Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie, "Newsies." The only character in this story that I own is Silver.
Hey guys. Okay, so to be honest I'm a bit worried about posting this chapter. See, there's sort of a huge plot twist and stuff kind of switches around a whole lot, so I'm not sure if you'll like it. But I promise, if you guys stick with this story it should get a little better.
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It was roughly a week and a half since I had gotten to the refuge. I heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hall, but I didn't bother moving from my spot on the bed. Guards came up and down the halls all the time, so I didn't think anything of it. I continued to stare up at the ceiling until I heard the sound of a key unlocking a door.
The same officer who had caught me with the wallet was standing in the open doorway. "You Silvia?" he asked. My real name was rarely used by anyone besides the orphanage caretaker, so it seemed strange to me. I nodded slowly.
"Come with me." he ordered. Skeptically getting to my feet, I wandered over to where he was standing. He grabbed the sleeve of my shirt and pulled me down the halls and out of the refuge, leading me to a parked carriage similar to the one I had arrived in. Shutting the door to the back of the carriage, he locked me in.
At first I didn't know where we were going, but then I recognized that the route we were taking was the same one back to the orphanage. My thoughts were confirmed when we slowed to a stop in front of the sign that read "The Manhattan Orphanage."
Grasping my sleeve again, the cop dragged me out of the carriage and up the front stairs of the building. He knocked hard on the door and we waited.
Eventually, the door creaked open and I saw a familiar face. It was Ella, my best friend. Her mouth curled slightly into a smile when she saw me, but her pale face fell again when she saw the cop standing next to me. "Excuse me... May I speak to the caretaker of this orphanage?" He asked.
Before answering, Ella nervously glanced at me. I nodded reassuringly, although to be honest I had no clue what was going on myself. "Yeah... sure." She muttered, opening the door enough for both the cop and I to step in.
Ella disappeared up the familiar winding staircase. The entrance room of the orphanage hadn't changed the least bit since I first arrived there when I was 9. Everything in the room was wood, from the floor planks to the long panels on the wall. Even though the room was a bit dim and dusty, it was kept particularly neat.
The caretakers' desk was pushed off to the side near the staircase and there were a couple old couches near the fireplace, but none of the children ever stayed down there. Most of the time, the younger kids were kept upstairs. All the children over the age of 13 were allowed outside unaccompanied, but we had to be back before dark.
Ella didn't come back down. However, I heard the old stairs creak and looked up to see Mrs. VanWyck, the caretaker at the orphanage. She had been there for as long as anyone could remember. Mrs. VanWyck looked like she was in her 60's, with her tired eyes and her grey hair that was always pulled tightly back into a bun. Judging by her title and the fact that no one had ever seen her husband, the children at the orphanage all assumed that she was a widow, though no one ever dared to ask.
It wasn't that Mrs. VanWyck was mean, exactly. But she was stern. Her rules were her rules, and they weren't to be broken. She wouldn't deal with kids' antics, and we knew that. So most of us chose just not to get into trouble.
But I had managed to break that rule. Once again. As Mrs. VanWyck got to the bottom of the staircase, she didn't say anything to me. She simply shot me a strict glare and looked over at the cop. "Hello... Is there a problem?" She asked, obviously aware that there was since I hadn't bothered to come back over the past week.
"Yes, actually. There is, Mrs..." He started, letting his voice fade out. "VanWyck." She reminded him. The cop nodded once. "Mrs. VanWyck." He repeated. "We caught this girl here pick-pocketing someone on the street. She would have snatched the man's wallet if we hadn't seen her." He stated.
"Silvia!" Mrs. VanWyck scolded. "What do you have to say for yourself!?" She asked, appalled. I thought about reminding her, once again, to call me either "Silver" or "Dawn", but then I thought better of it. I was in enough trouble as it was. "I didn't do it!" I protested. Her look turned sinister as she crossed her arms. "That is what you said last time." She reminded me. "But this time I really didn't do it!" I pleaded.
"Hush. I hate when children whine." She told me, turning away from me and towards the cop. "I assume she's been in the refuge for the past week and a half, officer?" She asked. The officer nodded. "Alright..." Mrs. VanWyck sighed. "I'm quite sorry for the inconvenience. I'll make positively sure that she doesn't get into any more trouble."
The cop looked down at me with a look of disgust on his face. "I'm afraid that won't be enough, Mrs. VanWyck. The refuge has been looking through their files, and it seems that this isn't the first time that Silvia's been placed in the refuge." He stated. "Is that correct?"
I nodded slowly, dropping my gaze to the floor. "The warden of the refuge has suggested that she be kept under a watchful eye all the time. Silvia is not to be permitted to leave this orphanage unless given permission by either myself, the warden, or any other enforcer of the law."
"What?!" I exclaimed, my head snapping up at his mandatory proposal. "It's either that or she's back to the refuge." The officer said, ignoring my outburst. "Of course, Officer. I'll be sure that she doesn't leave here."
"Thank you for your cooperation, Mrs. VanWyck. Have a nice day." He said, stepping outside and closing the door after him. The clicking shut of the door seemed to echo in the heavy air. With my hands in my pockets, I avoided Mrs. VanWyck's gaze as she stared down at me. Finally after a few "tsk tks"s and a sigh, she walked over to the stairs. "Come on." She muttered.
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It's short. I know. But if I can I'll try to post another chapter later on tonight. Thanks for reading and please review if you can!
ktkakes: Thanks (yet again) for the great review! I love how they're always so long and I appreciate the fact that you take the time to write them. I'm glad you like it!
SantaFeDreamer: Haha to be honest, before I started writing this I was actually contemplating making this another Mush story... But I figured I already had two and Blink seemed like he would fit better into the storyline. Thanks for the wonderful review, as always! As for your stories, I think you should definitely put one up here. I was nervous about posting my first story as well, but everyone's gotta start somewhere, right? I'll be looking out for it :D
Passionate Fire: Yep, I sure am :D lol. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing... People who come in after the first few chapters have been posted tend to not review, but I really appreciate that you did. Thanks for the dialogue comment, as well. Sometimes I feel like some of the dialogue I write is sorta corny, and it really bugs me because I'm one of those people who think that what the characters say is one of the most important things. It helps to know that you like it :)
Trignifty: Thanks for the review! I hope you keep reading. (puppy dog eyes) haha.
Spinner: Aw, thanks :) I'm so glad you like it. I'm a Blink fan, too, although Mush happens to be my favorite. Those abs... ::Drools.:: Okay, sorry. Anyway, No, I'm not the same Silver from "The Stars." However, I am reading that story and it's way good, isn't it?. :D By the way, I got a kick out of your "Happy dances" in the last review, lol!
Pippa Kelly: lol yep, we are. I was up until nearly 5 AM reading your story, and (as you can probably tell from the multiple reviews) I think it's really good. And, yeah, reading newsies fan fictions really early in the morning has kind of become one of my past times haha. That is funny about the depth-character-kat-review thing. Guess we think alike :). Anyway, thanks for the review!
