Chapter 9: Wheel of
Fortune
The next day I didn't sell as well. I'd been awake half the night before, thinking. I also didn't have a copy of the paper beforehand.
"I'll take one, Angel," a voice said from behind me. Smiling, I turned around to give Prophet a complimentary paper. Although it was awkward to see a guy who I'd opened up to the day before, I realized I was happy to see him. I was glad to finally have someone I could talk to about my past. My smile quickly faded when I noticed a familiar form coming towards me. I squeaked and hid behind Prophet, glad that he was so tall. I knew that had any of the Manhattan newsies been there, I would have been laughed at, again.
"What's the matter?"
"J-J-Jonathan!" I cried. Prophet immediately grabbed my hand, and pulled me down the road. I dropped my remaining papers struggling to keep up with him. He pulled me through the city, until he found a wagon going towards Brooklyn. He climbed on the back, and I followed suit. We rode the wagon for a while, until he jumped off. When I did the same, I landed right on someone.
"I'm so sorry!" I said, without looking at the person.
"Soaker?" I recognized the voice.
"Dawn!?" We hugged. She asked where I had been, and I explained about joining the newsies. No longer afraid of seeing Jonathan, since we were so far from Queens, the three of us went to dinner. Dawn explained to me that her nickname was Soleil, and that she was one of three female newsies in Brooklyn. She'd called herself Dawn because she thought I'd look down on someone with only a nickname. I told Dawn all about Van Wyck, and she offered to sell papes with me the next day. I agreed, and then she went to meet with her friends at the docks. Prophet and I walked back towards Queens.
"Prophet? Why did you take me to Brooklyn today?"
"You needed to get away from Jonathan."
"Yeah, but why Brooklyn? Why not Manhattan, that's where I usually see you."
"You were looking for someone." I thought about it for a minute, and then asked him another set of questions. For the first time, I was curious.
"How did you get that newspaper the other night? And why wasn't the attack in the papes the next day? Why'd you give the paper to me?" By now, we were back at the lodging house.
"I can't tell you where I got the paper. The attack wasn't in the papers, because it didn't happen. And it didn't happen because I gave you the paper." With that he disappeared down the street. I went inside to think about what he had said.
It took a while for it to make any sense. I thought longest about his last sentence. "It didn't happen because I gave you the paper." It didn't happen because he gave the paper to me? That meant I was supposed to be attacked!
