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(A/N: The big 30! Above is a general idea of what I imagine Mason to look like to clear up the confusion. Mark looks like, for the most part, a basic white man so I didn't see the point. Now, please enjoy.)

Chapter 30: Hands-On Experience

Sometimes, when Mason looked in the mirror, he thought about the other people who looked like him. His mind brought up those in Asia or the Middle East, surrounded by culture and people that they could claim without fear or uncertainty. He thought of some in other countries around the world who had emigrated and adopted a culture different from home. Then he thought of other middle eastern kids like him who grew up in a family that looked nothing like them.

He wondered if those distant relatives who didn't know how he was doing would be proud of who he'd become. He wondered if they'd be happy that every single day, he came closer to becoming a nurse and closer to helping people in a way he'd always dreamed.

But then, there were other days when he wondered if they wouldn't accept him because he doesn't act like them. Or really, he doesn't know how to act like them. It was that guilt that pushed Mason to learn more. His parents were amazing and taught him so much, but they could never teach him how to walk into a room full of Yemeni people and relate to them. The sheer thought of all that Mason didn't know nearly paralyzed him in fear.

Mason let out a lard whooshing breath, trying to move his thoughts away from such negative thoughts. He could have an identity crisis on any other day. But today, he was getting the experience of a lifetime. At least he thought it was.

"On Wednesday, you will be shadowing nurses." Mrs. Lorraine had announced to her excited group. "I've worked with several different clinics in the cities to try to find each of you a nurse closest to where you live. A couple of you will have to shadow the same person but most of you will shadow them alone."

Mason could hardly contain his excitement. His smile stretched from ear to ear and he kept shooting Mark eager looks.

"So today, we will be going over the etiquette and code of conduct you'll have to follow two days from now. These are real patients so you must know how to act professionally and safely."

Mason had never been more attentive than he was that day. Every word that came out of Mrs. Lorraine's mouth was copied down into Mason's notes. Nothing Mark did could distract Mason from his task--to Mark's frustration. And yesterday, most of Mason's time was dedicated to going over the procedures Mrs. Lorraine taught them.

Now, for the first time since they started this nursing course, Mason wouldn't be seeing Mark. They lived too far away from each other to go to the same clinic, so Mason would be going alone.

Mason was pleased when he got to the small clinic within half an hour. The place was incredibly close and Mason recognized the area once he got there. It was where he liked to buy Asian snacks, including the few middle eastern ones he'd found online.

The area was currently quite dead though. It wasn't even eight in the morning yet so the small clinic was empty when Mason walked in. A white man possibly approaching 30 had his elbow on the reception desk, using his phone. Mason felt a bit awkward bothering the man but had no choice, there was no one else there.

"Uh, excuse me?" Mason asked timidly after clearing his throat. The man's head shot up, revealing large eyes and a crooked smile. "I'm here with the Adam's Nursing Intensive. I'm supposed to be shadowing, uh, Halima Muhammad. Where should I go?"

"Yes, we were told you were coming today." The man confirmed, a friendly smile on his face. "Come with me, I'll show you where her room is."

Mason's right hand played with the keys he had in his pocket as he waited for the receptionist to get out from behind the desk. Mason followed the man with small steps, a bit shrunken into himself as he scanned the place. The front door had opened up to a room with only enough space to hold the seven chairs lining the wall and allow a person to walk by those chairs without imposing on someone's personal space. So, you were immediately drawn to the welcome desk where, on either side of it, there was a corridor.

The receptionist led Mason down the right one, and they walked past two rooms before stopping.

"This is your stop." He said brightly, nodding towards the third door. "Good luck today, you'll need it."

Mason watched the man go, his jaw slack as he did. You'll need it? What did that mean?

Mason tried to shake off his apprehension. That guy's comments did nothing to help but Mason couldn't stand shaking outside of this woman's door forever. Finally gaining the confidence, Mason knocked on the door.

"Come in." A woman called, her voice a bit deep. When Mason opened the door, the first thing he noticed was how bright it was. Her room was a decent size, fitting her desk and computer, a couple of chairs for clients, and a bed, weight machine, and other doctor things. But there was so much white in the room, making it seem especially bright when Mason walked.

"Good morning." The dark-skinned woman, who Mason assumed was Halima, stated. She didn't phrase it as a cheery greeting. Instead, it was said through a small space between her lips and a slow upward tilt in the words. She'd said it as a social requirement above anything else. "You must be Mrs. Adams' student. I'm Halima Muhammad but please call me Halima. I don't like when people butcher my name."

Meeting the nurse he would shadow was proving to make Mason more nervous, not less. Had the receptionist warned him because of Halima?

Halima, who had been seated behind her desk, typing into her computer, looked up at Mason, giving him a clear view of her face. She had a very round face, and her eyes took up most of the space on her face, making her look cuter. She had clear, dark brown skin that reflected the brightness of the room, making her appear slightly angelic. Her thick and tightly curled hair was less than an inch in length and a warm brown colour. She didn't look any older than twenty-five but with Mason's past history with guessing ages, she was probably older.

Mason's lips were pressed into a tight line as he met Halima's stare, growing more uncomfortable. Her gaze was so intense. Finally, Halima sighed, dropping her face onto her palm.

"Are you going to introduce yourself?" She asked lazily, looking at Mason through droopy eyelids. Mason jumped at the reminder, his cheeks turning pink.

"Uh, sorry. I'm Mason Moore."

Halima nodded to herself, mentally categorizing the boy's name.

"I'm assuming, Mason, that she taught you some general perimeters when it comes to interacting with clients." She told him briskly, large eyes boring into him. "But I want to go over a couple of things so you can work properly with my clients. And then, we'll start working with the first appointment."

—————

Mason never had a job before and as they worked with their first patient, it showed. His first instinct was to have a conversation with them, and this was worsened by his tendency to talk more when he was nervous. Halima had to intervene and stop Mason before he got the first woman talking about recent issues with her kids.

And Mason often felt like he was walking on thin ice around Halima. He could see when she got frustrated with him for speaking out of turn or being too slow to help her with something.

Still, despite all of his mistakes and issues, Mason had a great time. He'd imagined what it was like to have patients before but seeing it in action was even more interesting. Several patients even pointed out how cheery and bright-eyed Mason looked, joking that he was too excited to hear about their aching bone or mysterious rashes.

Honestly, Mason knew he was weird for enjoying this so much. Most kids his age would probably hate sitting in a room with someone, listen to them lament about their health issues, then be tasked to find out why they had the problem in the first place. But Mason loved it. He loved going through processes and tasks he'd been taught from class and hearing names of conditions he'd only read about before.

As time went on, Mason started getting a clear image of what it could be like to have this job himself. By working in a private clinic, Halima got to function as a primary physician for her patients. She got more control over how the patients were treated in a way that Mason didn't know would be possible.

Hours later, Halima announced that they were done seeing clients for the day. It was super quiet as they cleaned up, disinfecting surfaces and organizing papers as necessary. Mason actually felt quite sad with the reality that the day was over: soon he wouldn't be able to see this room again. Mason took in a deep inhale, trying to hold on to the scent of paper and disinfectant. He'd been here less than a day and was already going to miss it.

With a heavy sigh, Mason threw away the paper towel he'd used to wipe down the plastic chair the patients were sitting on. It was the final time he'd be doing so. Dramatically, Mason was reluctant to let go of the trash.

"I'm done cleaning." Mason announced, sounding obviously dejected. "Is there anything else you needed me to do?"

Halima hummed as she scanned the room. She mentally went over all the things she needed to do to leave for the day and wondered if there was anything else she wanted Mason to do.

"No. You're done for the day." She told him, typing something into her computer. "You can leave now if you'd like."

Mason grabbed his jacket and slid it on slowly. It felt weird to leave like this, without saying anything to her. He started for the door but stopped with his hand on the handle. I shouldn't say anything. She probably wants me to leave as soon as possible.

"Uh, Halima?" Mason hesitantly said as he turned around to face her. "I just wanted to say that I, uh, had a really great time today. I can really see myself doing this in the future now, so thank you."

To Mason's surprise, Halima's expression softened into a soft smile. It was the happiest she'd looked without a patient being in the room, and Mason was taken aback.

"You know, that's kind of why I keep letting Lorraine put you newbies on me year after year." She told Mason honestly, chuckling to herself. "The first couple of appointments are always a pain but, you guys remind me of why I started this job in the first place. Sometimes, it's really important that I remember that."

Mason wasn't sure, but he thinks that the two of them were having a moment. It was over as soon as it came, with Halima wishing Mason a quick 'goodbye' and going back to her work. Yet, Mason was happy when he left. He was going to remember this day for the rest of his life. And, he was definitely going to call Mark so he could hear all about how his day went.

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For some reason, it took me forever and a day to write the last part of this chapter. My computer has been giving me MAJOR issues where I have to reload Google Docs every half hour and it takes, like, seven minutes to reload each time so I have been slightly irritated for days.

I'm sorry this wasn't super Marson-centric but I like focusing on other things sometimes, sue me.

Anygay,

Since I know you all love it so much, we've got some Mark and Gabe dynamic in the next chapter, so be warned.

Also maybe we'll do a club? Any predictions?

Anybi,

Vote, Comment, Share, Follow, anything Else you can do with this book and I will see you next chapter. Bye!!!

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