Ken spotted Rita through the window and called out to her, "Get inside, young girl."
Meanwhile, Mike hadn't started attending to the patients, and a commotion arose as people shuffled between clinical rooms. Those who were standing on his side withdrew immediately and advanced to unoccupied space on the bench in front of clinical room 2, and a few undecided patients continued moving to and from the two ends.
Finally, Okii was called into the clinical room, bringing a sense of calm. All patients settled in front of clinical room 1 awaiting examination by Mike.
In clinical room 2, Ken sat watching a video on TikTok while interviewing Rita.
"Young girl, thank you so much for coming to the hospital for a medical checkup," Ken said as he looked at the screen of his phone. The girl raised her eyes to look into his eyes as he talked but she couldn't find them. The eyes were sunken like those of a sleeping cat and immediately she was embarrassed causing her to withdraw her attention from him.
Then he turned to her and asked in a low voice, "What is your name?"
"Rita."
She answered sharply in a low and rough voice which augured her loss of interest in listening to his questions as she peeked aside.
Then Ken glanced at the screen of his phone and smiled. At this time, Rita's eyes were fixed on him and her attention became drawn by the desire to know what was transpiring on the screen.
"What is that? I also want to see it!" she said abruptly and surprisingly as she jerked forward. It seems she was more interested in looking at what funny event was occurring on the screen than attending to him.
"No, remain there," He shouted and put aside the phone when he noticed a motive force in her. Later on, he asked, "Where is your medical record book?"
She picked up her school bag and showed it to him.
"I need the book, not the bag!" he said as he rejected and pushed away the bag.
The girl, however, pushed back the bag and explained, "The book is inside there. Whenever I get sick at school, my mother sends me here to give you the bag. You can take out the book, write in it, and bring it back along with the medicine."
"Listen to me! My daughter, answer me well and I'll help you get better." Ken intended to withdraw Rita's attention, but instead of feeling comforted, she felt tempted.
"Yes, I hear you," she interjected firmly, "but my father is at home."
She refused to accept the fact that Ken could be honored like her father.
Even though her statement was thought-provoking, it could not make Ken feel bad as he considered her to be acting out her childish reasoning. He drew closer to her and asked, "What is your father's name?"
"People shouldn't play with my father's name. Why do you want to know it?"
A quick vicious reply that made Ken lose his temper straightaway. He immediately rolled his eyes to the words and asked savagely,
"So, why are you here? Are you sick?"
He looked directly into her eyes, and she began shying away from him by bowing her head to look down. Her thoughts also became impeded and no reply ran into her mind. Only this made him realize that it was his aggressive behavior provoking the girl's irrational thinking.
He rose to his feet slowly and said in a low soothing tone, "Young girl, calm down! I am ready to help you."
Then he picked up a sweet from his bag and presented it to her, "Please take this!"
"No, I don't want it!" She refused curtly while nodding, "Are you a kidnapper? My father tells me that whoever is strange to me and tries to give me any eatable is a kidnapper, I should run away or cry out loudly! Should I scream?"
She rose quickly intending to flee from the room.
"No… no… no! Don't run away!" He requested her humbly. Nevertheless, she turned out indifferent to his words and proceeded to open the door.
"What should I do to bring back this girl?" A question ran into his mind immediately. When he turned to look at the door, he found her standing by the doorway, looking silently at him. Why?
Her book had remained on the table just next to Ken, so she was plotting to run back and snatch it to relinquish the futile interaction she was having with Ken.
Observing her clearly, Ken contemplated her intention of running back and grabbing the book, thereby prompting him to move back to the table and pick it up hastily.
As soon as he picked up the book, he turned to look at the girl. This sudden action caused a dramatic change in her mood. She appeared to be in an awkward predicament, with her face twitching and weariness written all over it.
When she began to cry, he quickly picked up the book and held it before her, saying, "Look, your book is here!"
She immediately went to grab it, but he interrupted her by opening it and saying gently, "Let me prescribe for you a medication that you can use when you get back to school or home."
She appeared before him with slight ease shown on her pleasant face, complying with his request.
Afterward, Ken scanned the table for a pen with his eyes, but he couldn't find one. So, he had to bend down and retrieve a black pen from a drawer on his desk. As he crouched to open the drawer, the young girl scrutinized him closely from head to toe.
Luckily enough, all she noticed was that the area around him was covered in mud from his shoes. As it had rained heavily the night before, she didn't think much of it. However, she didn't notice the dirty tie he was wearing. What would she think if she saw the dirty tie? Wouldn't she believe that Ken was posing as a health worker when he was a kidnapper?
Ken eagerly grabbed the pen and turned towards the girl, her eyes met him and he couldn't help but ask, " How are you doing?"
"I am sick!" she answered quickly, "And I am from school, my teacher told me not to delay here."
Ken puzzled over her statement and rephrased the question, "I mean, how do you feel?"
"I feel unwell," she replied again, looking directly into his eyes.
For the first time, he blinked shyly and the young girl was taken aback. She never expected adults like him to be shy. He had a feeling that the situation was running out of hand. How would he manage to help the young girl?
His action attracted many questions into Rita's mind making her think like an adult, "Is this man sure of what he is doing?"
When she turned to see him, her eyes met his fierce-looking face and she felt guilty instantly thinking he could have read her mind and understood what she had been thinking of.
"But I shouldn't be shaken," she thought, "I can see he also fears!"
Out of the blue, Ken started looking confused, appearing like he was transforming into a new creature and looking more like an angry chimpanzee. It was not clear why he was metamorphosing. He turned and glared at the ceiling for a while, attracting the young girl's attention and driving her to look up into the roof but menacingly. Was he thinking of a question or relaxing the stress which had built up in his mind?
He later swerved back to the girl and asked calmly, "In which part of your body do you feel pain?"
"My head, my stomach, and here." She pinched gently the skin on her cheek and glanced at him. He was looking very closely at her actions.
Then he asked, "What of there you pinched, what is wrong with it?"
"The temperature is high." She answered again, speaking in a voice that approximated her normal, though still slightly rough. It seemed she was becoming a little more comfortable.
"You feel high temperature only in that part or somewhere else also? Please come closer and I check." He held her by the right hand and pulled her closer.
"The temperature is high in the whole of my body," she answered, drawing closer to Ken spiritlessly with her eyes fixed on him. Ken was looking at her and he decided to look aside instantly. He thought if he was to continue the same way, she would be outfaced and would never reach him again.
Rita reached before him and slowly rested her weight on her knees humbly, delineating the desirable efforts her parents could have been putting in place to facilitate her development into a morally upright child.
Ken was so amused. He smiled as he moved his hand over her cheek to check on her temperature.
He noted down something and asked, "What is wrong with your head and stomach?"
"They are aching." She tapped her stomach and glanced at Ken's eyes.
"You will be fine." He assured her. Percussing her stomach, he inquired, "For how long have you been experiencing the pain?"
"It started this morning when I was going to school," She answered.
"Fever, headache, and stomach ache!" He wondered, "No doubt, that must be malaria."
Then he paused and said, "Hmm… I didn't get right your age…"
"Did you ask for it?" She interrupted savagely.
"No, anyway I am sorry, but how old are you?" He lowered his voice like a rigid man does when persuading his wife not to abandon him, after failing to provide her with the necessary needs.
"I am seven years old." Her voice peaked, and Ken was humbled.
Children need to be treated with care as negative encounters within surroundings arising from interactions can affect the way they respond to different situations, and challenges within the environment.
Ken had asked all the questions he wanted to ask so, he took a moment to summarize his observations.
What did he write in the young girl's book?
When drunk, Ken would have impaired thinking ability as well as reduced vigor to work. Most times, he would rely on assumptions just to ease his work. This is too bad for any young man who cherishes his future.
He soon handed over the book back to Rita and said, "Go to room 4, that is the dispensary. Give this book to the people you will find there. Assuredly, they will give you tablets to take."
Rita got the book and rushed outside as fast as possible, heading to room 4 as she was instructed. She was so happy that on reaching the hallway, she jumped jubilantly, lifting only a single leg at a time and exchanging them subsequently. Meanwhile, Ken resumed the watching of his video.