Chapter 6
SIX
(coincides with Chapter Fourteen of "Take Me As I Am" Walker & Kennedy's book)
KALEO
When Kaleo got off the bus, it was easy enough to find the firehouse. It stood out from the other buildings around it and occupied the corner of the block.
The tall rolling doors dividing the access to the apparatus floor were bright red and reminded him of some of the firehouse doors back home.
The construction was newer than the firehouse he'd worked in back home in Hawaii.
It was an impressive sight and he took a minute to stand there and just look at it.
Smiling, he shook his head.
"Here I am."
"Hey!"
Someone called to Kaleo and he turned to see who it was. There was a truck on the other side of the hedge in front of him was a big white RAM 3500 that had been customized for construction. It was a really nice truck.
The driver's window rolled up as he opened the door.
"Are you the new guy?"
Kaleo lifted his chin. "That's me."
The other firefighter tipped his head toward the station. "Come on with me, I'll show you around."
Kaleo walked down the sidewalk and around the hedge. He held out his hand. "Kaleo Kenney."
The other man gave him a good strong shake. "Gibson Braun. The guys just call me Braun."
Kaleo nodded. "I can see why."
Braun laughed at that. "I wish I could say there was a cool reason for it. But Gibson is a little old fashioned for some and odd for others. It's just easier, I guess."
Kaleo agreed with his assessment. "Braun's just infinitely cooler."
They laughed a little and started walking toward the station house.
"You're from Hawaii, right?"
Kaleo nodded and waited for any number of odd or cheesy questions that usually came after that revelation.
"Are we causing you any problems, bringing you in early?"
Kaleo was surprised that Braun had moved right on past the usual silly comments and right to work. It was refreshing and a promising start to the day.
"No," he shook his head. "It's actually a nice break. I've been looking for an apartment that won't eat up the majority of my pay."
Braun's steps slowed and he turned his head. "You need a place? I have a few rental properties that I like to rent to first responders. I don't have an opening right now, but I can ask around. I do contracting work at a number of sites. I can probably find a place, at least temporarily."
Kaleo shook his head. "I wish I'd known that before I ran around, coming up short." He held up a hand in surrender. "I'm not complaining," he shook his head. "It's just one of those things that you look back on and think-"
"If only you'd known?"
They both nodded and laughed.
"But I have an appointment to meet with an apartment manager tomorrow. They have a place opening up at the beginning of next month."
Braun gestured at a door at the end of the row of rolling doors and they continued on. "Well, if it falls through, let me know." He pulled open the door. "You'll get a copy of the contact information from everyone in working at Twenty-nine during the morning meeting."
Kaleo nodded, feeling really good about the upcoming shift. "Sounds good."
Braun opened the door and gestured for him to go in. "I'll show you where to put your things. You're here really early. We have time to walk around and show you the basics."
The light inside the enclosed apparatus floor was darker than the outsides, even with the big open window panels.
Kaleo let out a soft, almost silent whistle.
The size of the station was more than five times that of the station he'd worked at in Hawaii. The Wailupe Station in Aina Haina had two doors and a tower that barely met the modern dimensions of what a firehouse needed their towers for.
The fire station he was standing in didn't even have a physical feature like it.
Firehouse Twenty-Nine probably had machines to dry their hoses and didn't need to hang them dry.
Kaleo had barely a moment to notice his surroundings before he was distracted.
"Braun?" The voice was older, not weak, but mature.
Braun turned his head toward the voice. "Yes, Chief?"
Chief.
Kaleo took a steadying breath. He'd spoken to Chief Aldo Campanelli before getting on the plane in Hawaii.
It was a short call, but it was enough to make Kaleo believe that he'd made the right choice moving away from the islands and to the continental United States, thousands of miles away from everything he'd ever known.
The Chief crooked his fingers at them.
Or rather at Braun.
"Come over for a second."
Kaleo wasn't sure if he should just stand there and wait or-
Braun gestured with his hand for Kaleo to follow him.
And he did.
There was something in Gibson Braun that Kaleo recognized.
That kind of intangible quality that marked him as a leader.
As they moved closer to the firehouse's Chief, Kaleo could see that there was a woman standing beside him.
She was a redhead.
Young.
Pretty.
There wasn't any familial connection in their features. So he didn't think they were family, but there was a warm and easy feeling between them..
Kaleo heard the Chief speak again.
"Kennedy, you know Lieutenant Braun here."
Kennedy.
Kaleo smiled at her name.
"Lieutenant." She nodded. "Good to see you again."
Braun shook her hand and then Kaleo saw the lieutenant gesture in his direction. "This is Kaleo Kennedy. He's joining us on Rescue to fill Seth's spot."
The Firechief looked at him and nodded. His gaze moved between Kaleo and Kennedy, the pretty redhead. "Kenney and Kennedy. I'm just glad you two aren't working here or it could get confusing."
Kaleo laughed. "The guys back home call me Duke."
"Duke?" Kennedy looked closely at him, a curious glint in her eyes. "What's the story behind that?"
"I'm from Hawaii." He knew that wasn't going to be enough to explain. "I was one of the water rescue guys back home. It's a surfing thing."
"I just moved here from Hawaii. I was one of the water rescue guys back home. So it's a surfing thing."
"Surfing?" Kennedy shuddered. "The water gets so cold here. I look at the lake and I start to shiver."
Kaleo laughed out loud at that. "I heard I'd have to get an industrial wetsuit before I try to go into the lake here in Center City."
Chief Campanelli gestured at Kennedy. "Braun, Kennedy here has a request for some public outreach and education. Can I have you talk to her about the logistics? I think this is something right up our alley."
Kaleo warmed to the thought.
"Sure!" the lieutenant turned to look at him. "What about you? Have you done anything like that in Hawaii?"
Kaleo nodded. "We did a lot of school programs and Keiki Days at the firehouses." He turned, looking at the others. "Keiki is the Hawaiian word for child... children. I'd like to help if I can. I think it would be a good way to get my feet wet."
"Just don't get hypothermia," Kennedy coughed nervously. "Sorry. Bad joke."
Kaleo nodded, his shoulders shaking with laughter. "I liked it."
Braun gestured toward a door at the back of the apparatus floor. "Why don't we go in the common area and talk? We could probably rope a few of the others into the conversation and make some good headway in planning before the next call pops up."
Kaleo nodded and followed along.
Even though he hadn't planned to start work this quickly, it was a good thing that he had.
Opportunities like the community outreach that they were going to be talking about?
It was something he didn't want to miss out on. The best way to get a feel for the people was to go out and meet them.
Just as they crossed into the community space in the firehouse, Braun turned and gave Kaleo an apologetic smile. "Sorry about the tour I promised you."
Kaleo held up his hands to stop the lieutenant there. "No worries, Lieu. I can find my way around later. I'm pretty good at following the leader and my mom taught me to ask for directions."
Kennedy laughed at that. "A modern day man!"
Braun covered his mouth but he couldn't completely hide his smile. "This is going to be fun."
A few minutes later, Kaleo realized that the meeting was, in fact, fun.
LEXIE
Taking the NCLEX exam was a little like taking exams in high school. Either you thrived on the structure of it, or you didn't. The point was to get through it to the other side, hopefully with a license she'd been working toward.
Walking out of the room for her first break, Lexie took a moment to stand off to the side of the doorway and breathe in and out.
The attendees had been cautioned against speaking to anyone.
Any conversation, even with the most innocuous comments might be seen as something suspect, so as someone walked out of the room behind her headed down the hallway toward the bathrooms, Lexie didn't even turn her head in that direction.
The last thing she wanted to do was jeopardize her test score.
Stretching her arms up and over her head and then twisting and turning, she managed to summon up more energy and clear her head.
With that, she headed to the restroom.
They were allowed breaks on their own timing, but all of the time had to fit in the five hours that they were given from start to finish.
Lexie was fairly sure she wouldn't need all five hours to answer the questions, but she wanted to have as much time as possible to complete the questions. After all, once she moved from one question to the next on the computer, there was no going back.
It made sense, really.
After two years of meticulous studying and putting all of her efforts into her classes and degree, she was was finally taking that big step forward.
She couldn't wait to start working at the Emergency Room right here on the Cole Medical Campus.
Smiling to herself, she tossed her paper towel into the trash can and headed back to the exam room.
She had a test to conquer!
KALEO
Since it was his first day at the firestation, he did more listening than talking.
The ideas that Kennedy had for community outreach hit home with him and the other firefighters.