Nurse Scarlett's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Nurse Scarlett began every shift the same way. Left glove first, snapped at the wrist, no bunching. She had done it ten thousand times, ever since she watched a patient bleed under a torn glove no one had checked. She had promised herself it would never happen on her ward. She wanted someone to carry that promise after her. So far no one had earned it. Today the ward smelled of bleach and morning light. Scarlett tugged her red gloves smooth and stepped toward her first patient. That was when the doors opened without a knock. A woman walked in like she owned the floor. Black rubber uniform. Black gloves already on her hands. She carried a transfer slip from administration and did not offer it. "Nurse Jessica," she said. "They sent me down from the rival ward. Word is you need help." Scarlett knew the name. Jessica ran her floor on speed and shortcuts. They had crossed paths for years, always on opposite sides of a rule. "I set the protocols here," Scarlett said. "Nobody touches a patient until I clear them." Jessica smiled and did not stop walking. She reached the bed. The patient lay waiting for his morning check. "Watch," Jessica said. "Fast is kind. He's been waiting long enough." She pressed her gloved fingers to his arm. The same black gloves she had worn through the doors. The same gloves that had touched the hallway, the slip, the door handle. Scarlett's stomach dropped. "Stop." Jessica did not stop. She checked the pulse, adjusted the line, patted the man's shoulder. Then she peeled the gloves halfway and looked up, proud. "Done. See? No wasted motion." Scarlett moved between them. Her voice stayed flat and hard. "You touched him with dirty gloves. You wore those through the hall. You touched the door." "Gloves are gloves," Jessica said. "No." Scarlett stripped her own red gloves and threw them in the bin. She pulled a fresh pair from the wall. Left hand first. Snap. No bunching. She checked the patient herself, slow and exact, and found no harm done. This time. Then she turned to Jessica. "On this ward, we change before we touch. Every patient. Every time. You broke that in your first minute." Jessica shrugged. "Administration sent me. You can't send me back." That was the part Scarlett could not undo. She had not asked for Jessica. She could not fire her. The order came from above. Scarlett walked to the supply wall and set a fresh pair of black gloves on the counter beside Jessica. "Then you learn my way," she said. "Starting now. Put these on. Left hand first." Jessica stared at the gloves. She did not reach for them. Scarlett folded her arms. She had been handed a nurse she could not remove and could not trust. If she wanted her standard to survive, she would have to break this one down and rebuild her. The training had begun, whether either of them wanted it or not.