As an ordinary genius

The email came three days after the interview, during a quiet morning while Ethan was reviewing his old coding projects. He wasn't expecting much when he opened his inbox, but there it was—a subject line that made his heart skip a beat:

Congratulations! Welcome to LynxTech Central City

Ethan clicked the email with trembling hands, skimming through the text.

Dear Mr. Grayson,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected for the Software Engineer position at LynxTech Central City. We were impressed by your performance during the interview process and believe you will be an excellent addition to our team.

A grin spread across his face as he leaned back in his chair. "I did it," he whispered, a sense of pride swelling in his chest.

He quickly typed out a reply, thanking them for the opportunity and confirming his start date. Then, he sat back and let the excitement wash over him.

The morning of his first day at LynxTech was a whirlwind of nerves and excitement. Ethan arrived at the office early, dressed in a crisp shirt and tie, his laptop bag slung over his shoulder. The building seemed even more imposing than it had during the interview, but he straightened his back and walked inside with purpose.

At the reception desk, a cheerful assistant greeted him. "Welcome to LynxTech, Mr. Grayson. I'll call someone from HR to take you to your team."

A few minutes later, a woman in her mid-30s approached him with a clipboard.

"Hi, Ethan. I'm Anna, from HR. I'll be showing you around today," she said with a welcoming smile.

"Thank you," Ethan replied, feeling his nerves ease slightly.

Anna led him through the sleek hallways of LynxTech, pointing out the various departments and amenities. The office was open and modern, with glass walls and collaborative workspaces.

Ethan was introduced to his team leader, David Chen, a friendly but sharp programmer with years of experience.

"Ethan, welcome aboard," David said, shaking his hand firmly. "We're excited to have you. Let me introduce you to the team."

The team consisted of four other members:

Sara, the UX designer with a knack for breaking down complex user journeys.Jon, the backend developer who was infamous for his dry humor.Priya, the frontend engineer known for her immaculate code.Mike, the QA specialist who had an uncanny ability to spot bugs before anyone else.

As they exchanged greetings, Ethan felt a mix of excitement and intimidation. The team was clearly experienced and tight-knit, but they welcomed him with warm smiles and casual jokes.

David handed Ethan a small task to get him started: debugging a module in the company's existing project management software.

"It's nothing too complicated," David said. "Just a way to get your feet wet. If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask."

Ethan nodded and settled into his desk. The first few minutes were nerve-wracking as he familiarized himself with the codebase, but soon his focus kicked in.

The issue turned out to be a logic error in one of the backend processes. Ethan carefully analyzed the code, made the necessary adjustments, and tested the fix.

"Done," he said softly to himself, leaning back with a small smile of satisfaction.

He sent an email to David to review the changes and waited anxiously for feedback.

During lunch, the team invited Ethan to join them at the nearby café. As they sat around a table, the conversation quickly turned casual.

"So, Ethan," Jon said, smirking. "What's the most embarrassing thing you've done during an internship?"

Ethan chuckled nervously. "Probably spending an entire day debugging only to realize I forgot a semicolon."

The table erupted in laughter, and Ethan relaxed, feeling more at ease with the group.

"Don't worry," Priya said with a grin. "Happens to the best of us. Welcome to the team, by the way."

"Thanks," Ethan replied, genuinely grateful for their kindness.

By the end of the day, Ethan felt exhausted but accomplished. David stopped by his desk as he was packing up.

"Good work today, Ethan," David said. "I checked the module you fixed, and it's solid. Keep it up."

"Thank you," Ethan said, feeling a rush of pride.

As he walked out of the building, the city lights twinkled in the evening sky. It had been a long journey to get here, but Ethan felt like he was finally starting to find his footing.

"This is just the beginning," he thought, determination burning in his chest.