I think I have been quite productive recently. Yay! Here's yet another chapter. Shoutout to grapejuice101 for always being the first to review. You're awesome!

Chapter Eleven: Fire Escape

The next morning, I started my day earlier. The previous night I had decided to tie rags into my hair which would hopefully result in beautiful curls when I removed them. There were so many things to do: make my bed, make breakfast, do laundry, make lunch, finish the review of last night's show and turn it into the Sun, get ready for the rally. I had just checked the first item off my list when I decided to allow some more light into my apartment. I threw back the curtains and screamed at the presence of a person curled up out on the fire escape. He immediately began to stir. That was when I realized that it was Jack.

Quickly, I grabbed my robe, throwing it on to cover my nightgown before yanking open the window.

"What are you doing out here?" I squealed. "It's not decent." My fingers were curled around my robe, holding it shut.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you, I just… I didn't know where else tah go."

I touched my hair, for the first time that morning remembering the presence of the rags. What a sight I must have been! And in my nightgown no less!

"What was wrong with the Lodge?"

"Snyder's been looking for me again. I didn't think it would be such a good idea to go back around there so soon."

I took in his rumpled appearance. His hair was sticking up in some places, not combed down as it usually way. Overall, he just looked… ruffled. "Did you sleep out here all night?"

"Yeah."

"Oh dear. Why didn't you stay over at David's? Surely he would have let you…"

"Well, I didn't want to disturb nobody. Besides, it's like the Waldorph out here. Great view. Cool air."

I sighed, trying to get ahold of myself. If my parents caught wind of this… "Go up on the roof. I'll meet you up there in a few minutes."

I waited until he had disappeared from view to close the curtains again so I could get dressed which I did as quickly as possible. After untangling the rags from my hair and throwing some food into a basket, I rushed up the stairs to meet him on top of the roof. I was panting by the time I emerged onto the rooftop. Unaware of my presence, Jack pretended to box with some laundry that was strung up on a clothesline.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, alerting him to my presence.

He turned around, a tad embarrassed, straightening out his clothes to cover up the fact that he had just made an enemy out of a poor pair of socks. "Yeah."

"Good. I brought you food." I set down the basket and began unpacking it, removing some milk, a loaf of bread, and two apples. It wasn't much, but it was enough to fill a belly for a while. Living on my own, I wasn't in the practice of keeping too much food around. I didn't eat much.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Grace, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"It's alright. Really. I was just surprise, that's all. The last thing I expected was to wake up and find someone out on my fire escape. I'm sure waking up to a bunch of screaming wasn't very pleasant."

An uncomfortable silence permeated the air around us as we dug into the food, uncertain of how to proceed.

I finally wised up and broke the silence. "How's the rally going? Did you and David figure everything out?"

"Yeah. Sent out some birdies this mornin'. Medda's excited. She's even having a new set painted an' everything."

"Sounds like you're really stepping into your role as the leader of the strike."

"Well, this is one strike leader who's gonna be very happy when it's all over and I can get outta here and go to Santa Fe. I mean, there's nothing for me to stay for, is there? You know, you should see Santa Fe, everything's different there. It's all bigger. The desert, the sky, the sun…"

My heart sank a little at the realization that he didn't care about me enough to stick around. "As I keep reminding you, it's the same sun and moon as here."

"Yeah, it just looks different."

I nodded solemnly, having lost my appetite. "And different is better?"

"Different is… different."

"I see."

Jack shifted his position. We were both leaning against the wall now. At least he still had his appetite intact. I had resorted to picking at my share of the bread.

"I'm just not used to having whether I stay or whether I go matta to anybody." He stared off in the distance over the city. The sunrise was particularly beautiful this morning. "I'm not saying it should matta to you. I'm just saying, well, does it? Matta?"

"I understand if… I understand if you want to go off to Santa Fe to pursue your dreams. That's what I'm doing here. Ultimately, you have to decide what matters most to you. It shouldn't matter my opinion, but since you're asking it… I'm sorry, I'm rambling. Since you're asking it, I would like you to stay. But I'm not going to stop you from going, if it's going to make you happy. Believe me, I've had my fair share of being told what to do and when to do it and what to give up so that others can prosper. It's not fair to sacrifice your dreams for someone else's happiness. I don't think I'd give up reporting for anything."

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I don't think I've ever hoid you talk this much. Maybe we should start callin' you the Walkin' Mouth."

I giggled, allowing Jack to change the subject to something less grim. "I couldn't steal David's nickname. Besides, I'm not sure he's had it long enough to have learned to respond to it."

"That's probably true."

"I hate to shoo you away, but I have some chores to attend to before the rally tonight. I'm sure you and David have a few more things to attend to as well."

"Yeah. We've gotta go notify Spot Colon about the rally. Apparently, he still makes the birdies a little nervous. Oh, and Grace."

"Yes?"

"You look cute in your nightgown."

I didn't need a mirror to tell that my face had turned bright red with embarrassment. "You really are an impossible boy."

I lightly pushed the laughing Jack before bidding him goodbye. I would see him again soon enough. At the rally.