Julia wheeled the small stool over to the examination table and sat down as she quickly read the medical chart. Her shift had technically ended over an hour ago, but the collapse of an outbuilding at a nearby Weaver Academy had resulted in an influx of new patients.
The boy sitting on the table swung his legs idly as she read over the notes in his chart. He looked bored, as children often did at treatment centers, but he certainly didn't appear to be in pain.
"It says here that he was injured by debris during the accident at the Academy," Julia said, looking up at the boy's mother. "However, you haven't listed any specific injury or complaint. Was he close to the outbuilding when it collapsed? Is he experiencing any pain?"
"It was an explosion, not just a collapse!" exclaimed the boy's mother. "And he was in his classroom at the time, but one of the windows near his desk broke when debris hit it. Even if he isn't complaining of anything, he should still be checked for injury!"
"So...he wasn't injured by debris, then?"
"Well how should I know? That's why I brought him here! It's your job to assess patients for injury."
Julia raised an eyebrow at the woman, but kept quiet. She had long since learned the futility of trying to talk sense into patients, or guardians, like this boy's mother.
"Okay, Andrew," Julia smiled as she turned to him. "I'm going to put my hands on your forehead and chest. You'll feel a slight tingling as my magic searches your body for injuries, okay?"
The boy nodded his head and, thankfully, sat quietly as she began her examination. She sent a wave of magic through the boy's body and closed her eyes as she concentrated, searching for any signs of abnormalities. Not surprisingly, her magic quickly found nothing out of the ordinary.
"Excuse me, but will this take long?" said the boy's mother, hovering next to Julia's shoulder. "We've been waiting for nearly an hour and I have to get Andrew to his club meeting."
Julia opened her eyes just in time to see the boy cringe at the mention of the club meeting. She did her best not to smirk.
"I'm afraid he'll have to skip his club activities this week," she said, winking at Andrew. "Although I was unable to find any signs of injury, he is likely stressed from the collapse— I'm sorry, the explosion at school. I recommend plenty of rest for the next three days."
"Three days? But he looks fine!" she argued, gesturing toward her son.
Julia simply smiled, then handed the mother a form and said, "As you said, it's my job to assess patients, and that is my recommendation for Andrew. Please hand that form to the staff at the front desk as you leave."
This prompt was provided by @mariannewest and can be found here.
Image sourced from Pixabay.