Disclaimer: I do not own Newsies, or anything related to them…unfortunately

A/N: I know I started other stories but I seem to be in a huge writers block so I wrote another story…sorry for anyone reading those, like unmarked roads, I will try and get back to them.

I do have another chapter waiting for this story so please let me know what u think, good or bad reviews ill take them all!


New York, 1942

"Grandma! Grandpa!" the shouting rang through the small apartment. Two older figures emerged at the newly opened front door. The smile they wore indicated that there was no trouble in the shouting. The calls were coming from a 12 year old girl whose face lit up with a smile. She ran into the house and straight into the willing arms of her grandparents.

"Maddie, look how much you've grown." The older woman addressed the girl in front of her. It had been at least 6 years since the family had been reunited. Maddie bounced around and soon ran off with her grandfather. Beyond Maddie, the old grandmother saw a woman and man in their late 30's, both of which wore weary smiles. She smiled to them and offered a warm hug.

"Hello mother, thanks for looking after Maddie for us. We should be back in a few weeks." The grandmother nodded in understanding, the couple was leaving for Pennsylvania to visit her son in laws parents, who were not doing so well.

"Thanks Anne, sorry we can't stay, but the train leaves in 30 minutes" Anne's son-in law said as he gave her a quick hug.

"Don't worry she'll be fine here, now hurry along and catch your train" Anne spoke in a soft tone that seemed to make them relax. The couple retreated out the door towards the train yards.

Anne shut the door and turned around wondering where Maddie and her husband had disappeared to. She laughed as Maddie was already begging her grandfather to tell her a story. She loved to hear stories about life in the 1800's in New York City. Shortly after she was born her parents moved into the country life, away from the bustle of the growing city. Maddie was in love with the idea of the city life and wished to be reunited with it, it reminded Anne of herself when she was that age.

"Come on you two, there will be more time for stories later but its time for dinner." The two figured frowned and pleaded with their eyes for a little more time. But the stern look Anne gave off made them hurry along towards the kitchen.

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Dinner had been over for a few hours and although Maddie was supposed to be getting ready for bed, she sat awake in her small bed. She tossed and turned, trying to let sleep take over her, but it was no use. Sighing she got up and walked towards the bathroom. The lights had been turned off in the small house, which signaled her grandparents were fast asleep. As she opened the door near the end of the hallway she frowned as she was met by a closet. She hadn't been here in many years and apparently forgot where the bathroom was.

Maddie turned around to find the real bathroom when she heard something fall to the ground. She bent down and grasped a small book; bringing it up close to her face she tried to examine it in the dark. Realizing the dark wasn't helping her any, Maddie walked back to her room, forgetting about the bathroom trip.

Maddie turned on a small light near her bed and turned the book over in her hands. The cover had seen better days and the white color was now looking yellowish. There were no words on the front of the book so she started to flip through it. The pages weren't as worn as the outside and across all the pages was writing in an old cursive. As she flipped through the book Maddie returned to the first page, the date read 1896. Curious she laid back on her bed and started to read the lines following it.

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The Bronx, April 1986

Today I turned 14 years old, and this journal was a gift from my parents. They told me I could write down any feelings or ideas I wanted in it. But I want to write a story, a story of my adventures and fun of growing up in a city. I live in the Bronx in a small 2 bedroom apartment, it wasn't much but I called it home nevertheless. I come from an Italian background which might explain my height; even for a girl I'm small…barely reaching 4'9". Other kids my age where a little taller but I had a feeling I would stay short.

My family is a typical working family, my mom works around the house while I help out and my father works in a factory in Manhattan. I used to go to school but had to stop this year to help out my mother who was pregnant. I really hope to get a baby sister so we can do lots of things together and talk about boys, all that stuff I've always wished for. I'll try and write again soon but I have to go help out my mother.

The Bronx, December 1896

Things have been hectic around here and I haven't had any time to write, but today I'm happy to say that I have a new baby brother. Although it wasn't a sister I was happy to have another kid around here. I didn't have many friends even when I was in school I didn't seem to get along with the other girls. Maybe with a brother things would be different.

-A few weeks later-

Christmas is right around the corner and I can't even get myself to be excited. My baby brother died last night, he was too weak or something. I wasn't even allowed near him for a good week, so I wasn't able to fully meet him. My mom is taking it hard and seems to becoming sick now. I know its winter and people usually fall sick but I don't want to lose my mom now. My dad walks around trying to be happy…but I see right through it, I see the worry deep within his eyes. I'm not even sure we will have a Christmas this year, at least not like the others. Hopefully I'll have some better news later on.

The Bronx, January 1897

It is now early January and the winter is taken its toll on New York and myself as well. This past month has been hard and I'm afraid of the adventures that I will come across. Right now I have settled down in a near by alley for the night. After my baby brother had died, my mother fell more and more ill, whether it was from a broken heart or from an illness I'll never know. Everything was in a blur after that; I wasn't sure what or how to act. My body was numb and in denial. My dad approached things different and put his time into working overtime. But that too seemed to go badly, a week ago the factory he was in caught on fire.

I was left on the streets, kicked out by my landlord. With no other relatives near by I ran, ran so I wouldn't be put in an orphanage. Now here I am searching the streets for a job or some place to sleep. Neither of which were working out well right now. But tonight I lucked out and found a roof that I could climb up; this left me with a place to sleep that was near by a chimney shoot. It was more warmth than I had felt in awhile and I hope tomorrow my luck will keep going up.

New York, 1942

Maddie yawned and realized it was getting very late, she put the book under the bed and slowly curled under the covers. As Maddie drifted to sleep she couldn't help but dream about this girl, and how her life seemed so sad. Was this really what living in the city was like? She had loved listening to her grandparent's stories of a time almost different than now, but she couldn't imagine living on the streets with no family. Tomorrow she vowed to read more of the diary and hopefully things would change like she had hoped.


A/N: some of the later journal entries will be in a story mode, not just a short narrative... i have it set up like that for the later chapters but this was just to get the background going.