Marcus stared at his phone, watching the seconds tick by. 4:57 AM. His thumb hovered over the delivery app, waiting for the morning shift to open. He'd learned the hard way that five minutes could mean the difference between making rent and falling short.

4:58 AM. His daughter Elena shifted in her sleep on the couch beside him, wrapped in his old jacket. The heating had been out for three days. His landlord's voicemail was full.

4:59 AM. Last week, he'd missed the morning slots because his phone died – the electricity had been cut off, and he'd forgotten to charge it at the library. By the time he got online, only the dead afternoon hours were left, when orders slowed to a trickle.

5:00 AM. His thumb jabbed at the screen. Error. He jabbed again. Error. On the third try, the slots appeared. Already, the prime breakfast rush hours were filling up. He managed to grab a 6-9 AM slot before they vanished.

"Papa?" Elena's voice was thick with sleep. "Did you get it?"

"Got it, baby. Three whole hours." He didn't tell her about the afternoon gap, or how he'd have to switch to the rideshare app then, hoping surge pricing would kick in. Or how he'd be back on his phone at midnight, fighting for grocery delivery slots.

She smiled and closed her eyes. "That's good. Maybe we can get hot chocolate later?"

Marcus checked his account balance: $17.43. The morning slots would bring in about $45, if tips were decent. The afternoon might add another $30. After gas, maybe enough for hot chocolate and a small grocery run. Maybe even enough to buy Elena new socks – she'd been wearing the same pair all week.

His phone buzzed. A text from his previous employer: "Need extra hands this weekend. Interested?"

Marcus typed "Yes" before he'd finished reading. Another buzz: "Great. On call, usual terms. We'll let you know."

He deleted the draft response to his landlord about next month's rent. Better to wait and see if the weekend materialized. Nothing was certain anymore, except the alarm that would ring in 30 minutes, calling him to streets that might or might not yield enough to keep them afloat another day.