Chapter 1
Two weeks before school ended, I was lying on my bed, phone in hand, totally drained after another long day of 7th grade. My group chat was blowing up—Abby was talking about working with her cousin at a café, Jenna was thinking about volunteering somewhere, and everyone else was either bragging or panicking about their “summer plans.”
I had none.
No plans. No job. No clue.
Just my cracked screen and a bowl of stale popcorn.
Then I thought of something.
The $1 market next door.
The tiny store with stacked boxes of detergent, snacks, cleaning sprays, and stuff people always needed. The woman who ran it was always kind to me. Her son? Well… I might’ve had a tiny crush on him since forever.
Okay, fine—a big one.
That’s when the idea hit me like a slap of cold water:
What if I worked there this summer?
I’m Mariam. I’m 13, finishing 7th grade, and no—I’m not one of those girls who “lives to work.” I hate mornings, I love snacks, and I barely pass math.
But I had a goal:
To do something different this summer.
Make my own money.
Maybe—just maybe—get closer to him.
At that moment, I didn’t know what I was signing up for.
But I was curious. And curiosity is dangerous when you’ve got a neighbor with a market… and a cute son.
