"Erin, what on earth were you doing talking to that. that. newsie?" Donavon
practically screamed when we were out of earshot.
Unbelievable. "You're joking right?" Donavon stared at me blankly; typical. "Could you be more of a hypocrite?"
"Are you feeling alright? You're not making any sense."
Rolling my eyes, I turned and headed off for school. "I heard the two of you last night, Donavon."
He grabbed my arm, forcing me to face him. "Heard? Eavesdropping is a bad habit you know."
I quickly changed the subject. "So it is alright for your friends to associate with newsies, but not your sister?"
He shrugged. "Maybe Whesley's right. They're not like us, Erin. Come on, we'll be late for school."
Now I want you to understand something. Before you get the wrong impression, my brother isn't a heartless person like Whesley. He just doesn't like to rock the boat. I, on the other hand. Well, let's just say that I am no stranger to making waves. "Donavon Michael O'Farrell, how can you say that? You don't even know them."
"And you do?" he replied calmly.
"Whose fault is that?"
He narrowed his eyes for a moment, prepared to counter. Instead, he did an about-face, stalking down the street. "Get to school now, Erin."
"Urgh, you are so infuriating!"
We took off in different directions, headed into another day of school.
The morning dragged on for what seemed like years. With my earlier conversation with Donavon still swimming around in my head, not to mention Whesley's little comments, it was next to impossible to concentrate on edict and Latin. By the time that afternoon break came around, I was becoming stir-crazy.
I stood in the window, absently watching a young newsie selling across the street. My thoughts were interrupted by a hand waving in front of my face. "Erin. Hey Erin, are you alright?"
"Huh?" I spun around to find a few of my friends staring at me expectantly. "Oh, yes, I'm fine. Just thinking about something."
One of the girls shifted her glance out the window. "Hey Erin, who is that raggedy girl with your brother?"
"What?" I shot back to the window to see Donavon striding toward the door with a red-headed girl standing timidly behind him. Without another word, I ran out the door, meeting my brother on the sidewalk. "What do you think that you are doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?"
He flashed me a goofy grin, and then stepped aside; revealing a girl about my age, dressed in very simple, rather dirty clothes. There was, however something about her that seemed hauntingly familiar.
To this day, I still can't say what tipped me off, but I was positive that the young lady standing before me was my sister. "Riona?"
"Hey little sis," she said, her words barely cutting through the fog that had settled in my head.
I honestly have no recollection of that night. That is until I asked her about living with us. I wanted so badly to have her back in my life, but as soon as the words were out of my mouth, she took off.
I spent the whole night locked in my room, unable to control my tears. Whether they were tears of sorrow or joy, I'm still not sure. All that I knew was that my sister's reappearance in my life was certainly stirring up my emotions.
When I awoke the next morning, everyone was still asleep. I took it as the perfect opportunity to get away.
Dressed in simple clothing so that I wouldn't stand out, I headed downtown. Just when I thought that I was completely lost, I found a group of newsboys gathered around a statue of a rather angry looking man.
I was trying to work up the courage to enter the group to look for Riona when I heard a vaguely familiar voice behind me. "Erin?"
I turned slowly and a smile began to crawl onto my lips when my eyes locked with a pair of blue eyes smiling behind thin glasses. "Specs, so we meet again."
He returned my smile, lighting his face even more. "It's nice to see you again." There was a moment of silence, and then he suddenly raised his eyebrows. "I'll be right back."
Specs trotted away, leaving me too dumbfounded to make a move. A minute later, he returned with Riona at his side, another newsie holding her hand. "This is the girl that you were asking about. Erin, I'd like you to meet Queeny."
Trying our best to stifle giggles, Riona and I waited patiently for him to finish his introductions before sharing a quick embrace. When we released each other, the boys were gaping at us.
"Ok, explain," the boy beside my sister said with a thick Brooklyn accent.
Riona and I burst into peals of laughter. "Spot, Specs, this is my little sister Erin."
"Sister?" Specs squeaked out.
A devilish grin spread across Riona's lips. "Yes Specs, sister. As in the same parents."
"Oh hush up, Queeny," Specs replied.
The other newsie, who, by process of elimination, I decided was Spot, dropped his arm around my sister's waist. I shot her a questioning look, attempting to piece the whole situation together.
As if she read my mind, Riona slipped out of Spot's grasp and linked elbows with me. "We've got some catching up to do."
As we started down the street away from the crowd, we started giggling like little girls again.
"And we thought that one of them was bad." Spot mumbled as the boys returned to the group.
"I heard that," Riona called back, making us giggle even more.
We spent about an hour just walking around Manhattan, headed no place in particular. As we walked, she told me how she ended up with the newsies and I filled her in on the events of the last year that she had missed.
"Ok," I said suddenly, "enough small talk. I want to know about this boy of yours."
She flushed, her green eyes dancing wildly. "Spot? Well, there's not much to tell. You see there was this guy. and well, he wasn't what I thought-"
"Whesley?" I cut in. She gave me a confused sideways glance. I chuckled. "He's Donavon's friend remember?"
She made a funny face. "Oh yeah. Anyway, Spot came looking for me when I didn't come home last night, and he ran into Whesley. Let's just say that we won't be hearing from him anytime soon."
We walked for a few steps in silence. Finally I spoke up, "I missed you."
She teared up again, pulling me into a loving hug. "I missed you too, kiddo."
"What are you going to do now, Riona? Where are you going to live?"
Her eyes clouded over for a second, but she shook her head and smiled. "Let's not talk about that right now, huh. Come on, let's get back. It's about time for lunch. Besides, I think that there's a certain newsie waiting to talk to you."
At that moment, I couldn't decide whether I was embarrassed or ecstatic. Either way, I was happy.
A few of the boys were already seated in the small diner when we arrived. Riona pointed out a few of the other boys around the table, although I'm a little unsure who I actually met that afternoon. I kept glancing over at Specs, who would shift his gaze whenever I turned toward him.
The newsies made small talk about the day's headlined while we waited for our food, and once it came, they were too busy eating to make any conversation at all.
That is until the short Italian, who I later learned was Racetrack, spoke up. "You boys all got your dates for Saturday night?"
Suddenly, Spot hit Jack on the shoulder. "Jacky-boy, you thinkin what I'm thinkin?" he asked, shifting his glance from me to Specs and back again.
Jack nodded and turned to me, grinning. "Erin, how would you like to join us at a dittle dance that we're havin on Saturday?"
I glanced over at Specs, who cheeks were about as red as mine felt. "I'll have to check with my parents."
"I'll be there. They'll let you come," Riona assured.
Not long after we finished eating, the newsies all began to scatter. The next thing that I knew, the only people left at the table were Riona, Spot, Specs and myself.
"Well, I'se better be headin back to Brooklyn. The boys'll start gettin worried," Spot said, breaking the silence. He leaned over and gave Riona a soft kiss. "You wanna spend the afternoon in Brooklyn?"
She got up to follow him, but sat back down when she realized that I was still there.
"Go ahead, Riona. It's ok," I assured. "I can find my way home. I think."
A worried look masked her face and she glanced between me and Spot.
This time it was Specs's turn to speak up. "It'll be alright, Queeny. I can take her home."
Spot winked at him and pulled Riona out the door.
"What was that all about?" I asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.
He flashed me a smile and quickly changed the subject. "How bout a tour of the city?"
I gave him a quick sideways glance. "I do live here you know. I've seen all of the sights."
"I highly doubt that you've seen the ones that I'm about to show you. Come on." He pulled me from my seat and we started down the street.
Some time later, after I'd seen most of lower Manhattan, Specs and I stood on the end of one of the many docks in the Harbor.
"Can I ask you something?" I asked, not taking my eyes off of the water before me.
"I think that you just did," he teased. "What do you want to know?"
"Why did you become a newsie?"
He let out a long sigh and took a seat on the dock. I followed in suit. "Well, I grew up in London. When I was ten, I wanted a little adventure, like every ten-year-old does. Anyway, one of my friends bet me to stow away in a ship headed across the channel to France. Unfortunately, we weren't old enough to know the difference between the ships, and I ended up here. After a few months on the streets, I met up with Dutchy and we bummed around until Jack found us. He convinced us to be newsies with him."
Not long after that day, I realized that most of the newsies had similar stories, and that some had worse, but at that moment, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Specs.
I cautiously laid a hand on his forearm. "Why didn't you go back? To England?"
His face furrowed in thought for a moment and then relaxed as he replied, "When I first got here, I didn't have the money for a ticket and I couldn't take another trip across the ocean in a cargo hold. By the time that I started making enough money, I guess that the newsies had become my family."
I wracked my brain for a way to respond, but all that I could think to do was squeeze his arm and smile.
When he turned to face me, a bright smile brushed across his features. "I think that we need to find you a newsie name."
"A newsie name?"
He snickered. "You don't think that I was born with a name like Specs do you?"
Flushing, I smiled sheepishly. "So what name were you born with then?"
He quickly averted the question. "Now back to finding you a name."
"Oh no, don't think that you're going to get out of it that easily. Come on, please." I put on my best pout.
"I'll never say," he replied, straining to keep a straight face. He glanced at me again, cracking a smile. "Ok, ok. But you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not even Dutchy knows."
"Well," I toyed with him, pretending to consider his offer. "I promise. Now will you tell me already?"
"Carlton Bingham," he whispered, barely loud enough for me to make out.
Unconsciously, I grabbed his hand lightly and leaned toward him, whispering, "That wasn't so hard, now was it?"
Realizing how close we were, I started to pull back, shifting my gaze to the river. I was about to apologize when I felt his free hand lifting my chin. Before I knew what was happening, his warm lips brushed over mine gently.
Unbelievable. "You're joking right?" Donavon stared at me blankly; typical. "Could you be more of a hypocrite?"
"Are you feeling alright? You're not making any sense."
Rolling my eyes, I turned and headed off for school. "I heard the two of you last night, Donavon."
He grabbed my arm, forcing me to face him. "Heard? Eavesdropping is a bad habit you know."
I quickly changed the subject. "So it is alright for your friends to associate with newsies, but not your sister?"
He shrugged. "Maybe Whesley's right. They're not like us, Erin. Come on, we'll be late for school."
Now I want you to understand something. Before you get the wrong impression, my brother isn't a heartless person like Whesley. He just doesn't like to rock the boat. I, on the other hand. Well, let's just say that I am no stranger to making waves. "Donavon Michael O'Farrell, how can you say that? You don't even know them."
"And you do?" he replied calmly.
"Whose fault is that?"
He narrowed his eyes for a moment, prepared to counter. Instead, he did an about-face, stalking down the street. "Get to school now, Erin."
"Urgh, you are so infuriating!"
We took off in different directions, headed into another day of school.
The morning dragged on for what seemed like years. With my earlier conversation with Donavon still swimming around in my head, not to mention Whesley's little comments, it was next to impossible to concentrate on edict and Latin. By the time that afternoon break came around, I was becoming stir-crazy.
I stood in the window, absently watching a young newsie selling across the street. My thoughts were interrupted by a hand waving in front of my face. "Erin. Hey Erin, are you alright?"
"Huh?" I spun around to find a few of my friends staring at me expectantly. "Oh, yes, I'm fine. Just thinking about something."
One of the girls shifted her glance out the window. "Hey Erin, who is that raggedy girl with your brother?"
"What?" I shot back to the window to see Donavon striding toward the door with a red-headed girl standing timidly behind him. Without another word, I ran out the door, meeting my brother on the sidewalk. "What do you think that you are doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?"
He flashed me a goofy grin, and then stepped aside; revealing a girl about my age, dressed in very simple, rather dirty clothes. There was, however something about her that seemed hauntingly familiar.
To this day, I still can't say what tipped me off, but I was positive that the young lady standing before me was my sister. "Riona?"
"Hey little sis," she said, her words barely cutting through the fog that had settled in my head.
I honestly have no recollection of that night. That is until I asked her about living with us. I wanted so badly to have her back in my life, but as soon as the words were out of my mouth, she took off.
I spent the whole night locked in my room, unable to control my tears. Whether they were tears of sorrow or joy, I'm still not sure. All that I knew was that my sister's reappearance in my life was certainly stirring up my emotions.
When I awoke the next morning, everyone was still asleep. I took it as the perfect opportunity to get away.
Dressed in simple clothing so that I wouldn't stand out, I headed downtown. Just when I thought that I was completely lost, I found a group of newsboys gathered around a statue of a rather angry looking man.
I was trying to work up the courage to enter the group to look for Riona when I heard a vaguely familiar voice behind me. "Erin?"
I turned slowly and a smile began to crawl onto my lips when my eyes locked with a pair of blue eyes smiling behind thin glasses. "Specs, so we meet again."
He returned my smile, lighting his face even more. "It's nice to see you again." There was a moment of silence, and then he suddenly raised his eyebrows. "I'll be right back."
Specs trotted away, leaving me too dumbfounded to make a move. A minute later, he returned with Riona at his side, another newsie holding her hand. "This is the girl that you were asking about. Erin, I'd like you to meet Queeny."
Trying our best to stifle giggles, Riona and I waited patiently for him to finish his introductions before sharing a quick embrace. When we released each other, the boys were gaping at us.
"Ok, explain," the boy beside my sister said with a thick Brooklyn accent.
Riona and I burst into peals of laughter. "Spot, Specs, this is my little sister Erin."
"Sister?" Specs squeaked out.
A devilish grin spread across Riona's lips. "Yes Specs, sister. As in the same parents."
"Oh hush up, Queeny," Specs replied.
The other newsie, who, by process of elimination, I decided was Spot, dropped his arm around my sister's waist. I shot her a questioning look, attempting to piece the whole situation together.
As if she read my mind, Riona slipped out of Spot's grasp and linked elbows with me. "We've got some catching up to do."
As we started down the street away from the crowd, we started giggling like little girls again.
"And we thought that one of them was bad." Spot mumbled as the boys returned to the group.
"I heard that," Riona called back, making us giggle even more.
We spent about an hour just walking around Manhattan, headed no place in particular. As we walked, she told me how she ended up with the newsies and I filled her in on the events of the last year that she had missed.
"Ok," I said suddenly, "enough small talk. I want to know about this boy of yours."
She flushed, her green eyes dancing wildly. "Spot? Well, there's not much to tell. You see there was this guy. and well, he wasn't what I thought-"
"Whesley?" I cut in. She gave me a confused sideways glance. I chuckled. "He's Donavon's friend remember?"
She made a funny face. "Oh yeah. Anyway, Spot came looking for me when I didn't come home last night, and he ran into Whesley. Let's just say that we won't be hearing from him anytime soon."
We walked for a few steps in silence. Finally I spoke up, "I missed you."
She teared up again, pulling me into a loving hug. "I missed you too, kiddo."
"What are you going to do now, Riona? Where are you going to live?"
Her eyes clouded over for a second, but she shook her head and smiled. "Let's not talk about that right now, huh. Come on, let's get back. It's about time for lunch. Besides, I think that there's a certain newsie waiting to talk to you."
At that moment, I couldn't decide whether I was embarrassed or ecstatic. Either way, I was happy.
A few of the boys were already seated in the small diner when we arrived. Riona pointed out a few of the other boys around the table, although I'm a little unsure who I actually met that afternoon. I kept glancing over at Specs, who would shift his gaze whenever I turned toward him.
The newsies made small talk about the day's headlined while we waited for our food, and once it came, they were too busy eating to make any conversation at all.
That is until the short Italian, who I later learned was Racetrack, spoke up. "You boys all got your dates for Saturday night?"
Suddenly, Spot hit Jack on the shoulder. "Jacky-boy, you thinkin what I'm thinkin?" he asked, shifting his glance from me to Specs and back again.
Jack nodded and turned to me, grinning. "Erin, how would you like to join us at a dittle dance that we're havin on Saturday?"
I glanced over at Specs, who cheeks were about as red as mine felt. "I'll have to check with my parents."
"I'll be there. They'll let you come," Riona assured.
Not long after we finished eating, the newsies all began to scatter. The next thing that I knew, the only people left at the table were Riona, Spot, Specs and myself.
"Well, I'se better be headin back to Brooklyn. The boys'll start gettin worried," Spot said, breaking the silence. He leaned over and gave Riona a soft kiss. "You wanna spend the afternoon in Brooklyn?"
She got up to follow him, but sat back down when she realized that I was still there.
"Go ahead, Riona. It's ok," I assured. "I can find my way home. I think."
A worried look masked her face and she glanced between me and Spot.
This time it was Specs's turn to speak up. "It'll be alright, Queeny. I can take her home."
Spot winked at him and pulled Riona out the door.
"What was that all about?" I asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.
He flashed me a smile and quickly changed the subject. "How bout a tour of the city?"
I gave him a quick sideways glance. "I do live here you know. I've seen all of the sights."
"I highly doubt that you've seen the ones that I'm about to show you. Come on." He pulled me from my seat and we started down the street.
Some time later, after I'd seen most of lower Manhattan, Specs and I stood on the end of one of the many docks in the Harbor.
"Can I ask you something?" I asked, not taking my eyes off of the water before me.
"I think that you just did," he teased. "What do you want to know?"
"Why did you become a newsie?"
He let out a long sigh and took a seat on the dock. I followed in suit. "Well, I grew up in London. When I was ten, I wanted a little adventure, like every ten-year-old does. Anyway, one of my friends bet me to stow away in a ship headed across the channel to France. Unfortunately, we weren't old enough to know the difference between the ships, and I ended up here. After a few months on the streets, I met up with Dutchy and we bummed around until Jack found us. He convinced us to be newsies with him."
Not long after that day, I realized that most of the newsies had similar stories, and that some had worse, but at that moment, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Specs.
I cautiously laid a hand on his forearm. "Why didn't you go back? To England?"
His face furrowed in thought for a moment and then relaxed as he replied, "When I first got here, I didn't have the money for a ticket and I couldn't take another trip across the ocean in a cargo hold. By the time that I started making enough money, I guess that the newsies had become my family."
I wracked my brain for a way to respond, but all that I could think to do was squeeze his arm and smile.
When he turned to face me, a bright smile brushed across his features. "I think that we need to find you a newsie name."
"A newsie name?"
He snickered. "You don't think that I was born with a name like Specs do you?"
Flushing, I smiled sheepishly. "So what name were you born with then?"
He quickly averted the question. "Now back to finding you a name."
"Oh no, don't think that you're going to get out of it that easily. Come on, please." I put on my best pout.
"I'll never say," he replied, straining to keep a straight face. He glanced at me again, cracking a smile. "Ok, ok. But you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not even Dutchy knows."
"Well," I toyed with him, pretending to consider his offer. "I promise. Now will you tell me already?"
"Carlton Bingham," he whispered, barely loud enough for me to make out.
Unconsciously, I grabbed his hand lightly and leaned toward him, whispering, "That wasn't so hard, now was it?"
Realizing how close we were, I started to pull back, shifting my gaze to the river. I was about to apologize when I felt his free hand lifting my chin. Before I knew what was happening, his warm lips brushed over mine gently.