"Resuscitation" - A Patreon Exclusive Short Snippet (Patreon)

"It's broken," Xiao says. 

You blink, gazing blankly at Xiao. "What?"

"It's deceased. Dead. Finito." He jabs the touch screen on the coffee machine. "See? Nothing."

You look at your phone. Five minutes before rounds start. You need this coffee. This cannot be happening. 

"Have you tried turning it on and off?" Reese says from behind you. 

Xiao gestures at the display. "Where on this thing does it say 'on button'?" 

Reese steps past you, puts their hands on their hips. You pray that they have some great revelation. Instead, after more than a few seconds of silence, they say, "I don't know."

Three minutes before rounds start. You need to leave. You put your cup underneath the nozzle - whisper under your breath "please." You press the button for coffee, expecting the next menu. 

The screen - cold, impassive, cruel - doesn't change. 

Something bordering on primal wells up inside of you. You stifle it - instead, slowly put your cup back in the stack. 

---

When you come back to the resident lounge during lunch, you see that someone's taped a piece of paper to the coffee machine. 

Machine expired this AM. Resuscitation attempted - not successful. 

Must've been Reese - always able to find the humor in things. 

"When do you think it'll get fixed?" you say to Laurel. 

Laurel shrugs. The microwave dings, and she removes a Tupperware of lasagna. 

"You could go to the chiefs about it," she says. 

"You're joking."

She looks you in the eye, says in absolute deadpan, "Resident wellness."

---

Another long shift. Held-up discharges, last minute admission - it's now eight p.m. and you still have a note to finish. You swipe your ID card at the resident lounge, just to pop in for one of the yogurts stocked in the fridge, when you hear a loud rattling from inside, a frustrated groan. 

You swing the door open, see Vic with the coffee machine in their arms. They meet your gaze. They set the machine back down on the counter. 

"...Were you...shaking it?" you say at last. You take stock of the scene - Vic, the coffee machine, the booklet open on the counter.

Vic lets out a huff, their face still pink. "I'm - trying to fix it. Obviously."

"By shaking it," you repeat.

"Did you need something?" Vic says. 

You shake your head. Just as you leave the room, you catch Vic pick up the booklet - on the cover, a picture of the coffee machine. 

An instruction manual. 

---

"It's alive!" Reese says when you walk in the next morning. They have a steaming cup of coffee in their hands - hazelnut, by the smell of it. "It's a miracle!"

You take your cup, place it under the nozzle. Hit the coffee button, hold your breath when the screen changes to the next menu. One more press, and the machine whirs to life. A perfect latte in your hands. 

When you run into Vic later, you can't help yourself. 

"Thank you," you say. "For shaking the coffee machine back to life."

You don't miss the light flush in Vic's cheeks. 

"I don't know what you mean," they say.