Serce was rather jolly after her little episode with Focks at the DC. The
darkened streets of old New York C didn't even look so gloomy as she traced
her steps along to the lodging house. She paused outside the door for a
minute, just letting all the sounds come to her before she went in to them.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed her way inside, content with the jingling
of coins in her trouser pocket. Sure, half of it was money she had this
morning, not money she made during the day but hey, whatever wasn't a loss
was a gain to her.
A blonde figure was rushing by the stairs, laughing madly at something that remained invisible to the naked -rather the untrained, eye. Serce smiled at the boy's vivid amusement and caught him by the shirt cuff before he passed her by. "Heya Dutchboy," she started jokingly, "whatcha doin'?" Dutchy attempted to catch his breath and reply at the same time, "I'se jist. messin' around wid someone." "Not easy to tell," Serce replied ironically, while scanning the rest of the place for someone. "Lookin' fer yer feisty lil' friend?" Dutchy inquired laughingly, running a hand through his disheveled hair. A look of astonishment came into Serce's eyes. "Glittah?" she asked in disbelief, "dat 'scared lil' bundle', as Cowboy put it?" Dutchy nodded enthusiastically. "Yup, dat's her. Almost ran me ovah, den gave me a daggah look and spiky words because she t'ought I said boys can't sew. Must be off attackin' someone else." With that and a wink, he dashed off before Serce had time to let all of this sink in. Glittah? she thought to herself, still not understanding. All of a sudden Snoddy burst out of nowhere, knocking her, and any further wonderings, to the ground with a loud war whoop.
A different hue of blonde hair and a rather feminine voice pronouncing an "OOOF!" were what made him notice that he hadn't tackled Dutchy. "SERCE!" he practically screamed, "SORRY!". "Gah!! Snoddy what da hell are ya screamin' in my eah for?" she replied. Sheepishly, he got up and extended an embarrassed hand towards her. She hesitated for a moment, glancing at his hand, then helped herself up. It wasn't meant as an insult, and he didn't take it as one. An awkward moment of silence ensued, till he broke it with the question he must've been dying to ask, "Have you." "He went dat way," she replied with a point of her finger. Almost instantly, Snoddy fled in the same direction, thanking her over his shoulder. "Sheesh. Less den five minutes in dis nut hole are enough to see dat some t'ings'll nevah change." she said with a chuckle.
An unusual sight caught her attention: behind the front desk, the door to Kloppmann's room was ajar. What was unusual about this was the fact that that door always seemed to be either fully open, or fully shut. Never in between. Curiosity overtaking her, she crossed the short distance to the door and paused outside it for a moment. Deep breathing and an ever-so-soft snoring could be heard, if one were to stop and listen, as she was doing. It was so muffled, though, that she believed she was the first and only person to have noticed it so far. Ever so quietly, she poked the door so that it would open just a little bit more. Inside, fast asleep with her head lightly tilted on the bed, Glitter sat on the floor. Some sort of attempted needlework lay beside her; Serce recognized it as being the ratty old dress Glitter had been wearing when she first found her.
The girl was a contrasting image of peace, carelessly sleeping in such an awkward manner. Last night hadn't been a very restful one for her; all the girls in the bunkroom had heard her soft crying very late into the night. Seeing her sleeping here, now, showed not only that she was as tired as she refused to admit in the morning, but that she had finally let her guard down a bit. Serce took this as a good sign, sighing with relief. As Jack had guessed, she felt responsible for Glitter in some way or other, and was prepared to take her on as a sister. It was odd how she knew the girl for less than 48 hours, but felt like she had known her for her whole life. She turned to leave but accidentally kicked the door on her way out, making a rather loud noise in the, until then, rather quiet room. "Dang it!" she muttered under her breath, turning to see if she had disturbed Glitter's sleep.
Hearing the sound, the younger girl woke up with a jerk, looking around the room hurriedly. "Wh-who's there?" she stammered. Serce poked her head back inside and flashed her a smile. "Hey kid," she said gently, "whadda ya hear, whadda ya say?" Glitter rubbed the sleep from her eyes and attempted to smile back, "Serce! You're back.what time is it?" "It's aftah dark," Serce replied, taking a seat on the bed. Glitter got up and hastily balled up her dress, half-concealing it behind her back. The tired newsie understood what she was doing, and asked no questions. There was no point in pushing the subject, really; if she wanted to talk, she'd talk. "So, how was the rest of the working day?" Glitter inquired. "Not so great," Serce responded with a sigh, "but it's all taken care of now."
The question reminded her of the decision she had made earlier on, about Glitter having to work the streets with her tomorrow. She didn't really know how to break it to her, though, and wasn't really in the mood for trying at the moment. "Say, I'se starvin'. Ya wanna see if dere's anyt'in left ta eat in that big mess hall dey call a kitchen?" Now it was Glitter's turn to flash a smile. "I'd love to. I just have to put these things away and, I'll be there in a minute, okay?" "Shoah, see ya dere." Serce left the room, while Glitter stayed behind and tidily put away the needle and rest of thread.
A rapid glance at her dress would tell her not only that she had slept for a long time, and worked for little, but that she just had to admit the article was beyond repair. It would just have to be put away somewhere, kept merely for treasuring sake. She did decide, however, that she was at least going to wash it, so it could be kept nice and clean. "Hmm..maybe I should go ask Mr. Blondie where the soap for washing clothes is." she thought to herself, and giggled. Just before turning out the lamp, and leaving the room, she stopped and stared back in another brief moment of marvel at the humble and simple, yet timeless and priceless 'decoration'.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A blonde figure was rushing by the stairs, laughing madly at something that remained invisible to the naked -rather the untrained, eye. Serce smiled at the boy's vivid amusement and caught him by the shirt cuff before he passed her by. "Heya Dutchboy," she started jokingly, "whatcha doin'?" Dutchy attempted to catch his breath and reply at the same time, "I'se jist. messin' around wid someone." "Not easy to tell," Serce replied ironically, while scanning the rest of the place for someone. "Lookin' fer yer feisty lil' friend?" Dutchy inquired laughingly, running a hand through his disheveled hair. A look of astonishment came into Serce's eyes. "Glittah?" she asked in disbelief, "dat 'scared lil' bundle', as Cowboy put it?" Dutchy nodded enthusiastically. "Yup, dat's her. Almost ran me ovah, den gave me a daggah look and spiky words because she t'ought I said boys can't sew. Must be off attackin' someone else." With that and a wink, he dashed off before Serce had time to let all of this sink in. Glittah? she thought to herself, still not understanding. All of a sudden Snoddy burst out of nowhere, knocking her, and any further wonderings, to the ground with a loud war whoop.
A different hue of blonde hair and a rather feminine voice pronouncing an "OOOF!" were what made him notice that he hadn't tackled Dutchy. "SERCE!" he practically screamed, "SORRY!". "Gah!! Snoddy what da hell are ya screamin' in my eah for?" she replied. Sheepishly, he got up and extended an embarrassed hand towards her. She hesitated for a moment, glancing at his hand, then helped herself up. It wasn't meant as an insult, and he didn't take it as one. An awkward moment of silence ensued, till he broke it with the question he must've been dying to ask, "Have you." "He went dat way," she replied with a point of her finger. Almost instantly, Snoddy fled in the same direction, thanking her over his shoulder. "Sheesh. Less den five minutes in dis nut hole are enough to see dat some t'ings'll nevah change." she said with a chuckle.
An unusual sight caught her attention: behind the front desk, the door to Kloppmann's room was ajar. What was unusual about this was the fact that that door always seemed to be either fully open, or fully shut. Never in between. Curiosity overtaking her, she crossed the short distance to the door and paused outside it for a moment. Deep breathing and an ever-so-soft snoring could be heard, if one were to stop and listen, as she was doing. It was so muffled, though, that she believed she was the first and only person to have noticed it so far. Ever so quietly, she poked the door so that it would open just a little bit more. Inside, fast asleep with her head lightly tilted on the bed, Glitter sat on the floor. Some sort of attempted needlework lay beside her; Serce recognized it as being the ratty old dress Glitter had been wearing when she first found her.
The girl was a contrasting image of peace, carelessly sleeping in such an awkward manner. Last night hadn't been a very restful one for her; all the girls in the bunkroom had heard her soft crying very late into the night. Seeing her sleeping here, now, showed not only that she was as tired as she refused to admit in the morning, but that she had finally let her guard down a bit. Serce took this as a good sign, sighing with relief. As Jack had guessed, she felt responsible for Glitter in some way or other, and was prepared to take her on as a sister. It was odd how she knew the girl for less than 48 hours, but felt like she had known her for her whole life. She turned to leave but accidentally kicked the door on her way out, making a rather loud noise in the, until then, rather quiet room. "Dang it!" she muttered under her breath, turning to see if she had disturbed Glitter's sleep.
Hearing the sound, the younger girl woke up with a jerk, looking around the room hurriedly. "Wh-who's there?" she stammered. Serce poked her head back inside and flashed her a smile. "Hey kid," she said gently, "whadda ya hear, whadda ya say?" Glitter rubbed the sleep from her eyes and attempted to smile back, "Serce! You're back.what time is it?" "It's aftah dark," Serce replied, taking a seat on the bed. Glitter got up and hastily balled up her dress, half-concealing it behind her back. The tired newsie understood what she was doing, and asked no questions. There was no point in pushing the subject, really; if she wanted to talk, she'd talk. "So, how was the rest of the working day?" Glitter inquired. "Not so great," Serce responded with a sigh, "but it's all taken care of now."
The question reminded her of the decision she had made earlier on, about Glitter having to work the streets with her tomorrow. She didn't really know how to break it to her, though, and wasn't really in the mood for trying at the moment. "Say, I'se starvin'. Ya wanna see if dere's anyt'in left ta eat in that big mess hall dey call a kitchen?" Now it was Glitter's turn to flash a smile. "I'd love to. I just have to put these things away and, I'll be there in a minute, okay?" "Shoah, see ya dere." Serce left the room, while Glitter stayed behind and tidily put away the needle and rest of thread.
A rapid glance at her dress would tell her not only that she had slept for a long time, and worked for little, but that she just had to admit the article was beyond repair. It would just have to be put away somewhere, kept merely for treasuring sake. She did decide, however, that she was at least going to wash it, so it could be kept nice and clean. "Hmm..maybe I should go ask Mr. Blondie where the soap for washing clothes is." she thought to herself, and giggled. Just before turning out the lamp, and leaving the room, she stopped and stared back in another brief moment of marvel at the humble and simple, yet timeless and priceless 'decoration'.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~