how to respond to her. He decided to gloss over her history and instead focus on the reasons why she wanted the job.

“You reasons for wanting this job are very admirable.” As stupid as that sounded, Kyle meant that. He hoped his body language also conveyed that. “Honestly, medicine is more about making people feel better while letting nature run its course. Things such as colds, flu, sore muscles, etcetera can all be cured with time and the knowledge that someone actually cares about you. That’s why there is such a blurry line between psychology and physical medicine. Obviously, you can’t cure a broken arm by just talking to someone. But you can distract them long enough to apply a splint or give them a shot of anesthesia.”

Kyle hesitated for the briefest moment before continuing. “The reason I got into medicine was because I believed I could help people. Well, that’s not completely right.” Kyle shrugged. “More of I believed that if I could help people, I should. Which, when you think about it, is also a somewhat selfish reason. It also harkens back to the warm fuzzies. My parents instilled in me the idea that rewards in life should be earned, not given. I took that particularly to heart and find that being there for patients, being able to help them through difficult periods in their lives, or even being a friendly comforting face at the end is a remarkable reward in-and-of itself.” Kyle smiled and let the thought go at that. Truth be told, he was also still trying to “find himself” and his place in the grand scheme of thigs, but there was no reason to worry Crystal with that knowledge.

After what Kyle viewed as an appropriate reflective pause, he cursed himself and his social awkwardness. He pulled three papers out of his packet. Kyle again pretended to examine them to make sure it was the correct packet of paper. Turns out it was, surprise surprise. He attached them to a clip board and stood, holding the board out to Crystal. “And here we are, the written part of your interview test. Its three pages, nothing on the back of the pages, so don’t worry about that. The first ten questions are multiple choice, the second ten are short answer. Please pick only one answer for the multiple choice. You have fifteen minutes to finish the test, and no, you’re not allowed to ask questions.” Kyle smiled, attempting to be comforting yet whimsical. This was another “evil” part of the interview which tended to cause interviewees to panic.

“If you need me, I’ll be in the infirmary.” With that, and before Crystal could detest, Kyle left the office, stack of papers in hand. He closed the door slightly on the way out, attempting to give Crystal a sense of privacy. He took a seat, cross legged, on one of the infirmary beds, closing his eyes. He picked up a pen and began to scribble notes about the interview as they entered his mind.



(( test can also be found here in convenient *.doc and *.pdf formats if you’re curious. ))

[Crystal Dinaia]

“A…? Uhh.. I..?” Crystal stuttered as Kyle left the room but was faced only with silence and three sheets of paper. Curiously, she lifted a corner and checked to make sure that there were only a few sheets. With a soft sigh, she dug around in her bag until she found a pen, clicked down on the bottom, and began the test. It was nothing like she was expected past the first question. With a quizzical look on her face, she carefully read each question, then scrawled either a circle or an answer down. Her handwriting was a little shaky because she was trying to write against the edge of the desk awkwardly amid the rest of the things on top of it, but she was soon finished with the test. Unfortunately enough for Crystal, she wasn’t sure whether or not she had passed. Standing up from the chair, she realized her body was stiff from sitting there for so long full of nervousness.

Her heels clicked against the floor as she peered out of the door, her long hair falling against the doorframe. She spotted Kyle and skittered toward him, holding her test in front of her. Crystal handed it to him, a bit excitedly because now she got to hear his opinions on the questions he had asked her. She wondered what the other interviewees had asked him and how many times he had been asked the questions she had directed toward him. “I’m finished. And the four questions for you have pink X’s next to them!” Surprised at herself, she wiggled up onto the bed as well and sat next to him. From his explanation earlier of why he had chosen the medical field as his profession, Crystal some how felt more comfortable around him, as if she had grown closer to him just by knowing that they shared quite a bit in common. Even if she didn’t get the job today, at least the next time she had a scraped knee, a headache, or one of those “girly” days, she would know the school nurse a bit better and the wait wouldn’t be quite so awkward as it had been before. Plus, she was eager to hear his answers, for some strange reason.

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[Kyle Ehrlich]

At the sound of Crystal’s heels clicking against the floor, Kyle opened his eyes. He set his clip board and pen down, smiling gently when she poked her head around the door. He began to stand up but stopped abruptly when Crystal took a seat next to him on the bed. That was unexpected to say the least. Kyle accepted the test from her, turning to the first page. “Shall we see how you did?” he shifted slightly so Crystal could review the test with him.

“Well, you already get a point for putting your name at the top of the page. You would think that’s ingrained into every student’s head by now, but one would be surprised.” Kyle gave Crystal a sarcastic smile and began to read her answers. “In case you’re wondering, only half the multiple choice questions had correct answers. The other half were just to see what you would pick. In general, though, C was always either correct or the answer I expected people to pick.”

He tapped question 3. “The capital of Liberia is Monrovia. Liberia’s actually a small country off the coast of Africa, not Asia.” Kyle continued to scan down the first page. “The answer is actually 42, but since 42 was also the answer to D, you chose correctly.” He chuckled at her answers to 6 and 7. “An average human woman’s body is about 55% water. The rest is fat, proteins, and other solids that don’t contain water. Average male is about 60%” He flipped to the next page and continued scanning.

“I always thought LSD was a goofy acronym for Lysergic Acid Diethylamide. LSD is much catchier, though, don’t you think?” Kyle was glad Crystal had caught his eye color and approximate number of interviews he had taken part in. He tapped the first short answer question. “Very good. 27 to be exact. This question was about testing your memory and listening. A patient may not always be forthcoming with why they need a doctor, especially if they’re guilty about something.” Kyle shrugged. “The job can almost be like detective work. Even the vaguest off remark can be important in the right context.” Noting the mark, Kyle skipped commenting on question 2, smiled at her answer to question 3, quietly remarking, “That it is…” and turned the page.

“Correct on questions six and seven. Questions eight could have meant anything, color, taste, ice cream; it was another perception question. And I wasn’t planning on taking you for ice cream at this very moment, but I don’t see why we couldn’t grab some later.” Kyle said this without really thinking about it. His mind lagged behind a moment as his eyes scanned the remainder of Crystal’s answers. When his mind finally processed his speech, he paused, coughed to cover it, and stood. He walked to a nearby sink and poured himself a glass of water. He downed it, poured another glass for himself and one for Crystal, then returned to the bed. Offering Crystal the water, Kyle returned to his spot.

“In case you’re wondering, the four questions you picked to ask me were also the correct choices. Short answer number three would also have worked.” Kyle placed the test on the bed in front of Crystal. “Those five questions were the only ones that couldn’t be answered in a single word or statement. They also show that you have an interest, real or perceived, in whomever you are talking to.”

“I do believe in lust at first sight, love at first sight, and true love. That being said, I don’t think everyone is able to perceive or act on either; there is also great confusion between love and lust at first sight. And I also believe that there are some people who are just meant to be alone.” Again, Kyle shrugged and took a sip of water. He kept his face neutral, eyes slightly averted from Crystal’s. That was the first time an interviewee had picked that question to ask, and Kyle’s response was a little more honest than he thought it would be. “Just because there’s a briefcase full of money doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a body.” Kyle moved on to her next question, “If there were, though, I would have disposed of it. Were there to be a large briefcase of money on my desk one morning, I would probably hide it first. A halfhearted attempt to find the owner would follow. Should I be unable to locate them, I’d be on my way to the bank…” Kyle paused again, giving Crystal a chance to reply if she so chose.

“My answer to question nine, unfortunately, is no where near as profound as yours. I’ve always wanted to go to Australia. See the Opera House, dive in the coral reefs, see a koala.” Kyle gave Crystal an apologetic half smile. He hoped his next observations would not offend her. “As to what you wrote, and knowing this will be little consolation, I believe that our idea of home changes over time and becomes just that, an idea. Home is someplace where we feel comfortable, able to be ourselves and damned what anyone else thinks. Much like love, home is also something that must be found and, perhaps even created or worked at.”

Kyle finished off his water, setting the cup on the bed. “Finally, given the choice I would travel to the Middle Ages, for mostly the same reasons you picked the civil war era. Men were men, women wore elaborate dresses, knights carried swords and people believed chivalry and honor were more than just concepts. Romantic and exciting, granted ignoring things like the Black Death and overpopulation and general hygene.” Kyle laugned. “Product of too many idealized fantasy novels, and," he added conspiratorially, "I’ve always wanted to be able to carry around a sword and not get arrested.”

Kyle leaned back on his elbows a little. Opening himself up always left him feeling a little drained. On the other hand, he felt it was important to be honest with the interviewees, for both his sake and theirs. The reactions for his answers were also a nice judge of how well they would get along. “Thoughts?” Kyle chuckled and pushed himself off the bed. He crossed to a cabinet and pulled some tools out. He returned to his seat on the bed, placing a pillow between himself and Crystal. “I thought we could just do the final part of the test out here. Seems like a waste of energy to go back to the office.” Kyle finished arranging the scalpel, hammer, roll of gauze, stethoscope, and pair of synthetic medical gloves on the pillow. He returned his gaze to Crystal.

“Besides, these beds are at least a little more comfortable than my office chairs. Get you anything before we proceed? More water, more answers, more questions?” Kyle realized he was proceeding at a moderately quick pace and was someone disappointed. Given the option he wouldn’t have minded getting to know Crystal a little more before their interview ended. Alas, a glance at the clock while he had been collecting the tools revealed that almost forty five minutes had passed already; he had a little over half an hour before his final interview was scheduled to start. Kyle almost wished he could just forgo the interview and give Crystal the job now just to get it over with.


((Well, that was a little longer than I expected it to be. Sorry sorry sorry about the reply lag. I’ve had a long talk with Kyle and it ‘hopefully’ won’t happen again ))