Athana Hospital.
Rose dragged Sherri straight to the pharmacy after lunch. They had stuck to each other closely after Natalie left.
Sherri asked, "What are you planning to buy from the pharmacy? Cod liver oil? Don't hospitals have it?"
Rose held Sherri's wrist as they walked inside the pharmacy. "It's not cod liver oil. I still have plenty of those at home."
Sherri became more curious. Her parents were not at home. There was no need to buy them any nutritional supplements. "What's going on? Why are you being so mysterious? Are you buying contraceptives? I still have a few boxes of these in the drawer of my room. Go get them yourself."
Sherri was honest with Rose. She said, "Hackett bought them. They are of good quality. They are not bad."
Rose frowned. She looked at Sherri and said, "There's no need to share those details with me. I'm not buying that. I'm buying a pregnancy test kit."
Sherri was surprised. She was loud. "If you're pregnant, you should go for a blood test. Why are you buying a pregnancy test kit?"
Rose stopped in her tracks. She decided to explain clearly to Sherri. She said, "Firstly, I'm unsure if I'm pregnant. We both know the doctors in the laboratory. If it turns out that I'm not pregnant, I'll be embarrassed. I'll use a pregnancy test kit to test first before going for a blood test. It will be better."
Sherri felt that Rose's words made sense. There were too many people in the hospital. There might be a few people who would talk about it. "That's true. I didn't consider it thoroughly. I've been exercising too much at night recently. My brain isn't working well."
Rose knew what Sherri meant when she said she had been exercising. Rose smirked. "You're good with your words. You've been led astray by Hackett ." Rose shook her head and pushed Sherri forward. She was a little embarrassed to buy the pregnancy test kit herself. That was why she had dragged Sherri along.
Sherri grinned. She strode forward after she heard what Rose said. "I agree."
Rose could not help but roll her eyes. She said, "Let's change the topic."
Sherri shrugged. "Fine."
Sherri and Natalie used to frequent this pharmacy in the hospital. When they walked in, Sherri realized that the store assistant manning the pharmacy was an unfamiliar face. Sherri had not been to this pharmacy for a long time. She asked, "Has there been a change in the boss?"
The store assistant stood behind the counter. "That's right. The previous boss was arrested for selling fake medicine. I think he was sentenced."
Sherri did not look carefully when they went into the pharmacy. "Isn't it still the same name? Is it alright to continue to use the name?"
The store assistant replied, "Yes. Our boss had thought about it. This pharmacy has been around for many years. He was afraid the regulars would not come if he changed the name. That was why there was only a minor change. He did not change it completely."
Once the store assistant had finished explaining, Sherri exited the pharmacy again. She used her hand to block the sunlight. She looked up at the billboard above. There was only a slight change to the name. It was hard to notice if one was not alert enough.
Sherri could not help but praise the pharmacy boss.
It was intelligent of him to have thought about retaining regulars.
Sherri took a good look at the name. She then entered the pharmacy again. She pointed at the glass cabinet with her fingertips. "Give me six boxes of that pregnancy test kit."
Rose looked at her questioningly. She wanted to ask Sherri why she asked for so many boxes.
Sherri explained, "What if the pregnancy is too early to be detected? You need to test more often. Besides, the expiration date is quite long. It'll not expire in a few days or months, right?"
The store assistant was a youthful girl in her early twenties. She nodded and answered, "The pregnancy test kits here all have a one-year shelf life. You don't need to buy so many if you want a simple test. You can get two boxes. The kit's separately packaged inside each box."
The store assistant was honest. However, Sherri thought her boss would probably be upset and fire her if he heard what she said.
Rose nudged Sherri. She agreed with the shop assistant. There was no need to buy six pregnancy test kits. She immediately decided, "I'll take two."
While Rose was still looking at the packaging, Sherri had already paid for them. Rose had seen the price for the pregnancy test kit. There was a sound that indicated the payment had gone through. However, Rose did not even look up.
Rose was about to leave. However, Sherri did not intend to leave. Rose stood at the side. She was puzzled. She nudged Sherri. "Let's go. What else do you want to buy?"
Sherri replied, "I'm not buying anything. I've something to ask." The shop was previously caught selling fake medicine. She had to probe. Besides, they often bought nutritional supplements from the pharmacy. What if they happened to be those customers who were duped?
Sherri approached the store assistant. "Let's have a chat. Anyway, there aren't many people around now. We'd bought things from this pharmacy in the past. Can you tell us what fake medicine the previous boss sold? Do you have any insider information? Let's talk about it. I can't help but feel scared at the thought of it."
Sherri looked worried. She was covering her chest with one hand. She wondered if she had taken the fake medicine the previous boss had sold.
Rose subconsciously took a few steps away. If Sherri were an actress, she would be too unprofessional. Her acting skills were too bad. She had acted too exaggeratedly.
The store assistant smiled. She replied reassuringly, "The previous boss was also timid. The other medicines in the shop were all real. Only the contraceptive pills were fake. You would not be a victim if you hadn't bought them. The boss who was arrested only sold fake contraceptive pills."
Sherri felt like she had been struck by lightning. She had never taken any medicine but contraceptive pills. She thought about how she never had such lottery luck. Sherri licked her lips nervously. She was not expecting such a reply. She asked, "Were all the contraceptive pills in the entire shop fake? Including those imported types?"
Sherri exclaimed loudly. The store assistant was taken aback as she nodded timidly. "Yes, that's what our current boss said. It would be a huge risk to use fake medicine for others. However, if it's the contraceptive pills, they won't be a big problem as they would only be ineffective at preventing pregnancies."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Turning Of The Tide (Natalie and Trevon)