It was my second day in the field. Justin was talking to me again, acting as if we didn't spend the whole day before in awkward silence over something so petty. I carried on conversations with him and tried to pretend I didn't think him a self-important cunt. I imagined he was doing the same.
We were in Albany again. Something that apparently rarely happens. I was in the basement of a two story duplex watching Justin's drill bit bore through the floor into the basement making small one inch holes every ten feet, or every bedroom. I had the job of feeding wire up to him. He drilled and would call down "All right, feed the wire up. The one in the box." Every time. There was only one box of wire down here. I wondered if he was trying to agitate me. The whole fucking job agitated me. It was the second hundred degree day in a row outside, and in the sweltering basement, worse. I had been watching Justin. I had been paying attention (mostly) in class, but it wasn't sinking in. We had four stops that day, and apparently two of them were big jobs. I asked Justin in the van that morning what time we might be home. "Assume bedtime," he had said. We had left at seven in the morning.
I was tired. Irritated. Covered in sweat and I had forgotten to bring any water. All I wanted to do was go home.
"Feed the wire up. It's in that box!"
I glared at the floor above me. "What?"
"The wire! Feed it up!"
"Where is it?" If he was going to be a cunt, then so was I.
"It's in that box next to you!"
"The wire box?"
"Yes!"
"How much?"
"Until I tell you to stop!"
"Okay. The wire box, right?"
"God damn it!"
I heard something hit the floor above me, and then the stomping of his work boots. He was coming down to do it for me. Good, I thought. Fuck him.
He stormed down the stairs. "Right there. Behind you. The wire in the box." He walked up to me, behind me, and yanked the wire. It spun on it's plastic spindle and tore the cardboard around it. He looked for his fresh hole, found it, and jammed the wire into it. He shoved more and more in there, and I watched with a raised eyebrow. I wondered if I was taking my hostility for the job out on him.
"Don't be a god damned idiot!" He said.
Well, I was doing that.
Later that evening, I was sitting in the van while Justin waited on hold with the corporate office to approve activation of our third job for the day. We had been on the scene for six hours and the customers were beginning to be a little short with us.
I had been trying to hold back my sarcasm and general shit-headedness after the issue in the basement. The job didn't seem hard, by any means, but for whatever reason, I just couldn't wrap my head around it. The connection types. The box types. The paperwork. None of it was making any sense to me, but I was determined to do this job. I was determined to show all of those cavemen in my class that I was the best of them. I was determined to make Marie realize I wasn't a massive shit. So, I was doing my best to keep my mouth shut, and hope that Justin knew how to train me.
The hold music was a ten second loop of an electric organ playing the first twenty or so notes of what sounded a lot like the theme to Sesame Street. The speaker on the phone was broken and the music was coming out was distorted and sharp. Over and over. The sun was setting. The air cooling. I looked at the clock on the dash. I had ten minutes until I had been on the clock for twelve hours, and we still had one job left.
"What's the next job?" I asked.
"Just a service call a few blocks over. With any luck, we should be in and out."
"Cool." I went back to staring dully out of the van, wishing I was home. Over and over, the I had no idea how to get to Sesame Street.
I wondered what Marie was doing right then. Was she at work? Had she come home yet? I wanted to text her but my phone battery had died a few hours ago. I missed her. I was thirsty. Exhausted from the heat.
Justin's call went through, and we left to the final job. After re-wiring the entire basement and installing all new boxes, we were in and out, in two and a half hours.
Justin dropped me off at eleven. Marie was already asleep. I took off my boots, peeled off my clothes layered with dried sweat, pissed, got three long drinks of water, set the alarm for five, and lay down in the dark. I curled up next to Marie.
Only one day left in the week.
We were in Albany again. Something that apparently rarely happens. I was in the basement of a two story duplex watching Justin's drill bit bore through the floor into the basement making small one inch holes every ten feet, or every bedroom. I had the job of feeding wire up to him. He drilled and would call down "All right, feed the wire up. The one in the box." Every time. There was only one box of wire down here. I wondered if he was trying to agitate me. The whole fucking job agitated me. It was the second hundred degree day in a row outside, and in the sweltering basement, worse. I had been watching Justin. I had been paying attention (mostly) in class, but it wasn't sinking in. We had four stops that day, and apparently two of them were big jobs. I asked Justin in the van that morning what time we might be home. "Assume bedtime," he had said. We had left at seven in the morning.
I was tired. Irritated. Covered in sweat and I had forgotten to bring any water. All I wanted to do was go home.
"Feed the wire up. It's in that box!"
I glared at the floor above me. "What?"
"The wire! Feed it up!"
"Where is it?" If he was going to be a cunt, then so was I.
"It's in that box next to you!"
"The wire box?"
"Yes!"
"How much?"
"Until I tell you to stop!"
"Okay. The wire box, right?"
"God damn it!"
I heard something hit the floor above me, and then the stomping of his work boots. He was coming down to do it for me. Good, I thought. Fuck him.
He stormed down the stairs. "Right there. Behind you. The wire in the box." He walked up to me, behind me, and yanked the wire. It spun on it's plastic spindle and tore the cardboard around it. He looked for his fresh hole, found it, and jammed the wire into it. He shoved more and more in there, and I watched with a raised eyebrow. I wondered if I was taking my hostility for the job out on him.
"Don't be a god damned idiot!" He said.
Well, I was doing that.
Later that evening, I was sitting in the van while Justin waited on hold with the corporate office to approve activation of our third job for the day. We had been on the scene for six hours and the customers were beginning to be a little short with us.
I had been trying to hold back my sarcasm and general shit-headedness after the issue in the basement. The job didn't seem hard, by any means, but for whatever reason, I just couldn't wrap my head around it. The connection types. The box types. The paperwork. None of it was making any sense to me, but I was determined to do this job. I was determined to show all of those cavemen in my class that I was the best of them. I was determined to make Marie realize I wasn't a massive shit. So, I was doing my best to keep my mouth shut, and hope that Justin knew how to train me.
The hold music was a ten second loop of an electric organ playing the first twenty or so notes of what sounded a lot like the theme to Sesame Street. The speaker on the phone was broken and the music was coming out was distorted and sharp. Over and over. The sun was setting. The air cooling. I looked at the clock on the dash. I had ten minutes until I had been on the clock for twelve hours, and we still had one job left.
"What's the next job?" I asked.
"Just a service call a few blocks over. With any luck, we should be in and out."
"Cool." I went back to staring dully out of the van, wishing I was home. Over and over, the I had no idea how to get to Sesame Street.
I wondered what Marie was doing right then. Was she at work? Had she come home yet? I wanted to text her but my phone battery had died a few hours ago. I missed her. I was thirsty. Exhausted from the heat.
Justin's call went through, and we left to the final job. After re-wiring the entire basement and installing all new boxes, we were in and out, in two and a half hours.
Justin dropped me off at eleven. Marie was already asleep. I took off my boots, peeled off my clothes layered with dried sweat, pissed, got three long drinks of water, set the alarm for five, and lay down in the dark. I curled up next to Marie.
Only one day left in the week.
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