It was a dark and stormy afternoon (nights are highly overrated). Racetrack was trying to get back to the lodging house, but the rain was driving directly into his face. He finally gave up and ducked into an alley. He needed to rest for a minute before he went on. The wind was howling past so quickly that none of the rain made it into the alley and it was actually almost dry. Race collapsed onto a pile of clothes that had been blown off of the laundry lines above. He sprang back to his feet when the pile started to move. A person crawled out from under the clothes and stood up groggily.
"Whoa, I's sorry, didn't see ya dere kid. Yous alroight?"
"I think so." The boy was about Race's height with raggity hair and a dirt smudged face. His clothes were torn and dirty and too big on him.
"Yous live out heah?"
"No, I'm lost. Where am I?"
"Manhattan."
"New York?"
"Yea, where else wouldja be?"
"I'm suppose to be in New Jersey."
"Joisey? How'd a Joisey boy git out heah witout knowin' it?"
The boy gave him a startled looked and shook his head, "I'm not sure, I guess I just got lost in the storm and wandered out here."
"Yous wandered a helluva long way ta git heah. Listen, if ya don't have a place ta stay ya can come ta da lodging house tanite an' do whatevah ya wanna tommora.
"Yea thanks. Um is there any food there?"
Race laughed, "Yea, but yous don't wanna eat it, trust me. I was gonna go ta Tibby's, if ya wanna tag along I'll git dinnah, no charge da foist time."
"Thanks."
* * *
"Do you know of anyplace I could get a job around here?"
Race laughed at the question, "Yea, I might. Us newsies git ta stay in da lodgin' house if we woiks for da Woild an' dat's one a da best deals ya kin git. It don't pay much but it keeps us outta da factories an' gives us a place ta sleep."
"Oh."
There was a short silence then Race asked, "So's ya gotta name kid?"
The only other people in Tibby's with them were the waiters, Pie Eater, and Itey but he still glanced around nervously before answering, "Oh, um, yea, it's, um, Pips."
"Pips! Really? Den yous got a historic name." Pips stared at him confused.
"Pips is da name a da horse dat started me winnin' streak at da track."
The door banged open and a couple of newsies were blown in, "Race wha'd I tell ya 'bout tellin' dat tired ol' story again?"
"Hey, Cowboy dis is a special occasion. Dis kid's called Pips."
"Dat so? Den I's feel sorry fa ya kid, Race ain't evah gonna shuddup 'bout dat horse now."
Pips was startled when the boys pulled up chairs and made him a part of the group, no questions asked, "I's Jack Kelly, dis heah is Mush an' Skittery. We's somea da woild famous newsies."
"You can't be sayin' famous witout meanin' me." Another boy had come in out of the rain and Jack got up to shake hands. Pips was disgusted when he saw them spit in their palms first.
"Heya Spot, what brings ya out heah on a nite like dis?"
"I'm lookin' fa Marble. Ya seen 'er?"
"Naw, I...." The door flew open and a body literally fell in. She was formless because of a large grey overcoat but Pips could tell that is was a girl by the long dark brown hair plastered to her back.
She picked herself up and yelled out the door, "Not funny Frack!"
"Yea, I've seen 'er Spot."
Two more people walked in. They both had bright red hair and dark green eyes. They would have been identical except one was obviously a girl and her left arm was up in a sling.
"No, dat was really funny, you jist ain't gota sense a humor taday."
"Sure I do." She whipped her wet hair around, splashing him in the face and laughed when he jumped back and swore, "See, that was funny. Oh, hiya Spot."
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him long enough to embarrass everyone else.
After a minute Skittery spoke up, "Will da two a yous git a room."
Marble pulled back with a laugh, "Thanks for the idea Skitt. Oh hey, a new guy."
Marble spun a chair around and sat in it backwards so she could see Race and Pips. Spot grinned at how easily distracted his girlfriend was and sat down in a booth, joined by Frick and Frack, and Jack because his seat had just been stolen.
"Well I'll be damned, yous noticed sumthin' while Spot was in da room."
"Shuddup Race, Who's your friend?"
"Dis heah's Pips."
"Like the horse?"
"Yea."
"Wow. You're gonna be Race's new best friend, that is, if ya like goin' to the track everyday."
Pips was getting nervous about all of the people taking in intrest in him. It was strange being surrounded by overly friendly people after being alone on the streets.
His awkwardness must have been showing because Race spoke up, "Heya Marble I's t'ink yous scarin' da kid. He ain't even made up 'is mind if 'es stayin' or not."
"Sorry Pips. Well if ya decide to stay don't let Race keep you at the track alla the time. Newsies are supposed to sell papes, not waste all of their money on horses." She gave Race a pointed look but he just laughed.
"Yea, okay. Um, do know you from somewhere?"
"Probably." She was joking but Pips took her seriously and tried to remember where they had met before.
"Hey Frack, whacha doin' in Manhattan?" Mush's comment startled Marble and she hit him to cover up for jumping.
"I had ta git away from Kid Blink. I swear if dat boy don't quit tryin' to floit wit me I's gonna smother 'im in 'is sleep."
"So 'es feelin' bettah?"
"I dunno, he was poity sick."
Jack laughed, "Well jumpin' in da East Rivah in Octobah'll do dat to ya."
"I'd bettah go afore 'e tries ta git up again, da idiot almost fell down da steps yestahday." Frick got up and Frack followed her, restarting an old arguement, "I ain't leavin' again, ya can quit followin' me."
"I's don't trust ya alone out on da streets." The rest of their fight was cut off when they opened the door and the wind howled in.
Pips gave Race a confused look and he laughed when he realized how much sense all of that would have made to a stranger, "Lemme try ta explain somea dat. Foist off Marble's Spot's goil so don't git no ideas. An' Spot's da leadah a Brooklyn. Frick an' Frack are twins but dey woik in Brooklyn too, so yous ain't gonna see dem dat much. Kid Blink's one a our newsies but he was ovah in Brooklyn last week an' fell in da rivah, so 'es been real sick an' he can't walk all da way back heah until 'es feelin' bettah. Jack's sorta da leadah a Manhattan evah since da strike. He's da one makin' all da big decisions an' we let him 'cause we's usually plannin' ta do what he told us anyway."
The rain was slowing down when Spot, Marble and Jack all got up and left. They went separate directions when they got outside, but not until Spot and Marble shared one more long kiss. Pips couldn't help thinking that Marble still looked familiar.
Race watched them for a minute then remembered something else, "I's gonna tell ya dis jist cause ya might heah 'bout it latah. Marble leaves for a couple a weeks now an' again but when she left dis summah Frick went wit 'er. Dey cam back 'bout a month ago an', if ya didn't notice, Frack ain't let his sista outa his sight since den. Marble an' Spot 'ave also been a lot 'closer' den most couples evah since."
"Then Marble's from Brooklyn?"
"Naw, she an' Spot stay separate."
"Why, if they're so close?"
"Dey, um, Hey Pie, you remembah what Marble said 'bout her stayin' in Manhattan when Spot's in Brooklyn?"
"Naw, you 'membah Itey?"
"Yea, She said dat dey, um, didn't want dere 'boisterous love makin' ta keep nobody up at night."
Pips stared in disbelief when Race said, "Yea, dats it."
