A brand new day

The doors of the elevator opened with brand new patients which means the start
of a brand new day. A new day sounds exciting but whenever I think of all those
sleepless nights and 24 hour shifts I always question myself why I considered this
my dream job.

Anyhow, once I came up to the ward I walked over to the locker room and quickly
got my scrubs on. It was really busy today so I was in a bit of a hurry. When I
finished up one of my colleagues came up to me and asked me whether I already
met The new guy.

Who are you talking about? No one told me we were having a new face in this
department.

Dominic, my fellow co-worker, told me there was this extremely handsome

looking guy who applied last week and now he is here as the new registrar. I
rolled my eyes and told him that he needed to stop dreaming and get back to
work.

Two hour and 3 puking patients later we thought it was a great time for our well-
deserved lunchbreak. I walked into the staffroom and found myself in the most
awkward situation ever. Everyone seemed to be talking to a person who I
assumed was the newbie . I sighed as I realised everybody seemed to be more
interested in him than in having a decent conversation with me.

This is pure barry I said as I walked back out and went downstairs for a smoke.

A bit ironic isnt it? A cardiothoracic surgeon who smokes. Believe me, as hard as
I try, I cannot stop.

After going back upstairs again to continue my shift I felt someone tap my should
as I was looking through some discharging papers. I turned around and was
surprised it was that new man again. What do you want? I said. I havent
properly introduced myself yet. Im Matteo Rossini, the new registrar. He replied
as he hold out his hand for a handshake. He had a bit of a strange accent but I
shook his hand anyway. I said that it was a pleasure to meet him but that I was
kind of busy at the moment.

Ric Griffin, the head of the department, came in and asked me if I already met
Dr. Rossini. Oh yes I sure have. I replied not that excited. I dont know what it
was but for some reason I couldnt stand this bloke. He is our new imported
surgeon from Italy.

So that what his funny accent was all about. I decided not to pay much attention
to it but then of course he needed to emphasize the fact the his English wasnt
so good and that he came here to learn English.

Well you speak fine English to me. What is it you want to learn then?
Ofcourse I lied a bit, but I was just trying to be nice for a change! I cant ruin his
first day, can I? He answered with that he wanted to learn some cool slang words
so he can teach them to his little brother.

Sorry mate, I only know a'thing aboot Scottish slang.

He looked surprised at me. Oh you are Scottish! How cool! Well you can teach
me some of your words too! I bet my brother would love those even better.

You could clearly hear he was Italian as he seemed to be adding extra vowels at
the end of almost all his words. Well at least he seems interested in learning to
speak my language. Maybe I should give this guy a chance.

"How come you like my accent so much?" I asked.

He said that he always got bullied by his foreign friends and sooner or later lost
contact with them because he was not cool enough. I looked down as I
remember my time as a kid.

I got bullied too mate. I said after quite a long silence. I told him that I moved
to London as a kid and got bullied for my Scottish accent. Kids would call me
names and they would mock my accent. I actually tried to forget my accent and
tried to learn how to speak British

I never thought that I would ever talk to someone about this but out of the blue
this managed to come out.

Lets go for a drink after work, aye?

He nodded and smiled. It seemed to do him some good as well. Unfortunately my

pager went off and I needed to get into theatre for an emergency operation.

After 3 hours of intense surgery my shift finally was over and I went back to the
staffroom. I put my jacket on and headed to the pub which was just around the
corner when you walked outside of the hospital. When entering I already saw
Matteo sitting at the bar.

So I bet we are all cool now? Matteo asked. Of course! Youre my mate now.
I said and smiled as I ordered an ice cold beer.

I dont care however you talk. I saw what you did in theatre today and you
shouldnt let others define you. You just be you.
873 words

Rationale

For this written task I decided to focus on accents and dialect and how they can
influence peoples lives. It shows how people from different countries struggles
with their own identity. We discussed this topic in class and I was keen on writing
a short story as you can really show how those characters are dealing with their
accents and dialects. In this task I focus on part 1 language language and the
individual. The text focusses on a man active in the medical world and he finds
himself working with a new colleague. Him being Scottish and his co-worker
being Italian they find one thing in common which is that they both struggled
with the way they speak since they were young. The story task place in the
modern day society and is obviously set in a hospital.

I used medical jargon and Scottish slang in this task since this is the appropriate
language for this task. Furthermore this written task is aimed at people who like
reading short fictional stories. Its purpose is to entertain though there is a moral
to the story. Its message is to be yourself and not let others define you like the
character Matteo literally states in the end of the story.

209 words