Chapter 666

“That’s right, first place goes to Charlotte!”
Letty heard the crowd buzzing below. Her hands, hanging by her sides, curled into tight fists.
She’d been around medicine her whole life. Even in middle and high school, she had a master guiding her, so by the time she got to university, she was used to being the best. Every test, every competition-first place was always hers. Now suddenly, Charlotte, the new girl who’d only been in college for a few days, thought she could swoop in and take Letty’s spot. As if.
The whole auditorium was arguing about who really deserved to win.
Things were getting out of hand, so the chair of the judges stepped forward. He glanced at Charlotte and said, “Charlotte, some people think you worked too fast. They’re not sure you were thorough enough. We’re going to replay both your procedures side by side. Is that okay with you?”
Charlotte had already peeled off her gloves and was standing calmly off to the side. She just nodded and replied, “No problem.”
Then the chairman looked to Letty. She agreed without hesitation. She trusted her own experiment completely. There was no way she’d messed up. As for Charlotte… well, that was another story.
With both of them on board, the big screen lit up, showing both surgeries at once- Letty’s mouse on the left, Charlotte’s on the right.
At the start of the contest, Letty had slipped on her gloves, grabbed the scalpel, and cut straight into the mouse’s belly, poking around with her forceps. Charlotte, on the other hand, took the scalpel from Molly, but first paused to sterilize both the blade and her mouse. She pressed her fingers gently along the mouse’s abdomen, searching for the heart.
By this time, Letty’s mouse was a mess-blood everywhere, clearly not going to make it. But Charlotte’s
mouse, though its abdomen wamet
opened, had only the tiniest incision. Charlotte slipped a laparoscope inside, found the heart right away, and made her observations. Then she pulled out the scope, cleaned the wound, gave the mouse an injection, and stitched it up. Quick and precise.
The whole thing took less than two minutes. When she finished, the mouse had just
a small wound, and after the sedative and medicine, it was already crawling slowly across the table.
Mice share a lot of genes with
people, which is why millions are
used in labs every year. But seeing one survive like this, the entire crowd went silent Everyone’s faces Softened some with real emotion
The moment Charlotte stepped back, applause thundered across the room. Life is precious. These mice gave their lives to help medical science move forward. They
deserved some respect, at least.
The applause stung Letty, sharp and painful. The judges and the audience were so moved by Charlotte’s experiment. Was she really going to lose first place?
Letty bit her lip, nerves crawling up her spine. Suddenly, a clear voice rang out from the crowd.
“Hold on! I think there’s a problem with this student’s surgery!”
Heads turned. The speaker was Hollis, the president of The Cabinda Medical Branch.
Letty’s heart jumped. She relaxed a little. Hollis had always supported her. If he was speaking up now, he must be about to defend her. First place wasn’t lost yet.