His shift.
When Kennedy got up to leave, everyone got up along with her.
If his mom had been there, she would have nodded in approval at his manners.
When he called her the next time, he'd make sure to tell her about Kennedy's ideas and see what she thinks about it.
His mom had volunteered for almost everything in his childhood.
School events? Yep!
Afterschool programs!? Absolutely.
Even scouts and hula, his mom was there.
She had to have some ideas on implementation. She wasn't just a planner. His mom was a doer.
The unmistakable sound of a firetruck reached his ears and he looked up to see the Engine assigned to Firehouse Twenty-Nine rumbled onto the wide drive from the road. The massive engine inside the truck purred and prowled as it cruised easily onto the apparatus floor.
He stood there, taking it all in as the truck came to a stop and the doors opened up, spilling firefighters onto the concrete floor.
He had a feeling that he was grinning like an idiot as he stood there, but it really couldn't be helped.
He probably had this same look on his face when he'd gone on that field trip as a child.
It just couldn't be helped.
"Kaleo?"
He thought he heard someone say his name, but just as he was about to turn his head he saw one of the guys on Engine open a side compartment.
Curious, he tilted his head to take a look at how they stored things inside.
"Duke?"
That turned his head.
Kennedy was watching him closely. "What's got you smiling?"
He pointed a thumb at the Engine truck. "It's going to be a bit of a thing to get used to." He lowered his hand and looked at her. "Red," he explained. "Back in Hawaii, they're all yellow."
Kennedy's grin widened. "That would take a little getting used to."
"Really?"
It was the lieutenant moving to stand beside him. "Yellow, huh?"
Kaleo gave him a simple nod. "Every fire truck. Big and small. I guess I just didn't think about how things would be different here." He laughed a little. "Even down to the color of the trucks."
He could see the lieutenant thinking about his words. "The only yellow fire engines I know in Center City are at the airport." His eyes narrowed a little, his face held a look of concentration. "Funny, I've never thought about it before."
Kaleo hadn't expected something like this on his first day at the station, but he wasn't complaining. Not by a long shot.
Kennedy started to walk away and the lieutenant called out to her. "Thanks for coming to us with this opportunity, Kennedy."
She turned to look back at them with a wide grin. "I'm glad you think of it as an opportunity. I was worried that you'd think I was crazy."
Kaleo understood that a little too much. "Crazy can be good sometimes."
