"See ya, Skits" Reeny flashed me her infamous smile as she turned and
walked away. "Bye." I said and flopped down on the curb and lit a
cigarette. I'm Skittery, or Skits if you didn't figure that much out. I'm
17 and I'm a newsie in Manhattan. Why am I a newsie? Because, my mom and
dad both died in a train wreck when I was 13. I didn't know of any family
in New York and becoming a newsie was really my only option, unless I
wanted to work in a factory of some sort, and I didn't. So I ended up here,
staying at the Manhattan Lodging House, run by Kloppman. Right next door
was the girls Manhattan Lodging house, seeing as how they didn't like to
put us guys and the girls together. That's where I met Reeny, or
Skitterina. I was a newsie about a year before her, and when she came here
everybody always cracked on how much we were alike, so she inherited the
girly version of my name. She was 16, and her story was that she didn't
know her dad and her mom moved out west when she was 14 and she refused to
go with her. Since she didn't know her dad and her mom didn't have any
brothers or sisters, she had nowhere to go, like me, and ended up here.
Reeny was kinda a boy-ish girl, but all us guys loved her. She had a real
beautiful, innocent looking face, but she knew how to act like just one of
the guys unlike alot of the girls I know, who priss around acting like they
can't get their dress dirty or crack jokes. Reeny was the opposite of that,
and I think that's why we all liked her, she was a breath of fresh air for
most of us. "Heya Skittery!" I heard a familiar voice behind me, and I
turned to see Crutchy. "Hello Crutchy." I put on a fake smile, he
inturrupted my train of thought and well they didn't come along too often.
"Whatcha thinkin about, sittin hea all by yourself?" He hobbled over beside
me and I stood up, flicking my cigarette to the ground. "Nothin much, just
about how I became a newsie and alla dat stuff." "Well, I gotta go sell the
rest of my papes...see ya later!" He patted me on the shoulder and I waved
to him as he walked off. I walked in the direction that Reeny had gone
earlier to sell the 7 papers that I had left. While I was in the process of
selling my second to last paper I heard a girl screaming. "Here mista, just
take it." I said, shoving the paper in his hands and running in the
direction the screaming was coming from, to a dark alley, even at 11 in the
morning. Either I was crazy, or the girl screaming was Reeny and she was
being carried off by a fat man. "REENY!" I yelled and went after them.
"Skits!!!" She screamed and jerked her head up to look at me, knocking her
hat off her head, it falling to the ground. They disappeared into a
building, in which when I got to it, was locked. I walked over to her hat
and picked it up and examined it, there was a blood stain on the inside
left of it. I ran all the way back to the Lodging House and went inside to
find Kloppy, half asleep in his chair. "KLOPPMAN!" I yelled, maybe a little
louder than I thought it would come out. "Wh-what boy? Whatcha yellin for?"
He asked and I held up Reenys hat. "She's gone Kloppman, somebody kidnapped
her!"
::Three Weeks Later::
The days passed by slowly, with everybody searching everywhere for Reeny. No luck yet, even though I had showed everybody that would come with me where the building was. We knocked on that door until our knuckles were bruised, but no answer ever. I was sitting in the bunkroom with David, who was teaching me how to write in cursive. Actually, I had learned how to in school a few years back before my mom and dad got killed, but he was more or less just helping me brush up on it. David was a newsie that didn't stay here with us in the Lodging House. He lived with his mom, dad, sister and little brother but his dad was laid off work and he was helping support their family. All of a sudden Toes, a newsgirl that was one of Reenys closest friends, busted in the door, out of breath. "Letter from Reen...down...stairs." She was heaving as she leaned down to rest her hands on her knees. David and I both got up and I pushed her out of the way and ran downstairs. "Thanks Skit, I'm not a girl or anything!" She yelled. I went to Klopps desk and sure enough, there was a letter sitting there, unopened.
On the outside it read :
To - Skittery, Boys Manhattan Lodging House
From - Reeny Rhodes, Girls Manhattan Loding House
I opened it up, tearing the envelope as I did so. I pulled out a peice of white paper that had very few words written on it.
It read :
Skittery - I'm addressing this letter to you because you're the one that saw me and tried to help me. For that I thank you. Send all of the girls my love, and all the boys one of my over-used dirty jokes.
If I don't see you again, please keep in mind that I think about you and all of the other newsies day and night and pray for all of you, in hopes that you return the favor. Wish me luck.
With love, Skitterina Rhodes
I sat down the letter on Kloppmans desk and he read it, and it eventually made it's way around the room to all of the newises who had gathered there. "Skits, we gotta find her. She makes it sounds like they'se gonna kill her." Toes said quietly after she had pulled me outside. "Well how are we gonna do that? She put her address as the girls Lodging House, like she doesn't want us to find her." I sighed.
::A Week & A Half Later::
No word from Reeny still, and everybody was just about ready to give up hope, including me. I was sitting in the bunkroom yet again, only this time I was reading a book, when Specs busted in the door. "She's here." He barely got out before I was out the door and downstairs. Never in my wildest dreams could I have prepared myself for what I saw : A girl with short hair, only falling right below her ears, who was rail skinny and pale. You have to keep in mind that Reenys hair came to right above her belly button, even though she usually had it tucked up in her hat. Plus she was usually tan, and weighed about 160 pounds. I just stood there, my mouth hanging open and my eyes bugged out in awe of what I saw, it didn't even look like the same girl. She had dark circles under her eyes, chapped lips and tiny nicks and cuts scattered about her. I glanced down at her hands that were folded in front of her, and around her wrists were deep red wounds that were scabby. She finally looked over at me and slowly walked over to me, with the help of Toes. She gave me a weak smile and wrapped her arms around my neck and I hugged her back. "I'm so happy to see you." She whispered in my ear and I wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but I held back. She pulled away and I just looked at her. She raised her hands up to touch her hair and looked like she was getting ready to cry. "I sold my hair to give Mr. Fatone money to let me go." She said and looked down at the ground. "What happened to your wrists?" I asked. "I was handcuffed to a bed, and after over a month of trying to get out of them they wear away at your skin." She said, almost like it didn't phase her at all. "We need to bandage those up." Toes said and they made their way outside and over to the girls Lodging House. I sat down on a bench that was inside and stared ahead, blankly, until Spot sat down beside me. "She looks awful." He said, completely unperturbed. I bit my tongue not to say anything until I calmed down. "You wouldn't look much better if you were locked up for a month." I said, stood up and walked over to the girls Lodging House. Spot was a Brooklyn newsie, and why he was in Manhattan that day I'll never know. He always liked to sniff around in our business, simply because his girl was a Manhattan girl born and raised. He was one nosey son of a bitch, that's for sure, and I didn't like him very much. Once inside the Lodging House I was sent upstairs to the washroom. I walked in to see all of the girls and some guys sitting around on the bunks, and in the washroom Toes was dressing up Reenys wrists. Now she was dressed in her usual black pants, gray tank top and pink suspenders. The clothes that had once been semi-tight fitting were now almost falling off of her. I pulled her black hat out of my back pocket and handed it to her. "You picked it up for me...thanks." She smiled. "Owww!!!!" She yelped as Toes poured alcohol on her left wound. I sat down beside her and she grabbed my hand in pain. Finally Toes was done and walked out, leaving us alone. "Will you meet me on the roof at midnight?" She asked, putting her hat on her head. "Ye-yeah." I stuttered out. She grinned and stood up and slowly made her way out and downstairs. I sat there for a second and finally got up and went back home and went to bed, I decided I would get some sleep in case she kept me up all night talking. Not that I would really mind, but that's beside the point.
::That Night, 15 Minutes After Midnight::
Somebody was shaking me, and I was trying to get them off of me. "Skit...get up! Reenys waiting for you!" That was Jake. He had a weird thing with time and being punctual. "Whatime'sit?" I slurred out, rubbing my eyes and putting my hat on. "15 after." "Oh, shit!" I said and got up really fast and stopped as I got to the door. "Thanks!" I whispered and went outside and climbed up the ladder to the roof. Sure enough Reeny was up there, sitting in a chair with one of my old gray hats that I gave her pulled over her eyes, half asleep. "Skitterina?" "Huh..wha?" She looked up, startled. "Sorry I'm late." I said with a little smile as she adjusted her hat. "It's aight, just don't let it happen again." "I'll be sure not to." I said and it was silent for a few minutes too long. "So uhh..the reason I'se asked you to come up here was ta talk." She finally broke the silence. "Ok, what about?" "About what happened." She said, patting the empty space beside her. I walked over and sat down and took my hat off, bending it and playing with it. "Ok..I'll start from the beginning. I was trying to sell my pape to this guy when he grabbed me and that's when you came. The guys name was Hector Fatone, and he knew and worked for my father." She started, and went on to tell me in detail everything that happened and everything that they did to her. I don't even want to think about the things she told me that night, even though they will be burned in my mind for the rest of my life.
::One Year Later::
"I'se just wonderin..." I started, getting down on one knee and pulling a ring from my pocket. "Will you be my wife?" I asked her, slipping the ring on her finger as she nodded. "Oh Skit...I love you." She said and pulled me up, into a long kiss. We decided to go to Meddas place with everybody that night to celebrate. We both got in our nicest clothes, and while I was sitting downstairs waiting on Reeny to come down, Specs walked in with Toes. "Reenys dad is back in down." Toes said, and right after we heard her walking downstairs. "What?" She asked, being careful not to step on her barely-ever worn burgandy dress. "Your dads back and asking for you." Toes said sadly and Reeny sighed. "I'm going to get my purse." She said and went back upstairs. Finally she returned carrying her bag and we left.
When we arrived everybody rushed over to us, telling Reeny that her dad was in the building, asking anybody that would listen where she was. "We should go then." I said. "Ok." She said and we walked outside, followed by Toes and Specs and a few other newsies. We started down the road and when we got far enough down we stopped for a minute to catch our breath. Everybody was gathered in a circle and Reeny walked off a little, looking up at the sky. "Where are you going?" I asked with a little smile on my face. She turned around quickly, holding something behind her back. "I love you, Skittery..." She started and I heard something that sounded like a gun click. "Don't forget me." ::Boom::
The End
::Three Weeks Later::
The days passed by slowly, with everybody searching everywhere for Reeny. No luck yet, even though I had showed everybody that would come with me where the building was. We knocked on that door until our knuckles were bruised, but no answer ever. I was sitting in the bunkroom with David, who was teaching me how to write in cursive. Actually, I had learned how to in school a few years back before my mom and dad got killed, but he was more or less just helping me brush up on it. David was a newsie that didn't stay here with us in the Lodging House. He lived with his mom, dad, sister and little brother but his dad was laid off work and he was helping support their family. All of a sudden Toes, a newsgirl that was one of Reenys closest friends, busted in the door, out of breath. "Letter from Reen...down...stairs." She was heaving as she leaned down to rest her hands on her knees. David and I both got up and I pushed her out of the way and ran downstairs. "Thanks Skit, I'm not a girl or anything!" She yelled. I went to Klopps desk and sure enough, there was a letter sitting there, unopened.
On the outside it read :
To - Skittery, Boys Manhattan Lodging House
From - Reeny Rhodes, Girls Manhattan Loding House
I opened it up, tearing the envelope as I did so. I pulled out a peice of white paper that had very few words written on it.
It read :
Skittery - I'm addressing this letter to you because you're the one that saw me and tried to help me. For that I thank you. Send all of the girls my love, and all the boys one of my over-used dirty jokes.
If I don't see you again, please keep in mind that I think about you and all of the other newsies day and night and pray for all of you, in hopes that you return the favor. Wish me luck.
With love, Skitterina Rhodes
I sat down the letter on Kloppmans desk and he read it, and it eventually made it's way around the room to all of the newises who had gathered there. "Skits, we gotta find her. She makes it sounds like they'se gonna kill her." Toes said quietly after she had pulled me outside. "Well how are we gonna do that? She put her address as the girls Lodging House, like she doesn't want us to find her." I sighed.
::A Week & A Half Later::
No word from Reeny still, and everybody was just about ready to give up hope, including me. I was sitting in the bunkroom yet again, only this time I was reading a book, when Specs busted in the door. "She's here." He barely got out before I was out the door and downstairs. Never in my wildest dreams could I have prepared myself for what I saw : A girl with short hair, only falling right below her ears, who was rail skinny and pale. You have to keep in mind that Reenys hair came to right above her belly button, even though she usually had it tucked up in her hat. Plus she was usually tan, and weighed about 160 pounds. I just stood there, my mouth hanging open and my eyes bugged out in awe of what I saw, it didn't even look like the same girl. She had dark circles under her eyes, chapped lips and tiny nicks and cuts scattered about her. I glanced down at her hands that were folded in front of her, and around her wrists were deep red wounds that were scabby. She finally looked over at me and slowly walked over to me, with the help of Toes. She gave me a weak smile and wrapped her arms around my neck and I hugged her back. "I'm so happy to see you." She whispered in my ear and I wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but I held back. She pulled away and I just looked at her. She raised her hands up to touch her hair and looked like she was getting ready to cry. "I sold my hair to give Mr. Fatone money to let me go." She said and looked down at the ground. "What happened to your wrists?" I asked. "I was handcuffed to a bed, and after over a month of trying to get out of them they wear away at your skin." She said, almost like it didn't phase her at all. "We need to bandage those up." Toes said and they made their way outside and over to the girls Lodging House. I sat down on a bench that was inside and stared ahead, blankly, until Spot sat down beside me. "She looks awful." He said, completely unperturbed. I bit my tongue not to say anything until I calmed down. "You wouldn't look much better if you were locked up for a month." I said, stood up and walked over to the girls Lodging House. Spot was a Brooklyn newsie, and why he was in Manhattan that day I'll never know. He always liked to sniff around in our business, simply because his girl was a Manhattan girl born and raised. He was one nosey son of a bitch, that's for sure, and I didn't like him very much. Once inside the Lodging House I was sent upstairs to the washroom. I walked in to see all of the girls and some guys sitting around on the bunks, and in the washroom Toes was dressing up Reenys wrists. Now she was dressed in her usual black pants, gray tank top and pink suspenders. The clothes that had once been semi-tight fitting were now almost falling off of her. I pulled her black hat out of my back pocket and handed it to her. "You picked it up for me...thanks." She smiled. "Owww!!!!" She yelped as Toes poured alcohol on her left wound. I sat down beside her and she grabbed my hand in pain. Finally Toes was done and walked out, leaving us alone. "Will you meet me on the roof at midnight?" She asked, putting her hat on her head. "Ye-yeah." I stuttered out. She grinned and stood up and slowly made her way out and downstairs. I sat there for a second and finally got up and went back home and went to bed, I decided I would get some sleep in case she kept me up all night talking. Not that I would really mind, but that's beside the point.
::That Night, 15 Minutes After Midnight::
Somebody was shaking me, and I was trying to get them off of me. "Skit...get up! Reenys waiting for you!" That was Jake. He had a weird thing with time and being punctual. "Whatime'sit?" I slurred out, rubbing my eyes and putting my hat on. "15 after." "Oh, shit!" I said and got up really fast and stopped as I got to the door. "Thanks!" I whispered and went outside and climbed up the ladder to the roof. Sure enough Reeny was up there, sitting in a chair with one of my old gray hats that I gave her pulled over her eyes, half asleep. "Skitterina?" "Huh..wha?" She looked up, startled. "Sorry I'm late." I said with a little smile as she adjusted her hat. "It's aight, just don't let it happen again." "I'll be sure not to." I said and it was silent for a few minutes too long. "So uhh..the reason I'se asked you to come up here was ta talk." She finally broke the silence. "Ok, what about?" "About what happened." She said, patting the empty space beside her. I walked over and sat down and took my hat off, bending it and playing with it. "Ok..I'll start from the beginning. I was trying to sell my pape to this guy when he grabbed me and that's when you came. The guys name was Hector Fatone, and he knew and worked for my father." She started, and went on to tell me in detail everything that happened and everything that they did to her. I don't even want to think about the things she told me that night, even though they will be burned in my mind for the rest of my life.
::One Year Later::
"I'se just wonderin..." I started, getting down on one knee and pulling a ring from my pocket. "Will you be my wife?" I asked her, slipping the ring on her finger as she nodded. "Oh Skit...I love you." She said and pulled me up, into a long kiss. We decided to go to Meddas place with everybody that night to celebrate. We both got in our nicest clothes, and while I was sitting downstairs waiting on Reeny to come down, Specs walked in with Toes. "Reenys dad is back in down." Toes said, and right after we heard her walking downstairs. "What?" She asked, being careful not to step on her barely-ever worn burgandy dress. "Your dads back and asking for you." Toes said sadly and Reeny sighed. "I'm going to get my purse." She said and went back upstairs. Finally she returned carrying her bag and we left.
When we arrived everybody rushed over to us, telling Reeny that her dad was in the building, asking anybody that would listen where she was. "We should go then." I said. "Ok." She said and we walked outside, followed by Toes and Specs and a few other newsies. We started down the road and when we got far enough down we stopped for a minute to catch our breath. Everybody was gathered in a circle and Reeny walked off a little, looking up at the sky. "Where are you going?" I asked with a little smile on my face. She turned around quickly, holding something behind her back. "I love you, Skittery..." She started and I heard something that sounded like a gun click. "Don't forget me." ::Boom::
The End