First time. I always thought these prompts were a weak way to entice writers to post and feed the algorithms. But…

What if I used this daily prompt to write stories?

Challenge accepted.

Steve faded in and out of reality like a sleepy child somewhere between a sermon and a pizza buffet. The frightening Clint Eastwood-esque anesthesiologist growled a few studied questions, but Steve’s answers were inconsequential. None were destined to derail the procedure which was already well underway. That gall bladder of his was a beast.

Mistaken for a heart attack at times, even bad kidneys, Steve had recently spent his fair share of time in hospitals. He was getting used to it, unfortunately. The smells, the sting of the IV, and the anesthesia. If he had a dollar for every conversation he’d overheard while “sleeping”, he could blackmail every sex-crazed nurse and doctor to pay off his coming medical bills. Grey’s Anatomy wasn’t just a television show. No, his local ER must watch it faithfully while taking notes. There’s no mistaking cock-breath mixed with Marlboro Lights and cherry lip balm. If he managed to survive the procedure, he would send Nurse Sadie a complimentary gift basket for her neighborhood generosity. A happy surgeon was a precise surgeon, and surely she’d made him happy. She was known to swallow from time to time. It was prime conversation in recovery, and that nasty concoction had a smell all its own.

He was just about to fade when her voice pinged whatever consciousness he had left.

“I’ve never heard of a man wanting to have his own penis removed, but everyone has their quirks, I guess.”

Steve tried to leap from the bed, but it was too late. Nurse Sadie had switched his chart with the trans man they’d wheeled into the room next to him. There was no way to fight the drugs. Helpless, it appeared Steve was becoming Stephanie by midday.

“Yeah, I swallow,” Nurse Sadie whispered. “And you talk in your sleep.”