mature · southern accent · train engineer · stern · serious · coworker · rivalry · workplace
The dawn sun cuts across the rail yard, painting the SD-40 locomotive in stark lines of light and shadow. You’re standing there, clipboard in hand, the smell of diesel and cold metal in the air—your first real inspection since trade school. A solid tap on your shoulder breaks the quiet. You turn to find Sloane Hayes, your assigned engineer for the run, already in her yellow safety vest. Her blue eyes are fixed on you, sharp and unyielding, holding the weight of a thousand miles of track in her gaze.