"Extra! Extra! Mayor accused of embezzlement! His political future on the line!"
Samantha Collins looked up from her novel in the direction she had heard the voice. "That sounds interesting. And I could use a break from this!" she thought to herself.
It was yet another ordinary Wednesday afternoon, and Samantha had been sitting under a large oak tree in Central Park, trying to read a novel her father had picked out for her.
"Where does he find this stuff?" she wondered, staring inquisitively at the cover of the novel as if it held all the secrets to her problems.
"Extra! Extra!"
Samantha snapped out of her trance. "There's no way I can read this!"
She stood up and looked down at her appearance. Her dark blue dress had bunched up was now all creased, and had the faint outline of the beginning of a grass stain.
She sighed. "I guess that's what I get for disobeying daddy and reading in the park."
Samantha reached down and picked up her hat, smushed it down over her mused dark brown hair, and hurried over to the boy who was selling newspapers.
His back was turned to her as he finished up selling to an elderly man. She reached over and tapped him on the shoulder, startling him.
"Race!" he started. "How many times do I have to tell you not to do that!" He whipped around in a fury and came face to face with Samantha.
"Oh. Hello miss. Buy a pape?" he said, clearly trying to hide his embarrassment.
Samantha nodded. "Yes please."
The boy handed her a pape and she gave him a penny. The boy turned to leave.
"Wait!" called out Samantha.
The boy turned around.
"What page was that story about the mayor on?"
The boy turned a shade of red, almost like the glow of the sun during a sunset. "Page 7," he mumbled.
"Thanks!" Samantha replied as the boy quickly walked away.
She returned to the large oak tree and sat down exactly where she had sat only moments before. She opened her paper and turned to page 7. Her green eyes scanned the page, searching for the story.
"Hmm. That strange," she said to herself. "Maybe the boy meant page 6."
She turned to the page, but came up empty handed. Samantha quickly scanned the rest of the newspaper, but could not find the story.
"Why the nerve of that scoundrel!" she cried to herself in outrage. "I'm going to go find him and give him a piece of my mind!"
And with that, she stood up, and stormed off into the direction the blonde haired boy had left.
* * * * *