I had little hope of getting this simple job at a Chinese restaurant. Over the last couple of days, I have had four job interviews and none of them wanted to hire me. I was so desperate that I would take every job at this point. I don't care if I had to do the dish wash or clean the toilets, I just wanted to make some money. Mr. Xu sat down and tangled his fingers together, staring at me. "Why do you want this job?" He asked. "I need it. I have had a rough start but I want to work," I said. "You wonder why no one wants to hire you? You look like a scarecrow."

I sat back and expected this to turn out to be a disaster again but Mr. Xu said something I hadn't heard before. "Alright, I will give you the job, but you need to do everything including cleaning," he stated. I nodded and was barely able to control my happiness. I finally found a job and I could make some money. "So, what will I make per hour?" I asked. "$0.84." I was a little surprised by how little the money was. "Unless you don't want this job..." Mr. Xu continued as he spotted the look on my face. "No, no... I want the job," I said quickly.
"Good. Your shift starts at 7 AM, and ends at 11 PM, five days a week."

I was so desperate that I didn't care at this point. It's my first job and I didn't want to negotiate or give him the feeling I didn't want the job. So, quite happy I left the restaurant and headed home. No one would be able to get me out of this good spirit, no matter what. The next day I started my first day at work. I did everything he asked, mostly cleaning and he explicitly asked me to not show my face to the people coming in here. Mr. Xu said I would scare them away.

Every day, five days a week I worked at this Chinese restaurant and did everything they asked. With broken ribs and nasty cuts, I thought I was doing a good job and really pushed myself over the limit. Edward and Jade weren't really supportive and like always, I was on my own. I slept most of the time on the streets so I was on time and didn't have to face everyone back home. Food and water was a problem, I didn't get much at the restaurant.

It was already late as I was done working and walked down the street. A car pulled next to me. Sideswipe. "Hi, Sides," I greeted him tiredly. "You sound more friendly, or are you just tired?" He asked. "Little bit of both," I replied. "Hope in, I will give you a ride home," he said. "Oh, I don't need a ride. I am not going home," I said. "Where are you going then?" He asked, confused. "To the alley over there. So I am not exposed to gangs or junkies," I replied. "Don't be ridiculous, hop in." I hesitated but decided to hop in his alt-mode. His holoform fizzled beside me. "You got a job?" He asked. "Yeah, I did. Finally, I have tried at 30 places and they all rejected me..." Sideswipe arched a brow, "why?" He asked. "I don't know. It doesn't matter. I found a job."

"How much money do you make... if I can ask?"
"$0,84."
"Per hour?"
"Yeah..."

Sideswipe sounded a little confused. "Per hour?" He asked again. "Yeah, I earned $13,44 today." Sideswipe sucked in a breath. "Not good? In a week I earn $67,20." Sideswipe looked at me again. "Look, I know it sounds much for you because you never earned that much but in reality, it's not that much of money," Sideswipe stated. "It's only a start. If I work longer he'll pay me more, right?" I asked. "He already should pay you more." I sighed and fiddled with my hands. I was really proud to have this job but everyone is so negative. Of course my foisted parents are Jack too and now Sideswipe.

"Okay look, I am not trying to discourage you, but $0,84 is not much. You work 16 hours, five days a week. It's not fair," he explained. "I am scared to lose the job, Sides. I can't lose this job. Until I have enough money, I am going to continue working at this restaurant," I stated. "It's your call, Amethyst. You know, I am not going to tell you what to do or not but... they're using you. Taking advantage of the financial situation you are in," Sideswipe stated. I fiddled with my hands and nodded, "I know that it's probably not all fair but it's my first job and I am proud of it. No one wanted to hire me so this is very important to me," I stated. "Do you have a bank account? You need to keep your money somewhere," I looked at him. "Where do I need to go? Call them?" I asked. Sideswipe shook his head, "you know... let me handle that so I know for sure that it's okay and you don't get problems later on, okay?" he asked. I gave a small nod.

"Who's Jack?" he asked. "Jack? Oh, he's a 15 year old drug addict. I look after him and keep him out of trouble. Being around people who deal drugs can be dangerous and he ends up in life threatening situations. I try to keep him safe, he's one of the few friends I have here and he's more like a brother to me. We are pretty close and we have no one else." Sideswipe flashed me a weak smile. "Sophie probably told how stupid and dumb I am but... I have followed school... Honestly, I have––" Sideswipe cut me off. "You don't have to justify yourself, Amethyst. Really you don't..." he said. I gave a small nod and stopped fiddling with my fingers. "My brother and I have lived on the streets as well for a while. Our parents dumped too..." he trailed off. "I am sorry that happened to you... I know how hard it is. You're lucky to have your twin brother. You can fall back on each other... something I never had. Besides, you and your twin are living a good life now, right?" I asked.

"Despite the war... yes." Sideswipe smiled at me again. "The perfect siblings, huh?" I asked. Sideswipe laughed, "we bicker and fight each other too. We may be twins but we do have different opinions about stuff and sometimes that clashes so..." he trailed off. I smiled, "But you are right... We are very close and we love each other. He's not only my brother but also my best friend. Without him, I don't even want to live," he stated. "What if... he dies in battle. I mean, in theory that can happen," I stated. "Sunstreaker and I share a bond. We can talk to each other over that bond. We share a spark so if he dies, I will die too. We need each other to stay alive and it's rare that split spark twins survive for so long. We basically need to stay together forever. If we are seperated for too long, we die. For a couple of weeks or months, it's not a problem but years... that can get us killed."

"Are you afraid? I mean, so many things can happen," I stated. "We will always be together, we are born together and we die together. We have talked about it and we know the risks. It's okay, we are not afraid or whatever." I accepted his answer and decided to stop talking about it. It's a difficult subject and I didn't want to upset him or whatever.