The second hand seemed to tick slower, the longer she watched it. ‘Almost 8 am, so we’ll finally be able to get this show on the road.’ She had arrived 45 minutes early, making her the third student to have arrived. Disappointed that it meant she had been beaten twice, she made a mental note to arrive an hour early tomorrow. She was getting impatient. After grabbing her name tag, binder, and finding her seat, she had meticulously completed the waivers and forms while sipping her cup of bland coffee. ‘I hope this isn’t the best they have to offer on this campus. I’ll need to find a good coffee shop near my place if that’s the case,’ she thought.

After finishing the the stack of forms, she had started sketching elaborate anatomical drawings in her notebook. ‘I think my art minor is going pay off. The body is a work of art,’ she notes as she surveys her work. ‘Becoming a top notch surgeon requires an artistic eye as well as manual dexterity and coordination.’ She smirked as she continued to sketch. ‘I’ve been told that I’m good with my hands. Never had any complaints in that department! ’she mused, looking to one side then another as she let out a quiet chuckle.

As the minutes ticked by, she would occasionally look up from her artwork, watching the seats around her begin to fill. Students were starting to file in more steadily now. She saw many clean cut, typical pre-med type guys. Some frat boy types. There were also a couple of not so clean cut guys. ‘Would it kill them to shave and try to look presentable? Yuck. Facial hair is the worst. Thank god for women.’ She continued to scan the crowd, noticing a few SoCal surfer types with dark tans and sun streaked blond hair. ‘It is southern California. Bound to be a few that haven’t partied themselves out of school yet.’ There were more Asians and Indians than she expected, but like Yale, fewer black males. ‘I guess some things don’t change.’

She started to survey the women more closely. Some typical plain jane types, brainy looking, but too plain for her taste. Some uber femme types, in impractical heels and too much makeup. ‘Did they not get a chance to change after coming home last night, or did they think it was a good idea to dress like they’re going to the club when they’re meeting the faculty for the first time? Idiots. Pretty, but most likely high maintenance, and clearly lacking in judgment.’ Continuing her appraisal, she noticed a good proportion of the rest were decent enough looking, not dressed over the top, all smiling and excitedly milling around the classroom introducing themselves to each other. There were a few black and Latino girls. She noticed numerous Asian and Indian women.  ‘Haven’t tried those yet,’ she thought snarkily, ‘Who are you kidding Bette? They’re straight. The only other homos you’ve seen are those 2 guys in the back trying to make iced coffee out of this sludge. Medicine is conservative, just like Daddy said.’ She returned to sketching. ‘I don’t know why I’m even worried about this. It’s not like I’m going to have time for dating anyways. And classmates are messy relationships from what I’ve heard. That’s all I need. Some stage 5 clinger who already spends all their time with me in class and then studying, then wants to spend any free time we have together too. Yikes. No thank you.’