Better on our own - English

Station Officer Morris

"So, Niall Grant?!" Chief Firefighter Morris greeted me without looking up from the documents she had in front of her. I still saluted as I stood at attention in front of her table.

"That's correct...um...Mam?!" I replied to her, but still stumbled again at how to adress her.

"You're obviously not used to a woman leading the station?" She looked up at me and for the first time I saw something like a smile in the corners of her mouth. I just shook my head and she motioned for me to sit on one of the two chairs in front of her desk as she reached for a pen and made a note on the last page. That was definitely not a good sign. "Does that make you feel insecure or do you not feel comfortable with it for some other reason?" she then asked me seriously again without looking up.

"No, everything's fine. I just didn't think..." She looked up at me again and gave me a waiting look. "Well, I've never heard of..." Come on, Niall! Catch yourself again! I took a deep breath to get my nervousness under control. "I'm really happy that I can work here...Mam!" I then said in a firm voice and I was almost a bit of proud of myself. while I hoped that she would really give me another chance. A smile came to her face and I'd bet she was very amused at how nervous I really was. Her brown eyes seemed as calm and friendly as a deer's, but her intimidating demeanor reminded me more of a wolf circling its prey, ready to tear it to pieces at any moment.

"So, I heard you already met my son before the incident at the yard?" she asked me seriously again, leaning back in her chair and putting her fingertips together to look at me intently. I swallowed hard and covered it with a nod.

"He wanted to get a cat out of the tree and lost his footing. I just wanted to make it clear to him that something like that can be dangerous. I didn't want to offend you with my statement," I said embarrassedly and looked down in shame.

"How could you? You didn't even know me at that time, Mr. Grant. Do you still think I can't differentiate a monkey from an elephant?"

"I think you very well can, Mam!" I replied to her, still ashamed of my impulsiveness with my loose tongue. I absolutely had to do something about that.

"What do you think your strengths are, Mr. Grant? What is it that will make you important for our team?" I blinked in surprise at this change of subject and the question itself. Nobody had ever asked me something like that before.

"Well, I'm motivated. I love my job and want to help others," I answered her.

"We all do that. Otherwise we wouldn't be here, would we?" she replied skeptically.

"I'm good. Very good, in fact. I'm one of the best in this year's graduating class."

"Tell me something that isn't in your file. I can read references. I want to see what you think of yourself. So far all I see is an insecure youngster who doesn't give me the impression that he's able to keep a cool head in a dangerous situation," she said, completely calmly and not showing any kind of emotion. I couldn't say if this was what I couldn't handle, but I was really annoyed by what she had said at me. Yes, I have had a bad start, but that didn't mean I didn't know anything about my job!

"With all due respect, Mam. I can do my job and I will do it well. I may be a little quicker with my mouth than my head sometimes, but I think I really deserve this chance. I'm very aware that in practice there are things that I probably couldn't even imagine at the academy, but I'm willing to learn and face it. I have a very good comprehension and I learn quickly and I'm not afraid of something new. After all, you're never alone out there, right?!" Her gaze was emotionless as I waited for an answer. I couldn't read anything from it and the longer she just looked at me, the more my anger disappeared and the more nervous I became again. She didn't answer, but after what seemed like an eternity, she reached with one hand to the folder on the table in front of her and turned the pages.