Hayley shut herself in her room for the rest of the day, refusing to speak to her father. She felt unclean in her stained dress so she changed into to some of her brothers' clothes, the only extra garments her family owned.

She came out for dinner when the rest of her family came home, only because she was starving. Hayley somberly explained what happened that day over watered-down vegetable soup.

"Well you're just going to have to march back there tomorrow and get your job back," Isabella instructed. "Apologize. I'm sure we can pull a few strings and get you back to work."

"I am not going back there," Hayley said sullenly. Isabella's eyes narrowed.

"As long as you provide an extra mouth to feed in this household, you will work at that factory," Isabella said. "We all have to work. You can't be the exception and just sit on your sorry ass all day long."

"Why not? That's all my dad does everyday," Hayley snapped.

"Hold your tongue!" Isabella lashed out. "I will not be disrespected in my own house, if you can call it one, and I will definitely not be disrespected by the likes of you. No, you will go straight back to that factory first thing in the morning and not give up employment like your father. Besides, look where that has gotten him." As Isabella sneered at what she considered a poor excuse for a husband, Hayley promptly left the table to return to her room. She snapped her door shut as her parents' voices escalated into a continuation of that morning's argument.

Later that evening, Hayley lay awake staring into the darkness. Her siblings were asleep around her, emitting only the occasional snore. Her father had stormed out of the apartment hours earlier, no doubt to get drunk, and Isabella had retreated to her room in a huff. Hayley couldn't sleep, dreading the morrow when she would have to return to that horrible deathtrap. She would continue to waste away her life, day in and day out as Paul had, but for what? Maybe she would marry down the road, but to what effect? She would probably still live in the tenements, making very little money in a job she hated. This whole town was stifling, and this job would prevent her from ever changing her future—unless she didn't have to keep that job…

No, what was she thinking! Of course she had to keep that job. There was no other employment for her, and Isabella had made it clear that Hayley would not live under that roof and be unemployed. Unless she didn't have to live under that roof…

Hayley sat up in the dark, her mind racing. What was stopping her from leaving anyway? She held no love for her family, and she was sure they felt the same. Her absence would mean one less mouth to feed, and her sister would be able to have their creaky bed all to herself. Would Isabella try to stop her? Possibly. She was a source of income for the family, but maybe this could motivate her father to finally hold a job. And there was no way she could ever go to that factory ever again. Yes, she had to leave.

Hayley sprang out of bed, an impromptu plan forming in her mind. She would go to New York. She had always heard such wonderful things about that city across the Hudson, it sounded like it was simply brimming with opportunity. Hayley tore the case off of her pillow and proceeded to throw her few belongings into it as well as a small tin of coins she had saved. Not enough for train fare, but she could find another way. She opted for her brothers' clothes again over her dress; perhaps it would be safer to journey not dressed blatantly as a girl. Taking one last look around, she silently crept out of her house.

Now what to do? Hayley generally did not make such rash decisions; rather she thought things through without being hasty. She was by no means a risk taker and was fairly reserved, but this time she had to act.

She began walking parallel to the railroad tracks, passing the station as she had done that afternoon, when and idea hit her. She could take the train into New York. She couldn't do it by lawful means, unfortunately, but there had to be an unattended freight car somewhere. Living so close to the tracks, Hayley had soon memorized its schedule and she was pretty sure there was a train to the city in layover from Philadelphia that was to leave around midnight. She soon came upon it and heard the voices of various workers milling about. Spying a freight car near the loading dock with its door ajar, she made a mad dash towards it, praying no one would see her.

Once there, she tossed her makeshift bag through the door and hoisted herself up into the car. Retreating to the far corner, she stepped upon something soft and stumbled into the wall of the car with a thud.

"OW, dammit!" hissed the thing she had tripped over.

"Hey, what—" Hayley started to say before a hand smothered her voice and dragged her down.

"What? Are you trying to get us caught!" the person who grabbed her whispered and shoved her into the darkest recesses of the car, behind crates of cargo. Moments later the glow of a lantern shone into the car, but Hayley and her captor were obscured in the shadows. Not finding anything out of the ordinary, the station worker moved on, content with his search, and the light soon vanished. As she felt her attacker breath a sigh of relief, Hayley calmed down as well but then realized she was still being held in this stranger's arms. Refusing to be manhandled, Hayley pushed him away and dusted herself off. Surprised, he fell backwards, losing his cap to reveal…long, flowing hair? In the dim moonlight streaming through the still-open door, Hayley realized that he was really a she.