Jaden sat on the cold fire escape thinking on the recent happenings in her life. The hurt and pain that had come in as a crushing wave was, even now, pooling in her heart, turning first to ice, then to stone. She now understood how life played its' cruel game. Its' rules were simple. Take away the people someone loves the most and you break them into a million pieces. She had seen it happen before to others. How else did the motherless child or the homeless man come to be that way?
Pressing her lips into a thin line she made her decision. From this moment on surviving in this world would be her first, last, and only priority. Depending on too many people was why she was sitting here now with pain so deep it could not be explained.
Her mother had once told her, "Life is hard and unfair, but you don't have to be." In these last four days, however, she'd discovered how wrong that was. You did have to be hard and, sometimes, unfair to keep living in this city. You had to be cruel to play the game of New York's slums and streets. And now she could be all those things. Now she could be the ultimate survivor of pain.
Silently she made her way down the ladder and out onto the street. Looking around she saw the world differently than she had last night, it was shaded green, the same color as her now Jade stone heart.
The flow of people moved around her in a constant crowd, pushing, shoving, and someone always calling out to someone else. This was her life and her world, so she had to adapt. Doing so meant getting work, fending for herself, and always depending on one person...her.
Jaden walked about four blocks from the apartments, kicking a rock as she went. The job was the hard part. She had left the factories because of an accident that had left a scar on her right shoulder. "No, no more factories, I need something else, something I can work with."
Pondering her problem she let her feet take her where they wanted. They led her to Bottle Alley. And there stood a boy selling papers. That was it! Selling papers! She knew where the Lodging House was, and since it was the afternoon the caretaker was probably the only one there.
This time she took off with a destination in mind, running all the way.
As she neared the Lodging House she allowed her pace to slow. Walking up the steps she slowly opened the door. The hallway was rather dim and a counter with a brown leather book on it was at her right. An older gentleman appeared out of an office and approached her. "Can I help you, miss?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow at her.
"Yeah, I'm looking for a job and I figured..."
"That you could do well selling newspapers." he finished the sentence for her.
"Yeah." she replied.
"Well, you can try it if you like. The job comes with a bed for three cents a night. Lights out is at midnight and wake up call's at six AM."
"Okay, thanks, here's my three cents for tonight. I'll be back this evening, got some stuff to take care of first." With that she turned and left.
Walking back to the apartments she made a list of what she needed to grab.
A grim smile crossed her face. Life was going to play be her rules from now on.
***
Kloppman watched the redhead turn and leave. Yes, he'd seen her type before in his many years at the Lodging House. They were cool, calm, and collected, on the outside at least, but on the inside there was anger that would soon turn to bitterness. The funny thing was that it was usually those who were angry that stuck around. This girl would probably be here for a while. She needed friends who could eventually be considered a family, and that was just what the Newsies were, a family who could bring out the best in almost everybody.
Whistling, Kloppman returned to his work, glad he had agreed to take care of the kids who came there.
***
Jaden reached the apartment and climbed into the still open window. The room was chilly and dark shadows sent chills down her spine as memories flooded her.
Walking over to the bureau she thought of what she'd decided she would need. She opened the drawer and pulled out an old shirt and a pair of pants that had belonged to her brother. Opening another drawer she grabbed her writing pad and pen along with the only book her family had ever owned, Charles Dickens "Oliver Twist."
Then she pulled a canvas bag out from under the bag and stuffed her belongings into it.
Jaden suddenly looked at the bed itself and immediately knew it was a mistake. For suddenly the apartment seemed to swirl around as she remembered the first time death had visited her family. It was a painful memory, but there seemed nothing she could do to stop it.
Her mother slumped tiredly into the chair at the far end of the room.
"Mamma, you feel okay? You kind of sick." she asked.
"It's nothing, I'm just tired."
Jaden noticed how it seemed harder for her mother to breath, but she didn't say anything about it. Barbara would just say her daughter was being silly.
"Jaden, would you make me some tea please?" the voice seemed to have grown weaker all of a sudden.
"Sure, no problem." Hurrying to make the tea she kept a close eye on the older woman. "Wonder if her cold's getting worse." Jaden didn't dare think that out loud. It was something her mother would never accept.
"Here, Mamma. Your tea's done."
"Thank you. Is it cold in here to you?"
Shaking her head Jaden noticed her mother was perspiring. "Mamma..." She reached over and felt Barbara's forehead. "You've got a fever. I'm calling the doctor."
"You don't need to do that. I'll be fine." Her mother's Irish drawl became more distinct as she fought her daughter on the subject.
"Yes, I do need to do that. You stay here and I'll be right back."
Three weeks later her mother had died of what the doctor said was pneumonia. It was the first death she'd known and, though it had happened nearly five years ago, it was still a fresh wound.
Tears burned in Jaden's dark blue eyes, ready to spill at any moment. "No, not now." she caught herself. On the streets tears were a sign of weakness. And to be thought weak was a death sentence in life's game.
***
By the time Jaden reached the Lodging House again almost an hour had gone by and the rough straps of the bag were making her hands sore.
Drawing a sharp breath she walked the steps and through the door. The man she'd met earlier stopped her in the hall and introduced himself as "Kloppman".
"You've got to sign in if you're going to stay here," he told her, indicating the leather book on the desk.
Silently she set her bag down and picked up a pen. Flipping quickly through the book she found an empty space. "Slight problem, Jade." she reminded herself. "If anyone from the Refuge finds out you're here...you're dead." Quickly she searched her mind for a solution. It wasn't hard to find. "So, I'll just use a nick-name like all the others."
Finally she thought of a name to fit her. Leaning over the book she wrote "Book Worm". As she set the pen down Kloppman glanced at what she had written. He smiled and gave her a knowing glance, then he called out, "Blink! Need you a second!"
For the first time Jaden noticed a group of boys playing cards in an adjoining room. She watched as one of them set down his cards and walked towards them.
"Blink, this is the new girl. Can you show her where the girls' bunkroom is?"
"Sure Kloppman." Then turning to her he introduced himself. "Hi, the name's Kid Blink." He stuck out his hand.
"I'm Book Worm." As she accepted his hand to shake it he took her's in a light hold and gently kissed it.
"Pleasure to meet you."
Jaden felt her cheeks grow warm as she quickly drew her hand away.
"Uh...Blink. Why don't you show her the girls' room now." Kloppman cut in.
"Right. This way."
Before she could grab it Blink had picked up her bag and headed toward the stairs. Silently the girl followed.
Kloppman smiled and shook his head; the boys could treat a girl right if they wanted to.
Just then Mush walked by on his way up to the boys' room.
"I think you're starting to rub off on Blink. He just fell for a girl the minute she walked through the door." Kloppman told him.
The boy smiled. "Good, he needs to pick up some class."
"Don't give yourself too much credit, Mush."
***
When they reached the girls' bunkroom Jaden saw that only one of the female Newsies had finished selling their papers.
"Hey, Blink, who's your friend?" the girl asked when they entered.
"This is Book Worm. Make her feel welcome, would you?" he asked handing Jaden her bag.
"Sure, no problem."
Satisfied with the girl's answer he turned to Jaden. "This is Emerald, the first girl Newsie that came to stay at the Manhattan Lodging House. But be careful, she can be kind of ornery sometimes."
Emerald's response to his remark was to hit him in the head with her pillow. "Get out of here you goof."
Putting his hands in front of his face as if to ward off an attack he backed out the door. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving." With that he headed back downstairs to finish his card game.
"If anyone here is ornery, it's him." Emerald said giving a small chuckle.
Jumping down from an upper bunk the dark haired girl walked over to Jaden and spit in her hand. Jaden followed suit and the two shook.
"Make yourself at home. Just make sure you pick a bunk with nothing on it." she said.
"Thanks." Jaden looked around the almost lifeless room. Only a few beds had anything at all on them. "How many other girls stay here?" she asked Emerald.
"Well, there's three other girls. Angel, Wings, and Winter. I've got no idea where Winter is, she my partner. Probably off flirting with Pie Eater somewhere."
"Pie Eater? Uh...no offense to anyone but, what a name!"
"Yeah, we like to tease him. Oh, speaking of the other people, have you met everyone yet?" Emerald asked.
"No, just Blink. Why?" Jaden asked, choosing a bunk near the window and tossing her bag onto it.
"Well, you can't stay here and be a stranger. Come on!" Emerald waved for Jaden to follow as she walked out the door. As they headed down downstairs Jaden could hear a burst of laughter.
"What's so funny?" Emerald asked when they walked into the room Jaden had seen earlier.
"Race was doing a little jig. He looked real goofy." the answer came from a boy who was wearing a cowboy hat. At the thought of their friend dancing around the crowd of kids burst into another fit of laughter.
"In other words he beat me at poker." Blink said after he'd caught his breath.
"First time he's won anything in a week," another Newsie wearing a top hat and glasses informed them.
"Hey Emerald, who's your friend?" a boy holding a crutch asked.
"Oh, this is Book Worm." Turning to Jaden she motioned to the boy who had just spoken. "That's Crutchy, and the guy sitting next to him is Mush." As Emerald continued around the room Jaden struggled to remember everyone's names. There were about twenty boys there all together, including Pie Eater. Finally she came to the last two. "And here's two of the famous strike leaders, Jack Kelly, who we like to call Cowboy, and David Jacobs, also known as the Walking Mouth."
David reached out and lightly punched to girl on the shoulder. "Just disregard the Walking Mouth thing, would you?"
Jaden chuckled, "Sure."
Suddenly a tall girl with white hair walked into the room.
"Hey, Winter, where you been?" Emerald asked her.
"At Medda's place with Wings and Angel." came the answer.
"I see." Emerald gave the others a knowing glance. "Pie wouldn't have been there with you, say about a half hour ago?"
"Shut up, Em." Winter told her friend as she walked over and pushed the other girl onto the crowded sofa.
"Hey! What did I ever do to you?" Emerald asked as she quickly pushed herself of David and Jack.
"You really want me to answer that?" Winter replied.
"Well, anyway, let me introduce you to the latest member of the Newsies, Book Worm." She pointed toward Jaden who gave a thin smile.
"Good to meet you." Winter said as she offered a spit-shake.
Jaden accepted her hand. "Right back at you."
"All right, she's met almost everyone. The formalities are over." Cowboy said, taking the stage. "What brought you to the Lodging House, Worm?"
Jaden felt the pressure as all eyes in the room turned to her. "Don't tell them anything they don't need to know," she cautioned herself. "Simple, I needed a job."
Racetrack jumped in, "The same reason we all became Newsies. What are you, Jack? A ditz?"
"Shut your trap, Race. I was just making conversation." Jack said, sliding his cowboy hat off his head.
Jaden looked at a clock that sat on an old table. Six-o-clock, not late enough for the "I'm going to bed early" excuse. Oh well, she'd stick it out down here until nine.
"Anyone besides Race up for another game of poker?" the boy named Boots piped up.
Suddenly about seven people shouted that they wanted in.
"Okay, one at a time. I've only got two ears." he called out.
As the commotion slightly died down the door of the Lodging House could be heard slamming shut.
"Hey, Kloppman. How's it rolling?" a girl's voice echoed in the hallway.
"It's going just fine, Angel, just fine." he replied.
Within seconds of the overheard exchange two more girls walked into the room. One had dark brown eyes with hair to match and the other had blond hair and violet tinted eyes.
"Well, the wayward Newsies have returned." David called to them in a teasing manner.
"If it isn't the Walking Mouth." the blond shot back.
Instantly David changed the subject. "Book Worm, this is Angel and Wings. They're a little out there, if you know what I mean," he said as he pointed his finger at his head and twirled it in a circle.
"You've been hanging around Cowboy too much." Angel told him, rolling her brown eyes.
"We're starting a game over here, either of you want to join?" Race asked.
"Count me in.", Angel said.
As the game began and individual conversations picked up once more Jaden took the opportunity to sink into the background. Unfortunately, Blink refused to let her be a wallflower.
"Hey, Worm, come have a seat." he indicated an empty spot next to him.
"Thanks." she told him as she seated herself on the old couch. Sighing she looked around uncomfortably and thought to herself, "This is going to be a long night."
***
Later, around one-o-clock the next morning, Jaden lay awake staring at the bed above her. It had felt odd that evening. There had been something there that she could vaguely remember in her own home.
"Why are they so happy?" she had asked herself time and again as she had watched the Newsies. They certainly had no reason to be.
The Newsies had no family, at least none any would like to claim. They bunked thirty to a room, and if someone didn't sell all the papers they bought it could mean sleeping on the street. Yet, despite all the problems of life, all the rules of survival, each one took time for another, each one laughed, and all the Newsies stuck up for each other.
But this was hard for her to accept. After her mother's death her father, her brother, and herself were little more than three people who lived in the same house. For five years she had not seen the warmth she had that night. Her mother had held them together as a family, and after she had left them Jaden's father had stopped caring about his two children, absorbing himself in his work. Her brother, John, had followed that same pattern, working late hours at the shoe factory while she sat at home after working her share at a different plant.
This feeling of hopelessness had come to live with them when she was eleven, now she was sixteen and it was too late to change the loneliness that had existed. Now she had to move on with life and make sure it did not pull her down like it had so many others.
Silently she let the tears that had been brought on by the memories slide down her cheeks. In this darkness it didn't matter. None of the others in the room would know. They could not see the drops of water the held what she perceived to be a weakness. No one would know that loneliness had become her closest friend
Pressing her lips into a thin line she made her decision. From this moment on surviving in this world would be her first, last, and only priority. Depending on too many people was why she was sitting here now with pain so deep it could not be explained.
Her mother had once told her, "Life is hard and unfair, but you don't have to be." In these last four days, however, she'd discovered how wrong that was. You did have to be hard and, sometimes, unfair to keep living in this city. You had to be cruel to play the game of New York's slums and streets. And now she could be all those things. Now she could be the ultimate survivor of pain.
Silently she made her way down the ladder and out onto the street. Looking around she saw the world differently than she had last night, it was shaded green, the same color as her now Jade stone heart.
The flow of people moved around her in a constant crowd, pushing, shoving, and someone always calling out to someone else. This was her life and her world, so she had to adapt. Doing so meant getting work, fending for herself, and always depending on one person...her.
Jaden walked about four blocks from the apartments, kicking a rock as she went. The job was the hard part. She had left the factories because of an accident that had left a scar on her right shoulder. "No, no more factories, I need something else, something I can work with."
Pondering her problem she let her feet take her where they wanted. They led her to Bottle Alley. And there stood a boy selling papers. That was it! Selling papers! She knew where the Lodging House was, and since it was the afternoon the caretaker was probably the only one there.
This time she took off with a destination in mind, running all the way.
As she neared the Lodging House she allowed her pace to slow. Walking up the steps she slowly opened the door. The hallway was rather dim and a counter with a brown leather book on it was at her right. An older gentleman appeared out of an office and approached her. "Can I help you, miss?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow at her.
"Yeah, I'm looking for a job and I figured..."
"That you could do well selling newspapers." he finished the sentence for her.
"Yeah." she replied.
"Well, you can try it if you like. The job comes with a bed for three cents a night. Lights out is at midnight and wake up call's at six AM."
"Okay, thanks, here's my three cents for tonight. I'll be back this evening, got some stuff to take care of first." With that she turned and left.
Walking back to the apartments she made a list of what she needed to grab.
A grim smile crossed her face. Life was going to play be her rules from now on.
***
Kloppman watched the redhead turn and leave. Yes, he'd seen her type before in his many years at the Lodging House. They were cool, calm, and collected, on the outside at least, but on the inside there was anger that would soon turn to bitterness. The funny thing was that it was usually those who were angry that stuck around. This girl would probably be here for a while. She needed friends who could eventually be considered a family, and that was just what the Newsies were, a family who could bring out the best in almost everybody.
Whistling, Kloppman returned to his work, glad he had agreed to take care of the kids who came there.
***
Jaden reached the apartment and climbed into the still open window. The room was chilly and dark shadows sent chills down her spine as memories flooded her.
Walking over to the bureau she thought of what she'd decided she would need. She opened the drawer and pulled out an old shirt and a pair of pants that had belonged to her brother. Opening another drawer she grabbed her writing pad and pen along with the only book her family had ever owned, Charles Dickens "Oliver Twist."
Then she pulled a canvas bag out from under the bag and stuffed her belongings into it.
Jaden suddenly looked at the bed itself and immediately knew it was a mistake. For suddenly the apartment seemed to swirl around as she remembered the first time death had visited her family. It was a painful memory, but there seemed nothing she could do to stop it.
Her mother slumped tiredly into the chair at the far end of the room.
"Mamma, you feel okay? You kind of sick." she asked.
"It's nothing, I'm just tired."
Jaden noticed how it seemed harder for her mother to breath, but she didn't say anything about it. Barbara would just say her daughter was being silly.
"Jaden, would you make me some tea please?" the voice seemed to have grown weaker all of a sudden.
"Sure, no problem." Hurrying to make the tea she kept a close eye on the older woman. "Wonder if her cold's getting worse." Jaden didn't dare think that out loud. It was something her mother would never accept.
"Here, Mamma. Your tea's done."
"Thank you. Is it cold in here to you?"
Shaking her head Jaden noticed her mother was perspiring. "Mamma..." She reached over and felt Barbara's forehead. "You've got a fever. I'm calling the doctor."
"You don't need to do that. I'll be fine." Her mother's Irish drawl became more distinct as she fought her daughter on the subject.
"Yes, I do need to do that. You stay here and I'll be right back."
Three weeks later her mother had died of what the doctor said was pneumonia. It was the first death she'd known and, though it had happened nearly five years ago, it was still a fresh wound.
Tears burned in Jaden's dark blue eyes, ready to spill at any moment. "No, not now." she caught herself. On the streets tears were a sign of weakness. And to be thought weak was a death sentence in life's game.
***
By the time Jaden reached the Lodging House again almost an hour had gone by and the rough straps of the bag were making her hands sore.
Drawing a sharp breath she walked the steps and through the door. The man she'd met earlier stopped her in the hall and introduced himself as "Kloppman".
"You've got to sign in if you're going to stay here," he told her, indicating the leather book on the desk.
Silently she set her bag down and picked up a pen. Flipping quickly through the book she found an empty space. "Slight problem, Jade." she reminded herself. "If anyone from the Refuge finds out you're here...you're dead." Quickly she searched her mind for a solution. It wasn't hard to find. "So, I'll just use a nick-name like all the others."
Finally she thought of a name to fit her. Leaning over the book she wrote "Book Worm". As she set the pen down Kloppman glanced at what she had written. He smiled and gave her a knowing glance, then he called out, "Blink! Need you a second!"
For the first time Jaden noticed a group of boys playing cards in an adjoining room. She watched as one of them set down his cards and walked towards them.
"Blink, this is the new girl. Can you show her where the girls' bunkroom is?"
"Sure Kloppman." Then turning to her he introduced himself. "Hi, the name's Kid Blink." He stuck out his hand.
"I'm Book Worm." As she accepted his hand to shake it he took her's in a light hold and gently kissed it.
"Pleasure to meet you."
Jaden felt her cheeks grow warm as she quickly drew her hand away.
"Uh...Blink. Why don't you show her the girls' room now." Kloppman cut in.
"Right. This way."
Before she could grab it Blink had picked up her bag and headed toward the stairs. Silently the girl followed.
Kloppman smiled and shook his head; the boys could treat a girl right if they wanted to.
Just then Mush walked by on his way up to the boys' room.
"I think you're starting to rub off on Blink. He just fell for a girl the minute she walked through the door." Kloppman told him.
The boy smiled. "Good, he needs to pick up some class."
"Don't give yourself too much credit, Mush."
***
When they reached the girls' bunkroom Jaden saw that only one of the female Newsies had finished selling their papers.
"Hey, Blink, who's your friend?" the girl asked when they entered.
"This is Book Worm. Make her feel welcome, would you?" he asked handing Jaden her bag.
"Sure, no problem."
Satisfied with the girl's answer he turned to Jaden. "This is Emerald, the first girl Newsie that came to stay at the Manhattan Lodging House. But be careful, she can be kind of ornery sometimes."
Emerald's response to his remark was to hit him in the head with her pillow. "Get out of here you goof."
Putting his hands in front of his face as if to ward off an attack he backed out the door. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving." With that he headed back downstairs to finish his card game.
"If anyone here is ornery, it's him." Emerald said giving a small chuckle.
Jumping down from an upper bunk the dark haired girl walked over to Jaden and spit in her hand. Jaden followed suit and the two shook.
"Make yourself at home. Just make sure you pick a bunk with nothing on it." she said.
"Thanks." Jaden looked around the almost lifeless room. Only a few beds had anything at all on them. "How many other girls stay here?" she asked Emerald.
"Well, there's three other girls. Angel, Wings, and Winter. I've got no idea where Winter is, she my partner. Probably off flirting with Pie Eater somewhere."
"Pie Eater? Uh...no offense to anyone but, what a name!"
"Yeah, we like to tease him. Oh, speaking of the other people, have you met everyone yet?" Emerald asked.
"No, just Blink. Why?" Jaden asked, choosing a bunk near the window and tossing her bag onto it.
"Well, you can't stay here and be a stranger. Come on!" Emerald waved for Jaden to follow as she walked out the door. As they headed down downstairs Jaden could hear a burst of laughter.
"What's so funny?" Emerald asked when they walked into the room Jaden had seen earlier.
"Race was doing a little jig. He looked real goofy." the answer came from a boy who was wearing a cowboy hat. At the thought of their friend dancing around the crowd of kids burst into another fit of laughter.
"In other words he beat me at poker." Blink said after he'd caught his breath.
"First time he's won anything in a week," another Newsie wearing a top hat and glasses informed them.
"Hey Emerald, who's your friend?" a boy holding a crutch asked.
"Oh, this is Book Worm." Turning to Jaden she motioned to the boy who had just spoken. "That's Crutchy, and the guy sitting next to him is Mush." As Emerald continued around the room Jaden struggled to remember everyone's names. There were about twenty boys there all together, including Pie Eater. Finally she came to the last two. "And here's two of the famous strike leaders, Jack Kelly, who we like to call Cowboy, and David Jacobs, also known as the Walking Mouth."
David reached out and lightly punched to girl on the shoulder. "Just disregard the Walking Mouth thing, would you?"
Jaden chuckled, "Sure."
Suddenly a tall girl with white hair walked into the room.
"Hey, Winter, where you been?" Emerald asked her.
"At Medda's place with Wings and Angel." came the answer.
"I see." Emerald gave the others a knowing glance. "Pie wouldn't have been there with you, say about a half hour ago?"
"Shut up, Em." Winter told her friend as she walked over and pushed the other girl onto the crowded sofa.
"Hey! What did I ever do to you?" Emerald asked as she quickly pushed herself of David and Jack.
"You really want me to answer that?" Winter replied.
"Well, anyway, let me introduce you to the latest member of the Newsies, Book Worm." She pointed toward Jaden who gave a thin smile.
"Good to meet you." Winter said as she offered a spit-shake.
Jaden accepted her hand. "Right back at you."
"All right, she's met almost everyone. The formalities are over." Cowboy said, taking the stage. "What brought you to the Lodging House, Worm?"
Jaden felt the pressure as all eyes in the room turned to her. "Don't tell them anything they don't need to know," she cautioned herself. "Simple, I needed a job."
Racetrack jumped in, "The same reason we all became Newsies. What are you, Jack? A ditz?"
"Shut your trap, Race. I was just making conversation." Jack said, sliding his cowboy hat off his head.
Jaden looked at a clock that sat on an old table. Six-o-clock, not late enough for the "I'm going to bed early" excuse. Oh well, she'd stick it out down here until nine.
"Anyone besides Race up for another game of poker?" the boy named Boots piped up.
Suddenly about seven people shouted that they wanted in.
"Okay, one at a time. I've only got two ears." he called out.
As the commotion slightly died down the door of the Lodging House could be heard slamming shut.
"Hey, Kloppman. How's it rolling?" a girl's voice echoed in the hallway.
"It's going just fine, Angel, just fine." he replied.
Within seconds of the overheard exchange two more girls walked into the room. One had dark brown eyes with hair to match and the other had blond hair and violet tinted eyes.
"Well, the wayward Newsies have returned." David called to them in a teasing manner.
"If it isn't the Walking Mouth." the blond shot back.
Instantly David changed the subject. "Book Worm, this is Angel and Wings. They're a little out there, if you know what I mean," he said as he pointed his finger at his head and twirled it in a circle.
"You've been hanging around Cowboy too much." Angel told him, rolling her brown eyes.
"We're starting a game over here, either of you want to join?" Race asked.
"Count me in.", Angel said.
As the game began and individual conversations picked up once more Jaden took the opportunity to sink into the background. Unfortunately, Blink refused to let her be a wallflower.
"Hey, Worm, come have a seat." he indicated an empty spot next to him.
"Thanks." she told him as she seated herself on the old couch. Sighing she looked around uncomfortably and thought to herself, "This is going to be a long night."
***
Later, around one-o-clock the next morning, Jaden lay awake staring at the bed above her. It had felt odd that evening. There had been something there that she could vaguely remember in her own home.
"Why are they so happy?" she had asked herself time and again as she had watched the Newsies. They certainly had no reason to be.
The Newsies had no family, at least none any would like to claim. They bunked thirty to a room, and if someone didn't sell all the papers they bought it could mean sleeping on the street. Yet, despite all the problems of life, all the rules of survival, each one took time for another, each one laughed, and all the Newsies stuck up for each other.
But this was hard for her to accept. After her mother's death her father, her brother, and herself were little more than three people who lived in the same house. For five years she had not seen the warmth she had that night. Her mother had held them together as a family, and after she had left them Jaden's father had stopped caring about his two children, absorbing himself in his work. Her brother, John, had followed that same pattern, working late hours at the shoe factory while she sat at home after working her share at a different plant.
This feeling of hopelessness had come to live with them when she was eleven, now she was sixteen and it was too late to change the loneliness that had existed. Now she had to move on with life and make sure it did not pull her down like it had so many others.
Silently she let the tears that had been brought on by the memories slide down her cheeks. In this darkness it didn't matter. None of the others in the room would know. They could not see the drops of water the held what she perceived to be a weakness. No one would know that loneliness had become her closest friend