It felt like Essie had just closed her eyes when she opened them again. Kloppman was standing next to her, gently shaking her awake. She groaned and rubbed her eyes at the bright light.
"Glad to see you're awake," he smiled. He walked around, waking up some of the other boys that didn't wake up when he turned on the light. Essie sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked around to see only a few boys out of bed. Most of them were still lying in their beds, not wanting to get up. Essie hopped down from her bed and saw Andrew was still asleep. She nudged him playfully.
"Wake up big brutha," she said. He peeped one eye open before groaning and rolling over.
"Only olda by a minute," he mumbled before closing his eyes again. She nudged him playfully in the side and he squirmed to escape her tickling hands.
"Leave me alone, would ya?" he asked, swatting her away.
"I'm gonna go clean up, when I get back yous betta be up," she said authoritatively. "Or else."
"Aw, shuddup," he mumbled before rolling over again. She laughed and walked toward the bathroom. She was glad only a few other boys were up. She wasn't sure how she felt about sharing a bathroom with so many boys but figured she'd get used to it. She walked inside and went to one of the many bathroom sinks. Essie was barely able to see over it and couldn't reach the faucet. She struggle to reach for it when she felt a tickle under her outstretched arm. She yanked it away and looked up to see Sneak there.
"Need some help," he asked. He didn't wait for an answer and turned around to pick up an old wooden crate. "Here, use this. Some of the smalla boys can't reach the sinks neither." He set it down and she stepped up on it. She thanked him and he walked away to his own sink. Essie washed her hands and face before drying off on an old towel that was hanging on the racks. She was leaving when Sneak stopped her.
"Hey is that the only clothes yous got?" he asked.
"I brought some more," she said. "Not much, but I packed some extra clothes for my brutha and me."
"Can you wear some of the crutch's clothes?" he asked. "It don't look so good having a goil sell papes."
"People is gonna know I'm a goil anyway," she said.
"Yeah I know that but it just ain't right to sell papes in a dress," he said. "It'll be more comfortable anyhows. You'll be warmer in a pair of trousers." She nodded and walked back to their bunk. Andrew was still asleep.
"Hey, wake up!" she yelled at him. He didn't stir. Growing very impatient, she shoved Andrew off his bed so he landed on the floor. He grunted when he landed with a thud and sat up.
"Hey what was that for?" he shouted at her. "I coulda hurt my leg!"
"Shut up," she said back as she opened their bag. "Now just go get ready!" He muttered something under his breath before grabbing his crutch and walking towards the bathroom.
Ten minutes later everyone was up and ready to go. Essie had changed into Andrew's extra clothes like Sneak asked and had to admit she felt much more comfortable in trousers than a dress. She realized how much more she could move and run around and began to run around when they got outside. Wuss and Sneak laughed as she jumped over anything and everything.
Essie and Andrew stuck with Sneak, like he told them too, and followed him as they got bread and coffee from the Sisters. Essie and Andrew didn't like the bitter taste of the coffee so Sneak told them to go drink from a spicket that was around the corner. After returning quickly, they all continued to the Paper Distribution Center. As they walked, Sneak was telling them some helpful pieces of advice.
"Now yous two just gotta ignore da Dalancey bruddas," he said. "They's about a year or so younga than me but they's still pack a punch. But mostly all they's do is botha ya and annoy ya. Just ignore them and don't cause any trouble."
"Now ya get two papes per cent. Today only spend about a dime between ya. If ya sell 'em all today, yous can buy more tomorrow. How old did you's say you was? Twelve, right?" They nodded.
"Alright, if anyone asks, ya nine," he said. "The younga ya are, the more sympathy ya get, and the more papes ya sell. Hey, crutch, you gotta play up ya gimp leg, alright? Act like it's hoiten ya real bad and that da only way you can pay for a docta is if you sell these papes."
"That's lyin," he said.
"That's business," Sneak shrugged. They had reached the center and were standing outside the currently closed gates. He looked at Essie and smiled.
"Alright now all you's gotta do is act all cute and goily," he said. "Make 'em feel bad that a goil's out sellin papes, alright?"
"I don't know how to act cute and goily," Essie said.
"Aw sure ya do, ya name's Dollface," he said. "Ya got it in ya somewheres. Just, uh…" He trailed off scratching the back of his neck. He seemed to be struggling to find his words.
"Just if any man or boy asks ya something like, 'how much for a night' just say no and walk away," he said gravely. "Do ya understand what I'm sayin here?" Essie nodded.
"Pop wanted me to do that a couple months back when he ran outta money and wanted to buy more booze," she replied nonchalantly.
"I'm punched him the face," Andrew said proudly. Sneak smiled.
"You's a good brudda, crutch, gimp or no gimp," he said. The gates were unlocked and the boys swarmed inside. While they were waiting in line, two boys came walking past the line, occasionally shoving a boy with their shoulders. They were very tall and looked very strong. They both had on bowler hats and much nicer clothing than any of the boys standing in line. When they began approaching Sneak, Andrew, and Essie, Sneak leaned over his shoulder.
"Lucky yous," he said. "You's about to meet Oscar and Morris Delancey. Just remember what I said, don't let 'em botha ya." Sure enough, they came right up to Essie and Andrew and stood towering over them.
"Well, well, well," the first one said, looking down at them. "Looks like we gots some new meat, Morris."
"Seems dat way, Oscar," Morris replied. "A gimp and a goil."
"Neva seen a sorrier bunch," Oscar said, kicking Andrew's crutch out from under him. Essie reacted quickly, though, and caught him before he hit the ground. Sneak spun around and picked up Andrew's crutch.
"Hey, why don't ya go pick on someone ya own size?" he said to the boys, brandishing the crutch like a weapon. They backed away, raising their hands as if surrendering.
"Hey, we don't wants no trouble," Oscar said. "We's just tryin to make some new friends, ain't we?"
"Sure we are," Morris replied, beginning to move down the line again. "We'll see ya later, gimp. You's two little goil." Sneak watched them walk away and then handed Andrew his crutch.
"Like I said, you just can't let 'em botha ya," he said. "Just show 'em whose boss." After waiting in line for a long time, Sneak walked up and ordered thirty cents worth of papers. Andrew and Essie gaped as he picked up his large stack of papers and folded them up in his bag.
"Next!" a gruff voice called out. Andrew pushed Essie forward and followed her as she laid down a dime.
"Ahhhh… looks like we got us a girly-girl," the man said. He was behind a thing glass window but Essie could still smell the alcohol on his breath. He scratched his patchy beard and laughed. Essie grimaced please.
"Twenty papes please," she said. He leaned up closer to her through the window.
"Sellin papes ain't no job for no girly-girl," he said, baring disgusting yellow, rotten teeth.
"She ain't no goily-goil," Andrew said, stepping up. "Just give us our papes, would ya?"
"Who's this girly-girl?" the gross man asked. "Ya boyfriend?"
"He's my brutha," she said proudly. "Now gives us our papes." He grumbled loudly but gave them their papers anyway. Andrew grabbed them off the counter and walked off annoyed.
"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Essie said to the man before following her brother. Andrew counted out ten papers and handed half to Essie. They both put them in their bags and went to sit next to Sneak. He had the paper sitting open on his legs and was scanning the pages quickly.
"Whacha doin?" Andrew asked.
"Readin da headlines," he said, while flipping a page. "It helps to sell da papes if ya know whats in 'em. Look for sometin that sounds real interestin. Sometin that would make you want to read it." Andrew took out a paper and read the front page.
"Dry Fall in New York," Andrew read out. Sneak glanced at him.
"See, not so interestin," he said. He pointed to an article in his paper. "But this might do sometin. 'Fire Kills Two.'"
"But that's no headline," Andrew said.
"It's called stretchin da truth," he said, closing his paper. "Sure, it's only a paragraph or so but dat's what da people like. Fires, destruction, wars, death."
"That's awful," Essie said.
"That's business," Sneak said again. He hopped up and turned to the kids. "But let's get goin. I'm gonna be sellin papes as we walk to my usual spot so just watch what I do and try to pick up sometin." They followed Sneak as he waved goodbye to the rest of the boys and walked out of the gates.
"Extry, extry!" he shouted at anyone who walked past. "Get cha morning pape, hot off the press!" A woman walked up to him, gave him a nickel and took a paper in return.
"You have a nice day ma'am!" Sneak shouted after her. "Extry, extry! Get cha papers! Be da foist to read today's news!" Two business men walked up and paid Sneak for their papers and walked away. After walking a block, Sneak had sold at least ten papers. When they finally reached Sneak's spot, a corner just outside the barber shop, Sneak turned to them.
"Alright, now yous two try," he said. "Look, there's some ladies comin over dis way. Dollface, go give 'em a try. Remember what I said. Be cute." He shoved Essie off in the direction of the two women. She stumbled in front of them.
"Sorry to interrupt ya morning, misses," she said as sweetly as she could. "But would ya like to buy a pape?" They cooed at her and smiled. They handed over their coins and she gave them their papers.
"Yous two have a nice day," she said, and curtsied. One of the women sighed.
"Oh I wish my Sally would have manners like you," she said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out another coin. "Here, have another nickel."
"Thank ya, ma'am!" Essie said as the two women walked away. She looked at the coins in her hand and shoved them into her pocket, another advantage she found to trousers. She ran over to Andrew and Sneak.
"Nice one, Dollface!" Sneak said, clapping a hand on her shoulder. "Can't believe ya got an extra coin ya foist time." Some businessmen were walking towards them, and Sneak gave Andrew a pat on the shoulder.
"Alright, time to put dat crutch to good use," he said. Andrew hobbled over to the men as weakly as possible.
"Pardon me, but would either of ya like a pape? Hot off da presses," he said hopefully. They shook their heads and started walking again. Andrew looked over his shoulder back to Sneak and Essie. They were giving him nods of encouragement. He took a deep breath and hobbled back to the men.
"Sorry to interrupt again but I really needs to sell these papes," he said, frowning. "My ma can't afford a docta for me leg and I have to sell these here papes so I can get my leg looked at. Please." The men rolled their eyes but gave them their money anyway.
"Ehh that was good for your foist time," Sneak said when Andrew came back to them. "But you'll get better. Ya not a natural like Dollface but we'll get the both of ya sellin plenty of papes in no time. Ya shouldn't have no problem sellin da rest of your papes today so maybe yous should buy more tomorrow. Alright, I'm gonna leave yous two now. Just stick around this area and you's gonna be golden."
"But where are you goin?" Essie asked, not wanting to be left on their own again.
"To one of me otha spots," he said. "I got lots of 'em. If ya get hungry, sometimes da baker down da road gives away da bread dats no good anymore. He'll definitely give it to two kids like you. I'll see ya tonight, ok." He waved to them and disappeared into the crowd. Essie gave a worried look to Andrew but he have a brave smile back.
"We can do this, alright," he said. "Look, I'll take dis side right here and you go on da otha side down to da otha corna. We'll be in eyesigh of each otha, ok?" Essie nodded and went over to where Andrew said to go. She was nervous, selling papers by herself, not even Andrew was there. Sure he was right across the street but she liked his company.
But one thing was for sure. Sneak was right; Essie was a natural at selling papers. Each time someone walked by she became a perfect angel, curtsying, saying sir and ma'am, being polite. She had only had one paper left when her stomach growled. She looked over to Andrew, who had just sold a paper to an old man, and grabbed his attention. She gestured to her stomach and he nodded. She pointed to the paper to ask how many he had left. She held up one finger and he held up three. She nodded and tried to sell her last paper but the last of the crowd had passed. She looked up at the sun to try and guess the time. She guessed it was around noon at that point and decided it was time for lunch. She rolled up her remaining paper, put it in her bag, and walked over to Andrew.
"Don't know bout you, but I'm starvin," she said. He nodded in agreement and put his remaining papers in his bag. "Let's go find dat bakery Sneak told us bout."
They walked a block or so up the street in the direction Sneak had pointed to and found the bakery easily. It was empty when they walked inside. There was only one man wiping the counter off with a rag. He looked to be very young, maybe early twenties, and had some flour on his nose. He looked up when he heard the door opened. Andrew took the initiative and hobbled up to him.
"Scuse me, sir," he said pathetically. "But would ya like to buy a pape?" The man chuckled.
"Nice try, sonny," he said. "I seen that trick before. But I'll take one anyhow, haven't read the news today yet."
"We'll give you a pape for some bread," Essie thought quickly. He chuckled again.
"I'll tell ya what," he said, turning around to walk in a back room. "I'll pay ya for the pape and give ya some bread anyhow. It's a bit burnt but it still tastes fine." He returned moments later from the room with a large loaf of bread. It was burn on the bottom but it still looked tasty to Andrew and Essie. They took the bread and the money and handed over the paper. They left smiling and waving.
"Thank ya, sir!" Essie said sweetly. He gave a friendly wave before returning to wiping the counter. Essie and Andrew sat down on the curb as Essie broke the bread in two pieces, handing one to Andrew. Despite the burnt bottom, it was still warm and tasted delicious. After a few silent minutes, they had devoured their pieces. It wasn't much but it was better than nothing. They decided to walk down another block or so before finding a new spot. It was right outside a dingy old bar that they decided they would sell their last four papers.
They were able to sell them to an alcoholic, stumbling into the bar, another businessman, a man, whose wife had begged him to pay the crippled boy for the paper, and a man who had made a bet with his companions about the front page contents. He laughed as his friends coughed up money, and he reward Essie with an extra coin before walking off. Essie ran excitedly over to Andrew.
"That was our last pape," she said happily. She took all of the coins out of her pocket, as did Andrew, and began eagerly counting them.
"I think we's got enough for a seltzer down the road at that pub," Andrew said. "Ya know, that one that Buttons told us about yestaday? He told me last night that's wheres most of the boys end up at some point in the day." Essie nodded and they made their way back down the street.
Then as they passed by an alley, a hand reached out and grabbed Essie. She was pulled into the darkened alley and shoved against the wall. The back of her head hit the wall hard, and she couldn't see anything for a few frightening moments. All she could smell was alcohol and the scent of a man who hadn't bathed in months. Beside her he heard Andrew shout something before being shoved down and yelling out in pain. Essie didn't need to regain her vision to know it was their father.
"Let me go," she shouted, trying to pull away his arm. He had it laid across her chest, grabbing tightly onto her right shoulder, and pinning her up against the wall. His wrist was also pushing into her windpipe slightly. He rested his other hand on the wall above her and leaned into her face.
"Ya little brat," he snarled. "Why'd ya hafta run away like that, huh? We's was a happy family, weren't we? You, me, and the gimp."
"We's not a family no more," she huffed out, already getting tired from struggling. "Me and Andrew is on our own nows. We don't needs ya now. We neva needed you."
"Aw, ya don't mean that," he said haughtily. He began stroking her cheek, making Essie flinch away. But he had too strong a hold on her and he continued to roughly caress her face.
"Andrew, go get one of the boys," she shouted quickly. She saw he had just gotten to his feet again and was coming to help her.
"I ain't leavin-" he protested.
"Just go!" she shouted. He hesitated for a moment before he hopped off as fast as he could.
"Thanks for gettin rid of him," the drunken man said. "Now we's can be alone." He roughly began to kiss her face while touching her thigh with his free hand. She kicked her legs around, making it harder for him to touch her but he still was much stronger than her. She finally spit in his face. He was caught by surprise and briefly let go of his strong hold on her. She took her chance and stomped on his foot hard before running off.
But his longer legs carried him farther and faster and he caught up to her. She screamed as he grabbed her from behind and carried her back into the alley. He threw her hard on the ground. Essie cried out in pain as she felt something in her arm break. But still she didn't give up fighting and scooted as quickly away from the man. She kicked him in the face, but apparently not hard enough, as he merely flinched and kept advancing towards her. Essie backed up against a wall and found herself at a dead end. She was cornered. She could only hope that Andrew was on the way.
"Aw, come on, now," he said, sinisterly. "Don't be like that." He crawled over top of her and pinned both her arms to the ground.
"Get off me, ya drunk!" she shouted.
"Relax sweetheart, we's goin back home in just a minute," he said and began roughly kissing her face and neck again.
"Her names Dollface," Essie heard someone say before she felt him fly off of her body. She looked up to see Sneak, Kid Blink, and Shoots throwing punches at the drunk. Andrew rushed over to Essie's side to see if she was ok. They both watched as their father stumbled into a standing position and was at the end of the alley.
"Watch out, the both of ya," he warned, pointing a lazy finger at Essie and Andrew. "I'm gonna get ya back. You'll see. You just watch ya backs, ya hear?"
"Get the hell outta here!" Shoots yelled as he stumbled off. "Don't come back!"
"Ess- er I mean, Dollface, ya ok?" Andrew asked worriedly. Essie saw his eye was starting to swell up, presumably from a punch from their father. "I brought help soon as I could. What happened, what'd he do to ya?"
"I'm ok," she said, grabbing her brother's face with her left hand. She gently cupped his cheek. "Thanks for helpin me out." He frowned.
"Why'd ya send me away?" he asked.
"Aw, come on, don't be like dis," she said, annoyed.
"Naw, I gotta right to be like dis," he argued. "Ya can't just send me away likes I'm some little flowa. I'm not some dumb crip."
"Leave her alone, Crutchie," Sneak said, walking over. "You's two can continue dis conversation later, alright? Dollface, ain't lookin so good."
"I'm fine," she protested as she leaned up on her arms but a pain shot through her right arm like a bullet and she cried out.
"Aw shit, no ya not," Sneak said. He looked at her arm and grimaced. Essie looked down too and saw that it was bent in an awful looking position. She didn't know how she hadn't passed out from the pain.
"Alright, we's gonna get ya back to da house," Sneak said, looking away from her arm. "Kloppman will fix ya up real good and you's can rest for today. But let's get goin before dat pop of yours comes back." Essie watched as Andrew sulked away, turning his back on Essie and Sneak. He joined Shoots and Kid Blink, who had been watching them, and they began walking towards the house.
"What's up wit him?" Sneak asked.
"He's mad at me," she said, struggling to sit up with one good arm.
"Here, let me helps ya," Sneak said, and he scooped up Essie in one swoop.
"Ya don't have to carry me," she protested. "I'm fine, put me down."
"Ya not fine, ya just nearly escaped a bad attack from the man formerly known as ya fatha and ya arm's broken," he said firmly. "Can't ya just accept a little help?" Essie was quiet for a few minutes before thinking of something.
"Hey, why'd ya call my brotha, Crutchie?" she asked Sneak. He chuckled.
"Some of the otha boys has been talkin bout you two," he said. "We kept callin him 'the crutch' and soon it came Crutchie. We thought, hey why not? It's fittin, ain't it?"
"I don't think he's gonna like it too much," Essie said under her breath. When they reached the boarding house, Kloppman was waiting at the door, as Kid Blink, Shoots, and Andrew had gotten there a few minutes before them. He ran over to them, already examining Essie.
"What happened to ya, huh?" he asked playfully. "I send ya out for one day and ya come back with a broken arm and a brother with a black eye."
"Why don't ya ask our fatha?" Essie replied bitterly. Kloppman said nothing but followed them as Sneak carried Essie up the stairs. Sneak gently laid her down on Andrew's bed, as it was on the bottom, and moved aside for Kloppman to sit next to Essie. He looked at her head and asked her to tell them where she got hurt. She said her head hit the wall pretty hard, and he had a strong hold on her right shoulder. Kloppman said her right arm was definitely broken, and then asked one last time if anything else happened. Essie hesitated, looking at Andrew who was standing next to Sneak.
"Dollface, what happened?" Kloppman asked again. She wasn't sure what to say and thankfully Sneak spoke up.
"Did he, uh, touch you?" he asked carefully. "Rough you up?" She nodded as Andrew looked downcast and Sneak threw his hat angrily at the wall.
"Calm down, would ya?" she said. "I'm fine, look! I just got a bum arm now, just like my bum brutha." He didn't smile or laugh but instead turned his back to her and leaned up against the bed post.
"But ya not fine," Sneak said, as Kloppman began bandaging her arm. "Don't ya see? I left ya alone for two hours and look what happened."
"Sneak, this wasn't your fault," Kloppman said sternly, still focused on Essie's arm.
"Yeah it is, I knew dat their fatha was afta them and I let them go without so much as a warnin," he yelled. He punched the wall out of anger and frustration and for the first time, Essie was frightened of his strength. He took a deep breath and turned to look at Andrew and Essie.
"We's gonna protect ya, ya hear?" he told them. "We's not gonna let that bum of a fatha come near ya. He ain't gonna hurt ya no mores. We's gonna toughen ya both up, show ya how to handle yourselves on da streets. Ya gonna be able to walk those streets without any fear of ya fatha."
He snatched his hat from the ground and went to join Shoots and Kid Blink, who had been waiting at the entrance to the room. They all turned and left, leaving Kloppman alone with the siblings. He quietly finished wrapping Essie's arm and then made a sling out of a ripped up piece of fabric. He ordered that she stay in bed the remainder of the day to rest the growing bump on the back of her head. He stood up and began walking out of the room before turning around in the door frame.
"It's a lucky think you two have each other," he said, looking from Andrew to Essie. Essie nodded, looking to Andrew, who still had his back to her, as Kloppman left them alone.
They sat through a tense few minutes of silence, neither moving, neither talking. Essie just sat on the bed, thinking about what Kloppman had said. Andrew stood at the end of the bed sulking. Finally, he broke the silence.
"I'm glad you're ok," he said, not turning to face her, "But I just wish you woulda let me help ya. Ya wouldn't have a busted up arm if I had stayed."
"And then what," Essie said. "You woulda gotten tossed around like a salad and we'd both be busted up? I sent ya away cuz he was preoccupied wit me. Ya got a chance to run, so I made ya take it."
"So you can hold ya own against a drunken, grown man?" he asked angrily, turning around to face her. "And I couldn't?"
"You's got a crutch!" she shouted. "You's got a gimp leg!"
"Yeah I do but that don't mean I can't fight," he shouted back. "I don't need nobody to stick up for da crip. I can do just fine on my own."
"Well maybe I can do fine on my own too!" she yelled, not entirely meaning it.
"Well maybe I'll just leave ya wit ya new friends," he said bitterly, hobbling towards the door. "They seems to be taken a liking to ya pretty damn fast. They don't got no room for me in their fancy newsboy lives. I'll be seein ya, maybe." He left the room but Essie shouted after him anyway.
"Fine, then be that way!" she shouted, the anger in her reaching its height. "I hopes ya find new friends who can treats ya betta than I can! Have a nice life!"
She sat back against her pillow and let out a scream of frustration and anger. But as she simmered down, she slowly realized how alone she was now. The empty room felt even emptier by the fact that Andrew had just stormed out on her. They never fought. They always were each other's best friend and loving sibling. She finally came to her senses and hopped out of bed, running down the stairs and out the door.
Her arm was awkward with it tied up against her body as she was running through the streets, asking people if they had seen a boy with a crutch. Finally someone pointed just down the road and she ran after him. She turned the corner and saw Andrew sitting outside the bakery they had been to earlier that day. He was picking at small piece of bread in his hands, hardly eating it, and feeding it to nearby birds. She walked over and sat down on the curb next to him. She nudged his knee with hers.
"Hey," she said.
"Hiya," he responded. A few moments passed as they watched a bird peck at a piece of bread before devouring it.
"Where'd ya get the bread?" she asked.
"The baker threw it da garbage," he said. "It was just sittin there and I was gonna eat it but I wasn't hungry." They sat for another few minutes.
"That wasn't fun," he finally said.
"Sure wasn't," she agreed. "I didn't mean what I said, about how I'd be fine on my own. Cuz I wouldn't be. I needs ya more than ya think." He nodded.
"I needs ya too," he said. "But I did mean what I said. I ain't just no crip wit a bum leg. I'm more than the crutch. You's neva treated me any different before, so why start now?"
"Cuz before we was at home," she said, ripping off a small piece of his bread. She crushed it into crumbs and threw it at the birds. "Sure, pop beat on us most days, but at least there we was expectin it. We knew it was only pop. But on da streets, it's scarier. I don't know what's goin on or sometimes where we are. It's different out here."
"But it ain't," he said. "I'm still the same person I was in our house. In fact, I's a stronger person cuz we left our house. Now, I gots to stand up for myself, make it on my own."
"Ya not on your own, though," she said adamantly. "Ya got me."
"Yeah but not if ya just gonna treat me likes a flower," he said. "I gots to protect ya. I'm ya big brotha."
"Only by a minute," she mumbled, smiling slightly. "But ya don't gots to protect nobody. I'm a big kid too. I can stand up for myself too, ya know."
"I'll tells ya what," he said, tossing the last of the bread to the birds. "We's gonna protect each otha. Cuz that's all we gots. I watch out for you, you watch out for me. Deal?" Essie smiled, then spit on her hand and extended it. Andrew grimaced in disgust.
"It's what da otha boys do," she explained. He shrugged, then spit on his hand and shook hers.
"Afta all, Crutchie," she said, "We's newsies now."
"Shut up, Dollface," he said, ruffling her hair.