Chapter 5
"Wake up Katarina!! It's mornin!! We gotta go sell our papes!! And we'd bettah hurry befoah da boys get all da good sellin spots!! Quick, get dressed!!"
I heard Sunny yelling endlessly at me, and after a few moments of yawning and stretching, I got out of bed. I quickly put my clothes on, which was, of course, newsie attire, since my dress was in too poor of a condition to be worn anymore. I had gotten pants, a vest, a shirt, and a newsie hat to tuck my hair in. The girls explained that it was easier to sell papes this way since people didn't normally buy papes from girl newsies. I nodded in understanding, and as soon as I got myself ready, we set off to get our papes.
Suddenly, Sunny stopped and cried out "Wait! We gotta give Katarina a nickname!! No newsie evah goes out on da streets wit der real name!"
"But I don't need one, honest," I said quickly. Sunny shook her head. "No, youse gotta have a nickname. We ain't safe if da police and odda enemies knows what our real names are. Heck, some of us don't even know what our real names are! So, what'll it be…hmm…"
"well, I really like art, especially painting…"
Sunny brightened and snapped her fingers. "Dat's it!! We'll call ya Bristles!! Ya know, like da ones on a paintbrush. Since ya like paintin so much, might as well give you a nickname that has to do wit it…alright den, you're all set."
I was delighted, I had never been given a nickname before. The only few things I was called besides Katarina was Kat, Sweetface (Which I will not encourage others to call me), and Katie by my grandmother. Feeling that I had just been won a great privilege, I started to say the name over and over. Sunny laughed at me and grinned. When we set off to get our papes, I thought, my life has been completely changed, but even though it took a nasty turn, it might turn out to be quite an adventure. I just didn't know how much of an adventure it was really going to be.
