Tʜᴜʀsᴅᴀʏ. Jᴜɴᴇ 15ᴛʜ, 1995. Tᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ: 105ғ Sᴜɴɴʏ.
Fɪʀsᴛ Dᴀʏ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ Jᴏʙ
In segments of twenty to thirty minutes you are brought into the lead Park Ranger's office alone. A wooded room decked out in posters claiming positive attitudes and cats that are hanging for their lives with the taglines of "Hang in There Baby" scrawled across them. On a pitiful office desk a cheap plastic name tag reads Oliver Hanes. You know that he probably went and got that made himself at the local office depot, but you don't care. You glance to the family portrait on his desk, his wife and two sons and a daughter smile back at you almost creepily before your attention is grabbed by Oliver's voice repeating himself,
"Did you get all of that?" Admittedly between the drab lecture of rules and the blasting of the air conditioner hook up you didn't hear much of anything, but you nod anyways. Oliver smiles, a similar toothy grin that his family in the picture in front of you share.
"Perfect. Here's your radio, and I'll lead you to your tower." he states. Putting his hands on his desk and hoisting himself up. He hands you a large radio that has a piece of tape over some of the knobs indicated with different letters.
"I'm really happy that a lot of young teens came out to help this year. It gives me hope in our future of the forest. You can communicate with one another through the radio. Each watchtower is indicated with a letter, and that corresponds with the radio station. Station A will a group channel between all of the towers. If you need me at the front desk where we came from, you can call the number you called to apply with. Do NOT use the phone for anything else though. I don't want you calling your friends all summer. It's for emergencies only."Reaching your designated tower you go up the flight of steps and reach the box. It is surrounded by glass and you can see deep into the forest, the lakes, canyons, and other features the park had to offer. It's breathtakingly beautiful. He shows you where the fridge and microwave are, a small boombox, a box of supplies such as a first aid kit, batteries, and a pack of 10 batteries. Oliver than proceeds to show you your cot(s), the place where you'll or perhaps you and another person will be sleeping the rest of your summer. It's not ideal but it's better than the floor. As you get a good feel of the place, commenting as you please. He points out the porta potty outside that has a small outdoor shower attached.
Before leaving Oliver hands you a pair of binoculars. Before letting go he meets eyes with you, speaking once more
"There are a few rule books under the cot if you see anything suspicious or dangerous and don't know what to do. Don't venture out at night, and don't venture without your radio." he releases his grip and smiles. Before descending the steps and disappearing back to what you would assume is the front desk to bring in the next ranger. Plopping down on the bed, your brought bags at your feet. The reality quickly setting in of what you signed yourself up for.
Welcome to the easiest summer of your life.
Tricia's mother had insisted driving her up to the job. Though she was happy the girl had taken an immediate action when she told her she had needed a job for the summer, she thought maybe the girl would pick the McDonalds down the road from the trailer park not spending months at a time away from home. Kimberly was going to miss her little firecracker, even if it meant her not getting in trouble for a few months. As their red jeep came to a stop in front of the building Oliver had described, Kimberly threw her arms around her daughter and planted kisses all along her rounded cheeks. Tricia's bright green eyes closed,
"Aww come on mom, I will be back before you know it." she said it, as her mother began to tear up. Tricia rolled her eyes as she hopped from the passenger seat and walked around to the trunk.
Her beat up high tops kicked the dirt under her feet. Tricia wore very comfortable clothing, a purple half top underneath a pair of short overalls. Her one strap hung off her, against her side where her skin was slightly showing. It was terribly hot, her light brown curls pulled up into a high pony tail, complete with a purple scrunchie. Grabbing her backpack and a medium sized suitcase she placed the bag on her back and began pulling the suitcase up to the door. She gave a final wave to her mother before walking in and being greeted by Oliver.
Tricia wasn't paying attention to anything that Oliver had to say. Her mind traveling to the bag of weed she had bought just before the trip from a guy a few trailers from hers. She was wanting to sit out in the sun, smoke, listen to music and get paid all summer. The perfect plan. Getting slightly startled by Oliver, she nodded her head.
"Sounds cool man." she said, standing up with him as they took the trail down towards her watch tower.
Out of breath and sweaty the path towards Eucalyptus was more exercise Tricia had gotten in probably her entire lifetime. When she looked at the step she muttered,
"Shiiiiit man." and Oliver looked to her puzzled. She gave a weak smile as she struggled up the steps, Oliver quick in front of her. She wondered why he didn't even ask to help her with her stuff, but part of her didn't really care either way. She just wanted to sit down after all this damn movement.
Oliver's words of warning and instruction went into Tricia's overly pierced ear and out the other one. She nodded, wide eyed as Oliver continued to pointing out stuff. She set her suitcase down in a lump on the floor, not really caring what happened to the contents. Her backpack she was more careful about placing it gently on her cot, not wanting to break her pipe or reveal any of the contents she had inside. Though she assumed most people didn't care about that stuff, she knew it probably wasn't the best idea to tell the man that she had promised to watch for forest fires- that she was going to be lighting up as soon as he left.
Taking the binoculars to her chest she was off put by the aggressiveness Oliver was showing. He was definitely a business guy, though he smiled like he at least knew how to have a good time every once in awhile. Tricia thought back to the photo on his desk, his family seemed happy enough too. As soon as Oliver departed, Tricia undid her shoes and settled in on the cot, dropping the binoculars to the ground. She pulled her feet under her as she sat cross legged in the bed. Opening her backpack she pulled out her weed, pipe, the lighter from her pocket and got to work as quickly as possible. Taking a big inhale she reached over and turned on the boombox, some west side hip hop erupted from it as she began coughing her lungs out. It was no wonder she had such a problem climbing the steps.
She continued taking hits, as she got herself a snack and cold coke from the fridge. She switched between the activities. This wasn't too different from home, granted this was a bigger space than her own bedroom at home. She looked to the hand radio, switching it on to A curiously.
"Is there anybody out there?" she questioned, as she shoved a handful of chips into her mouth. She waited patiently to see if anyone would respond. The sun bright and hot behind her.
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