Yay! A third story! Does anyone even read these? Hope you like it!
Qoqoqo
If this was life, then it sucked. Lucky had made her way to a few small towns after leaving Feather Song. She walked most of the time but occasionally caught onto the back of a carriage. There was no work for a girl there; everyone wanted boys to do the jobs and girls to sit at home. There was no way Lucky was going to do that, so she moved on. The places all had the same type of place that kids worked; all dirty, hard jobs, and only wanted boys. Lucky had to sleep in alleyways or find a home or an inn that she could stay at. She was getting tired of the same old routine, scratch that, she had been tired, already. Lucky came to a town called Greenburgh, worn out and ready for a job. She had little money left and she was starving. There was an old looking building with a sign above the door saying:
'Blanket's sewing and lace'
Lucky stared at the sign.
"Sewing and lace? Ugh, might as well, only goils do that job."
She walked through the door to enter a lobby that was sparsely furnished. There was a desk at the front, all made out of wood, the floor was made of white tile, and the walls had once been blue, but now were more of a brownish color. There were doors along the wall, leading different places that had an odd feel about them. She stood there until a man came out of a room near the back. He had a suit on and had a moustache on his face. He looked like an interesting character.
"Can I help you?"
Lucky stepped forward to stand in front of him respectfully, "Yes, I saw you'se had a sign fo' dis place. Do you'se 'ire goils?"
He looked disgusted and taken aback at her way of speaking and her accent; he had an English accent, himself.
"Very well, I could always use more help. This way."
He led her through a door on the right and they walked down hallways, passing numerous doors along the way. Lucky saw that it looked like a factory of sorts in a few of the rooms. There were girls in drab, torn dresses sewing on machines and making lace by hand. None of them looked very happy and some almost seemed scared. Lucky wondered what she got herself into.
She was taken to a room with beds and cots in it. There were two girls cleaning the room and as soon as the man leading her entered, they stood still as two stone pillars and seemed to await his orders. The man turned to Lucky after motioning for the two girls to come forward.
"They will get you in a, ahem, proper attire. Then you shall call me Mr. Blanket or Sir and always answer directly and clearly. Do you understand?"
Lucky nodded, somewhat annoyed, and he continued on, satisfied for now.
"They will show you your new work place after you are dressed. Girls…"
The two stone pillars came to life and led Lucky to a small room with a even smaller wardrobe. One of the girls, the seemingly older one, took Lucky's hand and led her to the wardrobe. She motioned to the few dresses in there and looked at Lucky shyly.
"Choose"
Lucky thanked her as she left and chose a dress that looked just a little big for her. She started pulling it on and was reminded of how much she preferred boys clothes to dresses. She finished and tied an apron around her waist, then left the room to find the girls waiting for her.
"Come"
One said, and Lucky was led to one of the 'mini factories'. No one looked up or even acknowledged her presence when she entered the room. She was taken to a sewing machine and given some cloth.
"You sew the edges and the pieces in that pile are for making dresses with the patterns over there. Good luck"
The last part was whispered, but Lucky caught it just the same, she turned to ask what she meant, but the two girls had left.
"Dat sounds great," Lucky muttered sarcastically, "bettah get'a woik"
Bibib
The first day passed with no interruptions from anyone, even Mr. Blanket. Lucky found an empty bed for herself in the room, but saw that some of the girls were sleeping on the floor. She got up from the bed and took them over to it, as they were little and were already asleep. She smiled as she took their place on the floor and soon fell asleep.
Gegege
The next few weeks passed with no problem. Lucky had gotten used to the routine, it was very boring to a girl who had already spent a while on the streets of Manhattan selling papes and running from the bulls. Still it was a safe environment for the younger girls, and the more delicate ones, that worked here. At least she thought.
One week, Mr. Blanket came in to Lucky's work room. Everyone paused and said, "Good morning Mr. Blanket," then went back to work. Lucky just mouthed random words because she had no idea what to say.
They sound like mindless, little beings, she thought with disgust. Did he even hear about the newsies strike? Does he know what we could do if we wanted?
Lucky sighed and continued sewing the edge of the fabric in her hand. She had just started on another edge when she heard a scream from the other side of the room. One girl had sewn her finger and was bleeding and crying. Mr. Blanket didn't seem to take notice until some of the girls jumped up to go help the poor girl.
"Get back to work!" he shouted.
Everyone quickly tried to forget about the crying girl and went on sewing their own pieces. Lucky ignored him, however, and made her way over. Mr. Blanket's back was to her and he didn't see her as she walked up.
"You worthless girl, stop your crying and get back to work"
Lucky heard him loud and clear and pushed passed him to help the girl. She gently pulled the needle out of her finger and pulled her off the chair to lead her out. Mr. Blanket looked up, startled that someone would disobey his orders and help her.
"Get back to work," he shouted at Lucky's retreating back, "back to work or there'll be consequences! Girl! Back to work I said! Get back here!"
Lucky ignored him and continued to lead the girl to a medical room she saw earlier. When they got there, Lucky cleaned up her hand and pulled out the thread as gently as possible. She paused when the girl whimpered and gave her a comforting smile.
"Can you'se relax and be still for ah moment? It'll 'urt less, I'se promise."
The smaller girl nodded and leaned onto Lucky's shoulder and cried soft, silent tears. Lucky finished with the thread and found bandages to wrap her finger.
"You are going to be in trouble with Sir, miss"
Lucky smiled sadly at the girl and nodded, "I'se knows,but it was worth it."
She carried the girl to a bed in the room upstairs and let her sleep while watching over her. She looked up as someone entered the room. It was Mr. Blanket.
"You girl," he pointed at her, "come here."
Lucky got up from the bed and walked over to him. He stared at her for a moment before slapping her in the cheek. She felt her cheek as it started to sting, then turned and glared at him with all her might.
"You can't do that, so now, you will be sleeping in the basement until you learn."
He started dragging Lucky out the door, but she planted her feet firmly and held on to the doorframe. Mr. Blanket turned with a scowl on his face to see what was happening. Lucky stared him down, an aura of defiance surrounding her.
"She's stayin' 'ere"
Mr. Blanket, or Blanket as Lucky would now call him, watched her for a moment before nodding slightly. Lucky smiled, knowing she had at least partially won this battle. With that, Blanket pushed her down into the basement and locked the door.
Nonon
I'm wondering how everyone pictures Blanket; I'll bet it's a lot different than what I'm picturing!
