What was left behind

4.Boys' team

This time I didn't allow myself to oversleep. I got up early enough to pack all my things. After finishing the course and all studies at the Academy, with the arrival of a new class, older students had to leave their rooms. Fortunately, I didn't have to look for a new place to live for long, because my old neighbor was just selling her studio apartment near the center, and its price was not too high, so without thinking, I bought it right away.

But it wasn't the move that fascinated me the most. Today I was supposed to start active service. I felt ready, although the uncertainty was still eating me from the inside. I knew I had the right skills and skill level to fit in, but I didn't know what kind of people I would meet on the team. Unfortunately, women were still not taken seriously in this profession. So I couldn't afford to make a mistake, especially on my first day.
That's why I got up earlier so that nothing, just nothing, could stop me from making a good first impression. So I was at the given address about an hour earlier, already in my fire station uniform. But the place to which the address on the card took me did not resemble a fire station at all. It was the middle of the park.

Having no other choice, I sat on a bench and waited, only hoping that this wasn't a stupid joke. I waited, impatiently glancing at my phone's display every now and then to check the time.
Less than half an hour before my shift started, someone approached me. He was a tall, blond man with dark sunglasses, which he took off, and I felt as if he was looking at me for a moment.

"Are you Penny Morris?" He asked me in a friendly way.

"And who are you?" I replied warily.

"My name is Shane Lee and I guess I'm your captain," he introduced himself.

I was still looking at him warily at first, but then he reached into the inside pocket of his jeans jacket and took out his work ID. This convinced me and I immediately jumped to my feet.

"Why did you get up?" He looked at me skeptically, putting the badge back in his pocket.

“I'm sorry, I…” I stammered, looking down in shame. So many efforts not to spoil the first impression were in vain. Entire weeks or even years of preparation were wiped out in the blink of an eye. "I... I didn't know... Captain..." I tried to somehow get out of this situation with a face.

"Nothing happened," Shane assured me reassuringly. "And secondly, don't call me captain," he asked. "I quit formalities a long time ago," he joked, waving his hand.

"And what should I address you then?" I asked uncertainly.

"Just Shane. That's how everyone calls me," he shrugged.

"Cap..." I started, but feeling his admonishing gaze on me, I immediately corrected myself. "Shane, why exactly did I get this address as my posting?"

"Don't you like it? To me, it's twice as good as the dirty walls of the firestation garage," he admitted jokingly. "I asked for that address to be given to you. The fire station is right behind the park, but I wanted to find out on neutral ground who I was dealing with," he explained.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused. "Is this some kind of test?" I added hesitantly, but to my even greater confusion, Shane laughed.

“No, I'm not testing you,” he assured me reassuringly. "I've read your files and I know that you have a lot of qualifications, high results, but the question is, do you just have the talent and head for all this?" He looked at me, raising an eyebrow in question.

"I think so," I replied, trying to sound as confident as possible, but my ability to control my own voice was weaker than I thought.

"You seem confident," he said, although I couldn't decide if it was a compliment or a reproach. "But this job really isn't easy. The first few weeks usually play a critical role in testing the candidates' stamina," he said simply.