Mina's first wage deposit arrived on a Friday.
She hadn't expected to care. Money was money. She had earned it. But when she saw the notification at the payroll kiosk, her name, her account, the amount deposited, something in her chest tightened hard enough to ache.
It was real.
It was consistent.
It was hers.
The kiosk was tucked into a quiet corner of the staff wing, monitored but not intrusive. A few staff checked their balances quickly and moved on. No one hovered. No one commented.
Lira bounced up beside her, grinning. "First deposit?"
Mina nodded, keeping her expression neutral because she didn't know how to look happy without it becoming a vulnerability.
"Okay, listen," Lira said, voice dropping into conspiratorial enthusiasm. "Here's how you do it right. You split it. Half to savings. A little to education credits. And you keep enough accessible so you don't feel trapped."
Mina frowned slightly. "I thought the point was not feeling trapped."
"Exactly," Lira said. "Savings makes you free. But accessible funds make you breathe."
Mina stared at the screen again.
The staff handbook had mentioned education credits, but seeing the option here, real, selectable, made it feel tangible. Mina thought of classes she'd never been able to take, training she'd never had time to pursue. She thought of a future that didn't rely on running faster than other people's hunger.
She routed a small percentage into education credits.
It felt like planting something.
That afternoon, she was assigned to help in the library wing, a quiet, elegant space that smelled like paper and clean wood. An older staff member named Nessa supervised her, calm and efficient. Nessa didn't ask personal questions. She simply explained what needed doing and waited for Mina to do it.
At one point, Nessa glanced at Mina and said, "You're quick."
Mina's hands paused. "I am?"
Nessa nodded. "Not rushed. Quick. There's a difference."
Mina didn't know what to do with that kind of praise. She lowered her eyes and kept working.
When she returned to her room that night, she sat at the desk and opened the internal course catalog. It was extensive, certifications, language modules, legal literacy courses, administrative systems. She read it twice, heart beating oddly.
She didn't choose anything yet.
But she could.
And that was the difference.