Coy

(Okay, nurses are never really this nice, but they are nicer in the Children's department of hospitals.)

The elevator door dinged and slid open on the second floor of Children's Hospital. Kayla stepped out, holding fast to the strap of her bag. She'd been lying if she said she wasn't nervous to start her volunteer shift.

She emerged beneath a lit sign hanging from the ceiling that said WEST WING. Directly in front of her, taped on the wall, were posters advertising the twenty-sixth annual Birch Falls Carnival in July and another canned food drive though the end of the month.

She went to the right down the hall and came upon a nurse's station. All around it were hospital rooms with large sliding glass doors so that you could see clearly into each room.

There were balloons floating around the bed. Flowers topping the bedside tables. Crayon drawings hung on the wall behind the nurse's station. Noisy cartoons filtered out from various rooms. Machines dinged and beeped.

Kayla went up to the nurse's station and spoke to the petite woman there. "Hi." she said. "I'm Kayla, a new volunteer."

"Oh! We've been expecting you. I'm Pat, the head nurse on this wing." Pat was a forty-something woman who wore a pink nurse dress and white sneakers. She extended a delicate hand across the counter and said, "It's nice to have you, Kayla."

"Thanks."

"I think i'll get you started with Quin. He's been around here awhile so he knows all the important details. If you go down this hall right here and turn into the third room on the left, you'll find Quin there. If you have any questions, just let us know."

"All right. Thanks."

Kayla followed Pat's directions and went into the third room on the left. Quin sat in one of the green rocking chairs next to a bed. He was in another white shirt, this one unbuttoned and untucked to reveal a black t-shirt. He had on jeans and scuffed brown leather boots.

In his hands, he held a paperback book with a ghost and werewolf on the front cover. The title was printed in a shiny silver script that said Dead Wolf.

Quin read out loud while a little boy lay in bed, his tiny frame drowned in white sheets and blankets.  Canary blond hair fanned over the pillow while the boy's pale skin nearly matched the starched white pillowcase.

Quin finished reading and dog-eared the page. "Hey," he said, nodding at Kayla. "I heard you were coming in today. Kayla, right?"

"Yeah." She walked around the bed and offered her hand in a friendly shake. "And you're Quin?"

"Yes, and this"-he pointed at the boy lying in bed-"is Micah."

"Hi." Kayla waved. Micah nodded, uninterested.

Quin put his hand on the little boy's shoulder. "Read more later, dude?"

"Sure." Micah reached over for his TV remote and hit the power button. Cartoons brightened the TV screen as Quin ushered Kayla into the hall.

"So i guess i'm supposed to show you the ropes." A piece of hair fell loose from his ponytail and hung along his temple. He swiped it back absently, tucking it behind his ear.

"I guess."

"It's not as scary or boring as it sounds. You'll have fun here. I promise." The smile he flashed could have brightened any room, let alone a hospital.

"Well, i'm looking forward to it."

"Let's start with the basics, then. This whole section is the West Wing, but there's West One and West Two. We're in West Two right now." He lead her out into the main hallway and pointed to the nurse's station. "That's Station Two. They're in charge of rooms 409 through 418."

They headed back the way Kayla had come and passed the elevators. They came upon another nurse's station and more rooms with sliding glass doors. If Kayla didn't know any better, she'd have thought this was the same nurse's station they'd just left. The counter and rooms were set up exactly like West Two. The only difference was the nurse behind the counter had long red hair and wore a white dress.

"This is West One," Quin said, "and Station One. They're in charge of rooms 400 through 408. And if you come around this way"-they walked around the nurses' station, where a few nurses nodded a hello-"you'll find the media room."

The media room was large, with two TV centers. There were bookcases spanning an entire wall. There were books and VHS movies.

"The kids can check out the movies and books while they stay here," Quin explained. "We're in charge of that. Getting the movies and books between here and the rooms."

Kayla nodded.

"The kids can come here to hang out, too," Quin went on, "if they're well enough."

"Okay," she said.

He smiled. "Are you always this quiet?"

"Umm..."

"Just shy?"

"I wouldn't say i'm shy," she answered. "I'm just trying to take it all in." It was important to her to have all the details right. There was no point in doing a job if you couldn't do it well.

"I know it's a lot, but you'll do fine. And the kids are so happy to have company that they're going to love you no matter what."

"I hope so."

"Tell you what... I think i have an idea. Something to help loosen you up. Come on."

Kayla didn't like the ominous sound of that.

♥♥♥

"Let's go to West Two," Quin said leading the way. "Here," he opened the first sliding glass door he came to. "They're going to love you."

When she got inside the first room, the little boy in bed sat up and smiled wide. "Trina!"

"No," Quin said, "this is Kayla."

The boy's eyes narrowed. "Oh," he said.

Quin nudged Kayla in the back.

"Um, hi," she said. "What's your name?"

"Lars."

Kayla shuffled over to the hospital bed, hoping she wouldn't catch her feet on any cords. The little boy's IV stand was on the other side of the bed and all the monitor cords were behind him. Her path looked clear enough.

She shook the boy's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Lars."

"You, too. Can you tell your brother i said hi?"

"Sure." Kayla glanced at Quin. What else was she supposed to say? Hope you get out of here soon? Is the hospital food good?

"Hey, Lars, ask Kayla what she has in her pocket." Quin said.

"What do you have in your pocket?" Lars asked, sitting up straighter.

Kayla glanced down at her dress and pulled a small bag out of her pocket.

"Let him pick something," Quin whispered.

Kayla held the bag out before her. "Pick something," she said.

Lars dug his hand inside and pulled out a golden egg. He popped the egg open and a bracelet fell out. "Thanks, Kayla!"

"You're welcome."

They said good-bye and headed on to the next room.

It took nearly two hours to visit all the children who were well enough to have visitors. They skipped a few rooms where Kayla saw children tucked in their beds, their eyes shut tight, their monitors beeping behind them. Kayla wondered if they were going to wake up eventually and wished there was something she could do to make them better.