Writer notes: It's been forever since I've written any of this fic. This fic is my fave...I've missed it a lot! One part around the end cracked me up especially because it was right off the top of my head. ENJOY!
Part 7: Invasion of the Lodging House
"Newsboys Lodging House" Tilda read aloud from the sign. She cocked her head. "So, this is where you two live. I hope the person who runs it isn't like Mrs. Crane." She shivered. "I'm still disturbed by her."
"Naw, I don't think Kloppman is as bad as you've described Mrs. Crane" Dutchy replied. "The only irritating thing he does is wake us up with this piercing yell."
"And, he sometimes says sentences that don't make sense" Skittery added with a nod from Dutchy.
They strolled in the lodging house door. Who would of guessed that Kloppman was puttering around with his broom muttering to himself? He looked up at the approaching tenants. "Oh no. I don't allow you boys' girls in here to fool around" he said, upon seeing the sisters.
Delilah stepped forward, eyes hooded. "I assure you, we are not their girls."
"Yeah, we were brought here because we need shelter from the bitter cold" Tilda pleaded, wearing a long face.
"It's ninety degrees outside" Kloppman confirmed. He leaned on his broom, and stared at his tenants. "Why are they here?"
Skittery shuffled his feet thinking of what to say. "We been friends with these girls for a while, but they're brothers don't like us. Because of that fact, they have no place to go for now."
"And you want them to stay here" Kloppman finished the explanation.
Tilda hit one knee and grasped his pant leg. "Please, Mr. Kloppman. We're poor, young girls with no one to turn to beside our wholehearted friends who have brought us to you. All we ask is shelter over our heads for the nights, nothing more."
There was a long pause as Kloppman looked down at the girl. The tears were beginning to well. Just then, the door opened and two newsboys walked in.
"Drat! Not them!" they heard.
Tilda looked back, knowing that voice. "Beaver Boy!"
"AHH!" Snitch screamed at the horrible sight. "C'mon Itey! Those girls are lethal!" He dragged his friend up the stairs.
"Snitch! Come back!" Tilda yelled, chasing after them - her pitiful act forgotten...at least by her. "Beaver Boy!!!" Dutchy cracked a lightened smile, and followed. Every minute with Tilda was a misadventure. Delilah and Skittery rolled their eyes in syncopation. Kloppman turned back to them, chuckling.
"Who in the world are you girls?"
Delilah smiled, sticking out her hand. "Delilah and Tilda Delancey at your service."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They could hear Snitch and Tilda's footsteps pounding all around the second floor of the lodging house - threatening to dig a hole in the floor. Skittery and Delilah climbed the stairs just in time to see a flash of limbs rush by - Tilda's voice echoing 'Beaver Boy come back'.
"She drank too much coffee this morning. Give her an hour, she'll calm down" Delilah explained.
Skittery shrugged. "Here's the storage room." He opened a door across from the boys' bunkroom. They walked in, stirring the dust on the floor making Delilah sneeze. "Bless you."
"Thanks."
On the right against the wall was a rusted bunk-bed with some various junk items lay on it. Deliliah scrunched her nose. She pushed off some of the junk cluttering the bottom bunk, and sat down. The bed creaked and rattled, acting as though it'd fall apart at any moment. Delilah nodded. "I guess it'll do. Might be better than the floor we have to sleep on at Uncle Wiesel's. At least when we didn't steal Oscar and Morris' beds." Her scowl grew deeper at the mention of her brothers.
Skittery sat down on the bed, keeping a few feet between them. He didn't want Delilah to think he was trying to get 'close' again. "I'm sorry your brothers disowned you. I can see how close you and Morris was by the look on his face and the tone of his voice today. I never seen him anger like that."
"That's funny. Me neither" Delilah said in a light tone, trying her best to smile. "Before our mother died, we were very tight-knit...all four of us. But, things changed after she died and we started to grow up. Uncle influenced my brothers to be real jerks. Wait, let me take that back. They were jerks before, but after they were worse even becoming cruel - for example, locking us in the closet. Then we were shipped off to a boarding school to 'reform' us to be civilized young ladies and marry some rich scab who has no idea how to live without people doing everything for him. We weren't going to let that happen! Our place is in a gambling hall in a back alley somewhere. Besides, Tilda would probably burn down a whole block of fine houses when she sees one of those gigantic fireplaces."
Skittery couldn't help but smile at her speech. "Well, I have to say I'm glad you're here even though I hate the fact that you're in bad with your brothers. I doubt they'll even sell us a newspaper now."
Delilah nodded, clenching her fist. "They'd be jerks enough to do that."
All the suddenly, an applause erupted from the boys' bunkroom. Skittery and Delilah whirled around and stared across the hallway. Delilah craned her neck to see what was so interesting that a half dozen boys would go crazy over. She groaned when she found the why.
Newsboys scattered around Tilda, watched excitedly as every once and a while her tongue would poke her out cheek. She held up her hands, silence fell over the room, then pulled a thin brown wire-like thing from her mouth. Tilda raised the small contraption in the air. The boys hoot and hollered and clapped.
"Can you do anymore tricks?" Dutchy asked, holding a jar of cherries 'borrowed' from Kloppman's secret stash.
Tilda presented him with the knotted cherry stem, and plucked another cherry from the jar. "Not as interesting as the knotted stem, so, I don't think I'll bore you boys with it."
"No!" the boys circled around her yelled. "Go ahead with it!"
"All right!" Tilda bubbled over with giddiness. She'd never been so happy in her life to be surrounded by boys giving her all this positive attention. She prepared herself, eyes shifting to the ceiling. The boys hung on her every move. Tilda flicked the stem-less cheery in the air and caught it in her mouth with ease. More hoots, hollers and claps.
"Tilda, where'd you learn so many tricks?" Pie Eater asked.
She blushed. "Well, living in a boarding school with twenty other girls only having school work and chores to do, boredom usually sets in and you finds means to amuse yourself" she replied, informatively. She grinned, proud to of sounded like she really knew what she was saying.
"Tilda my dear" Delilah said from the doorway. "May I see you please?" Her sister smiled sweetly, a pale glow radiating from her body.
"Yes you may, dear sister." Tilda fluttered from her company of gentlemen garbed in while-robes and gold circlets. She hovered beside her sister, shining as if the sun flowed from her eyes.
"Tilda dear" Delilah voice echoed from a distance than became closer and louder in awful swiftness. "TILDA DELANCEY!" Delilah grappled her sister's ear, tearing the girl from her 'dream state'.
"AHHH!!! That's my ear!!!"
"I know!" She dragged Tilda to their new storage bedroom, and pushed her in. "What are you doing?"
Tilda shrugged. "Making new acquaintances."
Delilah rolled her eyes. "Let me rephrase what you just said, 'I want to end up like Mama abandon with four children'."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Being a tramp; entertaining the boys."
"I don't see it" Tilda replied with a cock of the head.
Delilah stared at her in disgust before throwing her hands up and plodding out.
Part 7: Invasion of the Lodging House
"Newsboys Lodging House" Tilda read aloud from the sign. She cocked her head. "So, this is where you two live. I hope the person who runs it isn't like Mrs. Crane." She shivered. "I'm still disturbed by her."
"Naw, I don't think Kloppman is as bad as you've described Mrs. Crane" Dutchy replied. "The only irritating thing he does is wake us up with this piercing yell."
"And, he sometimes says sentences that don't make sense" Skittery added with a nod from Dutchy.
They strolled in the lodging house door. Who would of guessed that Kloppman was puttering around with his broom muttering to himself? He looked up at the approaching tenants. "Oh no. I don't allow you boys' girls in here to fool around" he said, upon seeing the sisters.
Delilah stepped forward, eyes hooded. "I assure you, we are not their girls."
"Yeah, we were brought here because we need shelter from the bitter cold" Tilda pleaded, wearing a long face.
"It's ninety degrees outside" Kloppman confirmed. He leaned on his broom, and stared at his tenants. "Why are they here?"
Skittery shuffled his feet thinking of what to say. "We been friends with these girls for a while, but they're brothers don't like us. Because of that fact, they have no place to go for now."
"And you want them to stay here" Kloppman finished the explanation.
Tilda hit one knee and grasped his pant leg. "Please, Mr. Kloppman. We're poor, young girls with no one to turn to beside our wholehearted friends who have brought us to you. All we ask is shelter over our heads for the nights, nothing more."
There was a long pause as Kloppman looked down at the girl. The tears were beginning to well. Just then, the door opened and two newsboys walked in.
"Drat! Not them!" they heard.
Tilda looked back, knowing that voice. "Beaver Boy!"
"AHH!" Snitch screamed at the horrible sight. "C'mon Itey! Those girls are lethal!" He dragged his friend up the stairs.
"Snitch! Come back!" Tilda yelled, chasing after them - her pitiful act forgotten...at least by her. "Beaver Boy!!!" Dutchy cracked a lightened smile, and followed. Every minute with Tilda was a misadventure. Delilah and Skittery rolled their eyes in syncopation. Kloppman turned back to them, chuckling.
"Who in the world are you girls?"
Delilah smiled, sticking out her hand. "Delilah and Tilda Delancey at your service."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They could hear Snitch and Tilda's footsteps pounding all around the second floor of the lodging house - threatening to dig a hole in the floor. Skittery and Delilah climbed the stairs just in time to see a flash of limbs rush by - Tilda's voice echoing 'Beaver Boy come back'.
"She drank too much coffee this morning. Give her an hour, she'll calm down" Delilah explained.
Skittery shrugged. "Here's the storage room." He opened a door across from the boys' bunkroom. They walked in, stirring the dust on the floor making Delilah sneeze. "Bless you."
"Thanks."
On the right against the wall was a rusted bunk-bed with some various junk items lay on it. Deliliah scrunched her nose. She pushed off some of the junk cluttering the bottom bunk, and sat down. The bed creaked and rattled, acting as though it'd fall apart at any moment. Delilah nodded. "I guess it'll do. Might be better than the floor we have to sleep on at Uncle Wiesel's. At least when we didn't steal Oscar and Morris' beds." Her scowl grew deeper at the mention of her brothers.
Skittery sat down on the bed, keeping a few feet between them. He didn't want Delilah to think he was trying to get 'close' again. "I'm sorry your brothers disowned you. I can see how close you and Morris was by the look on his face and the tone of his voice today. I never seen him anger like that."
"That's funny. Me neither" Delilah said in a light tone, trying her best to smile. "Before our mother died, we were very tight-knit...all four of us. But, things changed after she died and we started to grow up. Uncle influenced my brothers to be real jerks. Wait, let me take that back. They were jerks before, but after they were worse even becoming cruel - for example, locking us in the closet. Then we were shipped off to a boarding school to 'reform' us to be civilized young ladies and marry some rich scab who has no idea how to live without people doing everything for him. We weren't going to let that happen! Our place is in a gambling hall in a back alley somewhere. Besides, Tilda would probably burn down a whole block of fine houses when she sees one of those gigantic fireplaces."
Skittery couldn't help but smile at her speech. "Well, I have to say I'm glad you're here even though I hate the fact that you're in bad with your brothers. I doubt they'll even sell us a newspaper now."
Delilah nodded, clenching her fist. "They'd be jerks enough to do that."
All the suddenly, an applause erupted from the boys' bunkroom. Skittery and Delilah whirled around and stared across the hallway. Delilah craned her neck to see what was so interesting that a half dozen boys would go crazy over. She groaned when she found the why.
Newsboys scattered around Tilda, watched excitedly as every once and a while her tongue would poke her out cheek. She held up her hands, silence fell over the room, then pulled a thin brown wire-like thing from her mouth. Tilda raised the small contraption in the air. The boys hoot and hollered and clapped.
"Can you do anymore tricks?" Dutchy asked, holding a jar of cherries 'borrowed' from Kloppman's secret stash.
Tilda presented him with the knotted cherry stem, and plucked another cherry from the jar. "Not as interesting as the knotted stem, so, I don't think I'll bore you boys with it."
"No!" the boys circled around her yelled. "Go ahead with it!"
"All right!" Tilda bubbled over with giddiness. She'd never been so happy in her life to be surrounded by boys giving her all this positive attention. She prepared herself, eyes shifting to the ceiling. The boys hung on her every move. Tilda flicked the stem-less cheery in the air and caught it in her mouth with ease. More hoots, hollers and claps.
"Tilda, where'd you learn so many tricks?" Pie Eater asked.
She blushed. "Well, living in a boarding school with twenty other girls only having school work and chores to do, boredom usually sets in and you finds means to amuse yourself" she replied, informatively. She grinned, proud to of sounded like she really knew what she was saying.
"Tilda my dear" Delilah said from the doorway. "May I see you please?" Her sister smiled sweetly, a pale glow radiating from her body.
"Yes you may, dear sister." Tilda fluttered from her company of gentlemen garbed in while-robes and gold circlets. She hovered beside her sister, shining as if the sun flowed from her eyes.
"Tilda dear" Delilah voice echoed from a distance than became closer and louder in awful swiftness. "TILDA DELANCEY!" Delilah grappled her sister's ear, tearing the girl from her 'dream state'.
"AHHH!!! That's my ear!!!"
"I know!" She dragged Tilda to their new storage bedroom, and pushed her in. "What are you doing?"
Tilda shrugged. "Making new acquaintances."
Delilah rolled her eyes. "Let me rephrase what you just said, 'I want to end up like Mama abandon with four children'."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Being a tramp; entertaining the boys."
"I don't see it" Tilda replied with a cock of the head.
Delilah stared at her in disgust before throwing her hands up and plodding out.