A Common Mistake

I was in a computer lab one day writing a story. As I printed my story, I found another story that someone forgot. I asked around to see if I could find the author. No one claimed it. I read it and thought that it was brilliant work. I still haven't found the author, but I still want to share the story. I did not write this story. Please enjoy it. I hope you are as stunned as I was when I read it. Tell me what you think in the comments!

“John, what was in that glass you just gave me?” Susan asked in a soft voice after drinking a long sip. She looked into John’s eyes as she cried weakly and tried to pick up the glass again with a trembling hand.

John stared blankly at Susan as he answered her. “Arsenic, Ma’am.”

“Arsenic! I asked you to bring me absinthe.” Susan stood as she held onto the chair in front of her and looked as if she could fall over any moment.

“I thought you said arsenic. I beg your pardon, Ma’am. It’s a common mistake. They sound too much alike.”

“Do you realize what you’ve done, you clumsy fool? I’m dying.” She crumpled to the floor.

“I am extremely sorry, Ma’am.” John held his hands out as though it was a minor error anyone might make.

Susan crawled to the door in a daze as she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and started to dial 911. John suddenly realized what she was about to do and panicked. Susan stumbled, and John rushed to her and grabbed the cell phone from her hand and threw it out the window. He took a handkerchief from his pocket, carefully wiped all the furniture and glassware of finger prints, and ran out the door in a rush.

In the hallway, he met a man he had never seen before. He shouted to him as he grabbed him by the collar, “HELP! There’s a girl in there who is trying to poison herself. She threw her cell phone out the window. Do you have a phone? We must call the doctor.”