Three weeks later, exhaustion had become Seraphina's new normal. It settled into her bones like something permanent. Like something that would never leave again.
Every morning felt heavier than the last. Every night ended with aching legs, burning eyes, and hands that trembled from overworking herself.
And still, it wasn't enough.
Seraphina stared blankly at the numbers written inside her small notebook while sitting on the edge of her dorm bed late one night.
Rent contribution for her mother's apartment, transportation to work and back, food, school material, tuition.
The last one mocked her the most.
Sterling Heights University tuition fees were impossibly high. Even after taking four part-time jobs, the amount she earned still looked painfully small compared to what she needed.
Four jobs. And she was still drowning.
The realization exhausted her more than the jobs themselves.
