Love Expectations (Season 1 of Nata and Phillip's Romance) ✔️

8. 'My heart is now on the floor'

Natalia

The lab coat was supposed to minimize the attention of my colleagues to my today's appearance. Judging by the number of glances I've collected in the first two hours of work, I failed at that first task for the day.

Kate walks around the bay from the microscope with a flat of tinted samples. "There are rumors that you are going on a hot date tonight." Kate lowers her voice even though her and I are the only two in my lab. "Fiona asked me in the bathroom if I knew what you and Samson are fighting about"— does everyone know Samson and I broke up?—"or why you weren't wearing your engagement ring."

Fiona is one of my best interns, but gossiping is something she could be an Olympic champion in.

I roll my eyes. "She only told me she liked the lipstick I used."

"That's my lipstick you're getting compliments on." Kate puckers her mouth. "She said nothing of the sort to me."

That's because the colors of Kate's lipstick don't shock anyone anymore. She went through green, black, purple, orange, and super-glitter versions. If she'd like to shock the lab she needs to consider showing up without makeup, the state even I haven't seen her in after living with her for two days.

"I didn't take it as a compliment." I close down the files that captured yesterday's progress of the drug delivery on my current samples of living tumors. "She probably thinks I'm trying too hard because of my new position. I should've picked up my clothes and makeup over the week-end instead of borrowing yours.'"

"Pfft." Kate gives me a you're-full-of -yourself look she usually reserves for the colleagues she doesn't like. She removes the latex gloves and washes her hands in the sink at the end of the bay. "You always delude yourself by imagining people think about you. Everyone's too worried about themselves to dedicate that much time to thinking about others. That's the principle I operate under."

"Is that why I end up with the most inconvenient times for my studies? They forget about me?" The question is rhetorical.

Kate gives me another, "Pfft." She plops on the chair next to mine. "On that note, we'll have to shuffle the schedule. The gamma counter in the radioactivity lab is stuck again. If we call the engineer who flew out to fix it last time, he can fit us in in two weeks for twenty grand total, including his travel and living expenses."

"Third time this year?" My voice climbs the Kilimanjaro. "No, thank you." I roll away, allowing Kate to take my place at the computer with the readings form the time lapse microscope. The naive me though that getting the approval to hire my first official full-time employee will come with more money for... at least something. I was told I was asking for too much. "I will have to start selling kidneys on the black market to afford it. The only budget increase I got is for the headcount. The equipment and materials budget stays the same."

"I'm just passing along the news. You do you." Kate's attention shift to the computer screen, as she pulls up the most recent 3D images of the tumors.

I leave Kate to do her thing. I may be the PI now, but that's just the newest hat I get to wear. I'm also the repair person for half of the equipment in my and shared labs, a coordinator and shuffler of schedules extraordinaire, manager of people's emotions and adviser when it comes to their careers, all in-between fighting for resources and funding.

No one told me being in charge of a lab would be easy. I wanted to do this, but the reality is much less glamorous than the idyllic version of the process I created in my mind. I make it back to my office and slide the door mostly closed. Taking on more responsibility didn't seem to mean removing some of the tasks off my plate.