Still Ember's POV
"I don't want her—" I was really annoyed at Kit. This time she wasn't listening to me.
"Well, I am da leader and I say—" Kit tried to get a word in.
"You know I know dat, I jus—" I kept cutting Kit off as she did to me.
"Would ya let me finish?"
"Nah. Why can't ya put her in Monkey's empty bunk?"
"It's a top bunk Ember, she would probably fall off it."
"That ain't my problem Kit, nor is it yours."
"Hey, you may not be a leadah, but I'se sure am. And a leadah gots ta look out fer deir goils."
"Yeah? Well I gots ta look out fer meself."
"So where are ya gonna go?"
"I ain't goin' anywhere. Blossom's da one dat gots ta go."
Blossom's POV
"Blossom's da one dat gots ta go." I heard it. I didn't want to, but I did. I peeked around the corner and saw Kit, the girl who brought me in, and Ember, the girl who introduced herself to me. She seemed so nice just last night. I don't know why Ember thinks I have to leave.
"It's not up to—" I hear Kit start, but then I walk in. "Hey Blossom!" Kit said a full smile on her face as if she wasn't just talking about me. Ember smirked a little, but otherwise ignored me.
"Hi Ember!" I said, trying to get her to say something. Ember kept ignoring me.
"Wait, you know Ember?" Kit seemed confused at this. I ignored the fact that she was just talking about me to Ember.
"Yeah, she introduced herself to me last night." I tried to smile at her. It was not returned.
"I didn't know that." Kit said, almost glaring at Ember.
"It was a dare." Ember said simply. She clearly didn't care that I thought she actually was being nice to me then.
"Right," Kit said, as if it were a natural thing to say. "Anyways, we gotta go sell. You comin'?" Kit asked me.
"Yes." I nod, eyeing Ember a bit. I hope she sells with us, I do want to know her a bit better.
The three of us headed out into vaguely familiar streets. As we walked I tried to remember the way, but every block of buildings looked the same as the next. I gave up and decided to talk to Ember again. "So, do you have any family Ember?"
"No." Ember said very quickly, very harshly. "I don't. And you would be wise not to ask that question again. To anyone." I didn't understand what she was doing. I guess she was helping me, but in a very mean way.
"Why not?" I prompt, hoping to get Ember to speak again.
"Because it ain't somethin' youse talk about wit newsies." Kit was the one who replied to my question. Kit wasn't as touchy as Ember, but they both had the same sort of seriousness in their voices.
"Okay." I said, rather quietly. "So, how long have you been a newsie?" I asked, hoping this question was more acceptable.
"Would ya stop askin' me stupid questions?" Ember asked me, sparks flying between us.
"She ain't askin' where youse from. Just answer her question." Kit said, trying to neutralize the tensions.
"Fine." Ember said, but she clearly didn't like following Kit's orders as I had seen everyone else do. "I've been a newsie…" she counted on her fingers than came up with "fer six months."
I didn't really know how long I planned to be a newsie, certainly not as long as six months. We walked down to the distributors and I recognized a few of the boys I had met only a few days ago. I smiled and waved at the ones I remembered, Racetrack, Specs, Mush, and even Jack. Most of them waved back.
"So the boys like you?" The voice behind me was Ember's. It was sort of a surprised tone, but at the same time almost as if she knew something I didn't.
I turned around to face her. "Yes, they do." I was trying to be sweet but there was a lot of annoyance ringing through.
Ember just smiled back at me, not honestly, but sweetly. "Glad to hear it." Now I wanted to know what she knew that I didn't. Really badly, but I was not about to give into Ember. I don't know what her problem was, but I hadn't done anything to her.
Kit bought 120 papers. I put my 10 pennies on the counter and a stack of twenty papers was passed to me. I took them then quickly moved out of Ember's way. I followed Kit down a few blocks until we stopped at a corner across from a park. One I had never seen before.
Ember had not followed us, but I almost wished she had. I managed to sell all of my papers with the help of Kit. I was starting to get the hang of this. It was about dinner time when Kit and I both finished selling. She lead me down more winding blocks until we came to a café place called Tibby's.
"Can we have lunch or something? I'm so hungry." I complain to Kit. She laughs, but then sees that I am serious.
"That's what we're doing here."
"Oh." We walked inside. The café was buzzing with noise, newsies filled the room. I saw Mush and Racetrack sitting at a table with a few other vaguely familiar newsies. Mush saw me and waved. I looked over to see Kit had abandoned me, so I walked over to sit with them. "Hello." I said casually.
"How've ya been?" Mush asked me, "Are dem goils treatin' ya well?" I wasn't sure what to say, Kit was nice enough, Ember was mean, and all of the other girls ignored me.
"Well, I haven't really gotten to know anyone yet." I said with a smile, which everyone could see through.
"Yeah, so—" Racetrack stopped talking mid-sentence. He froze for a second then said, "Hiya Cowboy."
"Hiya boys." Jack said, pushing his cowboy hat back off his head. "Blossom." Jack nodded to me. I wasn't sure what to say. I wanted to say sorry, I like Jack. I also remembered that I hadn't done anything wrong. If anyone said something it would be him. "How've ya been? Kit been nice to ya?"
"Yes." I say politely and noncommittally. "It's all pretty good." Everyone can feel the odd sparks and tension between the two of us. Though I doubt any of them know why, even Jack.
"Well, if you ever need us, we're dere fer ya. Just remember dat okay?" Jack said to me. I doubt this is something he says to everyone. I take it mostly as an apology.
"I will." I nod, "Thank you." I smile at him. In some odd way, things just fixed themselves. Jack left us and joined another group of newsies. The boys around me just stared blankly.
"So Racetrack… how were the races today?" I asked trying to break the silence that was bothering me.
"Fine." For usually being talkative, this was odd. "I made a ton sellin' papes, but I lost most of me bets." Finally, he was talking. "But it's okay 'cause I broke even." He smiled at me, I guess trying to be friendly.
"So how is your pape sellin' going?" Mush asked me, handing me half of his sandwich, seeing the hunger on my face as I had watched him eat.
"Good, thank you." I said, taking a bite. It was a soggy sandwich, nothing like the small cucumber tea sandwiches I was used to. "I sold twenty papers today." I said.
"Dat's pretty good fer starters." Mush said, though I could tell that he usually sells at least five times the amount I sold. Mush liked being nice to me, regardless of the others. I liked that.
"Hey Mush!" a boy came to our table I don't know him, but Mush and Racetrack clearly do.
"Hiya." Racetrack said, his mouth full of food.
"There's gonna be a party tonight a Medda's. Fancy and such." The boy said, clearly excited for this event. Racetrack and Mush lit up at the news.
"Really?" Mush asked, though I don't think he would have cared if the boy said no at this point.
"Yeah, and Medda's gonna sing." The boy said, before bounding off to tell others.
"Medda…" one of the boys I didn't know at the end of the table drooled a bit as he said this.
"Who's Medda and what's the big deal?" I asked, not understanding how a party was such a big deal for the boys. Didn't they do such things all the time. I certainly had.
"What's the big deal?" Racetrack asked, slightly appalled.
Mush pushed him away with a gentle shove. "Ya see Blossom, Medda is dis great singer whose a friend a Cowboy's."
"Cowboy?" I asked, I had never heard of this newsie before. I wonder who he could be.
"Jack." Mush said plainly, "Anyways, she hosts parties fer us sometimes and dey are always really fun."
"Do you dance?" I could hardly imagine the slums of New York at a ball anything like the ones I had been to. It seemed impossible.
"Yeah, a bit." Mush shrugged, "You mostly, ya know, talk and listen ta Medda. Dat is, 'less ya gots a date wit da mayor's daugtah or somethin'."