The Apprentice

Wake up

Cereal standing at the counter. Pulls up the certification tracker on the phone — three modules left on the EPA 608 Type II prep, exam booked for next month. Checks which truck he's on today; lead texted last night that they're rolling on the Henderson changeout.

Shop

First one in the shop most mornings, the way the lead Installer told him to be. Helps load the staged equipment onto the trailer — coil, condenser, line set, the filter rack the warehouse forgot. Asks the Inventory Coordinator what the float switch is for since he's never wired one before.

Burrito stop

Buys the lead's burrito too, the way he has every install morning since his first week. Three bucks on his card; the lead bought lunch his second day on the truck and the math has never quite evened out.

Drop cloths and demo

Lays the drop cloth path while the lead does the homeowner walk. Holds the ladder for the recovery setup, watches how the lead bags the refrigerant and labels the tank. Hauls the old air handler pieces down from the attic as the lead breaks them apart.

Watch and copy

Lead flares the line set and tells him to watch the angle. Flares the second one himself under the lead's eye, gets a nod, redoes one because the bell wasn't quite right. Twenty-three years old and the second flare he's ever cut on a real job.

Lunch question

Burritos on the tailgate. Asks the lead why the secondary pan has to slope toward the float switch — the answer involves a Sharpie sketch on insulation board he folds up and stuffs in his back pocket for later.

Nitrogen and vacuum

Holds the nitrogen tank steady for the pressure test, watches the gauge for ten full minutes the way the lead insists. Sets up the micron gauge on the vacuum pump, learns to recognize the difference between a leak and outgassing on the readout.

Startup

Watches the lead check subcooling and superheat, writes the readings into the install log on the tablet himself for the first time. Lead double-checks them and signs off; the apprentice's name is on the entry.

Cleanup

Vacuums the closet twice, rolls the drop cloths, hauls the old condenser to the trailer with the lead. Sweeps the driveway end to end and then sweeps it again — the rule he's heard the lead say a hundred times.

Shop

Helps stack the old equipment on the scrap pile. Restocks the truck for tomorrow off the lead's list — checks every line item twice because last week he missed a roll of tape and the lead made him drive back at lunch.

Module

Couch, laptop, EPA 608 prep module on screen. Pulls the folded insulation-board sketch out of his back pocket and adds the float-switch question to the running list of things to ask the lead tomorrow morning.