CHAPTER 1

" Hey! There she is!... Follow her!" A boy shouted. Three boys were chasing me around Manhattan for something that I didn't do. I'm

not exactly sure how it happened , but I do know that they were angry and strong. I , though, am a shrimpy, little girl. although I do

have street smarts and am able to read quickly. That was not going to help me. I ran into a cold, dark alley and quickly climbed up a

black and red rusty fire exit. yelled. I laid down quietly on the roof where , hopefully they wouldn't be able to see me.I was able to look

around and saw nothing but darkness, the moon, and the stars...until I saw a shadow quickly and quietly loom over me. I was about to

scream when he at least I think it was a he, covered my mouth with his hand. "Shut up, girly." He said , it was definitely a boy , Just

follow me." I nodded and slowly got up to a crawling position. Now that I could see him clearly , well for it being so dark ; He looked to be about 6 foot and had brown, wavy hair that looked really good on him. Yes I realize that I am very observant when it comes to boys! He ran toward a part of the roof that I hadn't noticed it before. It was a little trap door with a plain wooden door and a little silver door latch.

"Where did that come from!" I asked him. Okay not the smartest question but I was very confused! " Well... I don't know exactly." He was really treating this seriously! Wow... strange. He looked at me and man wasn't he hot! His thoughtful frown turned into a playful smile.

" Well... I pretty sure that it came from a store and that someone had attached it to this little door, " He slowly explained to me , now pointing at the little trap door " and well now it's here for me to use.

" Wait YOU live here!!!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah... it's the lodging house for us newsies." " So , you get like a real bed and all?" I asked . I must have looked very surprised because he chuckled a little and answered yeah.

" I haven't slept in a bed since I was seven!" I told him. You know ... I don't even know this guy's name, yet! " You know it's kinda cold outside. You wanta come inside with me and talk a little?" He asked me. It was cold and dark and I did want to talk to this guy a little... OK so I wanted to talk to him a lot. But, who really cares about that? Um...Sure." I answered. He opened the trap door and led me down a flight of dusty stairs. The walls were a navy blue and the paint was peeling. It was obvious that no one had fixed this place for a while. But... I really couldn't care because it was dry and safe , and for once I wasn't thinking about the next fight I would get into over a piece of crusty bread .

" Hurry Up! ... Wait whats your name anyway?" " Artemsia . " I answered him. I loved that name and it was my grandma's and her grandma's and the one before that! We were just a brood of Artemsias.

" Cool , I like that name. Very .. Um original."

" Thanks " I said .

" We're here." He told me.

I now noticed that this was one of the many thin, wooden doors in a lighted hallway.

" Hey! Jack!" boys everywhere said together. While everyone was saying hi to him , I had a chance to look around this room. It had bright yellow wallpaper that was starting to peel a little and there was a fireplace burning. It had to be a kitchen because of the neat little stove in the corner and the huge shelves. Then there was a little table and two chairs , which were promptly emptied on the entrance of Jack into the room. Attached to the kitchen was a great, big dining room. That was where most of the boys sat now. So that was his name. Jack . I like it. Then some of the boys noticed me.

" Oh, you guys , this here is Art." He told them. Art? Who's this guy talking 'bout? Im the only new kid ... right???? He nodded his head towards me and that's when I noticed how many guys were looking at me. They all looked about 13 , 14, and 15 years old. I'm only 13.

" Hello Art." A boy came up to me , spit in his hand and gave to me as if expecting something. I knew what it meant so I spit in my hand and held it out. We shook each other's hand.

" This here is Racetrack." Jack told me.

"Hello Racetrack." I said to him.

He looked cool and I liked his name. He looked to be about fourteen and alittle taller than I was. He had dark brown hair and better looking clothes than me. I then looked at what I was wearing. I had a white apron , well it was white but now its like a dirty ripped apron and a little black dress under it. The apron was too big on me and the dress was too short. Go figure. Then I looked back at him. He had brown breeches on and a white shirt. He also looked like he had been able to wash his face that morning. I hadn't seen clean water in who knows how long.

" You guys... Im gonna talk to Art alittle bit 'fore I get some sleep. You guys can get some sleep now." Jack told the boys.

" See you in the morning , Jack." They said to him. A couple of them also said good night to me but most didn't seem to realize I was in the room any more.

" See you later Art." Racetrack said to me. " Ok." I said back to him.

Then Jack started to talk to me. " What do you think about this place." He pointed around himself.