“What’s the diagnosis?”

The voice from the other side of the double-headed microscope was sharp enough to cut through the silence.

James dabbed the bead of sweat rolling down his temple. “I—uh—”

“You still don’t see it?” Haas’s tone grew louder. “This is a low-power diagnosis! Even a medical student would know. Did you even look at these slides?”

“Yes, I—”

“With a microscope? Speak up, or don’t waste my time!”

Haas shoved back from the scope, strode to her bookshelves, and yanked a thick textbook free. Pages fanned under her fingers before she slapped it down hard on the table between them.

“Next time, be prepared. Read this case, and by the end of the day you’ll tell me what additional studies we should order.”

The sign-out was over. James scooped up the textbook, slides, and paperwork, and made for the door.

“Dragon Lady got you, eh?”

Dan Rosenthal, chief resident, caught him by the arm. “Those slap marks look good on you.” He grinned.

James raised a hand to his face as Dan rolled his eyes. “Come on. Let’s go through your cases in my office.”

Dan blended in easily at Memorial, but walking beside him, James couldn’t help noticing the contrast. Dan stood six-foot-four, hair neatly parted, glasses in place — an academic poster boy.

Two weeks into residency, James still felt like he was drowning. Pathology had its own language, filled with words most doctors never learned. English wasn’t the problem — he had studied in it since college — but the speed, the idioms. Dragon Lady slapped my face. How was he supposed to keep up?

Dr. Carter would explain things slowly, patiently. Could Dan be that kind of teacher?

In Dan’s office, stacks of flats covered the desk. Forty to fifty cases a day, each slide labeled and waiting.

“Rule one,” Dan said, shuffling through them, “always triage. Cancer biopsies first. Then the big resections. Appendices and gallbladders last. Nobody’s losing sleep over a gallbladder.”

He arranged the slides and paperwork in neat piles. “See? Three breast cores, two prostate biopsies, a stomach, colon, and a lymph node. Priorities.”

With a flourish, he spun in his chair, grabbed a CD from the shelf, and slid it into the player. Jazz guitar filled the room.

“My man — Wes Montgomery!” Dan said, bobbing his head.

James’s face lit up. “Yes, Wes! I—”

“First case: Clarkson, 16805,” Dan interrupted, sliding a core biopsy under the scope. “Right breast. Low power. Where’s the pathology?”

James leaned in. The tissue blurred past the objectives. “Ductal hyperplasia. No atypia. Benign.”

Dan didn’t look up. “Anything else?”

“I—don’t think so.”

“Name?” Dan pushed the paperwork over.

“Clarkson… Robert.” James blinked. “This is a man.”

Dan’s laugh was quick. “Yes! Men get breast biopsies. No lobules, remember? What’s the diagnosis?”

James searched his memory. “Gynecomastia?”

“Correct. Always check sex and site before you call a case. I’ll dictate.”

He pressed the foot pedal and rattled off the description, voice steady, professional.

Hours passed in a blur of slides, jazz, and Dan’s commentary — half pathology, half rhythm analysis.

“Listen to that line,” Dan said, eyes closed, head swaying. “Nobody lays back like Wes.”

James strained at the microscope. “I thought this was a hyperplastic polyp—did I miss—”

“Still gives me goosebumps,” Dan murmured, finishing his dictation. “Benign. Next case.”

By late afternoon James’s stomach growled audibly. Dan smirked. “Catfish tonight. Mississippi sushi. You’ll like it. Let’s get dinner.”

As they stepped into the hall, James gathered his flats.

“You guys going to dinner? I’ll join you!”

Deanna.

Third-year resident, chestnut hair brushing her shoulders, eyes bright with a mischievous sparkle. Her laugh turned heads all down the corridor.

James’s heart tripped. “I’ll put these on my desk and meet you there,” she said.

He started down the hall, trying to slip past Haas’s office. The overhead pager blared. Haas looked up, eyes locking on him.

“I’ve been waiting.”

James froze. He swallowed hard. “I’m ready.”

The sign-out began again.

Next Chapter: Chapter 3-Show and Tell