The room was bright and heavily lit with the sunshine’s powerful rays. There was also a very strong scent of cleaning chemicals as well as herbal ointments and medicines. Maki sighed as she saw the old man, sitting on his bed reading another thick book. It was hard to take the book away from him peacefully and without a verbal fight. She gently placed the tray of medications on the bed side table and stared at him with her hands on her hips, waiting for him to at least acknowledge her presence in the room. Just like all the other times, she knew this would fail.

 “Yamaa-san?” The old man lifted his head up from the book briefly and stared at her angrily. He was clearly annoyed at the fact that she had disturbed him yet again, from his own little world.

She smiled and chose to ignore the meaning behind the stare. She looked over at the medicine tray I had placed down earlier and pointed at it. His gaze followed my hand and then stared at her once again with more annoyance. Again, ignoring the meaning, she grabbed the items from the tray and started doing what she came to do here in the first place, her job.  When she turned back to bed where the old man was sitting before, he was gone. He was by far, one of the worst patients she ever had to deal with. No wonder the other nurse before her had given up.

---

“Hey Horikita-san, you’ve been transferred to the person in room 208.” The nurse behind the receptionist table informed her as she had just started working her eight hour shift.  Maki stared at her with shock clearly written on my face. She wasn’t expecting to hear this news.

“Why?” She managed to ask.

The nurse looked hesitant to reply but finally mumbled, “Because Nakayumi-san can’t stand him anymore.”

Maki should have taken the hint two weeks ago.

---

“Look Yamaa-san, the sooner you take these tablets and I inject this into your arm, the sooner you can go back to your own little world of novels. Got that?” Maki was starting to get annoyed herself. She knew this was no way to treat a patient, but she couldn’t help it. It had been a long day and he was her last patient before she could go home.

The old man made a small, “Pfft,” sound and didn’t budge from where he was now sitting, the window-sill seat.

“Are you going to co-operate or am I going to have to call the doctor again?” Maki slightly threatened. Although, Maki seemed to be a lot more scared than him to be honest. She didn’t want to be scolded again for not being able to do her job properly.

“You and I both know that you wouldn’t do dare do that little trick again.” He finally made a clear reply with a small smirk on his lips.

Ugh, she doesn’t even know why she bothers with him.

---

“Why can’t I be transferred to another patient?” Maki demanded to know.

Again, the same nurse who informed me of my transfer replied with a soft mumble, “Because no one else will take him.”

She sighed.  Maki couldn’t blame them, but she didn’t want to be stuck with him either.

“This is insane!” She complained. Unaware of the supervisors staring behind her back.

“Horikita-san, a word please?” It sounded like a command rather than a question. “Is there a problem again?” He didn’t sound pleased or concerned. Maki shook her head almost immediately and excused herself from him, glad to have escaped his torturous glare.

---

“We..well, I’ll call your family over then!” Maki replied back.

The old man immediately looked taken aback, as if he wasn’t expecting that come out of . Maki couldn’t help but feel a little smile crawl up her face as she felt a little victorious of her reply. As she started to inch closer towards him again, he suddenly slammed his book against a small table in the room.  This obviously startled her and she quickly moved back to her original position, on the opposite side of the room.

“The only reason those idiots would come here is to check whether if I’m really dead or not.” He gritted through his teeth.

“Re..really?” Maki stuttered. But she had to admit, she was a little curious about this old man’s life. Who knew? Maybe she could find the source of his attitude problems and get him to soften his heart more? That would make my life so much easier. Maki chuckled at the thought. That stuff only happens in movies and dramas.

“Yes really.” He replied mockingly as he rolled his eyes.

Just then, the door slid open and the supervisor came walking in. He stared at Maki angrily, “I heard a loud noise coming from in here. Is everything alright Horikita-san?”

Maki dropped her jaw slightly and then stared at the old man. Why was she taking the blame for his doings? As she was about to answer, the old man beat her to it.

“I just dropped my book, that’s all. Everything’s fine here.”

Maki continued to stare at him, had he just taken the wrap for her? There seemed to be some goodness, or at least normal human courtesy in him.

“Well, excuse me. I’ll take my leave.” The supervisor bowed to the old man and glared at Maki as he walked passed, back outside.

“It seems that you do have a heart after all.”  Maki replied, filling the silence which had engulfed the room.

He stared at her as if she were a lunatic. “Ouch, that really hurt.” He replied back with a sarcastic smile and continued to read his book. “I just don’t want another change in nurses. Besides, I know your little tricks and weaknesses now. It’s better off this way.”

The hope of him having some goodness in him disappeared. He was just thinking about himself, as usual.