"Please have a seat," Carly says, settling back into her chair as the receptionist slips into the hallway. "Help yourself to a drink if you'd like." The glass in front of me is filled to the brim with water and ice. I weigh my slight thirst against the strong possibility of spilling the water all over myself, or worse yet, the laptop beside Carly. "No, thanks. I'm good."

Carly folds her hands in front of her, and I can't help but notice her rings. She's wearing one on almost every finger, all bold designs and rich gold. Her nails are glossy with dark red polish and perfectly shaped, but short. "All right," she says, smirking a little. "You know why you're here, right?"

"For an interview?" I ask hopefully.

"Sure." The smirk gets bigger. "We received almost five hundred résumés for this internship, mostly local college students, but a few willing to relocate for the opportunity." My heart sinks a little as she adds, "It's hard to stand out when there's that much competition, but I have to admit I've never come across an application quite like yours. One of my producers, Lindsi, saw it first and forwarded it right away."

"I know I'm not the most experienced person you're talking to, but I've been working to become a journalist since I was in middle school. It's the only thing I've ever wanted to be."

"Why is that?" she asks.

"Because it's the only thing I've ever been good at."

I don't know how to explain that in a more interview-friendly way, though. "Because you can make a real difference with every story, and I give a voice to people who don't have one," I say instead.

"Well stated," Carly says politely. For the first time since we sat down, though, she looks a little bored and flush. I gave what I thought was a safe response, but that was probably a mistake with someone like Carly. She didn't bring me in here because my application was safe. "You do realize we're not The Times, though, right? True-crime reporting is a very specific niche, and if you aren't passionate about it …"

"I am, though." It's a risk to interrupt her, I know, but I can't let her dismiss me. The more I looked into Motive, the more I realised that it was exactly the kind of opportunity I needed — one where I could do more than just tick a box on my college application. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about. I've done all the things you mentioned in the job posting — social media, copyediting, fact-checking, et cetera. I have an actual résumé I can show you, plus references. But also, if you're interested, I have a story idea."

"Oh?" Carly asks.

"Yeah." I dig into my messenger bag and pull out the folder I carefully assembled in preparation for this interview. "An unsolved case from my hometown."

Carly raises her brows. "Are you pitching me right now in the middle of an interview?"

I freeze with the folder half-open, unable to tell from her tone whether she's impressed, amused or annoyed. "Yes," I admit. "Is that okay?"

"Absolutely," she says, lips quirking. "Go on."

Amused. Could be worse.

We, the volunteers at the Penguin Rescue Rehabilitation Centre at Kaikti Point, New Zealand, have been caring for penguins for over 20 years, assisting sick, injured and starving individuals to get back on their feet through intensive care. In fact, the yellow-eyed penguin colony at Kaikti Point was founded by one of the first patients treated in 1990. At that time, Diesel Dick was a young bird that got diesel on his feathers and needed to be cleaned — that's how he got his name. After his successful release, he returned and found a partner called Snowpea; they were the first pair to settle at Kaikti Point. They lived together for many years, producing many chicks that also returned to breed here. They are our founding couple.

We are trying to give every penguin a chance to get better so that they can join the breeding population and help raise the numbers of yellow-eyed penguins. That's important because South Island has only about 900 endangered yellow-eyed penguins, 20% of which live at Kaikti Point.

Our volunteers encourage locals to report any penguins found in places where they may be harmed by dogs or people. They can ring the Penguin Rescue phone number, and a volunteer will pick up the penguin. If it is sick, injured or starving, it will be rehabilitated and then released in the breeding colony. If it does not need care, it is released right away.

Penguins are brought to our centre mainly for two reasons:

1. Lack of food affects adult penguins and young penguins and is the most common reason why a penguin is in the rehabilitation centre. Some penguin parents have difficulties feeding their chick(s) at the end of the chick-raising period due to a lack of food. These chicks are taken from the parents to make it easier for them and to give chicks the best possible chance of survival.
2. Bites from large fish at sea — The animals is put into the hospital where it has its own nest box but can see and hear its neighbours. They recover much better when they have some penguin company. They remain in small groups in larger garden areas until they are fit for release.

Food is a vital part of the recovery programme. The preferred food for the penguins in the rehabilitation centre is salmon, about 20 cm long and weighing 100–150 g each. The penguins are fed twice a day with about 400 g of salmon each meal. If they had the chance, they would eat more. But they don't get much exercise in the centre, so the volunteers make sure the penguins don't get too much to eat.