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Relieved or Disappointed By Purry |
Finally, was Chet's thought as he walked into his apartment after a
seemingly endless shift. It's wasn't that they had alot of runs that would make for a hard day, it's what
happened when they had first got there that set the mood for the rest of day.
The look on everyone’s face when Cap announced the standings was
almost comical. I know mine had to be one of absolute dumbfound. I know the
guys weren't being mean, when they wanted to know how was the outcome that they
had expected, reversed. It's just that it was hard for them to believe
It was a shock to say the least. Never in my wildest dreams did I
think I would pass, let alone score 9th. Sure I studied, but not near enough to
do that well. Roy placing 74th was a total shock, man he studied every shift
for a month. How did he do so poorly. He's a paramedic
for pete's sake. If he can
pass that exam, why was this one so difficult. But
when I looked over at
I felt sorry for Johnny, I could tell he
didn't know how to react. We all knew,
I was given congratulations all the way around. My shiftmates
are the best. If this day had turned out differently, I don't know what my dicision would have been. I spent most of my downtime
taking in the pros and cons of becoming an engineer or staying a 51's as a
firefighter. It was hard to think about leaving the friends I had made here. We
aren't only crewmates, we're a family. All brothers, me, Roy,
Marco, Mike, Cap and Johnny. I think I would miss Johnny the most, I
won't let on but I tend to worry about him more than the others. I know he's a
great fireman/paramedic but trouble always seems to find him.
As the day wore on, my decision was taken out of my hands. Just after we came back from MVA rescue, the Chief was at the station waiting. Cap and McConnickee went into Cap's office, not coming out for over and hour. When they finally came into the kitchen, Cap informed us there had been a mix-up in the test results, that some of the exams were graded incorrectly.
When Cap said, "Chet pal, can I see you in my office." I
thought my heart was going to stop. When we got into the office, he told me to
have a seat. I knew it was bad news, the way they were both looking at me.
"Son, I'm afraid yours was one of those test that was in the mix-up, I'm
sorry, but you didn't pass." When the Chief said that to
me, I didn't know if I should laugh with relief or cry from disappointment.
I did neither; I extended my hand to both Cap and McConnikee
and stood to leave. Before I could reach the door Cap said, "Chet I hope
this doesn't discourage you from trying again." My reply was "No
sir". I started for the door again but I just had to know, I cleared my
throat and asked the question they knew was coming, how did I
score. There was a long pause before Cap said "you tied with
When the guys were told, they were yet again shocked just like I was, but I was also relieved. Making engineer would've been great, but it's more responsibility than I think I'm up for, besides I really didn't want to make the decision to leave. So in a way, all things worked out for the best.
When Johnny asked me if I would have taken the promotion, I grinned at him and said, damn straight. As I walked out of the kitchen, I could hear him ranting about me, that was music to my ears, I would have missed my pigeon.
The
End
