Disclaimer: We don't own Newsies (but, God willing, we will at some point). We own Maggie, Gwen, and any other characture that wasn't in Newsies.

"Qwen, I ain't heard that name before." Spot, my new "teacher" commented.
"Not many people have. How old are you Blots?" I looked up into his deep entrancing eyes.

"It's Spot. And I ain't gonna tell ya till ya tell me how old you are." He stubbornly crossed his arms.
"Fine then. I am fifteen years old." I stuck out my chin proudly.
"Tsk, too young and too short." He shook his head.
" 'Scuse me? What's that supposed to mean?" I shoved my hands on my hips.
"Exactly what I said." He walked by me examining the five dollars.
"I ain't! I've already told ya I am barley shorter than you!" I followed stomping.
He chuckled, "Yeah, by a foot!" He grinned.
"More like two inches." I stopped right in front of him, glaring.
"Oy, Counts! How shorter is Shorty than me?" Counts was a tall gangly boy. He carried a large stick with different markings carved on it. He held up the stick to me then to Spot.
"Hmm. Almost four inches. Well, I don't think we've been properly introduced, my lady." Counts bowed.
"Don't even think about it." Spot grabbed Counts by the ear tossing him into the water.
"Oy! That ain't the way to- treat me after- I helped ya!" Spot gurgled.
"What does it matter how tall I am? Are you looking for a specific girl to come for you to sweep her off her feet or something?" I was trying to hide my massive curiosity.
"Not exactly." Spot sat down.
"Not exactly? That means I got some of it right?"
"Are you going back to Manhattan?"
"Uh, what?"
"It would get tiring for you to run back and forth, so why don't you stay here?"
"Here? I don't have a home here."
"C'mon I'll show ya where you'll stay" The place was one level but quite large. It was able to fit at least thirty people. It was made of wood with fifteen bunk beds.
"Do you expect me to feel comfortable rooming with thirty men!" I was appalled.
"Well, you'll have your own room." Spot opened a door to a small room with one bed a desk and a candle. The tiny window had a perfect view of Brooklyn.
"Oh wow! This is amazing!" I spun around excited by the thought that I had my own room.
"Don't worry none of them fellows wouldn't dare come in here while I'm around." He seemed a little full of himself at the time.

"Who was here before?" I gazed out of the window.
"Oh, this is a-guest room."

"Alright, so when do we start?" I hopped down from the desk.

"Tomorrow. So explore the city and um, rest up." He grinned.
"What about you?" I cocked my head.
"I have some things to take care of. Um, don't go down dark alleys while you're on your own. Stick to the roofs." He left.

"Wake up, Shorty! Rise and shine. C'mon now, WAKE UP!" Hands shoved down on my body jolting me up.
"Huh? What time izzit." I rubbed my eyes only seeing blurs.
"It's mornin'. So get up, get dressed, we are about to have breakfast." The person left my room. I sat up and looked outside. This wasn't Manhattan.
"What happened? Oh yeah, I got my wish in getting two months of training with Blots." I got dressed and left the room. Everyone was rushing toward a table in the back. My vision cleared. "Oy! Glider! Move over a bit"
"I can't! I'm already on the edge"
"What's for breakfast Spot"
"What do ya think is on the table!" Noise. Nothing but men shouting at one another. I took a seat by Counts and Glider. Glider was famous for elegant roof jumping without a sound made. I looked to see a small portion of eggs and a slice of toast.
"Does anyone have any pepper?" I asked still half asleep. The room was silent, then a roar of laughter echoed throughout the country.
"What's so funny?" I asked rubbing my eyes.
"We haven't had pepper since...then." Counts whispered.
"Then?"
"Yeah. Spot was with a newer newsie when the bulls came round." Glider shoveled food in his mouth like it was going to sprout legs and run off.
"They was gonna to arrest the lil' fellow. What was his name?" Counts ate neatly.
"I think he was called, um, Wes." Glider said.
"Oh him. Well, Wes disarmed Spot for some reason. So Spot had to fling pepper into the bull's eyes. Later Wes ran off taking Spots precious knife. So Spot hunted him down, got the knife back then shoved Wes's mouth with pepper before shoving him into the water." Counts started laughing.
"Oh the look on Wes's face." Glider looked as if he was remembering a day when he had mounds of money. I ate quietly listening to the stories of the Brooklyners. They were all very interesting, their times with Spot. I wonder how much of a pain it would be, obviously we didn't like each other very much. I knew we could handle it, somehow I knew.
"Alright everyone, let's go sell us some papes!" Spot announced. Everyone shouted in delight leaving to earn some money.
"You, too." Spot gripped my shoulder leading me out.
"Huh? What-why?" I quickly finished my toast.
"You need to earn your keep here so, sell papes." He led me to a little shop with "Newspapers" printed on it with big bold letters.

I sighed, "Oh fine, Blots"
"Spot! Hundred papes on the double!" Spot barked.
"Here, next!" The man shouted.
"Seventy." I placed my coins on the counter.
"Well, now. Ain't you a sight! Fine I'll give you two extra papes for a kiss." The guy was clearly an eater (if you know what I mean)
"Just give me my papes you pig!" I punctured his hand with a sharpened needle.
"AGHHH! HERE, HERE TAKE IT AND LEAVE!" The man's voiced skipped up two octaves. I got my papes and my needle and left.
"Shouldn't have done that Shorty." Spot shook his head, but he was hiding a grin, and a laugh.
"Why do you say that?" I crossed my arms looking in through the paper.
"You got spunk, I'll give ya that. I know it will be very interesting to teach you la-" Spot began.
"Have you ever wondered if there was such thing as a invisible wedding dress?" I asked absent-mindedly.
"What? No I-"
"I gotta go. I'll see you later." I trotted off leaving Spot with a puzzled look on his face. I found a large crowd of very rich men.
"Eh-hem. E-excuse me gentlemen. I was wondering if you heard the latest news in the paper." I had learned long ago how to talk "properly" from when Mush could remember.
"Well, we read that there was a large fire at the cathedral and were just talking about that now." The eldest man rasped.

"Oh, no not that. There is a man loose around here with a bounty of ten grand. If you buy a paper you'll find it." I told it somewhat truthfully, a man was released that had a bounty of fifty dollars.
"Hmm. I'll buy two. How much is it?" A light haired man with large teeth spoke.
"Ten cents each." I answered.
"Ten cents! That's an outrage!" He stomped several times in frustration.
I sighed, "Fine. Guess you won't be able to defend yourself from the cold killer. He can't be seen and can pick locks like no other. Oh, well." I turned around pretending to leave.
"Wait girl! I'll buy one." The old man rasped.
"Ten cents please." I held out my hand patiently waiting. He dug through his purse and picked out the precise coins. I accepted them along with the five others that the other men gave me in exchange for papes. I bowed my head, walked up the street then dashed when I turned at the corner. The men chased after me (those who could at least) in outrage. Someone grabbed my arm.
"What are you doing." Spot hissed.
"Selling papes! Why have you gone blind, Blots?" I grinned.
He frowned, "Spot"
"Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes.
"Over there!" A man shouted.
"We need to go." I grabbed Spot's hand and ran. "Rooftops! Rooftops!" Spot shouted. He jumped up using garbage heaps as steps, pulling me along.
"Should we keep running?" I panted slightly.
"For a few houses." Spot paused. I jumped to roof on the left and kept running in that direction, Spot on my heels. "We can stop now." Spot pulled my shoulder stopping me.
"Oh, thank you." I sat down.
"What were you thinking!" Spot shouted.
"What do you mean? Jack Kelly stretches the truth all the time!" I looked around us wondering what time it was.
"Yeah but he doesn't rip off their money and then steal some more."
"What? I didn't steal any money"
"Then why was your hand in that guys pocket?" He sat down next to me.
I frowned, "It wasn't." Pause.
"Maybe some kid was pick pocketing for a coin or two." I whispered. Spot stayed silent. "Why do you care so much? Jack stole." I looked at him. He looked distant and troubled.
"That was when he had to. This is different, this is stealing just to have it." He blinked the gaze in his eyes gone.
"Well, we got a thief on our hands. So what do we do?" I asked.
"You mean what do I do. You stay out of this." He stood up and walked to the edge.
"What? Why?" I jumped up.
Spot coolly spun on his heel, "Because you are still untrained and can do nothing at the moment" I pouted and leaned to one side cocking my head. A different expression masked his face, one that I hadn't seen before.
"Fine. Let's finish selling papes and get on with lessons." I climbed down. I looked both ways, neither of them familiar. Spot grabbed my arm and dragged me in the right direction. Papes were sold, money was collected and everyone went back none the wiser. I could tell Spot was still thinking about the thief possibility. It worried me a bit, but it angered me more for him to say that I couldn't do anything.
"Oy, Blots! NOW are we going to do lessons?" I asked sounding irritated.

"We need to do one more thing then we will." He smiled a smirk and raced off to find Glider. At home everyone was splitting their money in half. I walked around and found Counts with a metal box on his lap.
"Hey Counts. What's going on?" I sat down beside him.
"Oh! Hey Pepper. Spot has everyone put half their money to food." Counts began excepting coins from people.
"Wow, that's, wait, Pepper? Since when was I Pepper?" I asked separating my own money.
"Ever since this mornin'," He chuckled, "We knew that Spot called you Shorty and that you hated it. So, we thought it was best to give you a name. Now that I think about it you never told us your real name." Counts explained.
"It's Qwen, I thought Spot told everyone." I handed him half my money.
"No he didn't. Anyway it'll be fun having you around." He shook my hand once and got back to his job.
"Is that everyone?" Spot asked.
Counts counted up the coins, "Yup. We're done here, now don't do anything crazy while you two are out." He grinned. The other guys laughed and "oohed.
"Ah, shaddup, Ma." Spot led me out of the door.
"Finally lessons. So what do we do first"
"First to warm up we'll do roof jumps. Then after that we'll start with the basics.
"What? Oh, fine you're the teacher." We climbed up to a roof higher than the ones we were on before.
"Follow my lead, and uh, don't fall." He leapt gracefully as if his feet were feathers on springs. Following him was harder than it sounded. He moved quickly without so much as a tap. I, on the other hand, only had two choices; move quietly and slowly or fast with the stomps of my feet.
"Oh, c'mon Shorty. You can do better than that." He called.
"I just make a bunch of noise! How do I not?" I shouted.
"Think you are a feather and nothing else." He stopped ten yards ahead waiting impatiently for me. I inhaled and exhaled slowly trying to clear my mind of thoughts. I pictured a feather, curved, white as snow, pure as an angel. I jumped again and again. Before I knew it, Spots was staring at me in the face.
"What?" I asked. He gazed at me in a wonder that made me feel uneasy.
"You sure learn fast. Okay, now, you see that peaked roof by the water?" It looked like a Chinese temple without walls. "That's where you'll learn. So get a move on." We made our way to the temple. It was above water without a hole anywhere. "Let's begin. Through a punch, don't cock your wrist like that. If you hit something you'll just hurt yourself. Keep it level, now try again." Spot made sure that I did not do anything wrong.
"Okay, here's a tip I learned from an old friend of mine. If you use the heel of your hand and thrust up into someone's nose you'll probably break the nose." He showed me how to use this technique. Throughout the punches he criticized me so often, it was like I did everything wrong. "No, no, no! You're still doing it wrong! Geez! Why'd I accept your offer?" He walked around covering his forehead in one hand shaking his head.
"Don't shout at me! You ain't exactly a very good teacher." I scoffed.
"Well, you ain't a good student." We stared at each other, for who knows how long. He thought I was going to learn these quick and easy, but I wasn't.
"How high-"
"What color is mahogany?" I interrupted.

"What? A- red brown mixture. Why?"

"Well, is it a redish-brown or a brownish-red?"
"Does that matter?"
"If it's a redish-brown that means there's more red than brown. If it's a brownish-red there would be more brown than red." I explained.
"Never mind. How high can you kick?I kicked about to my waist.
"Okay we will also do leg stretches. This is going to be a long four hours." He gazed at the ceiling as if he talked to gods.
"Two." I corrected.
"What?"
"There's still two ours left"
"Do you think there's such thing as a green light?"
He laughed, "Let's get this over with"

This training went on for about a week. I had gotten to know Spot better. He was seventeen, used to have a sister until something happened and has known Jack Kelly for five years and drew pictures. I strutted back from my evening stroll. I whispered whispers and laughs inside the house. I opened the door and walked into a dead silent room of grinning boys.
"What's going on?" I eyed them suspicion written plain across my face.
"Nothing." They said in unison. I knew almost exactly what they were talking about.
"Nothing? I doubt that from the looks on your faces. Don't worry I'll leave you guys to your 'lady' chat. Not that I approve, but I never knew a thing." I grinned evilly and I closed the door to my room. I saw a charcoal picture that Spot had done. It had a blurry figure of a woman, sitting ontop of a lake during the full moon. I looked closer and saw that it wasn't a woman but an angel. She held her head in her hands. There was a knock on my door. I looked up from the detailed drawing.
"Pepper? Can I come in?"
"No Counts! Last time you stole my clothes! What's so important to be coming in here so late at night?" I forced a grin back. It was quite a battle of chase to win against Counts.
"It's a letter." I jumped up and threw the door open. I was welcomed by the sight of every guy in this house. "Geez, I knew you wore men clothes, but at night too? Ooh. You are strange" I snatched the letter from Counts, eyeing every newsie. I slammed the door and tore apart the envelope. I smiled at how well Maggie knew me. I felt as if I hadn't seen her in years.
Maggie,
I'm so sorry about your nightmare! Well, if you shake Mush long and hard enough he'll wake up. Maybe something like that happened. Anyway, it's just a dream it won't come true. Even if it's a prognosticate dream it doesn't always turn out the way someone thinks. Besides isn't your dad dead? I'm sorry that I'm not around at a time like this. I'll come home soon, (hopefully) but I will come back! So DON'T worry, everything is all right. Have you told Jack?
Training with Spot has gotten harder, but it's good. He still hasn't stopped calling me Shorty. Also he is not Spotty-Boy. But then again I shouldn't even say it considering I call him Blots. Everyone else calls me Pepper.
I think he's at the point of strangling me, but it feels like something's holding him back. I can't explain, let alone know what I mean. It's strange living with a bunch of guys without you. Don't worry I have my own room! I also have the "protection" of Spot. Tee-hee. It's funny how he thinks he's all high and mighty. Enough about that.
Has Jack driven you crazy with the 2-MONTH ANNIVERSARY? Don't kill me. So, how do you feel about him and Sarah? Whenever I try to talk to about it you always say something else like "do you think frog legs taste good?" or something like that. I REALLY want to know!
How's Mush and the gang? Anything strange going on? There's a thief in town, but Spot says I can't help. GRRRRRRRRR it frustrates me!
Well, I hope to see ya soon.
Qwen

I sealed the envelope and gave it to the mail runner, Dash. I walked back into my room getting ready for bed. There was a slight thump on the roof. I opened my window silently and cautiously crept out. It was Spot! He had some types of weapons on him, looking around like a fox. Then he sprinted off on some kind of mission.
Against my better judgment, I followed trying to blend with the cold night, run as if I had wings, and plan a course of action.

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