Surgical Observation Room.
The transparent glass gallery was already filled with intern doctors.
They had all heard the news and made time to come and watch.
"Wasn't George supposed to perform the first surgery?"
Ruthless Liz frowned as she looked down at Adam, who was scrubbing in and changing in the operating room. "Why is it Adam instead?"
"I heard that Dr. Green and Dr. Burke don't get along," Christina whispered. "In order to let Adam perform the first surgery, Dr. Green rearranged the schedule, catching Dr. Burke off guard."
The hospital had a limited number of operating rooms. To ensure the most efficient scheduling, a blackboard was placed in the hallway. It used time as the X-axis and operating rooms as the Y-axis, dividing it into slots.
A designated person would arrange the surgeries accordingly, writing down the details—what time, which operating room, which attending surgeon, and which assisting doctors—all at a glance.
Dr. Burke had checked the board and confirmed that he could assign George O'Malley his first surgery. However, he had never expected Leonard to switch the schedule on him.
"Dr. Burke must be furious," Ruthless Liz clicked her tongue. "And that means Adam will be on his bad side, too."
Christina scoffed. "If an attending surgeon treats me like that—no, even if I offend the head of surgery—who cares? I'll just follow a different attending to another hospital."
"George, pay close attention. In an hour, it's your turn."
Ruthless Liz reminded him.
The slightly effeminate, chubby George sat in the front row, staring intently at the operating room below.
"Meredith, are you okay?"
Christina nudged Meredith, who had been silent and lost in thought the entire time.
Meredith forced a smile.
She was still in shock.
The epileptic girl she had been assigned was a neurology case, so her supervising resident, the strict Miranda Bailey, had handed her over to the neurosurgery attending—Dr. Derek Shepherd.
Then she realized—Dr. Derek Shepherd was the same man she had hooked up with at the bar last night and kicked out of her place that morning.
And he looked at her like she was standing there naked, even openly suggesting they continue their "relationship."
She had, of course, refused and expressed her deep dissatisfaction. But deep down... she felt conflicted. He was handsome, humorous, and authoritative—completely captivating.
"Ten bucks says he can't finish the surgery."
"Fifteen says he cries."
"Twenty says he has a complete meltdown."
Some of the interns started placing bets.
"I bet he succeeds—against all of you, with no limit on the amount."
Bianca stood up, turned around, and looked at the male interns making bets.
They were momentarily stunned.
"What? Afraid to bet?" Bianca smirked.
One by one, the male interns raised their stakes. Being challenged by a beautiful female colleague—especially over a male intern they were already envious of—was something their pride wouldn't let slide.
"Can I bet on Adam succeeding?"
Christina raised her hand.
"Of course. We'll split the winnings evenly," Bianca nodded.
"Then I'm in, too," Ruthless Liz raised her hand.
"Count me in," Meredith, pushing aside her complicated thoughts, joined them.
In the corner, Alice curled her lips and glanced at Steven beside her. Her fingers twitched, but in the end, she didn't raise her hand.
If they were betting a million, she might have taken the risk of upsetting Steven to side with them.
She knew Adam's skills best.
He was excellent—beyond exceptional.
An appendectomy? He would succeed without a doubt.
Seeing that several female interns were betting on Adam, the male doctors who initially didn't plan to participate got fired up. They placed their bets on Adam failing.
It was no longer just a game—it was a battle of pride.
After all, they were all men. Why should Adam be the exceptional one?
Leonard finished scrubbing in outside the operating room. Wearing a mask, he walked in with his hands up, allowing the nurse to help him put on his surgical gown. He smiled at Adam, who was already prepped and ready.
Adam nodded. Looking at the patient, whose body was draped except for the surgical site, he reached out steadily. "Scalpel."
The surgical nurse repeated his request. "Scalpel."
She handed it to Adam with practiced ease.
Adam took the scalpel and made a decisive incision. His confident and skillful movements instantly silenced the rowdy crowd upstairs.
A true expert only needed one move to show their skill.
Adam reached out again.
Before long, the appendix was removed. Adam expertly inverted the stump into the cecum, secured it, and proceeded to close the incision. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel•fire.net
"Shit! How is he that skilled?!"
"Look at his suturing speed! His technique is insane! Is he really just an intern and not a fellow?"
The observing interns buzzed with disbelief.
Then, they all fell silent.
Dr. Burke was standing at the corner, watching. His gaze met Leonard's.
"Good technique," Dr. Burke muttered before walking away.
Aftermath and Consequences
"Dr. Duncan, that was amazing."
"Yeah, with suturing skills like that, you could make a fortune in cosmetic surgery."
The nurses praised Adam.
"George, you're in trouble."
Christina grinned as she collected her winnings with Bianca and the others. "The better Adam does, the more pressure on you. If you mess up even a little, Dr. Burke is going to tear you apart."
George looked like he was about to cry.
If he had known this was going to happen, he would never have talked back to Dr. Burke.
Now, all he could do was hope that his surgery went as smoothly as Adam's.
Unfortunately, the gap between people could sometimes be devastating.
Dr. Burke unleashed his fury on George.
"Get out of my sight, you idiot!"
"Somebody take him away—I don't want him in my OR!"