THE ALGORITHM

4.

Bert's Grill and Lounge moved with a steady pace. Penny found herself sitting inside the breakroom, trying to catch her breath. The restaurant was packed with hungry people trying to grab lunch during their break. She held her phone in her hand while scrolling through her new emails. Abruptly, one email caught her eye, causing her to wake up from her slump.

Penny applied for an apprenticeship about a month ago. A well-known hospital posted a job advertisement seeking inspiring college graduates who wanted to learn and grow in the field of data science. Initially, she decided to skip over it because she didn't think she would be skilled enough for the position. The company required experience in the healthcare industry—she had none. However, she went ahead and applied. The staff contacted her the next day and requested that she submit a project. Penny assumed they wanted to test her skills and assess her experience in data science.

Penny completed the assignment a few days ago. She utilized the resources provided to her and developed a patient readmission model. Her job was to identify patients at risk of being readmitted to the hospital. She not only designed the model but also included a written report in PDF format, summarizing her findings and model performance.

She'd been working hard on perfecting her project for the apprenticeship. Her heart thumped as she read the email verbatim. Penny parted her lips and began to speak slowly.

"Dear Penelope Bailey, I hope this email finds you well. On behalf of Vital Health Institute, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude for the..." Penny continued to read the email. The talent acquisition congratulated her on the successful model and report she created. They made sure to point out their favorite features of the submission.

"We are impressed with your analytical skills and ability to apply data science techniques to solve healthcare problems..." Penny skimmed through the email. "We are excited to move forward with your application. The next step in the process is meeting with our hiring manager to discuss the details of the apprenticeship and address any questions you might have."

Getting excited wasn't the best move for Penny. She didn't want to get her hopes up. Instead of frolicking around and shouting for joy, she wore a slight grin as she proceeded to schedule her interview. She chose to behave cautiously because she wasn't sure if the company would hire her.

"Hey, kid. Your break is up."

Penny looked up from her cell phone and focused on the heavyset man. He wore a polo shirt that complemented his trousers and loafers well. An expensive watch covered his right chubby, fleecy wrist. Overall, he was neat and put together. Penny couldn't help but wrinkle her nose. He smelled as if he had drowned himself in cologne.

"Five more minutes, Bert."

"Five more minutes?" Bert replied while furrowing his grey brows. "We can't afford to drag around today, kid. Have you seen the dining area? It looks like a madhouse. People are everywhere."

Penny didn't speak because she was too busy concentrating on Bert's accent. He was from Brooklyn—born and raised. His accent was thick, and he talked with a lisp. It annoyed her a little.

"Besides, Simon's in the kitchen." Bert continued tapping a few buttons on the coffee machine in the break room.

"What's wrong with that?"

"The boy can't cook."

Penny scoffed and pushed out, "Well, you hired him. Why would you hire someone who can't cook?"

Bert sighed while placing a top over his cup of coffee. The pungent smell lingered around the breakroom. "His specialty is pasta. I assumed he could cook everything on the menu."