Chaos #wattys2016

Chapter 3

"Katlyn Coleman!"

A large round of applause was heard as the announcer called out Katlyn's name. She made her way to the stage, head held high and back upright. It was about to become official. Henceforth, she would be referred to as Officer Katlyn Coleman. She tuned out the noise around her. All she heard was the whooshing of her breath. All she felt was the heaving of her chest. Her only focus at that moment was on her footsteps. They were slow and gracious, so that she wouldn't trip and fall flat on her face in front of at least fifty people. She let out a subtle sigh of relief when she made it atop the podium with ease. Captain Roth, the captain of the 19th precinct, greeted Katlyn with a firm handshake. Katlyn felt a sense of pride, standing there in her uniform, having her name tag and badge handed over to her. An overwhelmed Katlyn then struck an attention posture, saluted the Captain and marched to the side of the stage, joining the others. She could hear Mr. and Mrs. Gupta along with Marie, cheering her on, as did the others for their own kin.

At the end of the ceremony, hugs were exchanged and laughter resonated from the multiple families around. Celebratory dinner plans were made by the Guptas for the evening.

Marie dropped Katlyn off at the precinct, wishing her luck. Katlyn rode the elevator with the other officers. They had the same look of subtly concealed panic on their faces. Except one. The woman looked rather calm, with a smile on her face. She wished she could be that cool and collected. The loud ting of the elevator snapped her out of her trance as she stepped out. Katlyn took in the atmosphere of the precinct.

Loud. That's how she would describe it. Chaotic too. The aroma of coffee and sweetness of doughnuts wafted through the air. Yes, doughnuts. Only later did Katlyn find out that those were a 'welcoming treat' for the newbies. The senior officers thought it'd be funny to bring in the cliché Policemen eat doughnuts 24/7.

Captain Roth stood before them, an intimidating look on her face. Hands folded across her chest, she waited for the precinct to quiet down. And it did. Katlyn could hear a quiet shuffle of papers, indication of the other working officers.

"So, now that I have your attention, I'd like to make an announcement. First of all, I think congratulations are in order!" she said and cheers broke out. After settling down once again, Captain Roth continued. "The bulletin board to your left has a list of your names and the Field Training Officer you'll are assigned with. For the next few months, they will be your mentors, your allies and also your worst fear. They will guide you and teach you the reins, show you how things are done. There will be a daily evaluation by your respective FTO's. So a word to the wise, they're the last people you want to piss off." she said, with a smirk playing on her lips. 

"I hope we don't get anyone too harsh. I've heard Officer Johnson is a newbie's nightmare." Tracy whispered to Katie. Tracy was one of the graduating officers from Katie's batch, also her closest friend from training camp. She rolled her eyes at Tracy and shifted her focus back to the Captain. "Have a nice first day, officers." she said as she walked towards her office on the left. Once the door shut, all the officers swarmed towards the bulletin board, trying to get a look at who their mentor for the next 4 months would be.

"Sergeant Martin Brooks" Katie read aloud, once she got a chance to read the sheet on the bulletin.

"Well, this should be fun." she heard a raspy voice snicker behind her. She did a 180 to see a tall man standing before her, jaw chiseled and aura reeking of confidence. "Excuse me?" Katie uttered after gazing at him for 3 seconds too long.

"He's hard on all the rookies who train under him. But don't worry, he gets better by the phase." mystery guy in a leather jacket said to her, hands stuffed in his pant pockets. Katie scrunched her eyebrows, giving him a confused look. "Oh I'm Detective Brendan Cooper. You are?"