"Strike!" Skittery walked over to Hart. "I believe dat puts me in the lead..."
Hart laughed. "By 2 points, yeah." She handed him the slate and piece of chalk. The pin boys scrambled at the end of the room to put the pins back in place. A small one ran over and handed her the ball. He didn't look more than 6, and struggled under the weight. "Thank you, Bay." She ruffled his hair. The little boy 's round face became flushed under his freckles and he ran back.
Hart waited until the boys were out of the way, then launched the ball. It looked like it was going to hit the gutter, but it curved and knocked down 7 pins. "How do ya like dat?" Hart swaggered over to Skittery and wrapped her arms around his neck. He leaned down to kiss her, when the door slammed open behind them.
The boy at the door was tall and lean, but still strong-looking. He had blond hair, dark blue eyes, and a small smile on his face. "Do either of you know Martie O'Graidy?" His voice was smooth, without a hint of the New York accent that was so familiar to the newsies.
Skittery sighed. "Nice timin' Yeah we know her. You lookin' ta hurt her?'
"No! No, I wouldn't ever hurt her, believe me. You have my word on that. Do you know where I could find her?" The boy looked from Skittery to Hart, and back.
"How do we know we can trust you?"
"I have news for her. About Anita."
}}i{{
Martie sighed and headed back to the center. She had bought too many papes that morning and now was left with 11 that no one would buy. Luckily, when the price was returned to 50 cents a hundred, the newsies also got the opportunity to turn in any papers they couldn't sell for a full refund.
Having leftover papers wasn't out of the ordinary; it happened more than she'd like to admit. But added onto her best friend disappearing and the ongoing nightmares, it was almost enough to push Martie over the edge. She frowned and kicked at a small stone. If life threw her anything else...
"Martie."
She stopped walking. She knew that voice better than she knew her own. She had yearned to hear it for such a long time, but now she refused to let her heart believe what her ears were telling her.
Slowly, she turned around. Her mouth fell open and tears began to flood her eyes. Her throat tightened so she could barely whisper, "...Ben?"
He walked over to her silently. After a moment, he cleared his throat and said, "I know this is going to take a long time to explain. And I will explain it, but first... I have something to tell you. About Anita..."
Martie's knees buckled, and Ben reached out so she wouldn't fall to the pavement. She put her arms around his neck while her legs stopped shaking. It had been so long since she had seen him. She hadn't even gotten to say goodbye... Then, without warning, her mind was flooded with red signals.
Oscar.
Over the last 5 months, Martie had grown to love him. But she had loved Ben before that...
"Where could we go? To talk?" Ben seemed to be in a hurry to tell her about her friend.
"We could go to Central Park..."
"OK." Ben flashed his melting smile, and Martie took his hand as they walked to the park.
}}i{{
Oscar ducked into the alley. He couldn't believe what he had just seen. His girl. With another guy. He started to feel desperately sad, until he realized what the guy looked like.
Tall. Short blond hair, blue eyes. It's that guy, from Maryland! Da one what just disappeared 2 years ago... What's his name again? Ben. That's it, Ben.
Then Oscar began to feel mad. Angry at that jerk for thinking that he could disappear, then show up again and expect Martie to just take him back. Furious that she had taken him back. Enraged at himself for being such a fool, for actually thinking...
And then sad again.
