Chapter 4

The next morning, I put on a yellow and white striped dress, and again, the white boots. I wore a fashionable hat which matched the dress, and also had my best corset underneath (some of my dresses, like the ones I'd worn the day before, didn't require a corset because of their style and cut, but this one did). Grandfather looked impressed with my outfit when I came downstairs, but didn't say anything, just handed me the money for the paper. He gave me a little extra, too. "You don't need to buy from a newsie, you know," he told me. "I'd really like a paper today. Please buy it from a cart if those boys aren't selling." He turned back to his breakfast, and I left the house.

Snap was on his now-regular corner, and gave me a tired, but big, grin. "Hey," he said, nudging the boy standing with him. "That's the girl me an' Mush's tellin' you about. You know, his girl."

The boy looked at me in interest. "Good mornin', Miss."

"Good morning. Good morning, Snap. Where is Mush, please?"

He told me the exact street corner today, and it wasn't nearly as much of a hike as the previous day's. Mush was talking earnestly with the boy he was standing with. The boy was taller, and good-looking; still, Mush was more appealing to me.

"Good mornin', Miss," the other boy said, since Mush's back was turned to me. "Can I get you a pape?"

"No, but you can get me a newsie," I answered. Mush turned at my voice and grinned. "Good morning, Mush."

"Good mornin', Victoria. Jack, this here's the girl I'se been talkin' about, Victoria."

"You'se even prettier than 'e said," Jack told me, and kissed my gloved hand. I smiled at him, then turned back to Mush.

"I suppose you're still not selling The World, are you?" I asked, looking at his scab notice still pinned to his vest.

"Nope, sorry. But I do have the Times," he offered.

I shook my head. "All my grandfather wants is The World. You don't think I'm too horrible for buying it, do you?"

"Of course I don'!" he answered. "I'm jus' glad you still come an' talk to me." We smiled at each other. "An' jus' don' 'spect me t' sell it to ya! Jackie boy here'd have me head!" Jack laughed. "He's the leadah of us newsies." Mush proudly hit Jack on the back.

"Snap looks really tired," I said with a laugh. "Perhaps he shouldn't stay out so late."

Mush laughed, too. "I'm not even slightly tired," he confessed, stepping closer to me. "And if'n I were, the sight of you in tha' pretty yellow number would be enough to wake me up any day."

I twirled around. "Do you like it? I only got it last week."

"It's very pretty," he said. "Don'tcha think so, Jack?"

"Yessir," Jack answered, not taking his eyes off me.

"But the girl who's wearin' it is sure prettier," Mush continued. He stepped closer to me, and I could tell he was going to kiss me. I stepped away. On my porch was one thing; in the middle of the town square was quite another. He looked at me, confused.

"Not here," I told him quietly. "Come meet me tonight." I looked over at Jack, who began to pretend to be interested in his papers. "You can bring him, if you'd like, instead of Snap. Snap might not make it through another day sleep-deprived." I didn't know why, but I liked the idea of someone else being there. It offered me some sense of security, even if the third person were a close friend of Mush's and therefore would help Mush no matter what.

"All righ'. Same time?" Mush asked, taking my hands.

"Yes," I answered, looking up into his eyes and knowing I was the luckiest girl ever.

"All righ', then. Go buy yer World pape, ya traitor," he said lightly, laughing. Then he bent and kissed my mouth quickly, before I had time to react.

I kissed him for a few moments, then pulled away. "I should slap you for that," I told him.

"But ya liked it too much to," he answered with a sly grin.

I laughed. "See you tonight."

"Goodbye." I started to walk towards a cart where a man was yelling about selling Worlds. I bought the paper and then walked back to where Mush and Jack were yelling to passerby not only to buy their papers but to boycott the others. As I passed by with the heavy paper tucked under my arm, I slid the extra coins Grandfather had given me into Mush's palm.

"To make up for me buying the other pape," I told him as I continued to walk, looking over my shoulder at him. He looked down at his hands, then shook his head.

"Look, I shouldn' even have taken the money the las' time. Here, take it back," he said, running after me.

"No," I answered, closing his hand in a fist over the money. I looked up at him. "I want you to have it. I don't need it, I don't want it."

He kissed my cheek. "Youse be the sweetes' girl I'se ever known, Victoria." He winked at me, then turned and jogged back to the corner where Jack stood, watching us. The two began yelling again, and I headed for home. I waved goodbye to Snap and the other boy as I passed. Snap just yawned and raised a hand, while the other boy watched me with the same curiosity Jack did.

When I got to my house, I noticed something on the side of the porch, and I wasn't quite sure how I had missed it leaving that morning. Lying on the seat where I had sat the previous night was a single daffodil. I smiled, picking it up. Then I went inside to, for once, deliver Grandfather his paper.