NATHAN
I get to Riverside twenty minutes before my shift actually starts.
Nobody makes me do that. There's no sign-in sheet that cares whether I'm early, no probation officer checking a clock. I just wake up, and my body decides it doesn't want to walk in at the last second anymore, doesn't want Sophie to see me strolling in like I'm doing everyone a favor by showing up at all.
Mrs. Chen is already unloading crates of canned vegetables when I push through the back door.
"You're early," she says, not looking up.
"Yeah. What do you need?"
She looks up then, like the question surprises her. "The walk-in freezer needs organizing. Nobody's touched it in a month. It's not glamorous."
"Okay."
I expect her to wait for a complaint. I don't give her one. I just go find the cart, and I spend
