Caption: So thankful for my amazing family.
Three plates were visible.
I stared until the screen dimmed.
Something changed that night. Not rage. Rage would have warmed me. This was colder, clearer. The small hope that my parents might suddenly notice my absence stepped back. It did not die all at once, but it lost its sharpest teeth.
Second semester was harder. Survival was no longer new. It was just grinding. One morning at Sunrise Bean, while steaming milk for a long line of impatient students, the room tilted. Sound narrowed. I grabbed for the counter and missed.
When I opened my eyes, my manager, Denise, was crouched in front of me.
“You fainted,” she said.
“I’m okay.”
“You are not okay. When did you last sleep?”
I had to think.
Denise sent me home and threatened to fire me if I came in the next morning. She meant it kindly: rest or I will force you. I slept fourteen hours and woke up panicked about lost wages.
