The prompt for this sketch was to write a character based on someone you observed, but to dramatically change something external about them. As soon as she got home, she switched her blouse for a hoodie, her pants for leggings, released her hair from the ponytail she’d worn the whole day, and went to her improvised home studio. Just like that, she went from being a doctor to being an amateur stand-up comedian.

She loved being a doctor, of course. Helping other people always made her happy and feel like she was paying back the universe for all the good it’d thrown her way. Even when she couldn’t do much for the patients, she wanted to just be there for them and make them as comfortable as possible. It made her feel useful. And she loved the intellectual challenge it was to finally figure out what was wrong with someone and how she could help them.

But in college, she found another passion. Completely by accident. A friend had challenged her to go to an open-mic thing at a local bar they used to go to on Friday nights, and… The crowd loved her. And she loved the crowd. How they laughed with her. How they allowed her to be blatantly honest on stage with absolutely zero judgment. And the joy! She could feel the joy reverberating on the walls of the bars and small theatres where she performed. It was such a stark contrast to the atmosphere she felt at the hospital, that it just made her feel… alive.

She was afraid one day she’d had to choose between being a doctor or doing stand-up. Most of her friends told her she was crazy for doing both for so long. She sometimes wondered if she really was. Still, she couldn’t choose. Not for now, at least. If the day came where she couldn’t do both and had to choose, she’d deal with it then. But that was a problem for her future self. Better yet, a problem for a hypothetical future self. For now, she could just enjoy doing her thing.

The prompt for this was to portray a character in a complex way, going against the usual expectations for such a character.

May looked at the guy again. She didn’t know his name, but she had seen enough of him to not be able to call him a stranger. They went to the same gym, where he was usually seen with a lot of heavy weights around him. He could probably put her on his shoulder and start running without even breaking a sweat. Which was quite unnerving, considering they were the only people on this subway station. May knew she was probably being unfair to the guy. She didn’t know him. He was even reading a book. He was probably harmless. But 23 years of living as a female had conditioned her to a fight or flight response in scenarios like this. She startled when a loud chirping sound echoed in the station, and she saw the guy taking the phone from his pocket while mouthing a “sorry” in her direction.

“Hello? Yeah, I’m on my way. I got delayed at work, but I’ve got the book and I’m already two chapters ahead. I’ll be on time, I promise. See you soon, man.” He hung up the phone and turned to her.

“Sorry, that was my friend James. His girlfriend broke up with him last month, so I decided to sign us both up for this book club thing in a bookshop he usually goes to. He’d been talking about it for ages, but Lena never wanted to go with him. I thought it would be a nice way of cheering him up and showing him he’s better off without her. It’s not usually my thing – I’m a Maths teacher, you see – but I thought it’d be a nice thing to do.” He paused and looked startled himself. “I’m so sorry, I completely overshared. This doesn’t matter to you at all”, he added with a nervous sort of giggle. “Oh,” May said, “don’t apologize. I think its nice of you to try and help your friend.”

She didn’t know. She didn’t know how he started timing his lunch breaks to go at the same time as her after accidentally sharing the table with her one Tuesday, even though they were from different departments. “Such a happy coincidence!”, she once said. She didn’t know how her bright laugh warmed him from the inside out. She didn’t know how he longed to hear her stories about the most mundane thing, because she always spoke with such an eagerness that a trip to the supermarket sounded like an adventure. She didn’t know how her green eyes sparkled when she spoke with passion about what she wanted to do with her future, or how cute she looked when she absently played with her long brown hair.

She particularly didn’t know how nervous he was right now.

“Lily”, he said while she ate a spoonful of soup.

She looked at him and cocked her head to the side, showing she was listening.

“I was thinking, hum…” This was harder than he thought. He took a small breath, trying to steady his voice and his trembling hands.

“You were thinking?”, she asked, trying hard not to curl her lips into a smile.

“Yeah, I was thinking.” The worst she could do is simply saying no. No big deal. He could go back to eating in the cafeteria. “Are you free this Saturday?”

She considered his question around another spoonful of soup. And then another. God, she was obviously trying to find a way of letting him down gently. She was so nice.

“I am not”, she finally said. “But I’m free Sunday. How do you feel about pancakes?”

He couldn’t contain his sudden smile.