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“Hey Virgil,” Patton said, looking over his lab partner’s shoulder at the tissue Virgil was dissecting. “What’s your favorite organ?”
“Huh?” Virgil looked up from his dissection. “Uh, I dunno? I guess I haven’t thought about it before.”
“Okay, well, you think about it and I’ll get back to you. Roman? How about you?”
“My favorite—” Roman began.
“Why are we doing this?” Logan interrupted, still looking down at the muscle he was cleaning. “It is not necessary to pick a favorite organ, they are all essential to the function of the body.”
“Not all of them. Tonsils aren’t essential. Appendix isn’t essential,” Virgil said. “Hm, maybe my organ is the appendix.”
“No. it. isn’t, Mister,” Patton said sternly. “Now take this seriously, it’s important!”
Virgil grinned at him. “Right, of course it is. Sorry, I’ll keep thinking about it.”
“My favorite,” Roman said, “as I was about to say before I was so rudely interrupted, Logan, is the brain! The source of all knowledge, all passion, all creativity…the human brain is…well, what makes us human!”
“Hey, guys, what’s up?” Thomas had gotten to the group’s table. “What’s this I hear about brains? We don’t start neuro until the end of the year, you know.”
“We’re just talking about our favorite organs,” Patton said. “Roman likes the brain. Logan, how about you?”
“Well…I suppose I could say that my favorite organ is the hypophysis.”
“The…um. The what?” Virgil frowned at him.
Thomas laughed. “Hypophysis is a fancy way of saying pituitary.”
“Oh. Well, why didn’t you just say pituitary?” Patton asked.
“I like the word ‘hypophysis,’” Logan said plainly.
“Okay, well, why is it your favorite organ?”
“I just find it fascinating. It’s a practical yet essential organ. It connects and controls all parts of the body through its many varied functions.”
“I like this, Patton, this is fun,” Roman said. “Thomas, loveliest of Fellows, what is your favorite organ?”
“Hm…I guess my favorite is the arms! So I can give all you guys big hugs when you need ‘em!”
“I don’t believe the ‘arm’ counts as an organ, Thomas,” Logan said. “Or am I mistaken?”
Thomas shrugged, grinning. “I was just joking. But the muscular system as a whole is a pretty good organ for me, I guess, because it does let us do so many things! Hugs, walking around, talking and making facial expressions…OMM…” Thomas winked. “That a good answer for you, Patton?”
“I guess I’ll accept it!”
“How about you, Patton?” Thomas asked. “What’s your favorite organ?”
“I think mine is the heart. Metaphorically, of course, it’s got a lot of emotional significance…but also I just like how it’s got all those little rooms in it. It’s what I imagine a hobbit’s house would be like! Maybe one day I’ll get an architect to design me a heart-shaped house to live in.”
“That would be a weird house, Pat,” Virgil said, shaking his head.
“Have you come up with a favorite yet, Virgil?”
“Maybe…the amygdala? Or, wait, I always get that wrong. The hippocampus. I like how Dr. Williams is always salty about how it means seahorse but it’s not really seahorse-shaped, talking about how whoever named it must have been high.”
“But do you really prefer the organ, or simply Dr. William’s humorous comment about its shape?”
Virgil frowned at Logan. “I’m a very indecisive person, Logan. Just let me pick that one.”
Patton started to shake his head. “Virgil—"
A shout came from across the room. “I can tell you my favorite organ, Patton…do you want to know what it is?”
Virgil sighed as Patton and Logan locked eyes. “Him again,” Virgil muttered.
Roman rolled his eyes at them and shrugged. “Okay, Remus…what’s your favorite organ?”
“The penis!” Remus shrieked, then cackled. “Got you guys, hah!”
“O..kay, well, I’m gonna go check on the next table,” Thomas said hurriedly. “See you guys later!” and walked away.
“Coward,” Roman said, smiling, and got back to work.
They worked in silence for a moment, focusing on cleaning the tissues in front of them.
“Okay. I got my favorite,” Virgil said.
“Ooh, really?” Patton jumped up and down a little. “Okay, let’s hear it!”
“The eyes,” Virgil said. “Very specialized organ, good for reading and…looking at stuff. And you can tell a lot about a patient by looking at their eyes.”
“You can tell a lot about any person from their eyes, Emo Nightmare,” Roman teased. “Are the eyes your favorite because they show off your eyeshadow best?”
“That is definitely a part of it,” Virgil said seriously.
“Aw, and the eyes are the window to the soul! Virgil, how cute! Great choice!” Patton beamed at him.
Virgil blushed, then grinned back. “Only from you, Pat, will I accept such mushy commentary.”
“Now that we have concluded this conversation,” Logan suggested, “perhaps we may review the lumbosacral plexus for Monday’s quiz? I feel it would be beneficial to all of us.”
Roman groaned. “Ugh, okay, Teach, but in that case you go first. Gimme the innervation of the superior gluteal nerve, if you please!”
“Certainly. The superior gluteal nerve consists of L5, S1…”