This entry is for Finish the Story Contest where the @bananafish rules the deeps of ... where is my witty quip? ... rules, just rules. Okay. haha!

---

What goes around, comes around

by @f3nix

Barnard Hall, in the heart of the west wing of the medical school, the Asclepius sancta sanctorum. The light of the sunset dripped from the dusty double-glazed windows and mixed with the cedar scent of the wooden stalls, arranged in steep theatre. A visitor who had passed the heavy double door would have undoubtedly caught the note of animal musk mixing with the wood essence. Smell of anxiety. Smell of hunted prey. Smell of university student exhausted during a long, endless session of exams.

"I strongly advise you to think carefully about your next words," Prof. Angelus said to the student.

Spread over several rows, set in the narrow space between the back and the table top, the remaining students were crossed by the icy scalpel blade of that voice.

"Here we are," Luke thought in a flash of conscious resignation.

It was the sixth time he had to repeat that exam: after five fails in a row his whole life have been interrupted and swallowed up in that black hole. By now he knew every detail of "At Heart of Cardiology", the three volumes treatise written by Prof. Angelus, a widely recognised eminence of cardiology.

For an eternal moment his thoughts dissociated from the scene and flew to that day three years earlier when, at the head of a handful of fifteen other students, Luke had decided to protest the decisions of the seventy-year-old professor.
"Do you mind if I ask you.. do you really intend to graduate in this university?" A stunned secretary had told him at some point, after the insistent protests of the student committee showed no sign of blurring.
And at what levels could the power of an old ordinary professor, close to retirement, ever come? The answer did not wait and, just two months later, Prof. Angelus was acclaimed by the unanimous council as dean of the faculty. Luke was instantly fire-branded and he would never graduate from that university.

"Well?" The assistant, the professor's guard dog, broke the silence.

"The... the... commissurotomy can only be performed if the flaps are not calcified and the subvalvular apparatus is preserved. With a left anterior thoracotomy, the chest is accessed through the resection space of rib 5. Once the pericardium is opened through the left auricle, a diverter is introduced into the mitral ostium which, opening, forces the valvular flaps to separate the merged commissures." Luke answered almost without breathing, tense like a Vietcong in his tunnel paved of sleepless study nights.

The professor's nose had disgusting bright red veins, Luke did not know if he was breathing - or alive at all. He looked down at the white, protruding knuckles of his left hand, clinging to the arm of his chair, and waited for his fate.

"Twenty-six, do you accept?". A note of irony in that electric scalpel voice.
"Yes. Sorry, I'll take the transcripts." Luke stumbled into his bag, looking through the notebooks for the grade transcripts. He had not even brought the booklet with him since there was so little hope of passing the exam.

The professor absent-mindedly drew a twenty-four and a signature in cuneiform spelling.

The cold light of the Pentaled surgical light-head outlined the instruments neatly aligned as efficient soldiers ready to execute his orders. It was almost pleasant to the watchful eyes of Dr. Luke Richards, a promising cardio-surgeon and head of the famous Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea, London.

"Doctor, we have verified that a serious heart attack is going on. The frequency is 207 bpm. We administered 50 mg of protamine sulfate, the patient did not react. Furthermore, his wife informed us of a complication deriving from senile cardiac amyloidosis."

"A very normal case that could be safely entrusted to the Mako-bot" Dr. Richards determined instantly by glancing quickly at the operating table, automated and managed by the hospital central A.I.
He snorted slightly. Evidently the patient had enough influence not only to obtain a human operation, but also to have the Chief Cardiac Surgeon out of bed at three o'clock in the night.

"Who do we have here, doctor?"

"This is a certain Prof. Daniel Angelus".

=== My Ending ===

A mixture of anger and anxiety course through his veins. - This is our time. - He resisted the urge to punch the man who had ridiculed and humiliated him.

Luke visibly shook his head. Tiny beads of sweat dripped down his solemn face.

"Are you okay, Doctor?" asked Steven.

"Umm... yes. Sorry. It must be the early morning hours." he said. - Lying fuck. That's okay. He doesn't need to know. - "Let's get this underway."

Steven believes him because Luke appeared to regain his composure. They went to there respected places and began the procedure.

One little "accident" is all it takes. - Luke sat down in front of the monitor. - Remember twenty-four? - I'm not listening to you. - You responded to me.

Luke's anger intensified, his face feels like its being touched by the sun.

Luke moved the master handles, separating the muscle. He cut away parts of the flap that opens and closes Angelus' valve and masterfully worked around the senile cardiac amyloidosis issue.

Luke's mind traveled back to the time in his therapist's office. The therapist asked if he'd like to talk about his time spent with the professor. Luke pressed both hands on the arms of the chair inward, attempting to break them clean off. After calming down, he was asked what else he could do when he felt himself about ready to explode. Trying to control and bottle up his anger wasn't the answer.

He's a rapist. You saw the way he'd look at those young college women. - No, stop it. You're not rational. - Pussy.

Luke finished cutting. He started sewing in the metal ring. The assistant manually tied knots when needed. - He made you drink, for fuck sake. - I needed discipline. He did his best. - Stop that shit, pussy. Slip. Doctors do it all the time. - No.

Luke heard the heart monitor flatline. - Yes. You did it! - Luke heard the monitor beat. - So fucking close. ... He's over ninety. He's frail. Fuck bag, this is mercy. DO IT!!!

Steven ties the lost knot. Luke gets up and stepped away from the machine.

"Great job, Doctor," said Steven. "Always calm and cool under pressure. I aim to be like you someday."

Everything in the clear, Luke said his goodbyes and headed back home.

---

---

Luke entered his home, heading straight to bed. This day had drained him more than any other had since his college days. Sleep overcame him in a matter of seconds.

Hours passed.

He dreamt he was in a car with his old professor. They looked out the passenger window. A playground in front of them. Jovial children played on the swing, in the sandbox, and ran around the jungle gym.

Prof. Angelus turned to face Luke. "I want to thank you for giving me a few more years to spend with my granddaughter. It's a good thing you don't hold on to grudges."

From a poolside bar-stool and a drink in hand, Luke watched his Professor and a small girl holding hands, laughing, and walking toward the sunset.

He woke. Tears streamed down his face. The weight he'd carried for so long lifted off his shoulders. He quietly laughed.

THE END

===

Previous Finish the Story Contest Entries
The Town That Changed	Even the Clouds Smile	The Border	Horro Vacui
Black Star	Quitting Life	LER	It Awakens
Apocalypse and Pretzels	Metallic Kisses	Curie upvoted The Battle of Bloodneck Valley

===

If you are enjoying my work, please -

• I'm asking for something a little extra for the next couple of months. Please, if you can, support me in getting to Afrika. You can find the page I set up on Fundition and gofundme. Your help is very much need and appreciated.

===

• Upvote my posts through steem auto and add the other people and groups you would like to support.

• Support me and others through steembasicincome shares. (This also helps you because you will also get a share for sponsoring somebody.)

• Click here --> Steemmonsters. This is an offical affiliate link. So, not only will you get awesome cards, but you will also be helping me out.

• Send steem directly to me! because you want to. 8-)

---

---

• Coming to you from arcange, a friendly warning to all who want to be successful on the steemit platform:

A bit of paranoia is the basis of security.
There are a few simple rules to follow in order to avoid having your account hacked:

Rule 1: NEVER, I repeat, NEVER use or give your owner key or password!

Rule 2: Use your posting key to login, post and vote on trusted websites like steemit.com or busy.org.

Rule 3: NEVER give your active key as this key allows to control your funds! Only use your active key for special operation like money transfer or account update on trusted websites like steemit.com.

Rule 4: Anywhere else, if you are requested to provide any of the above key: RUN AWAY!!!

---

---

Tools:

• The Most Dangerous Writing App - This program keeps me from getting to bogged down with what I think is the perfect way. It forces me to keep writing no matter what comes to mind.
• Grammarly - I use this app all the time to catch my mistakes. If I didn't have a spell checker, you would be lost in my world. haha!
• Hemmingway App: Another useful tool to help you make your writing more clear, comprehensive, and easier to understand.
• Steem World: After the @ symbol, enter your name or anyone elses name to see a host of information regarding what is going on with an account.
• Pixabay: Photo that you can use freely in your blog posts.

---

---

Ongoing Contests

• twenty-four hour short story - You gotta be quick to get this one posted in time. He posts the contest on Sunday (usually) and ends it about 48 hours later. This contest has a 2000 word limit.

• Finish the Story Contest - The contest begins on Wednesday (usually) and end 5 days later. This contest will test your write skills with something a little different each week. Pletty of time to write something around the 500 word mark.

• Random Games - Yes, random. She will put this contest out on Thursdays (usually) and end it after post pay out (usually). This is challenging because you don't know what you are going to get.

• Steem Monsters Common Card Fantasy Story Contest! - Coming out roughly every week. If you enjoy card games like Magic, Yugio, and others like it, you might like this game. Write a fictional tale about the card they present in the contest and your entry just might be the one they choose to showcase.

• Tell A Story To Me, And Win 5 SBD! Writing Contest - Kind of random when it comes out but don't worry. You will have two weeks to complete your work of art from the given prompt. Have fun!

• Haiku - These are coming out every couple days or so. If you stuggle with rhymes, no worries. Haikus don't have to rhyme. All you need to make a haiku is five syllable on the first, seven syllables in the second line, and again back to five syllable for the last line. So easy it makes me think I'm being super product. LOL

• 50-word Challenge - This is an interesting challenge and very challenging to say the least. You only get fifty words to tell a story or a vignettes. Here is a great post that will explain the difference between the two concepts. Good luck, Brave Story Writer!