How did we get here?

Sam was born into a poor family, though their parents didn't let them realize it until they were older. Their parents, Irene and Albert, only made enough for two of them to eat, so they made sure Sam got a meal every time and then would exchange on who wouldn't get to eat. Normally this would be noticeable but the two came up with fun excuses to distract Sam when they were younger; like how they had filled up on Sam's laughter, that they had eaten at work, or how they were secretly sneaking extra portions while cooking.
 

It wasn't until they were a teen that Sam figured it out and demanded to help them pay for things. Sam's mom placed their plate on the table with a smile. “Now I'm going to–" 
 

Sam interrupted her. "Not going to join us, Mom? Is it because you ate too much while cooking? Or is it because you two exchanged who doesn't get to eat so I get a meal guaranteed?” 
 

Their parents share a look before both sighing. 
 

"You caught on to that much faster than we thought you would," Albert said. 
 

Sam frowned. "I'm not stupid." 
 

Albert shook his head. "I know you aren't, we were just hoping we would be better at hiding it.”
 

“I want to help.” 
 

Irene sat in the empty chair, shaking her head. "Sam, you're too young to help." 
 

Sam crossed their arms. "I am not. There are other kids my age working already. I can do it too." 
 

“You should be focusing on school." Albert said 
 

“I can handle that. I'm fine. I want to help. I want to get a job”
 

“You shouldn't. We're handling it.” Irene said 
 

Sam glared at her. "Are you really? You were planning to starve tonight because we didn't have enough food. That doesn't sound like handling it to me." 
 

“It's true we struggle a bit. But we don't want you to have to hold this burden yet. We are the adults; we can handle it.” 
 

Sam looked between the both of them before looking back at their plate. “Fine I'll just get one in secret."
 

Their eyes went wide. "No, don't do that," Irene said. 
 

Albert sighed. “You get your determination from your mother, you know? Us exchanging our not eating every other night was the only compromise your mother would agree to that would leave her eating more than once a week." 
 

Sam looked up at him with wide eyes while Irene huffed, "I don't like the thought of you getting a job but I would prefer to know where you're working and when. So we'll agree to help you get one, but…” Sam sat up straighter. "...if your grades start to suffer you have to stop. It's good that you want to help us, but I don't want it affecting other aspects of your life.”
 

Sam smiled brightly. “I will.” They moved around the table first to hug their father and then to hug their mother.
 

Irene gave them an extra squeeze before pointing to Sam's plate. “Now eat. We'll talk more about this tomorrow.“
 

Sam moved over to their plate. “Okay. I'll hold you to that.” 

~*~*~

The job Sam was able to get was cleaning plates at a bar. It didn't pay much, and with how tough it was to balance that and school, they were considering leaving it until they met their mentor. 
 

Evelyn was head bartender and saw how much Sam was struggling. With only a quick word to the owner. Sam was moved from cleaning to working the bar, even though they were too young.  
 

Evelyn took them under her wing after that. Evelyn taught them how to do the job first, and then once Sam had that down, Evelyn taught them how to do the job better, easier and that sometimes to get ahead you need a little sabotage.
 

With the job change, there were some good things: meeting Evelyn, getting better hours, and the most important to them was the better pay. There were also some bad things, like how they were seen by others. The amount of time they were misgendered made it to the point that once again, this job was one they considered quitting. 
 

One night, very irritated, they sarcastically replied positively to the misgendered flirting. Once the customer left, Sam found the tip was more than they had ever received. It confused Sam, but the tip was enough that they were willing to try it again and found they got similar results. 
 

At first, Sam was uncomfortable. The thought of someone using her or him made them want to rip their skin off. On one of their days off, they stood in front of the mirror mocking the customers.
 

“Oh, Samatha, your hair looks so shiny,” they said in a deeper tone. “Oh, Samantha, you're the most beautiful woman in the bar.”
 

They did a quick twirl, ending by facing the mirror. They clasped their hands and fluttered their eyelashes. “Oh sir, you are just too funny.” They said in a higher tone than their natural voice. They started to fan themself with their hand. “You’re making me fall in love. If only I weren't working, then I could be your girlfriend.”
 

They froze, then looked at themselves in the mirror. Unlike any other time, it didn't feel weird or bad. They looked themselves over but didn't see themselves. The person in the mirror was a woman named Samantha.
 

They dropped the pose and with it the feeling of being something else. Sam stared into the mirror for a long moment before deciding to test it. They snuck into their mother’s closet and grabbed one of her more fancier dresses. They changed into it and then snuck out into town. Once they started walking around, they were uncomfortable.