"Hello."
Claire hadn’t expected to run into a classmate of the girl who used to like Norris so much. What were the odds? Talk about a tangled web.
"Hi, I’m Pamela. You can just call me Pamela."
The moment Pamela realized Claire knew about Fannie, her whole face lit up. She squeezed Claire’s hand, practically bouncing with excitement. "Listen, Fannie is my roommate. Back in school, we all knew she had the biggest crush on your Norris."
"It’s such a shame she never got to tell him how she felt."
"We all thought her crush would just fizzle out when we graduated. No one expected her to be so gutsy at the airport that day."
What was Claire supposed to say to that?
"Maybe she just wanted to finally move on, or maybe Norris is just too much for anyone to resist. Laura couldn’t help herself."
Having a crush honestly wasn’t embarrassing at all. Most people went through it at some point in school. In Claire’s opinion, Fannie was actually really brave.
Norris might not have accepted her feelings, but after that airport scene, everyone in the Churchill family knew exactly who Fannie was.
"Sometimes I just don’t get her. She gets so single-minded about things," Pamela said. It really seemed like she just wanted to share some gossip and get closer to Claire, not to make fun of Fannie.
The topic faded away soon enough.
"I think you’re amazing, by the way. If I were in your situation, I would’ve totally lost it, but you actually managed to turn everything around..."
Seriously, no wonder she was a gold medalist. The calmness, the way she handled herself, it was like she was born for the sciences.
Pamela couldn’t stop showering Claire with compliments.
Claire barely batted an eye. "Instinct just kicks in and you run on adrenaline."
"Besides, I work out a lot. Stays with you."
In this situation, they really just had to make do with whoever could help. Waiting for a real doctor would take way too long.
Right as Shirley finished, a police officer’s voice blasted through the megaphone, calling for any surgeons in the area.
Claire hesitated, then grabbed her first-aid kit from the trunk. Scalpels, needles, everything she might need was inside.
When Shirley saw her go for the kit, she finally understood what was happening. "Claire, you aren’t seriously thinking about stepping in, are you?"
"I mean, sure, you learned from your grandma, but you’re so young. They probably won’t even let you near him."
"And if anything goes wrong, you know they’ll blame you, right?"
"Let’s just stay out of it and watch. There’s no need to get involved, okay?"
Shirley honestly looked worried, like she was scared Claire might run off and do something reckless.

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