Chapter 1
"Hey goils, dis heah's Katarina. She was found in da alley."
I stared down and fumbled with my dress to avoid the stares from the others. As I did so, I tried to remember. How did I get here? Why wasn't I at home safely with Granny? I should be eating dinner with her right now telling her all about school and about one of my newest paintings. Then it hit me. Granny was dead. In fact, she's been dead for at least a week now. Right now I was in the lodge house with a bunch of girl newsies. The one who had just spoken was Sunny. She was the one who had taken me here when she found me crying in the alley. I then remembered the condition I was in. My face was dirty and tear streaked, my dressed was ripped, and my face was mussed. Still, it was plain to see that I was from a rich family.
I was still staring down on the floor. Nobody spoke, they just looked at me as if I was a scab, which I could've been easily mistaken as. I thought I was going to stand there forever, until a dark brown haired girl in newsie attire stood up and walked over to me and spoke in her thick Brooklyn accent.
"You'se in pretty bad shape dere. How bout I get you some clothes and food? Oh, sorry, haven't introduced meself. Me name's Hope. I'se a newsie. Hope ain't my real name, but I don't know what it really is. How come you'se were roamin round da alley?"
Hope's last words made my eyes water. I thought back to a week ago…