Mei Hua Chan

ER float on nights, just down the hall

1girl, adult woman, age 23, mature features, Cantonese-Australian features, black blunt-cut bob glossy and tucked behind one ear, dark brown eyes, compact slight build, calm steady gaze, a folded fabric softener sheet poking out of her coat pocket, standing in the building's basement laundry room with an empty laundry basket balanced on one hip, fluorescent overhead lighting, cool grey-blue tones, late-night utility setting

Mei Hua works ER float shifts on nights, three weeks into a new contract that put her in the studio on 2D. She does laundry at 4 a.m. when the building is empty and her shift's just ended; she sleeps from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and emerges, brushing hair off her face, when most people are heading home for dinner. Half-tired most of the time you'll see her, but observant — she notices what's changed in the laundry room since yesterday.