Hi everyone,

Chapter two… I had a lotta fun inventing Cobblestones, and I'm still improving it.

Lexi: How is Lils supposed to be the Cobblestones champion if you invented it?

Syenya: Shh. This is just the introduction.

Lexi: Oh, right…

(Thanks to Huffle-Bibin for the character-conversations-in-the-introduction idea =D)

"THIS IS STUPID," howled Colin, throwing up his hands and sending his counters flying.

"You win again, Blue," said Albert to Lily, somewhat unnecessarily, marking a tally. They were playing Cobblestones (A game that used both counters and cards) on the sidewalk, and once again Lily had won. She smiled smugly as Colin sulkily handed her his stake — a quarter. She stuck it in the pocket inside her cap, and Colin sat back. "I'm not playing 'er anymore. Ya wanna take my place, Alex?"

"Sure," I said, sitting down opposite Blue and gathering up Colin's scattered counters. Lils dealt out her dirty and well-used cards, Al re-chalked the game board on the paving, and the game was on.

But nothing I could do would beat the Cobblestones champion, and Lily added another mark to her winning streak.

"Since is right, this is stupid," said Clue. "Lils has won thirty games straight, fifteen 'gainst Since, eight 'gainst Given, six 'gainst me and one 'gainst Tori."

"HOW DO YOU DO IT!!??" I wailed dramatically, throwing my cards in the air. "Hey!" protested Lils, gathering up her cards before they could get damaged in the mud of the gutter. "Don't wreck my cards, they'se the only ones I got. If— hey, it's Chance!" we glanced up as Chance, a newsie, came down the street. He was older than us, fifteen, like Swift and Dom. "Hey yas," he greeted us. "Howsit?"

"Not bad," I replied. He smiled down at me — he had light brown, almost blond hair under his cap, clear blue eyes and a nice smile with dimples. I smiled back. "Cobblestones?" he inquired, turning his gaze down to the ground. "Yeah," Lils replied, brandishing her handful of cards. "Wanna play?"

"Well…" he seemed reluctant. "Aw, c'mon Chance," Albert and I pleaded. "Are you a good player?" Al added.

"I'm a fair player," said Chance, still hesitating. I grabbed his hand and pulled him down. "C'mon," I repeated. "Oh, OK," he grumbled, flashing me a long-suffering smile. "But only if y'all take four papes each."

"Four!"

"Four papes," Chance repeated. "Fine," we all agreed, somewhat reluctantly, and Chance grinned as he handed them around and collected our two cents each. "Cheers." He took my place opposite Blue and she dealt out the cards.

I took a look at the papers, but soon put them down to watch the game.

"Okay… Dodge and 7 of hearts," said Chance, moving his triangular counters into the dodge position and laying down the 7 of hearts. Lily's eyes brightened, and I knew Chance'd made a potentially fatal mistake. "Ohhh damn," Since voiced my doubts quietly beside me.

"Right, Empress Attack and 4-5-6 diamond run," announced Blue happily, moving her counters and laying down her cards. She picked up another two cards from the pile and added them to her hand, then looked up at Chance with a sort of smug expectancy.

Chance took a long time to move. Finally, slowly, he moved his pieces. Four of his circular counters were moved into a line against Blue's Empress. "Circular Block and… 3-4-5-6-7 diamond run," he said, putting a three and a seven of diamonds on either end of Blue's run. "Damn," muttered Blue, but then quickly rearranged her counters. "Empress Attack — again — as well as double ace and Jack-Queen-King run." I could see the impatience in her eyes and her finger tapping against her cards, and I knew that in one more turn Chance would have lost. Chance was too wrapped up in his cards to notice, however. He studied them as if the answer to life itself was written on them, then he stared at the game board for a long time. Finally he opened his mouth, closed it again, then said "Diagonal Emperor Attack, plus… plus—"

"—Plus triple five and King of diamonds set," I finished for him, and he put the cards I'd named down without arguing. Lily rolled her eyes. "Fine, but I say Reverse Diagonal Emperor Attack, plus quadruple-ten, so I'll add a Final Charge and Cobblestone your Tower."

"Agh," Chance groaned as Blue knocked over his Tower, then threw his cards down. "Chance, ya had a 2-3-4 spade run! Why didn'tja use that?" Chance shrugged defeatedly.

I looked up as someone came down the road. I didn't recognize him, but Chance obviously did, because he muttered a curse and quickly snatched up his papes. "Chance, ya supposed ta be sellin' papes, not playin' gutter games!"

"I did, I did! I sold 'em ta these lot!" protested Chance, glaring up at the other guy. He looked about eighteen, holding his own lot of papes, and could probably make trouble for Chance. "'E did," I said, brandishing the papers Chance'd sold me. "See? 'E made us buy four each." The second guy glared at me, then turned back to Chance. "Go on, get outta here! You gotta job ta do," he growled, and stalked off.

"Fine, fine. See yas, guys," Chance grumbled, then ran off, giving us the usual two-fingered salute. I watched him until he rounded the corner, then turned back to the others. Lils was smiling at me knowingly, one eyebrow raised. "What?" I asked. "Oh, nothin'," she replied innocently, and I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Thirty-one games," Al was muttering as Lils gathered up all her counters and cards and put them in her pocket. "Fifteen ta Since, eight ta Given, six 'gainst me, one 'gainst Tori an' one ta Chance." He stood up and spread his arms. "Please somebody beat the Blue!" he shouted to the world.

"Shu'up, Clue," said Lily. "They ain't gotta chance, an' you know it."

"Hell do we know it," grumbled Since. "Shh," I told him. "Think positive." He rolled his eyes. "I am thinkin' positive. Positive no one's got a chance in Hell 'gainst Blue."

"'Cept Dom," said Clue. "Huh?" Colin and I chorused. Al grinned. "She'd probably let 'im win, wouldn't she?"

I nodded. "Yeah, Lils, ya prob'ly would." Lils glowered at us, getting to her feet. "Crap," said Since, and ran off, Al and I close on his heels.

Lils chased us all the way down to the fountain.

"" "" "" "" ""

The fountain was around the centre of the city, and it was where you could sit and people-watch for hours. Rats scuttled in the gutters, street junies played on the sidewalks or followed their older siblings around; street kids like us ran around, fought, mingled or pick-pocketed; newsies sold their papes; and then the higher-born junies walked past close to their parents, or in neat rows after a schoolteacher, or with their parents in motorcars…

The four of us sat by the fountain. "Hey, look at Stalemate," said Colin. "He's givin' Block The Look. 50 cents there's a fight within… five minutes."

"You're on, Since," said Al. "I reckon Stalemate won't 'ave the guts to challenge the Block."

Lils rolled her eyes. "The Block took Stalemate's gal. Stale isn't gonna take that lyin' down."

"Stalemate's gal? Who's that?" asked Colin. Lils and I stared at him. "Same as it has been for the last two years, Since. Sunny Smith."

"I can't believe Sunny'd go with Block," I said. "Seems a stupid move to me."

"I think that she thinks that she's still Stalemate's gal, but she's been spendin' a lotta time with the Block lately, an' it's really gettin' up Stalemate's nose. The Block reckons that Sunny's his gal, an' he's ready to go serious with 'er, I think. 'E says so, anyways. Oh, look, there goes Stalemate." Stalemate was marching up to Block, who watched him coming lazily. Other street kids were watching with interest, ready to become the audience as things played out. The four of us went closer to hear what they were saying.

Stalemate was standing about two feet away from Block, out of arm's reach. "'Ello, Block," he said coldly. "G'day, Stalemate," replied the Block. "'Sup?" the spectators exchanged apprehensive glances. Stalemate's face was getting steadily redder, and the Block was still watching him calmly and cheerily. "What's wrong with 'im, d'ya reckon? Think 'e needs the Heimlich?" asked the Block loudly, appraisingly taking in Stalemate's red face.

Any lines that Stalemate was expecting to deliver flew out the window and he launched himself at the Block with a feral howl. Onlookers swooped in hungrily to get a better view, and bets were suddenly flying. Stalemate and Block were more evenly matched than Swifto and Wolfie, and you could taste it in the air — people hungrily awaited the outcome, happy in the knowledge that it would be a good fight. "Five on Stalemate." "Quarter on Block." "You're on… Dollar on Stalemate." "Are you mad? Fiver on Block…"

"Who d'ya reckon?" I asked Lils. She shrugged, but was quite clearly on Stalemate's side, cheering when he got the Block in the face. I spotted Tori in the crowd, obviously trying to decide who to side with — it looked like she wanted to side with Stalemate, but didn't want to be on the same side as Lils and I.

"Luke! Zack! Stop it!" said a shrill voice, and I saw Sunny pushing through the crowd. She ran straight up to the fighting guys, and Stalemate immediately stopped, but Block took advantage of his distraction to plant one on his nose. There was a sickening crack and Stalemate howled, stumbling back and toppling over. Sunny let out a shriek and knelt down next to him as a couple of guys who'd been watching caught him and lowered him down to the cobblestones. I stretched up, trying to see. The Block blew angrily on his knuckles and spat on the road.

"Luko?" Sunny was saying. "Does that hurt?" Stalemate let out a yell of pain and Sunny whipped her arm back. "I'm fairly sure it's broken," she said. Blue rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess that explains the crack. I was wonderin' what that was." She said sarcastically. "C'mon," I said to her, and we went over to see how Stalemate was. The guys who'd caught him — one of whom I recognized as Knuckles Jacobson — were helping him to his feet, and Sunny was turning to the Block, looking murderous. He tried smiling at her as she approached him, but as soon as she was close enough she slapped him (Making him yelp as she hit a bruise) and started yelling at him at the top of her lungs.

Stalemate was a mess. A massive shiner was blackening over one eye, both of his cheeks were slashed and bruised, his lips were split and his nose was dripping blood all over the lower half of his face. He spat out some blood onto the cobbles and then gingery pressed a hanky to his upper lip, trying to avoid touching his nose.

"Ya need help gettin' home?" asked Al. Luko nodded, and with the help of Knuckles, Al and Since guided him down the street. Lils and I followed them, leaving Sunny screaming behind us.

"" "" "" "" ""

Mrs. Connors shrieked as she opened the door and then ushered us in, leading Stalemate over to her kitchen table and getting some ice. "What 'appened?" she demanded, then started jabbering away in Italian to Stalemate, who answered her back calmly and slightly impatiently. The five of us hovered awkwardly by the kitchen door, watching Mrs. Connors fuss over Luke and clean him up, pulling off his bloodstained vest while he tried in vain to protest. She handed him the cloth-wrapped ice and led him over to the couch, pushed him down then went off into another room, muttering and tutting under her breath in Italian. Stalemate glared up at the ceiling for a minute, then his eyes slid over to us and he beckoned us over. We went over and Knuckles and Lils grinned. "Good fight," they both said at the same time. Stalemate gave a bark of laughter. "Where's Sunny?"

"Last I saw, screamin' her pretty blonde head off at the Block," replied Knuckles promptly. As if in reply, someone knocked at the door. Mrs. Connors immediately came back across the room, still muttering, and went to answer it, soon coming back with Sunny in tow. She didn't seem to notice us as she flew over to the couch and started smothering Stalemate with kisses and questions.

"Ow, ow, ow, careful!" he said, and she jumped back, immediately apologizing profusely. "I'm going out to get the doctor," said Mrs. Connors, and Stalemate sat up looking mortified. "No! No, I don't need—" he broke off and grumpily sank back onto the cushions as Mrs. Connors gave him a no-argument glare and marched out the door. Sunny gently took his ice pack to peer at his swollen nose and grimaced. She handed it back and took his hand, kissing it and continuing to apologize. I glanced at the others and then at the door — they got the message and we quietly left the house.