Disclaimer: Newsies belongs to Disney, as do the characters. All of the female characters save Sarah, Ester, Medda, and Patrik's mother belong to me. Yes, I am aware that many of the names are the same as other fanfics or other people on the mailing list, however, the characters in this story are in no way affiliated with any other characters or lodging houses. For this story I have created my own newsiverse with all original characters (with the exception of Disney's guys.) Please do not be offended if I happen to use your nick name in my fanfic. It was purely coincidental.

Part 1: Clouds

"Yer not goin' back dere, and dat's final!" Rachel's father screamed at her.

"Father, if I can't go to school, then I will leave this house forever. Is that understood?" Rachel forced to speak in a calm steady voice. It was the voice she used for presentations. Mr. Billings had always said that she was a good orator.

"Den get da hell out!" her father bellowed. "Goils weren't meant ta go ta school. Ya've got yer head in da clouds, jist like yer ma said ya did. No daughter of mine's gonna throw away any chance of a good marriage by getten' all smawt an' edjukated" as he went on, his words got more and more slurred. He was drunk, and Rachel knew this. She calmly went into her room, gathered together her clothes and some money and food into one bag, and all of her books and school supplies in another.

"Now jus' whadda ya t'ink yer doin', sweethawrt?" Her father had suddenly snapped out of his drunken rage. "Ya didn' t'ink I was serious 'bout wantin' yas ta leave"

"Father, I don't really care whether or not you're serious. I simply can not live under these conditions any longer, so I will go find somewhere suitable for me to do my work in peace, where neither of us can bother each other any longer." She left the apartment building, and walked confidently away. Out of the window, her father evenly switched between calling her back, begging for forgiveness, and yelling profanities. Rachel reached central park, lay down on a bench, and cried herself to sleep.

"Rachel, you were late to class today. Is everything alright?" Mr. Billings asked, worried. He knew that she had a rough family life, un-like the other children in his class, and it wasn't like her to be late.

"Actually, Mr. Billings, no, everything's not alright. I left home." Mr. Billings looked shocked.

"Why? Is everything alright? Your father- he didn't- hurt you did he?" Rachel smiled. She knew Mr. Billings liked her. She knew she was his favorite.

"No, he didn't do anything. But he forbade me to go to school any longer, and that if I did, he would kick me out. So I left."

"That's awful! Where are you staying? How are you going to make money?" Rachel willed tears not to fall.

"I don't know. I think I may have to quit school and find a job." She said softly.

"Oh! Rachel! You can't quit! You're the best student I've ever had! The smartest in the class! What about your dream of becoming a doctor." Rachel looked away. She didn't want to think about that now.

"Listen to me. I'll talk with the principal, and see what I can do. I'll fight this one for you all the way. Don't worry." Rachel smiled gratefully at him. He was the only one who ever understood her. All of her past teachers discouraged her pursuit of education. All that she had ever wanted since she was 10 was to become a doctor for the poor. When she had told her 6th grade teacher this, she was forced to stand in the corner for 3 hours, then write on the board 500 times "Women were not meant to be doctors." But she did not let this stop her. Every day, she put her whole heart and soul into Math, English, Science, and History. And the results paid off. She was the top student in her class every year. Several parents called and complained to the school about letting a girl beat out all of the boys, since, after all she was just a girl, and had no real use for education. The principal spoke to her about this. She told him, in a well reasoned speech, that she was not doing it to put down all of the other people in the class, that she worked hard to earn her grades, and that if the other boys wanted to be the top, they should work hard too, instead of playing stick ball every day in the street. She went on further to state that since she was a girl, and that she did need the education, that the good grades would mean more to her for getting into college than to any of the boys. This greatly amused the principal, and so did nothing about the parents' requests to lower her grades.

Rachel thanked Mr. Billings, and left the school. She walked slowly, her head down, deep in thought, to the alley where she had hidden her belongings. Without warning, someone flew out of the alley, knocking her over, and spilling her books into the street.

"Francis! Ya joik! look whacha made me do! Aw geez! I's sawry miss!" he was joined by a another boy, and both helped him gather her books. Rachel smiled at the two boys, who didn't look a day over 9.

"I'm sorry. I guess my head was just in the clouds. I should have been paying more attention."

"Nice ta meetcha, Clouds. I'se Racetrack. an' dis here's Cowboy" the smaller of the two said.

"Aren't you a little young to be running around the streets by yourself at this hour? Wait. What did you call me?" Rachel asked.

"I called ya Clouds. Why? Doncha like it?" Rachel smiled.

"It's great." She started into the alley, to get her things, and was followed by the two boys.

"what's yer stuff doin' in da alley?" Cowboy asked. "Doncha got a place ta stay?"

"Actually, no, I don't right now. And I have a lot of work to do, so-"

"Den come back ta da lodgin' 'ouse wit' us!" Race cried. "Dere's a bunch of uddah goils dere! Dey's even got dey're own bunk room now!" Rachel's senses told her not to go, but she ignored them. It was cold for April, and the thought of shelter was rather appealing.

"Well, ok. I suppose it'll be alright." she said. Race and Cowboy, who she soon found out also went by Francis, insisted on carrying her bags for her. Francis she found out, was 8, and Race was 9. They had been at the lodging house for almost a year now. They were newsies.

"Heya boys! We was just formin' a search party for ya!" a voice greeted them as they walked in. "Who's da lady? A bit old fer yas, doncha t'ink?" Rachel tried not to blush.

"Shaddup Quirks." Race defended. "Dis here's Clouds. She ain't got no where ta stay, so she's gonna become a newsie."

"Oh! but I can't!" Rachel told him. She had not realized that agreeing to going with them implied becoming a newsie. "I have to go to school in the morning!" She sighed, waiting to be turned away.

"Aw, dat's alright. Ya's can stay 'ere fer a little while. Da name's Quirks. And yer... Clouds?" he spit in his hand and held it out to Rachel. Rachel looked at the hand skeptically, but decided to follow his lead anyway.

"Actually, I'm Rachel. Racetrack just started calling me Clouds," she explained.

"Yeah, well ya might as well stick wit' it. Almost everyone else's got a nickname. Here. I'll introduce ya ta da guys." A tall blond cleared her throat. "And da goils!" he said, loudly. Quirks rattled off a bunch of names, like Butter, Glue, Jumpy, Sticks, and many more that immediately flew out of Cloud's head.

"So tell us about yourself," a thin red head said, after the introductions were made.

"Clouds goes ta school. She's real smart!" Race piped up. It was obvious the boy had taken a liking to her.

"Really?" a brunette with curly hair asked.

"Yes." Rachel stated flatly.

"Why?" someone else asked. Rachel took a deep breath. Well, here goes nothing, she thought.

"I want to become a doctor. My mother died when I was 8, because we were too poor to afford one. So I'm going to go to college, and become a doctor and offer free services to poor people." She closed her eyes, waiting for the criticism.

"Really? That's wonderful!" She opened her eyes. Everyone was staring at her in awe. She turned in the direction of the speaker: A thin girl with wavy blond hair. Sunbeam, she thought her name was. Rachel smiled at the girl.

"You don't think I'm crazy?" Rachel asked.

"Crazy? That's the most sane thing I've ever heard!" a boy with dark hair said.

Rachel grinned wider. Aside from Mr. Billings, no one had ever appreciated her dream. She was going to like it here. Then she remembered, and grew serious.

"Well, everyone else thinks I'm crazy. I had to leave my house because of it. I think I may have to quit school. My teacher, Mr. Billings, he understands me. He's trying to work something out, but..." her voice cracked. "I don't mean to be rude, but I've got a lot of work to do, so if you don't mind..."

"Come on! I'll show ya ta yer bunk!" Race shouted, jumping up, and pulling on her hand. Rachel laughed. She was given a bunk in the girls' bunkroom on the third floor. Her bunk was in a corner, away from everyone else, that way her school mess didn't get in everyone's way. Everyone in the lodging house respected the humble girl with brown hair, and everyone made it their business to go through the bunkroom that night, to catch a glimpse of a "genius" at work.