"I gotta be goin' and so do ya," said Christian as he helped me up from my sitting position on the ground.
"But I don't want to," I whispered to Christian. I couldn't stand being at home anymore. My parents were always demanding to know where I was going, who I was going with, and most importantly, who my friends were. We lived in the ritzy side of Chicago, and my parents wanted me to socialize only with the children of those with money. I was to be one of them whether I liked it or not, but I didn't like it. I didn't want to be friends with the annoying snobs. They weren't nice. I liked my real friends like Christian, Snaps, Doze and all the others. They were my family.
"Go!" said Christian giving me a push. "You'll only make them madder."
"Fine then," I said while giving Christian a hug. "See you tomorrow, okay."
"Ya bet!" he shouted while he started to jog back to his lodging house.
I walked slowly back home trying to delay talking to my parents as long as possible. I already knew the questions they would ask. It was the same routine everytime, and everytime I lied to them.
I walked up the steps to the front door. The entrance light was on, and I knew who was waiting there for me. I walked inside and shut the door quietly behind me. The second the door shut my parents came dashing in from the other room.
"Where were you tonight, Samantha?" asked my father as he paced back and forth.
"I was at Jessica's house. We were--,"
"I don't want to hear your lies anymore!" shouted my father. His tone had changed. It was no longer inquisitive; it was now angry.
"John--," started my mother.
"She lies to us Margaret. She wasn't at Jessica's. Were you?"
"No, but--,"
"Then tell us where you really were," stated my father sternly.
"I was only talking with some of my friends," I told my father as nicely as I could.
"You were with those street rats, weren't you!" my father was yelling at the top of his lungs.
"They're not street rats--," I tried to explain to my father, but he wouldn't listen.
"Why don't you head up to your room for now," my mother whispered to me. "It's for the best."
I walked up the staircase and headed for my room. I sat down on the bed to think. Why did my parents dislike my friends so much. There wasn't anything wrong with them, not in my opinion at least. My parents had liked Christian when he was younger, but once his parents died their attitudes changed. Christian didn't have any other family and instead of going to an orphanage, he became a newsie. It was the only job he could get. He had made many friends in the years that he had been a newsie, and I was friends with all of them too. My parents despised the fact that I hung around with such people. I always got into some sort of trouble after they found out that I had been with one of those types, even Christian.
I could hear my parents arguing downstairs. They were fighting over what to do with me. My father always had to have his way, and his way was usually strict. I went to bed hearing the quieter sounds of my parents' voices.
************
That morning when I woke up, I had almost forgotten about what had happened the night before. I had pushed it to the back of my mind, and I was hoping that it would stay there.
I got dressed for school and then headed downstairs to the kitchen. My father was sitting at the table eating his eggs and had a blank look on his face. I glanced over to my mother who was staring down at her eggs. A silence hung over the table. The only sound was the scraping of the forks on the plates. I didn't know what to do. I sat there and ate my eggs as quickly as I could. I thought maybe my parents were just upset about last night and didn't want to talk about it right now.
"Samantha, you're mother and I talked last night," my father said. I was wrong. They did want to talk about it now. My mother was still staring at her food; I assumed what I was going to hear was my father's opinion and not my mother's.
"We don't like these kids you're hanging out with. They're not the kind of people you should be associating with," said my father rationally.
"And why is that? Because they don't have money. That's it, isn't it? Just because they aren't rich doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them!" I stated. I tried not to raise my voice because I knew it would only make matters worse.
"It's not the money issue, Samantha, but it is the fact that they're not safe. What if they tried to hurt you?" My father went on and on with his made up reasons why my friends were bad.
"Those are lies and you know it!" I shouted. "They'd never do anything to me! They're my friends, and they care more about me than any of those rich snobs!" I started to get up from the table to leave.
"I'm not finished!" exclaimed my father. "We don't want you to see these boys anymore. They're bad news."
"No!" I yelled as I started to cry. He couldn't do that to me. He couldn't keep me from seeing my friends.
"Samantha Lynn," shouted my father. "You listen to me. This is your only warning. If you defy us and see any of those boys again, we'll have no choice but to send you to you're aunt's in Maine. In Maine you can't get in any trouble. We can't let this go on any longer. We don't trust those street rats. If you can't stay away from them, we'll be forced to make sure you do."
I couldn't move. My feet became as heavy as cement. I stood in the kitchen unable to do anything. I couldn't believe what my father was saying. I looked at my mother for help. She had finally lifted her head from the table, and I saw a tear roll down her face.
"Hurry along, or you'll be late to school," said my mother as she put her head back down.
I found the energy to move again, and I ran straight out the door. I ran into the middle of the street without thinking. A carriage was coming and I quickly moved out of the way. I wanted to skip school and find Christian, but I knew that would only push my parents over the edge. I hurriedly walked to school so that I wouldn't be late. I sat down in my seat and awaited the end of the day.
As soon as Miss Wells said we could go, I dashed out of the school. I looked all over for Christian until I finally spotted him selling one of his last papers to an older gentleman.
"Christian! Christian!" I called out his name while running towards him. I had to tell him what my parents had told me. I could feel the tears starting to form in my eyes, but I suppressed them. I didn't want Christian to know I was that upset.
"Heya Sam," he said and flashed me a smile. "What's with the excitement?"
"Oh Christian, my father was so upset when I came home last night. He knew I was out you guys. I don't know how he knew, but he did."
"What did he do?" asked Christian concerned.
"Well, this morning he said that if I was with you guys again he'd send me to my aunt's house in Maine! Oh, this is just terrible!"
"Den, maybe we shouldn't see each otta for a couple days," Christian said quietly.
"No! Now you're sounding just like my father." I couldn't believe he had said that. Why was he thinking that way?
"But Sam, ya don't want yer dad ta send ya away."
"I can't not hang out with you guys though. Besides the big party at Washington Hall is tonight. I've been looking forward to it so much." With that said I stopped thinking about my father and started to think of the exciting time I would have tonight.
"Knowin' ya, you're gonna come no matta what I say so I might as well say ya can come."
"I can't wait! I'll meet you at the corner of Garber Street and Meadow Street, okay?"
"Sounds good!" Christian gave me a quick hug and then we went our separate ways until tonight.
************
"And where are you going?" asked my father as I headed out the door that night.
"Oh well, Jacob asked if I wanted to eat dinner with him," I said smiling. I knew my father would like that because Jacob's parents were very wealthy.
"Why isn't he picking you up?" my father asked.
"He was too nervous about meeting you. So, we're meeting each other. Don't worry, I'll be fine." I hoped he would buy it. It sounded semi-believable.
"Have a good time," said my father as he opened the door for me. He had believed it! I walked out the door and down the steps.
I sprinted to the corner of Garber Street and Meadow Street to see that Christian was already waiting for me. We walked to Washington Hall talking about the fun that we were going to have tonight. We were both so excited. I loved the parties that the newsies had once every year. They were always such fun!
As I walked into Washington Hall, my eyes grew wide with excitement. There were so many people there it was unbelievable. All the newsies from the surrounding areas were there, and some of them had brought friends. There were singers and dancers on stage providing the entertainment and there was a huge group of people dancing in the middle.
Christian and I worked our way through the crowd sitting down at a table with Snaps, Doze, Red, and Vicki, Red's girlfriend. Vicki, whom I didn't know, was there, but she got up from the table as we approached it.
"What's her prob?" asked Doze.
"Beats me," said Red. "She's been actin' like dat all day."
I could tell Red was upset from the way he was acting. "Want me to go talk to her?" I asked.
"Nah, don't worry 'bout it," said Red.
Red looked in the direction in which his girlfriend had walked away. I looked at Christian and we both shrugged. Red got up silently and started to walk towards his girlfriend.
"Man, poor Red, he's been havin' a rough time lately," said Doze shaking his head.
"Yeah, it happens ta da best of us," Snaps said while snapping his fingers as usual.
"You can say that again," I said. Snaps and Doze looked at me with confused looks on their faces.
"Whatta ya mean?" asked Doze.
"What do you think I mean?" I replied.
"Come on Sam, I mean really," said Snaps.
"Why don't ya guys lay off huh," Christian said in my defense.
"Sorry," Doze said in a sarcastic tone.
"Fine. You want to know?" I asked them.
"Yeah, I do. Sorry hows we acted," Snaps said.
"It's ok. I know you didn't mean anything by it," I said. I wondered what they had meant by it though. Was there a hidden meaning behind it? I decided not to worry about it right now.
"Well...," Doze said waiting to hear the story.
"See, my parents are being stubborn," I started. "They feel as though they can chose my friends. They told me that if they caught me hanging out with you guys again, they'd send me to live with my aunt in Maine."
"You're kiddin'," said Doze as someone bumped into him.
"Nope," I said with a sigh. "I shouldn't have come tonight, but there was no way I wasn't going to be with you guys."
"Oh, is that so?" asked Snaps as he fluttered his eyelashes.
"Quit it man," said Christian as he slapped Snaps on the head. "It's not sumthin' ta joke `bout!"
Snaps looked down at his feet. "I'se sorry Sam. Ya know I was only jokin' right?"
"Of course," I told Snaps. "Now, let's try to forget about it and get on with this party!"
"Hey Snaps and Christian, ya want some beers?" asked Doze.
"Yeah," they said in unison.
"Get me one too," I told Doze. All three of the boys looked at me with their mouths hanging open.
"Samantha!" Christian shouted as if he were my father.
"What?" I said as though nothing had happened.
"Are ya sure?" asked Doze. I looked over at Snaps, whose mouth was still open.
"Yeah. I wanna have some fun tonight, and try to forget all about my parents and their stupid rules."
All the guys must have thought that was a good reason because Doze went to get the beers, Snaps closed his mouth, and Christian didn't say anything more.
When Doze came back with the beers, I started to drink mine. It had a funny taste to it, but it felt good. It was cold, and it was so hot in the building. After a few sips, I glanced to my right and I saw Red trying to talk to his girlfriend. I quickly looked away. I didn't want to think about anything bad tonight; tonight would be my day off from caring about the world.
"Oh Snaps, dance with me!" I said as I pulled him out of his seat. I could hear Christian and Doze laughing as Snaps and I headed to a group of people dancing. After the song ended, I got another beer on my way back to the table.
"Another one?" Christian said when I arrived back at the table.
"Alright Sam!" said Doze in approval.
Snaps gave me a pat on the back as Christian turned away from me in disgust. I was a bit upset how Christian was acting, but then I remembered that tonight was my night for not caring. After I drank about half of my second beer, Doze and I decided to dance. After the song ended, we headed back to the table, and I discovered that my beer was gone.
I looked immediately at Christian. "What did ya do with my drink?" I asked him, my speech a little slurred.
"It's for ya own good!" Christian shouted at me.
"Whatta talking about?" I said while almost falling over as I went towards him.
"Sam, maybe ya should lay off," Snaps said while snapping.
"Yeah, I mean ya don't look so good," Doze stated.
"Fine, I don't need you guys anyways," I said while heading for the door. I fell to the ground though after only going a couple of steps.
"Sam!" Christian yelled as he got up to help me.
"Huh?" I asked. I was confused about what had just happened. My head hurt. I put my hand up to my forehead and felt a bump.
Christian looked at me and his green eyes were filled with concern. "Ya need ta get home," he said softly.
"Huh?" I just couldn't make sense of what anyone was saying.
"You guys stay here. I'll take her home," said Christian as he helped me up from the ground. He placed my arm around his shoulder so that I could lean on him.
Christian led me out of Washington Hall. I could barely understand what was going on. The streets were empty except for the occasional carriage that speed by. He slowly walked me through the lifeless Chicago streets. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally arrived at my house. Christian stopped by the gate that is in front of my house. He was unsure of where to go from there. It had been many years since he had come in my house.
"Sam, ya think ya can make it ta your house?" Christian asked.
As Christian finished his sentence, the front door opened and a body stood in front of it. I could tell, even through my blurry vision, that it was my father.
"Jacob boy, come here," my father yelled from inside the house. Christian looked at me for some guidance for what he should do. I didn't say anything, I just stayed leaning against him. I couldn't think of what to do. I couldn't even understand what was actually happening. By the look on Christian's face, I could tell whatever was happening, was bad though.
My father left the house and started to come down the steps. It was too dark for him to tell that Christian wasn't Jacob. Christian was panicking. I could feel his hands becoming sweaty, and his body was starting to shake. My father was almost to the gate before he realized what was going on.
"Christian!" my father shouted. "What are you doing here?"
"I----,"
"Oh shut up, you fool!" my father screamed.
Christian stopped his stuttering. My body was still just leaning against Christian.
My father glared at me. He was clueless to the condition I was in. If he had known I was drunk, he would have been ten times madder. "What did I tell you Samantha? I told you what would happen if you were to be with this, this thing," my father said while waving his hand at Christian.
"Father–," I managed to say before he stopped my talking with the look in his eyes.
"Go to your room now! I don't even want to look at you right now," my father said turning away from me. He looked at Christian. "And why are you still here? Get off my property before I call the cops!"
Christian glanced at me quickly before he turned to leave. I feared that would be the last time I ever saw Christian.
************
"Miss Samantha," said the maid as she opened the door to my room. "Your father wants to see you."
I turned over to face my door. I opened my eyes and the light hurt them. My head was pounding. I felt my forehead and was reminded of the bump I had gotten last night. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and to the floor. I sat up and felt dizzy. I glanced around my room to see a leather suitcase on the floor by my bed. I figured nothing of it as I stood up. I put my bathrobe on as I headed out my bedroom door.
I made my way down the stairs and to the living room. My mother was sitting in her rocker while she knitted. She didn't look up from her knitting as I entered the room. My father rose from his position on the couch.
"Samantha," he said glaring at me.
"Yes," I whispered quietly.
"We told you what would happen. Did we not?" My father stood there waiting for an answer.
"Yes," I told him.
"Then I don't think there's anything to discuss. Your suitcase is already packed. Go upstairs and get it. Your train leaves soon."
I stood in the living room in shock. I couldn't believe my father was making me leave already. He hadn't wasted any time in having me leave. I glanced over to my mother, looking for a glimmer of hope. My mother refused to look up at me. I knew she didn't want this, but she knew there was no way that she could talk my father out of it. His mind was set. He felt it was the only solution to the problem.
I found the will to move, and I dragged my feet up the stairs. There was no way I was going to cry. I couldn't. My father could never know the way I felt, or he would think he was right. I sat on my bed, looking around my room. I noticed all the little things, like the crack in the wall by my window, and how my mirror tilted a little to the left.
I saw the doorknob turn. I hoped it wasn't my father. My mother stuck her head in.
"Is it okay if I come in?" she asked.
"Sure," I said while shrugging my shoulders.
"Darling," she started. "I want you to stay as much as you do."
I looked at my mother in disbelief.
"Oh," I said.
"I want you to have this though." My mother put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a necklace. She placed it in my hand, and I looked at it. It was silver chain with a single pearl charm on the end. It was beautiful.
"Thanks. It's so pretty," I told my mother.
Tears started to form in my mother's eyes. "My mother gave it to me when I needed a little something special in my life. I figured today was a day when you could use it."
I gave my mother a hug and then she put the necklace on me.
I headed downstairs and left my house. I got into the carriage that my father had stopped. I looked around and smiled at my mother. The driver yelled to the horse and off we went to the train station.
I had no bad feelings for my mother. I knew that she didn't want me to leave. I felt only hatred for my father though. He was too stubborn to realize what was going on. The ride to the train station by myself was silent. I thought about what could possibly happen next.
To Be Continued......