(Nori): *dances around happily* (Katrinka): "Nori, stop dancing and help me write this story!" (N): "Fine, you never let me have any fun." (K): "Stop wining and start type."
DISCLAIMER: we don't own anything, we're just borrowing.
Davy and Detta Swinging in a Tree
David sighed as he and his good friend, Jack Kelly, walked through the back doors of their favorite vaudeville theater, Medda's of course. Under normal circumstances David loved visiting Medda's, eat some food, watch a show, over all good time. But tonight wasn't normal, tonight he and Jack were here on a mission. They were going rat hunting hence the large crate and nets. At first Dave thought that it wouldn't be a big deal, grab and bag a couple of rats and be done with it. That was before he was told about New York city rats.
"They're as big as dogs," Jack told him bluntly.
This had Davy a little nervous, wouldn't you be? The size of DOGS! At the moment Davy was rethinking the events that caused him to get into this mess.
FLASH BACK
David walked through the lodging house over to Jack who was talking to Race.
"Come on Race," Jack pleaded. "I promised Medda and I need help."
"What do you need help with?" David interrupted.
"Jack is catchin' rats for Medda and he wants help," Race answered, lighting his cigar. "He's asked just about everyone in the lodging house."
"I could help," David said, not realizing what he was getting himself into. "When do you plan on cleaning them out?"
"Thursday night," Jack said, with a relieved smile. "Thanks Dave."
END FLASH BACK
Jack didn't bother to mention the giant rats until they were half way to the theater.
"Heya Medda," Jack said, with his ever charming smile. "We're ready to take care of those rats for you."
"Wonderful," she said with her usual exuberance. "The attic is right this way."
Medda led them to a small stair case in the back of the theater and gave them both lanterns.
"I keep hearing them right above my dressing room, so that's probably the best place to start."
"We'll have'em out of here in no time," Jack called down as he and David made it to the top of the staircase. "All right Davy, the fastest way is to split up. You go check over the stage and in the tower and I'll check over Medda's dressing room and over the storage room, call if find anything bigger that a poodle."
David was about to say something but Jack had already started off in the opposite direction. Two thoughts went through David's head as he walked towards the stage area: 1). Why me? 2). THE SIZE OF A POODLE!
David walked cautiously over the stage looking around nervously.
Clank!
David nearly hard a heart attack. "Calm down, Dave."
He held up his net, getting ready to grab any dog sized rats.
Bang!
The sound came from the stairs that went up to the tower. David walked towards it with his teeth clenched. He walked up the spiral staircase without any surprises, that is until he got all the got to the top.
The room was small, but with very tall ceilings and every inch of it was decorated with something. The walls had old posters from different acts that had appeared in Irving Hall and scraps of brightly colored fabrics also covered the walls. Strung up from the ceiling was glass bottles, both broken and not, little, shinny, pieces of tin cans to catch the light from the two windows. In the middle of the room was a bed, made of old props, some clothes and stage curtains.
David was starring at the amazing room before him when someone jumped on him from behind, putting a sack of some kind over his head.
"Hey," he yelled from under the sack.
"You can't tell anyone what's up here," came the voice of his attacker. "You need to go down stairs and tell your friend to go."
"Look," Dave began to reason. "I don't know who you are but I'm sure we can work something out, just let me go."
"Nothin' doin'" the voice replied, a girl's voice. "I need this place, I've got nowhere else to go." She said the last part in a slightly tearful voice.
Davy stiffened, he wasn't good with girls, especially crying ones.
"Hey," he tried to sooth. "It's okay, really. I won't tell anyone."
Suddenly the sack was ripped off David's head.
"That's great!" a girl with red hair and brown eyes practically shouted. "You've got no idea how scared you got me!"
The girl pulled David along with her towards a small door.
"Wait," David said shaking his head. "Who are you? Why are you here?"
She stopped short, "I'm Bernadette, I'm fifteen" she said sticking out her hand to shake. After David shook it she continued dragging him behind her and talking at light speed. "My friends call me Detta, well that is, my friends would call me Detta if I had friends. But I guess you're my friend now, aren't you? Well anyways, I'm here because I don't have any other home. Besides, I like to the music. Oh look at me, talking up a storm while I know nothing about you. What's your name?"
"David," he answered, sort of in a haze.
"David," she said quietly, as if pondering the name. She then jumped right back into her ramblings. "Did you know your name means "Friend", ironic, huh? It's Hebrew, are you Jewish? Never mind that's not important right now. The important thing is that you're not gonna turn me in."
"That's it," David said, grabbing Detta by the shoulders, stopping himself and her. "You need to slow down. I won't turn you in if you slow down. Now where are we going?"
"What do you mean "Slow Down"?" she asked, indignantly. "Why I-"
David gave her a warning look.
"Right," she said with a sigh. "We're going to the roof. It's one of the other reasons why I like it here."
After she said this she opened a door above their heads.
"If you're fifteen you're able to work in the factories, why don't you get a job?"
"I have a job, I'm a street performer." David tilted his head to one side. "I do acrobats," she explained.
"That's not a job."
"Dave!" Jack interrupted from somewhere in the attic. "Where'd ya go?!"
"Aw shoot," Dave said as he climbed down steps. "I got to go, I don't how Jack would feel about you living up here."
"Would he make me leave?" Detta asked, in a panicked voice.
"I don't think so, but he wouldn't want to hide you from Medda."
"You can't tell him Davy," she said with fear in her eyes. "Promise you won't tell any one?"
"I-I-um…" he stuttered. David felt very strongly about giving someone his word, if he gave it he meant it.
"Promise me!" she said more urgently as a pair of foots steps made their way up the stairs.
"I give you my word, I won't tell," he said looking her in the eye.
"Thank you," she said, giving him a quick hug. Then she ran towards the edge of the roof and jumped to the roof next to it, two red braids streaming behind her.
"Hey, what are you doin' up here?" Jack asked from behind him.
David looked at Detta's disappearing form.
"Nothing," he said, turning to Jack. "Just…nothing."
"Well come on," Jack said, excepting the admittedly lame answer. "It's getting late."
David walked though the busy streets of New York trying his best to think of a rational solution to the situation he had suddenly found himself in. It was ridicules, a girl hiding in the rat-infested attic of Irving Hall? It could be in the papes! As he continued to think about his problem he noticed a small crowd of people surrounding a street performer.
Davy walked over and was not surprised to see Detta leaping through rings that she had hung from street posts. She jumped through one of the metal hoops, than grabbed on to another and swung on it like a swing. Once she saw Dave she smiled and jumped down from her swing, she then bowed to her audience. After the crowd died down Detta was left alone with David who was still trying to figure out what he thought of this girl.
"Heya Dave," she said, smiling. "What do you think? Am I not glorious?" She asked, jokingly.
"We need to talk," David said trying to sound in charge.
"Talk away," she said, hopping back up to ring to untie them.
"Well, you see, me and my friends care a lot about the lady who owns Irving Hall, she's like an Aunt to us and I need to know more about you if you want to stay there."
Detta looked at David for a moment then shrugged.
"Okay, but you can't complain if I talk too much," she said smiling. "I was born somewhere in New York, I don't know where, my parents died when I was a baby. I spent the first five years of my life in an orphanage run by the city. I ran away when I was six-ish and was never found. About a week after I ran away I found my was to Coney Island and joined a Circus I stayed there until they wanted to leave, I never could leave New York. After that I worked at any circus that was in town, that's where I learned all my tricks. I eventually decided to become a street performer, found a place to stay and here we are!"
"So you have no criminal record (Did they have criminal records back then?)?" David said, raising an eyebrow.
"None that you will be able to find," she said, grinning.
David sighed, this girl was going to be the death of him.
"Fine," he said/groaned. "You can stay just don't do anything that could harm Medda or her Vaudeville, deal?"
"You've got it, buddy." She said, shaking David's hand, enthusiastically.
"I'll be checking in on you now and again," David wasn't sure what made him say that last part but Detta didn't object so he let it slide.
"See you then," the strange girl replied.
"By the way," David said as Detta walked away. "You might wanna do something about those rats in your home."
Rolled her eyes at him.
"Don't you think I would have gotten rid of them if it was possible?" she asked smiling. "They're the size of dogs, Davy. DOGS!"
"I know, right?" David laughed.
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