Chapter 10 FROM A SURGEON TO A JANITOR

My stride outside landed me at the door of Dr. Aldrich's office. I was so engrossed trying to figure out how life would be here that I did not realize I was already here.

Upon reaching the door, I could hear voices even from the outside. It seemed like they were having a verbal war, an intense one.

I had never been an eavesdropper, but at that moment, I found myself eager to know what was happening. I pressed my ear against the door, trying to hear what was going on inside.

"You can't do this to me, Dad! I have worked so hard to be here!" I heard Vincent's voice loud and clear. It had a tremor in it. He sounded so bitter. So angry.

Dr. Aldrich's voice was calm but sharp, carrying a weight of authority that made me shiver. "Worked hard?" he repeated, his voice dripping with disappointment and mockery. "Explain to me how hard you have worked, Vincent. By cheating your way into the profession?"

Silence filled the room for a few seconds before Vincent scoffed. "I don't know what you are talking about."

Dr. Aldrich let out a deep sigh. "Really? So, you expect me to believe that you passed all your exams on your own? That you earned your position here fairly? Can you look me straight in the face and assure me that you deserve to become a surgeon?"

Vincent's voice wavered slightly. "Of course, Dad. I did! I studied just like everyone else. Actually, I studied even harder than anyone because I could not afford to let you down."

I almost cracked at the door listening to Vincent boldly lying to his father. I had lost track of how many exams I had done for him. And sometimes, when I refused to do it for him, he told me that he would find other ways. Sometimes I wondered if he was really forced into this career.

"Make me proud, huh?" His father snapped. "How? By making Leylla do exams for you? That you bribed your lecturers to give you grades you didn't deserve?"

My heart pounded against my chest. So he knew. He knew everything. No wonder he was so pissed off by his son.

Vincent's voice cracked. "That's not true! "I-

"Enough!" Dr. Aldrich banged his hand on the desk. "You can't lie to me even when I know the truth. That is too much disrespect, don't you think?"

He sounded beyond angry. He was hurt. He was broken. And I could resonate with him. He expected his son to make him proud, perhaps be like him, but he did the opposite.

"You are a disgrace, Vincent. I am ashamed to call you my son. You have no right to be in an operating room. You don't deserve the title of a doctor, let alone a surgeon."

"Dad, please," Vincent pleaded. He sounded hurt. So hurt that his voice cracked. "You can't do this. I will prove myself. Just give me a chance."

Dr. Aldrich scoffed. I could hear his heavy breathing from outside. "A chance? You don't deserve a chance."

"I am your son, Dad. You have to give me a chance. It is not like I killed anyone. I never forced Leylla nor pointed a gun at those lecturers. That is just how the world is. There is always a price for everyone. The poor lecturers wanted money, which I had, so it was a win-win game. And Leylla, well..." The moron trailed off.

How dare he?

So what was my price?

A long silence followed, leaving me only sweating for what was next. Maybe to hear if Dr. Aldrich would want to know what my price was.

"Listening to you speak right now makes me wish you were never my son. I could not have such an ingrate, a loser like you, as my son!"

He did not ask about me. Clearly, he was not interested. He had knacked me and got what he wanted. He must have been so disgusted with me, most especially if he had gotten wind that there might have been something between me and his worthless son.

"Well, Dad, you were too busy chasing your dreams and your career that you forgot I existed." Vincent's voice dripped with pity, as if he was hurting deeply. Like he had the sense of abandonment.

"I provided you with everything. I did my very best to make sure you never lacked. I took you to the best schools. And even this career, I gave you a choice on it." His father said in a low, deep voice.

A slight mocking smirk echoed, definitely, from Vincent. "What about time? Did you have time for me? All you did was work and study. Any spare time you had was divided among your patients, businesses, conferences, and whatnot. You were never there for me!"

"Maybe," he responded so quickly, like he did not want another truth thrown in his face.

Or perhaps he didn't want to hear any more of his son's excuses because, come on. Some of us never had anyone to look after us. We even ended up on the streets at some point, and we made it, duh! Am I blaming anybody for my failures? No! Because we are solely responsible for ourselves. I mean, I had all the reasons to fail and lay the blame on my worthless mother, but I did not. I have made mistakes here and there, which is normal. I am also not a very perfect example, but I can challenge morons like Vincent De'Luka.

"But still, there is no valid reason for someone to turn out the way you have turned out, Vincent. I was not there, but you had a choice to slap my failures as a father in a much better way because I was not a complete failure. And you know that."

"Well, we are here now, Dad. You failed on your part, and I had my own fair share of failure. But nothing can be done now. It is..."

"It is never too late to discipline a child, Vincent. You are not too manly for me to discipline."

"What..." Vincent trailed off, perhaps after noticing the seriousness of his father's words. "What do you mean?"

"Forget about being a surgeon. From this moment, you are no longer a surgeon and not a doctor. Instead, you will work as a janitor in this hospital until I decide what to do with you."

"No way!!!" I almost screamed alongside Vincent.

A janitor?