Under Pressure

Seeing the small brunette woman darting between rooms on a mission could only be described as a frenzy. Her small legs carried her from the kitchen to the bedroom and back, her arms burdened with pots and pans. This continued until she plopped on her bed exhausted, but there was still so much to be done.

No rest for the wicked she sighed, pulling herself up against her body's objection.

Her small footsteps made their way to the kitchen. Washing dishes was her least favorite chore, it always made her back hurt and the water in her crappy apartment changed from mild to boiling with no warning.

Regardless she sucked it up knowing it had to be done. This didn't stop her from grumbling about wanting to find a place with a dishwasher.

Once the nightmare of washing and drying everything was over, her tired shoulders slumped back to the bedroom.

She resisted the urge to cacoon in the warmth of the comforter. She pulled out her laptop and rested it on her lap. With a crack of her neck and the rolling of her shoulders, she was ready for her next task.

Within seconds the robotic sound sang the injustices of the model minority. She closed her eyes, just for a moment, and allowed herself to lean against the pillows.

The moment did not last long.

There was no time to relax. She pulled herself up and swapped her computer for glittery snowman wrapping paper. It was too garish for her taste, but as long as she got her money it didn't matter.

The recording continued in the background, a constant lull in the background. Her eyes darted to the corner of her bed to check in on the sleeping kitten. The small orange fuzzball was curled into itself up against the bed frame.

Poor thing must've been tired after a long day of running around senseless. His owner certainly had their hands full.

She used this time to begin cutting the wrapping paper softly, careful not to wake the exhausted kitten. It was hard not to think about how her life came to be this way, working side hustles to gain extra income.

Her top-tier multitasking wouldn't be possible if it weren't for her crappy water bottle.

It was two weeks ago that her water bottle exploded in the computer lab on campus. Somehow the school found out it and was making her pay for a new computer.

Sue her for trying to save the environment!

She couldn't believe they were trying to charge her almost a thousand dollars, there was no way that computer was worth that much! It was still on Windows 7 for goodness sake.

Her tuition was more than enough to cover the cost anyway, not that she paid tuition but one of her scholarships could've taken the bill.

Now here she was baking cupcakes, babysitting cats and wrapping presents for strangers trying to conquer side hustle after side hustle to make the bill.