Ch. 2::First Day
Oh, come on. Does this line get any longer? Scooting up to the front, Bridge bumped into a boy with a cowboy hat strapped to his back. "Oh, uh...sorry."
"No, it's alright. It was just an accident…I ain't never seen you around before. Who's you?"
"Oh…my name's Br-…uh…Brian…Yours?"
"Jack. Jack Kelly. Or Cowboy. Whatever you wanna call me…you stayin' at the lodgin' house?"
"Uhh…sure. I mean...I dunno. I might."
"Well, I'ma gonna call you Stutter. Ya can't quite get a sentence out wittout stopping in da middle." He laughed and slapped Bridge's shoulder. They bought their papes and went to sit with the others before they went out to sell. "Hey everyone, this is Stutter. He's new." Jack put his free arm around Bridge's shoulders. Everyone muttered a hello, and Jack dragged her off to a group of three boys their age and one young boy. "This is Davey, Mush, Race and Les. Guys, this is Stutter."
"Hey…" Bridge raised her arm for a weak wave and sat down next to the little one, Les. A bell rang and she looked up, wondering what was going on. Race pulled her up.
"You new? C'mon. I'll show ya the good spots." He led her through Central Park, the harbor, and then up to the Sheepshead racetrack. "I spend so much time up here, that's why they call me Race."
When they finished selling all their papes, they headed to the lodging house. It was fun. She got to meet all the newsies, but still mostly hang out with the boys Jack introduced her to…except for Dave and Les, they had to go back to their apartment. At about nine-thirty, Bridge figured she should leave. "See ya, everyone. I should probably head home."
"Aww, you ain't stayin? You'll be here tomorrow, yea?"
"No, sorry. But I will be here tomorrow. Might even stay here a night or two." Before waiting for a response, she left for home.