Study and Sleep! - House
House was, much to his displeasure, once again standing at a lecture podium. His (thinly disguised) case study with the first -years had gotten enough positive feedback that Cuddy had promoted him. He was now lecturing to second-year practitioners. As the students filed in, House thought to himself that he was glad he hadn’t planned much to say beyond “patients are idiots who only make getting the right diagnosis a much longer process than it needs to be.” His audience looked like they wanted to be there about as much as he did.
One student in particular caught House’s eye, though. The hood of their sweatshirt was pulled up, but it did nothing to hide the desperately dark rings beneath their eyes. House himself only got similar after days on a case or sleepless nights doing battle with his leg. House didn’t even want to imagine the circumstances that had them not only looking like that, but carrying the largest size of coffee the cafeteria had to offer.
House mentally shook himself. Since when had he cared about the welfare of any of the med students? If and until they became a duckling of his, he had no reason to. Hell, even if they did end up working for him, it was a 50/50 shot whether he interacted with them at all beyond DDXing and the occasional meddling.
The diagnostician tried his best to focus solely on getting through his material, but his attention kept getting pulled toward the student in the dark hoodie. Stopping just short of obviously singling them out for interrogation, House began to aim most of his questions their way. House could see the gears turning behind obviously sleep-deprived eyes, but even the simplest of answers wouldn’t come to the student.
“This, ladies and gentlemen,” He announces, pointing his cane directly at the student’s chest “is what happens when you skip one too many lectures. You would think you would want to attend something you pay an arm and a leg for, but hey, what do I know? Let’s all take five. You.” he points the cane again, “stay behind.”
You sat nervously gulping your coffee while House waited for the entire lecture hall to clear out. You’d nearly finished by the time House limps over, unexpectedly yanking the cup from your hand. “Hey! I was drinking that!”
“No, you were chugging it; there’s a difference. Some of us actually like to enjoy our coffee. In any case, caffeine is the last thing you need right now.”
“Look, whatever I did, I’m sorry. I swear I wasn’t skipping. Just having an off day.”
“I can tell.” House leans against the seat behind him, arms crossed over his chest, giving you a slight glare. “When was the last time you slept?”
That was not even close to the question you were expecting to be asked and you sputtered for an answer while House clears his throat.
“You know,” he began, pacing in front of you, “there was a study done once. Turns out, you actually learn more if you sleep on information, or at least nap, after learning it. The all-nighters you pull are the exact opposite of effective.”
“They seem to have been working well enough so far.” You shrug, reaching for the pitiful remains of your coffee. House merely moves it further away, smirking as you continue to reach for it, losing your balance practically falling over the tabletop.
“Yeah, lack of sleep isn’t affecting your awareness at all.” You’re so tired that it takes you a minute to catch onto the fact that House is being sarcastic. “You’re not getting this back. Unfortunately this isn’t high school and I can’t just send you home until you get it together, but I can strongly suggest that you call it quits for the day. Seriously, get outta here.”
“....Is that you giving me a free pass to ditch the rest of my classes and avoid studying for my midterm next week? I’d like to send my other profs in the right direction when they need someone to blame for my failures.”
House scoffed. “Good try, but that’s not what I said. Cuddy’s already on my ass enough. How do you think I ended up teaching this class? Anyway, I’m not saying ditch everything. You want to be a doctor, you’ve got to work for it. Ideally at normal times of the day. You knew what you were signing up for when you entered med school. It’s a grind, but it’s worth it for anyone who’s not a complete idiot. Which, despite your performance today, I can tell you’re not. That said, take the day. Rest up and get back at it tomorrow. No one’s going to miss you. I can pretty much guarantee you they don’t get paid enough to care. I certainly don’t.”
You nod, deciding to take House’s advice as you head out of the lecture hall. The last sound you hear is your coffee cup hitting the bottom of a trash can.