The flickering candlelight inside the glass lampshade wavered, and the moonlight poured into the room through the high floor-to-ceiling windows, leaving long traces on the deep red plaid floor.
Next to the office desk was a dwarf pine, with its pine needles strewn all over the floor. A hand holding a pair of scissors skimd over the deep green leaves, and with a "snap," a small branch was cut off and fell next to a pair of leather shoes.
Shiller slightly rolled up the shirt cuffs peeking out of his suit. He moved his swivel office chair with his foot, sliding over to the side of the desk. He picked up a broom he had already prepared and swept up the branches and leaves he had pruned.
The previous Arkham Asylum, after being damaged by a group of Green Lanterns, was completely uninhabitable.
The Falcone Family and Wayne Enterprises jointly funded its restoration. At the sa ti, Shiller, the forr chief physician, finally had an office of his own and didn't have to squeeze into the old office with Brand anymore.
The newly built office had a brown floor, dark red wallpaper, and dark wooden structures. It was divided into two sections, separated by a screen wall made of wood and glass.
The half area where the office desk was located occupied two-thirds of the total space, with two whole wall-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with various types of books. In front of the office desk, there were sofas for receiving guests and a small round coffee table with two bottles of wine and several cups.
On the other side of the glass screen, there were so dical examination instrunts and a bed. However, compared to the cold white color of other departnt's equipnt, the stethoscope and blood pressure monitors here were put on a wooden table. The bed was covered with a deep red flannel sheet with tassels, making it look less like a dical bed.
In reality, most psychological doctors' examination rooms are just like this. They must appear cozy and warm in order for patients to involuntarily relax. If they are too cold and sterile, no one will open up.
Opposite the dical bed was a common five-drawer cabinet. On the wall above the cabinet table, a small door had been opened for the delivery of newspapers. The newsboy didn't have to knock or enter; he could just put the papers directly on the cabinet.
At that mont, a stack of newspapers was sitting there, apparently unread as of yet. Beside the stack was a small, dainty silver phone.
Suddenly, the phone receiver vibrated, and the crisp ring echoed. Shiller was startled just as he was about to take out the garbage, so he put down the cleaning tools and went to answer the phone.
However, before he could reach the phone, Mrs. Miller walked in and said to Shiller, "Professor, you don't need to answer the phone. I just wanted to tell you that Professor Victor will be here in ten minutes. It's not coffee ti now, would you like so tea instead?"
Seeing Mrs. Miller coming in, Shiller hastened to the side of his office desk, hiding the broomstick he'd just put down with his body. However, Mrs. Miller had sharp eyes. She side-stepped a bit, peering around him and promptly spotting the handle of the broom.
"Heavens, Professor!" Mrs. Miller shrieked, "Have you brought up the broom from downstairs again?!! Haven't I reminded you that cleaning tools from different areas shouldn't be mixed?!!"
"Uh, I just wanted to sweep up so leaves," Shiller explained sowhat uncomfortably.
"Leaves??" Mrs. Miller took a few steps forward, looking sowhat puzzled. Seeing the pine needles scattered all over the floor, she didn't show any surprise. But when her gaze fell upon the scissors lying beside them, she let out an even more piercing scream.
"Professor Shiller!!! Those are scissors from the ward, aren't they? How could you bring them to the clinic?!!!"
With a hand on her forehead, Mrs. Miller exclaid: "My heavens! You doctors! You never consider us nurses! Always picking up and putting down things carelessly, never returning things where they belong! Even Beatrice is tidier than you all!"
With one hand propped on the table, Shiller sighed. He knew that the head nurse, Mrs. Miller, who had retired and been rehired, hated this kind of thing more than anything. He had to think of a way to divert the conversation, so he asked: "Who is Beatrice, a new nurse?"
"Beatrice is my cat!" Mrs. Miller glared at Shiller, briskly walked over to tidy up the broom, then went behind the glass screen to fetch a newspaper. She wrapped the scissors in it and then used the sa newspaper to bundle the handles of the broom and scissors together.
Shiller reached out a hand to stop her, but upon seeing Mrs. Miller's murderous eyes, he swiftly withdrew it, quietly saying, "... I haven't read that newspaper yet."
As Mrs. Miller headed towards the door with the newspaper-wrapped tools, she turned and said, "The hot water will arrive in 5 minutes."
"Wait, what about these leaves on the floor?" Shiller turned back to the pruned needles on the floor, questioning what was to be done with them.
"I will send soone to clean it up." As Mrs. Miller was closing the door, she added, "Don't touch that poor tree anymore! Isn't it quite enough with Beatrice pruning it?"
With a "bang," the office door was closed. Shiller exhaled, took his seat, and pulled out a pen from his pocket to play with.
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