Chapter 3 The girl who wanted too work

The school strike had lasted two weeks already.

Nora had no idea when it would end - and honestly, she didn't care. She didn't enjoy school much anyway. Books were never her thing. What she really hated, though, was being idle. Sitting around, doing nothing, eating food she didn't pay for.

Her aunty had taken her in when the strike started.

"It's just for a short while," the woman had said. "You'll go back when school resumes."

But Nora hated how it felt. The way the woman sighed when she ate too much. The way her cousins rolled their eyes when she asked for data. The way her name came up whenever there were dishes in the sink.

She wasn't lazy. She wasn't stupid. She just wanted something that was hers.

Something that made her feel useful.

That morning, while walking past the café to clear her head, she saw the small note on the board.

> "HELP NEEDED – MUSA'S MEAT MARKET."

She stared at it for a while.

She had passed that shop many times. Always clean. Always full.

And Musa? Quiet. Mysterious. But respected.

Nora didn't think twice.

She walked straight to the shop, pushed the door open, and rang the bell.