Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I had just finished my story, and all the girls were staring at me with their mouths hanging open. Sunny had her eyes opened wide.

"Wait a minute!! You'se nevah told me dat you met Spot!!"

I suddenly realized that I hadn't, and I wasn't really intending to, but I was so caught up in telling my story that I must've forgotten. By now, I was already dressed and had freshened up. It was nighttime and everybody had been sitting on their bunks and listening to my story. Sunny was good enough to let me have her bunk. She said that she didn't mind sleeping on the floor. I had found out that this was the newsgirls' Lodge House; there was another one where the boys stayed but they preferred that they didn't share it with the girl newsies. Sunny, it seemed, was the leader of the girl newsies. There were quite a few of them too. I had never heard of the girl newsies before, but they quickly explained that they never sold papers around the area I lived. Sunny was still staring at me with her mouth hanging open. But she quickly closed it and gave me a huge grin.

"So, Spot saved your skin?"

"Yes…"

She looked at the other girls, and they all started smiling and giggling at me. I must've been blushing because they started giggling even harder. Sunny smiled apologetically and explained why they thought Spot saving me was so funny.

"Ya see, Spot's always been a lady's man. Half of da goils in New York city are in love wit him. And I don't see any reason why he wouldn't stop by and be the hero, saving the pretty goil in trouble. I know him cuz he's me best pal. We'se like bruddah and sistah. He's a looker, isn't he though?"

I didn't really know how to respond. I just sat there, with my mouth open, which of course, gave the other girls something else to laugh at. Just when the teasing was about to start, I was saved just in time by Sunny, who looked at me and quickly said that it was time for lights out. I gave her a grateful smile and went under the covers quickly to hide from the others, and so they wouldn't see my face, which was burning. The bunk I had, of course, was not as comfortable as the bed at my grandmother's, but it was much better than the cold gravel out on the streets, and it was warm and safe. At first I was thinking about where I had heard the name Conlon before I quickly dozed off dreaming about newsies, and particularly one with gray-blue eyes and brown hair.