The Keys

“This is me. I am Han Lin.”
I snapped my rubber gloves off. The doorman eyed me suspiciously.
“I seen you here before. You got ID?”
I looked down at my faux scrubs. They cost me $30. I hoped they were a good investment.
“I ran out right before a surgery I’m scheduled to be at in 10 minutes because they said I needed to be here right now to get these keys!”
I threw the gloves in the trash in a huff. The doorman looked over at the desk clerk.
“You seen him before?” the doorman asked. He followed me closely as I walked toward the front desk. The book was out and other tenants were signing in for their keys.
“You got ID?” the desk clerk asked. His nametag said Paul.
“You’ve seen me here. I was here for the medical student orientation and for the student suite assignments! I’m in my scrubs because you forced me to be here when I clearly have other things to do.” I turned to the doorman. “And you, you’ve seen me show ID every other time I’ve been here” —he hadn’t— “but apparently you so easily forget at the right moment.”
Other people on line looked around with wide eyes. A blond guy in khakis widened his eyes even more.
“I know you!” he said.
I folded my arms and looked at my watch. ‘Bolt for the surgery,’ I thought. But he continued to Paul, “He’s Han Lin… He’s supposed to be my suite mate!”
Paul eyed him and eyed the doorman. Then khaki man stepped up and shook my hand. “James Parker,” he said. “My friends call me Capitan Planet.”
I unintentionally raised an eyebrow at this but I told him I was glad to see him again. “I’m sure you understand what kind of pressure I’m under here, man.”
I turned to the doorman, who turned to Paul. The lady who just got to the front of the line turned to me and said, “Go ahead!”
I rushed up to the front desk. I looked for Han Lin and signed in for the key to the medical student living suite. Paul fetched the key & said nothing.
“Real cool, man,” I told him.
“You know we have to keep intruders out,” he said.
“Of course.”
The girl at the front of the line waved to me as I left. “Goodbye Han!”
“Catch you later,” I told the doorman.
I held the keys as I got around the block, then started to breathe again.
‘YES!’ I thought.
Because I am not Han Lin.