The Internship

First day Jitters

It was Monday morning, meaning I got up at 6:00 am and went to school like every normal school day. The school day went naturally like any other day; teachers assigning tons of homework, having laughs with friends. Then the last period rolled in and let me tell you, I wasn't ready to listen to loser seniors complain about their grade. The only thing I was looking forward to, was the end of class, and finally go to SpaceX. Class went on for what seemed like hours, yet the bell rang and I ran the heck out of class to meet with Dan.

"Hey Nina! Over here!" Dan yelled from inside the car, as I ran towards him. "Hey, Dan! What's up!" I greeted, getting in. "The sky, obviously." Dan replied, chuckling at his really bad joke. "Shut up!" I laugh out, giggling in sync with Dan. It's funny, how I've only known Dan for three days, yet it feels as if we've been friends since forever.

Throughout the drive we listen to indie rock music, singing our lungs out, till Dan speaks up. "How do you feel about today?" I stop my singing and glance towards him. "I feel really nervous. I'm super stoked that I got the position as his PA, but I just don't think I'm cut out for such a high position." I let out, looking out the passenger window.

"You don't feel capable of such job?" "Yeah. I don't want to mess up and cause a huge mess that would make Mister Musk fire me. D-Don't get me wrong, I believe I can become a great assistant and I'm confident I will, it's just that he's important, and I don't want to screw up and embarrass him." I declare, with a sigh.

"Don't worry Nina, you'll do great. I know he says he won't tolerate mistakes, but trust me he's very understanding." Dan declared, patting my shoulder as we rolled into HQ's parking lot. "Don't sweat it, okay. Just enjoy your tour with Elon, and you'll see that there's no need to be intimidated." Dan asserted, as we both get out the Tesla.

We walk into the building, Dan leading me to Elon's office. He knocks on the glass wall and heads in, stopping directly in front of Elon's desk. "I brought her on the dot." He chuckled out, motioning me to come in. I walk in and greet him, "Good afternoon, Mister Musk." "Good afternoon." He acknowledged, getting up  from his chair and walking besides me. "I'll get back to work." Dan stated, stepping out.

"How about we get started." Elon stated. "Yeah, okay." I nod, smiling up to him. Leading me through the cubicles, he suddenly stops midway. "As you can see these are all engineering cubicles and over here is a little area where you can meet, and have discussions. There's not many doors because they limit communications, its much easier without them." He states, continuing to walk towards the end of the cubicles.

"This is the meeting room where we meet with customers. As my assistant you'll wait for me during the meetings, although you'll be able to come inside once or twice. The room is kinda cool cause it's got this glass that goes opec when it senses motion nearby. Want to try?" He offered, arm guiding me into the office. I step through and see the clear glass go opec instantly as I enter. My eyes go wide and a laugh gets out, "Holy cow! That's so cool!" I declare, continuing to step in and out watching the glass change, giggling.

We continue the tour all throughout Head Quarters; Elon showing me all the machine shops building rocket components and tube bending areas. On the far end of the building Elon demonstrates the interference chamber. "And this is the electromagnetic interference test chamber, kinda looks like a torture chamber doesn't it?" He chortles out, continuing to explain how it is set up so that the radios and the receivers don't interfere with one another.

"I don't see any whips or chains though." I chuckle out. My joke must have caught him by surprise because he stops rambling and just stares at me. "Oh shyt. Why did I say such a dumb joke."  I mentally face palm myself.

"Ahahaha" The laughter ripped through the awkward silence, and I peek up to see Elon's wide smile, chuckling. We lock eyes, his green eyes squinting as he laughs, my grin being interrupted by laughter. A few laughs later he recomposes himself and continues to walk towards our final destination.

"This is the snack section, where we offer free snacks to our employees." He states, as my eyes are intrigued towards the bubblegum dispenser. "Woah! Is that a rocket bubblegum machine?!" I excitedly remark, running towards it. "It is." He replies, twisting the knob and a bubblegum swirls down the rocket. He opens the latch and hands me the gum. "Wow, thanks! That's super cool!" I state, popping the gum in my mouth.

"Alright, well that's the tour of SpaceX." "Thank you for the tour. This place is awesome!" I declare, walking back towards the lobby. We get to the lobby and I check my watch: 6:23 pm. "Dan will take you home, soon." He stated. "Thank you for the tour, I enjoyed it." I declare, with a genuine smile. "Then you'll enjoy working here." "I sure will, Sir." I reply, seeing Dan outside. "I've got to go now. Goodbye and have a nice night, Mister Musk." I wave off. "Alright, goodbye. See you tomorrow."