Disclaimer: We do not own newsies. The only people we own are Jessica Arlington and Kaelin Harris.
"All aboard!" called the old, gray haired conductor.
Jessica Arlington looked up from where she was sitting.
"Finally!" she exclaimed to herself. Jessica had been waiting for nearly an hour for this train that would take her to Paris. She stood up and smoothed the wrinkles out of her dark blue skirt jacket set that was adorned with big, black buttons.
"How I hate these uniforms," said Jessica, placing her matching blue hat on top of her glossy brown locks. She picked up her old, worn suitcase, and joined the stream of passengers who were also embarking on the train.
Meanwhile, a few short meters away, Kaelin Harris was having similar feelings.
"I hate these clothes!" she grumbled to herself. Kaelin grabbed her suitcase and hat and marched over to the train, he long, blond locks bouncing with every step.
It was 1917. May 1917 to be exact. America had just declared war, and thousands of eager volunteers had signed up to help the fight. Jessica and Kaelin were just a small part of all the women who wanted to aid their fellow men, and in this case, had joined the Red Cross in order to be nurses.
* * * * *
Alana Nelson was sitting alone in a compartment on the train when she heard the door slide open. She looked up and saw a girl about the same age as her, with brown hair cut in a sleek bob, standing at the entrance.
"Do you mind if I sit here with you?" She asked.
"Well no one else is sitting in here. Go ahead. I could use the company." Alana said.
"Thank you. My name is Jessica Arlington." Jessica said.
"Mine's Alana Nelson." Alana replied.
Jessica put her big suitcase beside Alana, and put her smaller one in the overhead compartment. Just as Alana finished putting her thin, blond hair into a ponytail, someone else opened the sliding door. This girl appeared to be the same age as Alana as well, and she had long, blond hair that curled at the end.
"Hi. My name is Kaelin Harris. Do you two mind if I sit in here with you?" she asked.
Alana looked over at Jessica who nodded her head in agreement.
"No, not at all. Let me introduce ourselves. I'm Alana Nelson and that over there is Jessica Arlington." Alana said.
Kaelin smiled politely and sat down on one of the seats with a thud.
"So, where are you from?" she inquired.
"New York," said Jessica.
"Massachusetts," said Alana. "And you?"
"Texas." She paused for a moment. "You mean to tell me that you couldn't tell with my accent?" she asked, deepening her accent.
The girls laughed.
For the next 4 hours, the girls got to know each other better, and it turned out that they had a lot in common. A knock at the door sounded through their compartment. Kaelin got up and answered the door.
"Excuse me miss," a young man in a steward uniform said. "We're to be in Paris in 10 minutes."
"That soon? It feels like we just left the station!" Kaelin replied.
"I'm afraid so miss," the young man replied, and hurried off to the next compartment.
Kaelin turned to her new friends.
" I guess this is it then!" she exclaimed.
She walked back to her seat, and Jessica began collecting her luggage from the overhead compartment. Alana was still for a moment before she spoke.
"Good luck on the other side!" she said.
The girls turned towards her.
"What do you mean, 'Good luck'?" Jessica asked. "We're bound to run into each other at some point. Paris isn't that big."
"Who knows?" added Kaelin. "Maybe we'll even be volunteering together!"
Alana sighed.
"I guess you guys are right. I just hate goodbyes!" she said.
The three girls suddenly felt the train shudder and then come to a complete stop.
* * * * *
The girls departed from the train, Jessica and Kaelin going one way, and Alana going the other. The girls were heading to lines that went alphabetically from their last names. Seeing as Jessica last name started with 'A', and Kaelin's with 'H', they went to the 'A-H' line. Alana's last name started with 'N', so she went to the 'I-P' line.
"I wonder where we are going to be placed?" Kaelin asked Jessica while they were standing in line, waiting their turn. "Wouldn't it be neat if you, Alana, and I were at the same place?"
"It sure would," Jessica said, leaving Kaelin to see where she was posted, and sign in. "Good luck!"
"Hello," the man said to Jessica. "May I please have you name?"
Jessica gave him her name, and waited to see where she was going to be stationed.
"Ah. Jessica Arlington. You are going to be working at the Dumont Center, just outside of Paris. Just wait for the tram at exit #4. Thank you for volunteering your time for the war." Said the registration man.
Jessica shook his hand and left to go look for exit #4.
"Next," the man called out.
Kaelin walked up and gave him her name.
"Kaelin Harris. Same as the girl in front of you. You'll be stationed at the Dumont Center. Go to exit #4, and the tram will be there soon to pick you up. Thank you for volunteering in the war." The kind man said.
Kaelin thanked him, and then went to follow Jessica to exit #4.
Across the hall, a woman said next. Alana went up to her, and gave her her name.
"Alana Nelson. You are stationed at the Dumont Center, just outside of Paris. Go to exit #4 to find the tram that will take you there. Thank you for volunteering your time to help out in the war." The woman said.
Alana thanked the woman and went to go find exit #4, not knowing that the two girls she had just met would be there, and that they would be in for the adventure of their lives.
* * * * *
"I can't believe we were stationed at the same place!" exclaimed Kaelin. "How unbelievable is that?"
"I know! Let's take this as a sign of good luck," replied Alana.
Jessica nodded in agreement.
The three girls had just been reunited and were giddy with excitement of the road that lay stretched out before them.
* * * * *
"Lights out at 9:30 pm, no back talking, and you're to be on time for your shifts."
A group of 12 girls nodded their heads somberly.
"Don't look so glum," the older woman replied. "You'll get used to the rules in no time."
Jessica turned to her new friends.
"I sure hope so. I'm beginning to think life back in New York was much easier," she said.
"It was easier, but what would you have been doing for your country?" Alana said smiling.
Jessica and Kaelin laughed.
"I guess you're right." Jessica answered back.
"I know I'm right!" Alana replied with a grin, and the three followed the other girls out of the hospital and to their housing.
* * * * *
The girls had been working for a few months now. It was December 22, 1917, and it was the beginning of winter.
"God it's cold outside," Jessica said. "But not as cold as it gets in New York. And the snow here melts by lunchtime."
"Well I've never felt the cold before. Living in Texas has its perks," Kaelin said. "The coldest it gets there is 50 degrees F."
"Massachusetts has the same kind of weather as New York, so it's nice it not being so cold." Alana said while folding some hospital bed blankets.
Suddenly a red light started flashing, and a siren went off.
"Quick, everyone to the hospital!" A woman said over the speakers. "We have a bunch of injured soldiers coming in. Hurry, hurry. They need help immediately!"
The girls rushed around the room, making up the last beds. In a couple of minutes, the room was full of nurses, including Kaelin, Alana, and Jessica, and injured solders.