Disclaimer: I don't own the newsies but I do own the characters that I make up =)

Chapter 3:

Blink led Nova back to the lodging house. Neither one said a word.

"This is it" Blink said motioning to the building that stood before him.

Nova nodded her head and followed Blink in.

"Kloppman, this is Nova, can she stay for a while?" Blink asked the old man standing behind the counter.

"Yea that's fine, just have her sign in here" Kloppman pushed the book that contained all of the names of all the newsies staying in the lodging house. Nova picked up the pen and jotted down her name, Nova Vreeland. "Welcome to the newsies Nova"

Yet again Nova just nodded.

"If you want I'll show you where you can wash up"

"All right"

Nova followed Blink up the rickety stairs.

"The washroom is right in there" He pointed to a closed door. "Don't worry none of the guys will bother you while your in there, I'll make sure of it" Blink pushed open the door for Nova and then left her to do what she needed.

Nova stripped down and through her cloths in a pile. She left herself sink down into the soothing water in the bathtub. Though it was cold, it was the first time she had taken a bath in what seemed like forever. Using the wash cloth that she had taken for the closet she scrubbed her body. She brought the cloth to her arms and stopped just right above her wrist. Dropping the cloth down in the water she ran her fingers over the scars on her wrist. There was a jagged line that was clearly visible and almost everyone who saw it knew what it was intended for. Just looking at it brought the memories back, memories that she tried hard to forget.

Nova was snapped out of her trance by a knock at the door.

"Nova?" The voice questioned. It was clear that the person was a girl.

"Yea?"

The girl opened the door slightly and peaked in.

"Hey, my name is Carmen but most people call me Carma" The girl stepped into the room shutting the door behind her. Her long wavy black hair fell just below her mid back, her eye's were a deep brown and her skin was the color of caramel. Her face seemed to glow in the moonlight that shown through the window.

"Hi, I guess you already know my name" Nova said looking at the girl that stood in front of her.

"How old are you?"

"15, you?"

"16" Carma replied with a smile. "I'll leave you to finish, here's some clothes of mine that you can borrow, when you're done just come and find me, I'll most likely be downstairs" Carma set the clothes on the counter and slipped out of the room shutting the down behind her.

Nova took the washcloth in her hands and began to wash her back. She could feel the cloth rubbing against the numerous scars that existed on her back. Nova dropped the cloth again and ran her hand along the scars, she still could remember how much it had hurt.

When she was done Nova stood up and dried off. She grabbed the clothes from the counter where Carma had left them. The pants were a little long on her short body. The shirt was a little big, but that was the way she liked it, hiding and trace of evidence that she was a female. She had no intention of stealing unwanted glances from men.

Nova looked in the mirror, her face was clean and no longer had dirt streaked down it. She picked up the nearest comb and ran it through her hair struggling at a few places because of the knots that had formed. When she was done she walked over to the door and began to head downstairs.

Carma looked up and the sound of the stairs creaking.

"Nova, come on down" She yelled. Everyone's attention shifted from his or her poker game to the girl that Blink had described.

Nova looked up timidly at the sight of everyone.

"Alright everyone this is Nova. Nova this is Jack or Cowboy, he's the leader here. These fine young men are Mush, Racetrack or just Race, Skittery, Specs, Bumletes, Jake, Dutchy, Snipeshooter, and Pie Eater" Nova just nodded at each new face embedding them into her mind before Carma said the next. "And these ladies are, Mercy, Bee, and Kayla or Kay. Us ladies didn't get to creative when we were coming up with our nicknames"

"Hi" Nova said shyly when Carma was done.

"Come on, you know how to play?" The boy she had been introduced to as Racetrack asked referring to poker.

"Kind of"

"Well 'kind of' just won't do, come sit and I'll teach you how to play." Race pulled up an extra chair. Nova made her way over and sat down surveying the people that surrounded her. She paid close attention to what Race was saying and by the end of the night she had the basic concepts down.

"Alright, Night time, all of you! Upstairs now" Kloppman yelled at the newsies.

"Aw come on, one more game, I got a good felling about this one" Race said trying to fulfill his need to gamble.

"Now! It's hard enough getting you up in the morning when you have had a decent amount of sleep"

"Fine" Race shrugged and reluctantly followed the rest upstairs.

Nova followed Carma into the girl's room.

"That bunk over there is yours" Carma said pointing to the bottom bunk right next to the far wall.

"Thanks" Nova smiled and trudged over. As soon as she hit the bed she was out like a light.

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Tucker lay awake. It was most likely around two in the morning but he couldn't sleep. The thought of his sister was keeping him awake. He knew that the man that murdered his mother ad father hadn't killed her because he had returned to the house later that night and his sister's body was know where to be found. So that meant that she got away. He just hoped that she had made it on her own and that her reckless behavior had not gotten the best of her.

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A/N: another one done, hopefully this one was better than the last. Thanks to my reviewers: Klover, Glitz (did you like it (Holes)? I thought it was great, I just wanted to hug Zero and the kid that played Zig Zag was freakin hot!) fist1(eek, sorry if that's not right) and lildreamer99. You all rock!!

Now tell me what you think and review!