Excerpt of Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam
(Page 2 of 11)
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“All right,” said Fitzgerald.
“I should have told you earlier, when I first got that
feeling.”
“You’ve given the issue some thought.”
“Not much. I just wanted to clarify.”
Fitz picked up a shrimp chip by its edge, dipped it in
the peanut sauce with red pepper flakes, and crunched.
His face became sweaty and bloomed red as he chewed,
then coughed. He grasped the water glass and took a
quick gulp.
Ming said, “Are you upset?”
He coughed to his right side, and had difficulty stopping.
He reminded himself to sit up straight while
coughing, realized that he wasn’t covering his mouth,
covered his mouth, was embarrassed that his fair skin
burned hot and red, wondered in a panicky blur if this
redness would be seen to portray most keenly his injured
emotional state, his physical vulnerability in choking, his
Anglocentric intolerance to chili, his embarrassment at
not initially covering his mouth, his obvious infatuation
with Ming, or—worst of all—could be interpreted as a
feeble attempt to mask or distract from his discomfort at
her pre-emptive romantic rejection.
Ming was grateful for this interlude, for she had now
entirely forgotten her rehearsed stock of diplomatically
distant but consoling though slightly superior phrases.
“Hot sauce. I’m fine,” he gasped, coughing.
There was a long restaurant pause, in which Ming
was aware of the other diners talking, although she
could not perceive what their conversations were about.
She said, “I’ve embarrassed us both.”
“I’m glad you mentioned it.”
“So you are interested,” she said. “Or you were interested
until a moment ago. Is that why you’re glad that
I mentioned it?”
“It doesn’t matter, does it? What you’ve just said has
made it irrelevant. Or, it would be irrelevant if it were
previously relevant, but I’m glad you brought up your
feelings,” said Fitzgerald. He picked up the menu.
“Don’t feel obliged to tell me whether I needed to
say what I just said.”
“It was great to study together. You’ve got a great
handle on . . . on mitochondria.”
The waiter came. Ming felt unable to read the menu,
and pointed at a lunch item in the middle of the page.
She got up to use the bathroom, and wondered in the
mirror why she had not worn lipstick—not taken a
minute this morning to look good. Then, she reminded
herself that she should have actually taken measures to
appear unattractive. Nonetheless, Ming examined her
purse for lipstick, finding only extra pens and a crumpled
exam schedule. When she returned, they smiled
politely at each other for a little while. They ate, and
the noodles fell persistently from Fitzgerald’s chopsticks
onto the plate, resisting consumption. Ming
asked if he wanted a fork, and he refused. After a while,
as Fitzgerald’s pad thai continued to slither from his
grasp, Ming caught the waiter’s eye, who noticed
Fitzgerald’s barely eaten plate and brought a fork without
Ming having to ask.
Fitzgerald ate with the fork, and craved a beer.
“We’re great study partners,” said Ming, still holding
her chopsticks. “I want to clarify that it’s not
because of you.” She had to get into medical school this
year, and therefore couldn’t allow distraction. Her family,
she said, was modern in what they wanted for her
education, and old-fashioned in what they imagined for
her husband. They would disapprove of Fitzgerald, a
non-Chinese. They would be upset with Ming, and she
couldn’t take these risks while she prepared to apply for
medical school. The delicate nature of this goal, upon
which one must be crucially focused, superseded everything
else, Ming reminded Fitzgerald. He stopped eating
while she talked. She looked down, stabbed her
chopsticks into the noodles, and twisted them around.
He asked, “What about you?”
The above excerpt is the complete text of the short story "How To Get Into Medical School, Part 1" , pages 1-30 of Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures. Copyright (c) Dr. Vincent Lam, 2007. Reproduced with permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.
