Four years. It had been four whole years since I stepped foot in Australia. And yet, as soon as I got off the plane and looked out the large windows to see the sun shining brightly in the sky, I felt as if it had only been a few days.
I could have stayed in the USA to work. It probably would have been smarter. And cheaper. It wasn't like I hadn't applied for jobs in the States. In fact, I mostly applied for jobs in the US. However, my dream job was here in New South Wales. So, naturally, when they called me and said they'd loved my application and would be delighted to hire me, I immediately jumped at the chance.
Kendra had almost murdered me when she found out via Twitter. In fact, I'd had to lock myself in my room for a few hours until she calmed down enough to talk to, much to the amusement of Wyatt, who I facetimed during the entire fiasco.
Now, what was my dream job, exactly?
A veterinary technician and humane education coordiator at a animal rescue called Winston Hills Rescue Shelter.
I was very lucky to have found a cheap apartment as soon as I did. It was in a decent area, only a ten minute walk from the shelter, and thirty minutes by bus from Sydney. All-in-all, it was nice. And once my flight arrived in Sydney, I rolled all six of my luggage bags out, hailed a taxi, and journeyed to my new home.
The apartment was small, and I live on the third floor of seven. It was a small studio apartment, only having two full rooms; one bathroom and one main room. There was also a bit of closet and cupboard space for my belongings. However, if I wanted a meal other than something I could cook in the small microwave sitting on top of the end table in the corner, I'd have to trek down to the first floor and use the communal kitchen's stove. But that wasn't a problem for me, especially considering that the few neighbors I had met while moving in seemed very friendly and easy to get along with. I could see myself becoming pretty good friends with all of them
There were the Mackenzies who lived just down the hall from me. They were an older couple who happened upon me as I attempted to set up the stupid lamp Kendra had forced me to buy because she thought it was 'cute'. George, as he intorduced himself, turned out to be very helpful, setting up the lamp in what seemed like five seconds. They had actually invited me to dinner that first night.
Then there was David Henderson on the floor below me. He was nice enough to warn me away from using any of the communal kitchen's pots, pans, or other utensils, though I wasn't planning on it anyways. I'd met him on the elevator on my way down to explore the small town of Winston Hills, where I was to be living.
Lastly, I met Georgia Boukamp at the dinner table of the Mackenzies. Apparently the older couple loved having their younger neighbors over for dinner quite often. I learned it was because their own children had moved to cities that were quite far away, and never visited often. I really liked Georgia. She seemed very interested in America and where I came from. And snow. She was twenty-six years old-a little over four years older than me-and she had still not seen snow in person. I promised her that, if the opportunity ever arose, I'd get her somewhere that had snow so she could experience it.
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Today was the day-my first day of work. I put on the plain scrubs I'd been sent in the mail before I had even flown out to Australia. They were actually pretty cute. The trim on the scrubs was white, and on one side of the front, my name was embroidered into the maroon-colored material. I had been sent three pairs of the same scrubs. After my tennis shoes were tied and my hair was pulled back into a ponytail, I set out on my journey to WHRS.
I was maybe one block away from work when I saw the cat dart in front of the car. I froze, watching as the oblivious driver continued on, not noticing the small black and white animal. They didn't even stop when they hit it. The cat must not have been directly under the tires, but the impact sent the poor creature tumbling in the wake of the car. I wasn't the only one to see the incident; an elderly woman on the other side of the street immediately crossed over to the cat. I arrived at the injured creature shortly after, kneeling down to the ground.
"Oh, you're a nurse! Can you help him?" She asked hopefully. I looked at the cat, who was panting and letting out little mewls.
"Yeah. I'm on my way to work. I'll take care of her." I said, surprisingly calmly despite the pounding of my heart.
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"That was quite the way to start off your first day, wasn't it?" I looked up to see a woman called Katie, who was one of my fellow vet techs. My lips tilted up in a small smile as I nodded at the black-haired woman.
"Yeah. I'm just glad she's going to be okay. Well, most of her at least." I replied.
The cat had gone into immediate surgery after some tests determined she was bleeding internally. Her front right leg was crushed, and she had a few road rash injuries on various parts of her body. The vet, an older man with graying hair named Dr. Ventri, determined that the only option for her leg was to amputate it. So, he did. I'd stayed with the small cat as she woke up, and had been checking on her pretty regularly since then.
The rest of the day went by rather uneventfully. I followed Katie around a bit to get used to the way things worked at the shelter, and met pretty much everyone who worked there. The staff list wasn't very large. Only 25 people ran the place, and volunteers did the rest of the work. My days were mainly going to be spent behind a desk, preparing for the week-long children's daycamps that the shelter put on between school terms. But I had my own (fairly spacious) cubicle, which was nice. The lunch room was only a short walk from my cubicle, and I got to pass the dog kennels and the cattery on my way to and from it, so that was definitely a bonus.
As I walked back to my apartment after my first day of work, I couldn't help but smile to myself. I'd originally been a slight bit nervous that this job wasn't going to be what I wanted it to be. But I needn't have been worried; it was perfect. And I'd saved my first animal and it was only day one.
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Oh my goodness, it's finally here!
Anyways, I really hope you love the chapter, even though none of the 5SOS boys have made an appearance yet. I promise you won't have to wait long, though!
Lastly, if you're receiving this update at 12 midnight EST, then I've somehow managed to pause my partying and locate a device with Internet. If it's after 1 am, my little drunk (what? It's New Years. Don't judge me) self has managed to pause whatever routine I've decided to go with in regards to getting in bed in order to post this for you. And you should appreciate me.
Love you all to bits, and I'll see you ASAP!
YOU ARE READING
Forgiven // l.h. // Book 2 in Bully Series
Fanfiction"We're like the stupidest people ever." "Yeah, we kinda are."
