After Kit and Spot had left Mills had no idea what to do. While crying had helped a bit it wasn't a total catharsis for the pain. She then remembered the project she had been working on. She pulled a ball of yarn and a needle from under her pillow. This was probably the best thing she could do, this being crocheting. She had been working on a scarf for a couple of months, ever since Medda had given her the ball of grayish brown yarn. Medda had seen that Mills had been bored one night while the guys were enthralled by her performance so she gave Mills some yarn and said to work on that the nights the guys came over. The color wasn't one that Mills would have picked but it was thick and would be warm come winter.

Mills had almost finished, but she hadn't been able to work on it for a while because of how busy she had been, plus the guys had stopped going to Medda's as a large group. Her mother had taught her how to knit, crotchet and do some needle work before her death when Mills was eight. Mills had begun to use what she had been taught not only as a way to relax but as a why to remember her mother. Mills held the scarf up; it wasn't pretty at all. The work was uneven, as she had only worked on it when it was dark or when she was tired as a way to avoid being teased by the guys.

She sat back against the wall savoring the silence. Rarely was she given a respite from the constant noise that followed the guys. Even at night it wasn't uncommon for a card game to go on for hours or for one or two guys to be snoring. But at the moment it was almost silent, only the muffled noise of the street buzzing around the room like an angry fly was heard.

After enjoying the silence for a bit she began to work on her scarf; quickly finishing off two rows. Half way through the next row, feet trudging up the stairs broke the silence. Cray entered the room and looked around. His shoulders slumped dejectedly as he saw his sister was gone. Mills cleared her throat. "Youse looking for Kit?"

Cray jumped, "Oh I didn't see you, yeah."

"Sorry, she and Spot left a while ago. She's gonna stay with him in Brooklyn." Mills saw the concern in Cray's eyes. "Spots a nice guy she'll be fine."

"I guess so, but I just gonna worry about her since I just found her again, and now I lost her."

"So youse staying here?"

"Yeah" Cray climbed up on the bunk next to Mills, "So what are you hiding behind your back?"

Mills pulled the scarf from behind her back, "Don't laugh it's a scarf."

"Kit did that kind of stuff, Rose showed her how last winter, a for we came out here. Took Kit forever to figure it out. Rose, that's Swan's mom, decided that it was high time Kit learned more girl type stuff. She is still probably recovering from teaching her to cook, the dog wouldn't even touch the first couple of meals."

Mills laughed, "Medda's been after me about that sort of thing, Ise guess Ise got the time to learn now."
"Medda you ma?"
"No, Medda isn't me ma, me ma died on the trip over. Wes come here to get out of Ireland."

Cray sat back in disbelief, "You're Irish?"
"Youse got a problem with that?"
"No of course not. I just thought all Irish people had red hair and green eyes."
"Not all of us do." Mills gave him a dirty look.
"Sorry, so how did you get started as a newsie?"

"Ise ten when me Pa died in a factory fire. We had to move in with our uncle and aunt but they couldn't keep us very long and after about a year they said that they were going to give me sisters and brudder to an orphanage. We left then and me brudder, Shawn, tried to keep our family together but trying to support five people ain't easy and wes ends up in the streets. Wes spent most of our time running from the Bulls. And since Irish can't find work here too easy, Shawn took our little brudder and sisters to Boston, only they didn't make it. The train they were on derailed and they died.
Ise only survived on the streets for about six months to be put into the Refuge. Ise had to work in a clothing factory. When Ise turned 15 they decided Ise earned some freedom, so Ise took that freedom and ran. Ise stole some boy's clothes from a line and cut my hair really short. Ise literally ran into Race and Mush on that first day. They offered me a job thinking I was a boy.
Kloppman figured it out pretty quick that Ise a goil but kept quiet cause he felt sorry for me. Ise here for about six months before it became apparent Ise not a guy. Ise still go to Medda's about once a month for some goil time. By that time though Ise proved me self to the guys so they allowed me to stay. Mills has been what they called me since Ise showed up.
At times Ise has to think about what me name really is, it's Kaitlyn by the way. Only Medda calls me that, but even she calls me Katie." Mills got a wistful look on her face, "Ise wish that someone would call me Kaitlyn or even Katie goil like me the did before he died."

"I'll call you Kaitlyn if you want. I think it is a pretty name." Cray ducked his head and blushed furiously, embarrassed that he had said the last part out loud.

Mills smiled, "Thank youse, Ise like that, but not when everyone else is around. So how did youse get Cray?"

Cray just smiled, "It was cause Kit couldn't say my name when she was little, Crale. Cray is so close though that even me pa and ma call me Cray unless they are mad."

Mills looked confused, "Ise taught that Swan said that you got it cause of a crayfish and a water fight. Least that's what Les said."

Cray laughed as he shook his head, "I'll never live this down will I? Well I'll never forget the water fight either. I got Cray as a nickname among my friends when the newsies in Lincoln decided to have a camping trip to the river before school started up again. Kit and I were still in school at the time and she had just spent her first summer being a newsie. Well that summer had been really hot and dry so the Platte was only about a foot deep and flowing slow.
So all of us hiked out to the river and someone got the bright idea to go swimming. I, of course, had the pleasure of making sure Kit didn't get into to much trouble, but she was 7 or 8, and she could cause more trouble than any of those guys. Well as I was busy with her Swan came up behind me and splashed me. I turned around to retaliate but I missed Swan and got someone else, which is when the war erupted.
Well it went on for some time, and some how in my maneuvering to get Kit back to the shore a crayfish found my toe. I started screaming and it stopped the water fight as every one turned to watch me jump and down. That is how Cray stuck, see not many newsies in Lincoln had nicknames I was one of the lucky ones."

"Which one do youse prefer?" Mills was smiling at the image of anyone as big as Cray jumping up in down in the water cause of a fish.

"Either, I've been called both for so long that I don't really care either way."

Mills was giggling, "So youse hungry Cray? Ise bet if wes went to Medda's wes could get some ting to eat."

"I was just gonna ask what's for dinner round here."

Mills jumped off the bunk and Cray followed, "Come on Ise bet that's were everyone is."
They left and headed for Medda's. Mills was right in her bet, all the newsies were sitting around in the wings watching the show. Medda ended up enchanting both Swan and Cray by the end of the night. As everyone headed back to the lodging house they were subdued and sleepy. Not even a poker game was started. Everyone fell into bed and was asleep before curfew.