Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Paper Thin Walls

The morning chill seeped through the cracked windows of the old station wagon. Harper leaned forward, pulling her threadbare hoodie tighter against the draft as she stared at the fogged windshield. She rubbed the glass with the sleeve of her hoodie, revealing the bleak parking lot of a 24-hour grocery store. The car had been her home for six months now—long enough that the sounds of passing carts and the hum of streetlights had become her bedtime lullaby.

She glanced at her phone. 6:45 a.m. The battery was down to 12%, but she couldn’t risk starting the car yet; the last time she tried, the engine groaned so loudly it caught the attention of the lot’s night security guard. Harper couldn’t afford that kind of scrutiny.

Her senior project at the law office started at 8:00 sharp. The internship wasn’t paid, of course. It was supposed to be an “opportunity,” a stepping stone to a brighter future. But stepping stones felt more like stumbling blocks when you were constantly hungry and living out of a car.

Harper opened her backpack and pulled out a crumpled granola bar—her last one. She broke it in half, saving the other piece for lunch, then washed it down with water from a plastic bottle she’d filled in the gas station bathroom the night before.

She shifted through the pile of clothes in the passenger seat until she found her one good blazer. It was slightly too big and had a loose button, but it made her look like she belonged in a law office, even if she didn’t feel like she did.

The library was her next stop. Harper parked a block away and walked in, trying to look casual despite the heavy bag slung over her shoulder. She headed straight for the bathroom. The fluorescent lights buzzed above her as she splashed cold water on her face and brushed her teeth with a dollar-store toothbrush. Her reflection stared back at her—pale skin, dark circles, but determination in her eyes.

By 7:55, she was at the door of Lexington & Walker Law. The building was imposing, its glass façade catching the morning sun and reflecting the busy street below. Harper hesitated, her hand hovering over the sleek metal handle, before pulling it open.

Inside, the receptionist barely looked up as Harper stepped onto the marble floor. "You're late," she said flatly, though it was only by a minute.

"Sorry," Harper mumbled, clutching her backpack tighter.

Her supervisor, Mr. Callahan, was already at his desk when she entered. A mountain of files waited for her.

“Morning, Harper,” he said without looking up. “Get started on the McKinney case summaries. We’re behind, and I need them on my desk by noon.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied, sliding into the corner desk they’d set up for her.

The hours passed in a blur of paper cuts and legal jargon. Harper’s stomach growled, but she ignored it. Lunch would have to wait until her shift at the diner later.

By the time she stepped out of the law office at 3:30, the January air was biting. She had just enough time to change into her waitress uniform before heading to the diner. The double shift loomed ahead of her, but so did tomorrow. Another day, another chance to keep going.

As Harper walked back to her car, her blazer clutched tight against the cold, she thought of the question Mr. Callahan had asked her earlier that week: “Why do you want to work in law?”

She didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth—that the law was all that stood between people like her and complete oblivion. Instead, she gave the answer she thought he wanted to hear.

But tonight, as she slipped into her car and pulled a blanket over her lap, she whispered the real answer to herself:

“To prove I’m more than this.”