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First Day
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"It's just five minutes..." I mutter to myself, unrestrained worry sweeping through my body as I screech into an unfamiliar parking lot. I was quick to hop out of my seat, slamming the door shut and twisting my key into the lock. Of course, I just had to be late on my first day. Talk about good first impressions.
My strides were wide as I hustled through the parking lot and to the open doors of the fire house. I grappled through my bag, making sure I had all my things, trying to pat down any flyaways to appear professional. My sunglasses, which had been resting on the curve of my hose, were pushed up against my head as I took in a deep breath, desperate to ease my nerves. Just a few more steps and I would be employed and stable for the foreseeable future. My gaze flickered to the large white letters on the side of one of the trucks: 118, my new assignment.
There were a few people lulling about, checking stock on the ambulances and the trucks. Others were working out in the gym or chatting with one another. I stepped into the threshold, unseen, and waved gently to grab someone's attention. They were quick to direct me up the stairs after I told them I was a new hire. I thanked him before walking up the echoing metal steps one at a time, heart racing.
Once I reached the top, I shuffled over to the closest, friendliest looking person. He was an older Asian man, uniform across his body and talking to a woman with a shaved head.
"Uhh," I started, clearing my throat once their eyes landed on me. My hands gripped harder onto the strap of my bag, "I'm looking for, uhm..."
"Let me guess," the man sighed, shaking his head toward the woman in disapproval, "Evan Buckley?"
The woman chuckled, the same chastising look on her face.
My eyebrows pinched in, "No...? I think your captain's name is Bobby-- Bobby Nash?"
"You're looking for Cap?" The woman looked shocked, glancing up and down my figure. I guess my stature wasn't too attesting to the training that had brought me to this point, "He's right over there."
She gestured to the kitchen, where an older man was talking to two younger uniformed firefighters while chopping up something on a cutting board.
"Thank you." I flashed them both a quick, small smile despite the odd interaction, heading over toward the captain.
As my footsteps sounded across the room, the two men lounging near the captain turned around, giving me a good look at both of their faces. They were both rather handsome and relatively young-- nearly the splitting images of the typical firefighters on those calendars. The one closest to me had short dark hair while the other was a blonde with an interesting birthmark over his left eye.
