Chapter 3: A Different Life Skittery returned to the lodging house completely exhausted. He was right behind her, and then she turned a corner and was gone.gone. Where did she go? She just disappeared. He looked everywhere is Manhattan, but she was nowhere to be found. Swifty seeing Skittery come back empty handed turned pale.
"Where is she!" he yelled his voice cracking.
"I dunno," Skittery said quietly.
"What do ya mean ya dunno!" Swifty yelled his voice still cracking.
"I dunno!" Skittery yelled so loudly the lodging house shook. Swifty ran out of the room. Skittery went and sat on his bed tears were starting to trickle down his cheeks. Where could she be? She could be alone or kidnapped or lost. It was all his fault. He would never forgive himself if he didn't find her. No one talked to Skittery that night or the next morning when they got up. They knew he wasn't in the mood to talk. He wasn't his usual self, but no one could blame him for that. They all knew it was Drizz. Even though most of them didn't know her that well they felt responsible for her, and the lodging house wasn't complete without her there.

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Chapter "This is da goil's lodging house. Mines across da street," Rage told me as we entered a pretty old looking building almost identical to the Manhattan lodging house. He went over and talked to a girl who was sitting on the stairs. She had red hair tie up in the back, and she had green eyes. My hair was always down, because when I tried to put it up it looked bad, so it was just easier to leave it down. They talked to awhile. I just waited patiently by the door. Patients isn't one of my natural gifts though. Finally they stopped talking, and they walked over to me.
"Hey this is Flare. She is da leader 'round here. She'll get ya a bunk," Rage said to me.
"Okay," I replied. I wasn't use to living with girls. The first time I had my period Skittery took me to the hospital. It would be nice to be around girls for the first time in my life.
"Oh an' Drizz meet mes at da door in a half and hour and I'll take ya to da diner," he said smiling.
"That'd be great," I said smiling. I was starving. Flare let out a short laugh, but quick drew it in when she saw how he looked at me.
"Come on," she said taking hand and pulling me up the stairs with her. I turned around to see Rage show himself to the door. We walked in the door on the right. The door on the left in is the washroom.
"This us gunna be your bed," Flare told me pointing to the bottom bed on the right three rows down. I thanked her and she introduced to all the news goils in the house. Flare was nice, and she talked a lot. The goil who sleep above me name was Kink. She was really polite. She had light brown and brown eyes like me. She talked to me a lot. I told her I was going to the diner with Rage, so she took me to the washroom. She let me use her soap to wash my hands and face. She put my hair up and let me borrow one of her dresses since all I had was my brown cut-off pants, a light green shirt, striped suspenders, and a vest. Kink and I got along really well, and I could tell she was going to become my good friend. When we walked to the door together Rage was already there waiting for me.
"What happened to da dirty little goil I found in da alley?" he asked his mouth hanging opened. Kink gave me a "what is he talking about look."
"Tell ya lata tonight," I whispered in her ear. Rage and I walked out of the lodging house leaving a confuse Kink behind.
"Sorry," Rage said quietly were out of earshot," I wasn't thinking."
"It's alright. She's really nice, and I don't mind telling her," I said," I'se planning on telling her how I gots there anyways, so it didn't really madder."
Then we reached the diner we got a table in the front so we could look out the window. I don't miss Skittery at all anymore. I am happy were I am. I have friends and I can do anything I want. It's great. I can be a newsies without sneaking around behind Skittery's back. His life would be easier now too. He doesn't have to worry about taking care of me or anything. He's free.
Rage and I ordered our meals. While waiting for our food we talked, (duh) He told me about his life. When he was little he lived with his parents. They were really rich and they were always doing stuff together, going to the park, going fishing, going swimming, and stuff like that. Soon they started spending lee money and going less places. His parents were barely spending any time with him anymore. He started to get lonely. He didn't really have any friends or any one to talk to. One night, when he was seven, his parents had to go to a meeting or something. He waited up for them, but they never came back. At around midnight the police came and took him to live with his aunt. They told him his parents were murdered. That wasn't an easy thing for him to take. He wouldn't talk to any one. His aunt use to beat him, because he wouldn't talk to her, that made him want to talk less. He didn't talk to any people for three years. The only thing he talked to was his aunt's cat. His aunt hadn't feed him a whole week when he was ten in a attempt to make him talk, when he didn't she beat him. He had bruises all over his body; his mouth and nose were bleeding. While his aunt went into the kitchen to get a new wooden spoon, because the one she was using was broken, he made a run for it. Well he couldn't really run. It was more like a limp for it. He went and hid in an alley. The same one he had found me in. He still went there sometimes. He wasn't sure why he just did. He went to the lodging house and a guy named Slick was the leader of the newsies at that time, and he became friends with him. Slick was the person who should Rage how to be a newsies. After that Slick left the life of a newsie, got married, had kids, and got a really job. He gave his position as the Mid-town Newsies leader to Rage. That's how he got where he is now. His aunt never did anything to try and find him. He thinks she was waiting for him to run away he told me laughing. I don't understand why not being wanted was funny though. And furthermore I don't understand why anybody wouldn't want Rage.
"Well if she didn't want ya then she is stupid," I said honestly. Rage smiled and reached his hand across the table to hold mine.
We had gotten our food during his story and I was almost done, but he barely touched his food. I figured it was my turn, because he stopped talking. I figured this way he would get a chance to eat too, but when I started telling him my story he still didn't eat. He was just staring at me. I think he was listening, but I don't think what I was saying was going into his head, so I stopped talking.
"Keep goin," he said innocently like I had stopped in the middle of his bedtime story, because I thought he was asleep. I started talking again, but I still wasn't sure he was listening to me. When I finished my story we left the diner for "home." We didn't talk much on the way to the lodging house. It was cold out though, so he put his arm around my shoulders in a successful attempt to keep me warm. It was dark outside and the streets were mostly empty which was quite alright with me. I was glad to be with Rage without him I would be totally lost again. We stopped in front of the girls' lodging house.
"Goodnight," I said smiling.

"See ya tomorrow?" he said "Of course," I said still smiling," thanks. for everything." He kissed me on the cheek and turned and started walking to the boys' lodging house. My heart was pounding so loudly I could hear; at least I thought I could hear it. I ran upstairs to see Kink. I told her all about my night and thanked her again for letting me use her dress. (Well I left out all of Rage's story and mine, but you know what I mean) She laughed a little when I finished before saying anything. "So," she said in a round about way," what did Rage mean when he said 'what happened to da dirty little goil I found in da alley'?" I looked at her hard trying to make sure I could trust her. She had been waiting to ask me that all night, and I knew I owed her the truth. I leaned over and whispered in her ear my story about running away and the alley. Oh was all that she could say. Then she hugged me, we exchanged goodnights, and went to bed. Most of the girls were in bed or getting ready for bed. I wasn't sure what time it was now or what time me and Rage got back, but I didn't really care. I was just glad to have time to think before I drifted off to sleep.