Uptown Girl
Chapter 2 The Invitation
"Kate!" Evolyn screamed, running through the house wildly. "Kate!!"
"Would ya stop your yellin? I'm right here!" A thick Irish accent called from the next room Evy followed the voice until she found a petite freckle-faced red head dusting the fireplace.
"Kate, the most wonderful thing just happened," Evy began, talking a mile a minute. " Seitz said that you and I could have the afternoon off and go around the city!"
Kate stared back at her blankly. "Why is that so wonderful? Don't get me wrong, I want to go, but I've never seen anyone so excited to walk in my life!"
Evy studied her friend's eyes dancing wildly as she laughed. Kate's laughter was contagious and she couldn't help but join in. When the girl's laughing finally subsided, she finally explained her excitement. "The newsies went on strike!"
"Evy, this is not a good thing! Your father'll loose a lot of money!" Kate said growing confused.
"Katelyn don't you understand, something interesting is finally happening in our lives!" Evy replied, dancing around the room. "And those boys are right, why not help them." She paused as if waiting for an answer, but before Kate could open her mouth, Evy continued. "So let's go!" She grabbed Kate's arm and dragged her toward the door.
"Hold on a second. If they know that you're Pulitzer's daughter, they won't take to ya too kindly."
"How will they know?" Kate looked her up and down, so Evy looked down at her dark satin dress, lavishly decorated with lace and pearl. "Oh. Alright then, I need to borrow some clothes."
Twenty minutes later, the two girls emerged from the servant's quarters, both donning simple working clothes. If Katelyn hadn't known Evy for the past sixteen years, she would have easily mistaken her for a working kid. The two girls headed happily down the street toward the square. There, they found the same boys that Evy had seen earlier that afternoon. Kate, timid as always, stayed to the edge of the crowd, making herself comfortable leaning against the statue. Evolyn on the other hand, made her way to the center of the crowd.
"Jack." David tapped his friend on the shoulder. "Jack!"
Jack turned from his conversation with Mush. "Wha' is it Dave?"
David pointed to the two girls making their way into the square. "Who are they?"
Jack studied them carefully. O the best of his knowledge, he'd never seen either before in his life. He shrugged his shoulders and replied. "Never seen em."
"Never seen who?" Mush piped up from behind Jack. Before the other boys could answer, his eyes were caught by a girl with twisting red hair and a freckle-spotted face. "Wow!" he said under his breath.
"Yeah," David replied in the same hushed tone, his eyes following the other stranger. She was his height, maybe a few inches shorter, and she had sandy blond hair that brushed against her back as she walked.
Jack studied the dumbfounded looks on his friends' faces and began to chuckle lightly. Then he noticed that one of the girls was headed straight toward them. David quickly regained his composure and Mush wondered off in search of her companion.
"Hello," Evy called as she reached the group.
"Howdy miss," Jack said, tipping his hat. "Can we help ya wit somethin?"
She smiled slightly. "I was wondering what you boys are up to, shouldn't you be selling newspapers?"
"Well, you see…" Jack launched into a heated monologue on the strike. Evolyn took the time to study the boy beside Jack. She quickly recognized him as the newsie that had caught her staring earlier. His smile was even more amazing in person, and he had the most captivating eyes that she had ever seen. Evy's inspection was cut short as Kate appeared quickly at her side, blushing slightly. Her green eyes motioned to another boy that had materialized at Jack's side. A quick smile flashed on her lips, causing her eyes to dance.
At that point, Jack came to the end of his explanation. "… So we aint sellin til the prices go back down."
"Exactly," Evy practically yelled, "You shouldn't be forced to pay more just because Pulitzer is a greedy old man!" She finished, earning a small disapproving glance from Kate. The boys seemed to be shocked that she was speaking so passionately about their cause.
Jack quickly realized that no one had introduced themselves yet, so he started. "I'se Jack Kelley an' this heah is Kid Blink, and that's Racetrack over there. An' this is Mush," he pointed to the boy that Kate had been eyeing, "Next ta him is David an' his brother Les." David, the newsie who had caught Evy's attention, tipped his hat and smiled respectfully.
Evy quickly flashed a bright smile back at him before speaking, "Well this is Katelyn, and my name is E-"
"Rose," Kate cut in before Evy could finish. She shot her friend a confused look which was answered by an 'I'll explain later' glance from Katelyn.
"Well ladies would you like to join us for dinner?"
"Sure," Evy answered before Kate could protest. "Lead the way."
The boys started off down the street, but Kate pulled Evolyn aside. "We can's go to supper with these boys! You told Seitz we'd be back for dinner!"
Evy just rolled her eyes at her overly cautious friend. "Oh come on Katelyn, it's about time you and I have some fun!" Kate opened her mouth to protest, but she was already being pulled down the street toward the group of newsies.
The girls ate and talked with the boys for hours. When they walked outside, stars had blanketed the city sky. Evolyn began to grow nervous. "Does anyone have the time?" She asked quickly.
Race pulled out an old pocket watch. "About half past eight." Kate's eyes locked with Evy's and they took off down the street.
"Wait!" Mush called, running after them. "We can't let the two of you walk home alone, specially in the dark."
"We'll walk you," David said as he caught up to them.
"No!" Evy and Kate replied quickly. "We'll be fine," Kate explained.
"Will we see ya again?" Mush asked hopefully.
"I don't know," Kate answered quietly.
"We really have to go," Evolyn said, heading up the street, Kate close in toe.
"We'll be here tomorrow Rose," David called after them. Evolyn turned and waved before rounding the corner.
"Why did you tell him that my name was Rose?" Evy asked a few blocks from the house.
"Think about it, if they know that Pulitzer has a daughter named Evolyn, don't you think that they'll put two and two together?" Kate asked slowing her pace slightly. "You have to be careful Evy. To these boys, you're the enemy."
The friends exchanged a quick hug before they parted ways. As Kate approached the door of the servant's quarters she turned around. "Good luck with Seitz."
Evolyn took a deep breath before passing through the huge doors of the main house. "Evolyn Rose Pulitzer, where on earth have you been?!" Seitz's voice filled the empty room. "And why pray tell are you wearing Katelyn's clothes?"
"We lost track of time," she answered simply. "I'm going to freshen up now if you'll excuse me." With that she brushed passed Seitz and up to her room.
The old man watched as she disappeared into the room, smiling. He knew full well that she and Katelyn had spent the entire day with the newsies, but it wasn't worth arguing over. In fact part of him wanted to be there with them. He chuckled to himself as he went to answer the phone ringing on the desk. "Pulitzer residence," he said in a professional tone. "Oh hello chief."
Jack and David stood on the balcony of the Jacobs' apartment, staring up at the night sky. "Ya think dem goils'll come back tomorrah?" Jack asked.
"I don't know," Dave answered quietly. "But I hope so." He turned his gave back up to the stars.
Jack smiled at his friend's glazed over look, "Yeah I can tell."
An hour later, Evolyn made her way down the stairs of the house, bathed and dressed once again in her gaudy dress. "Your father called Evy," Seitz called from his seat near the fireplace.
"Great," she said flatly, sinking into the chair across from him.
"He has accepted an invitation for you from Mr. Hearst. His son is hosting a party tomorrow night and he wished for you to attend."
"Why does that not surprise me?"
"You are to be dressed and ready at 6:00 tomorrow night, when your escort will arrive."
She rolled her eyes at him. "But-"
"But nothing Evolyn. I'm sorry, you have no choice in the matter."
"I never have any choice in the matter! This is MY life!" she yelled, running out of the house. She walked around the gardens for a while, attempting to sort out her thoughts. "Why can't he just let me live my own life?" she asked into the darkness.
"Because he thrives on power," a voice called back.
Evy breathed deeply in a vain attempt to calm her racing heart. "Katelyn don't ever sneak up on me like that again!"
Kate walked out onto the path and matched her friend's pace. "Sorry," she said. "What did he do now?"
"Accepted an invitation for me to Antony Hearst's party tomorrow night."
"Oh."
"I don't know what to do Kate."
Kate twirled her red curls between her fingers, deep in thought. "Well you might as well go to the party to keep your father happy. No one said that you had to have fun."
Nodding, Evy replied, "I guess you're right. Well I'm going to head up to bed then."
"Are we going to see the newsies tomorrow?" Kate called hopefully.
"Of course," Evy replied happily. "If I have to spend a whole night with those snobs, I want to have a little fun during the day!" With that she headed toward the house, her spirits lifted.
More is on the way, I promise. I know that Jack's accent got progressively thicker as the story went on, but I was lazy and didn't want to change it at the beginning, please forgive me, it's late. So what did you think, let me know.