Star Girl (Tanjiro X OC)

Audrey Harding: Thriving Willpower - Chapter 1

Work, work, work. That's all I do. Work, work, work. That's the only way I get any money. Work, work, work. That's how I spend my entire life in this monochromic world.

I am not from a wealthy family. In fact, most of the kids in Camp Hill are not from wealthy families. Those kids work in the same gown factory I work at. I first started working there at six years old, and my schedule is hectic. I work eleven or twelve hours a day, five to six days a week. Half a cent or less is what I earn every day, and every week I earn just one dollar. One mere dollar. I wish I can complain about my wage, but the truth is, if I did, I would immediately lose my job, and that would mean spending days, weeks, or even months searching for another job for me.

There are more things I wish to complain about besides my very low wage. First of all, the work environment is unsafe. There are many ways workers can hurt themselves or even be killed. If someone is not careful with any machinery, there is a chance the machine may malfunction and then explode, injuring or killing them. When someone is killed, the workers around collect their body and clean up the mess. Then everyone returns to work, trying to forget about the incident. Workers can also get lung diseases from breathing in too much smoke emitted by steam-run machines. They can even lose a finger or a limb. Injured workers rarely get compensation. The infuriating thing is that the owner doesn't care what happens to his workers. He is proud of his business and never wants to give the workers high wages.

And second of all, we barely get any breaks, and my job is to sew the gowns together using a sewing machine. I sew together over a hundred gowns a day, and trust me, it is not the easiest job anyone in this time can do. It is too stressful, and doing it every day is tedious for me. Not just me, but for everyone working the same job. If I ever take a break myself, my pay can be deducted.

I have only one friend who works the same job, but I hardly make small talk with her due to the strict rules. I never get any exercise outside of work. I never even go to school and get a good education like a few of the wealthy kids. See, this is why I dream of moving to someplace where I can enjoy a good life and not let any problems take me down.

A day of work has just begun as I arrive at the gown factory at six in the morning and walk inside. I take one of the three elevators to the third floor and enter a huge room filled with sewing machines and long tables. There are many girls working on the gowns and women passing the materials around. I spot my working place and walk there.

"Hey, Audrey," My friend Sarah says to me when I stand next to her working place. I immediately start working and say back, "Hey, Sarah. How are you?"

"I'm fine," She replies. "And you?"

"Same ol', same ol'. How's your family doing?"

"Well, my parents are pretty busy working in a farm nearby. My ten-year-old brother has to work very hard in the mines. I wish I can help them, but I have to stay here and work for hours and hours. It's to keep my job."

Even though no talking is allowed, we are given a chance when the factory overseer isn't around to hear us. If he had heard us right now, he would have yelled at us and possibly beat us up. Yeah, we would get beaten up if we did break the rules, including no talking and arriving late.

"My parents are busy working in the fields, too. I have to work long hours to make money for them. It's not easy living this kind of life, with almost no money or food or water." My hands are moving carefully as the machine sews the gown together. "I wish I can live a better life elsewhere so I won't have to deal with lots of problems I'm having right now."

"Same here. Working in this horrible place fatigues me," She sighs. "I wish I never got this job in the first place."

Hearing her complain about the dull work makes me happy. Just like me, she doesn't live a happy life either. Her brother and her parents work endlessly in the mines and the farm. I am an only child in my family, so I don't make as much money as my parents. In fact, all the women make only half the money as men, whereas children make the least amount of money. Every business employs children to save money and to do dangerous work that adults can't do. And children are treated the same way as adults and are punished the same way.