Chapter 3
"What was that?" Lauren asked motioning towards Dag's bed.
"Just some stuff a friend gave me before I left."
"Can we see?" asked Ariana.
"No," Dag replied sharply. She didn't want these girls going through her stuff. The stuff that mattered anyway.
"Why is your hair so short?" asked a girl about 10 in her doorway.
"I cut it,"
"Why?"
"Wanted to look more like a boy,"
"Why?"
"Can you say a sentence wid out de word why in it?"
"Yes,"
"Wow. So who are you?"
"Alexandra Morrill," The younger girl answered.
"So you're Alexandra." Dag said studying the girl from a distance. Dag smiled she had a nickname for this girl already. "Alexandra is pretty long huh?"
"Yea, I've always thought so too." Alexandra agreed.
"Does Alexandra get a nickname too?" asked Lauren.
"A nickname?"
"Something we can call you cuz yeh name is so long." Dag replied. "And I already have one for ya."
"What is it?" Alexandra edged closer to Dag.
"Why,"
"What?"
"Yeh nickname is Why."
"Why?"
"Yeah cuz ya say 'why' a lot."
"I like it," decided the newly duded Why.
"It's a little silly isn't it?" asked Lauren.
"No I like it," Why defended her new nickname.
"Yeah it's not silly. I have a friend named Spot, Why isn't that silly."
"Spot? How did she get that as a nickname?" asked Ariana.
"He, and I don't know. Never asked." Replied Dag.
"How did you get your nickname Dag?" Lauren asked.
"I'm not as strong as the boys so I carry daggers around with me." Dag replied pulling out the knife she had sheathed against her calve. "And a few friends decided that Daggers was too long so they shortened it to Dag." The girls all jumped when she pulled out her knife. Dag laughed and returned it to it's sheath.
"You said daggers, I only see one." Why announced.
"That's cuz I didn't think I'd need 'em here so I gave 'em to Spot, and he decided that I needed at least one. So I carry that one on me."
"Time for bed girls." A teacher yelled in from the door to the dorm.
"Good night," Ariana and Lauren said leaving.
"Night," Dag replied before getting ready for bed.
The nest morning Dag woke up just as the sunlight snuck through her bedroom window. Getting up she changed then sat down by her bed knowing that the other girls wouldn't be up for another hour. Pulling out the slingshot from under her bed she ran her finger over the SC on the handle. She was already homesick for New York. More specifically the streets of Brooklyn but she'd been missing them for a while now.
"Dag are you up?" Why knocked on the door.
"Yeah," Dag stood up and shoved the slingshot back under her bed. She opened the door to find Why standing still in her night gown.
"I heard a noise coming from your room." Why noticing that Dag was fully dressed for the day.
"I wake up with the sun." Dag replied.
"Ah, we don't have to be down for breakfast for another hour and a half." The younger girl told informed her. Why yawned and turned to go back to her room. "I'm going to get ready."
"Alright," Dag responded following her out into the common room and finding a piece of an old newspaper and pen.
Brooklyn,
That was about as far as she got. She didn't know what to say. She knew if she told them to come get her they would in a heart beat, but she couldn't. She also knew that if she said something to sappy like I miss you so much, they might and come get her anyway. Dag gave up after an hour and a half sitting there and went with Why down to breakfast.
They were two of the first ones down there. Emily and clique were off on one side of the table and Dag got an idea. There was nothing more fun back in Brooklyn than soaking a scabber and she was pretty sure Emily would fit under the definition of a boarding school scab. Dag couldn't exactly soak her but piss her off was enough to lift her spirits.
"Hello Emily," Dag said walking over.
"Dag," Lauren called walking over.
"Dag?" Emily asked.
"Yeah it's me name."
"What kind of name is Dag?"
"What kind of name is Emily?"
"The name my parents gave me,"
"The name me friends gave me," Dag replied imitating Emily.
"Girls, take your seats." A teacher said before Dag could piss Emily off. Dag growled she was still really homesick.
Breakfast passed and Dag was pulled into the crowd to morning classes. Some poor teacher attempted to teach Dag how to speak properly by order of Howland. She was terribly unsuccessful because Dag knew how to ditch her accent and choose not to. After lunch however things started to look up.
"What's this for?" Dag asked as Lauren handed her a particularly ugly hat.
"It's Friday afternoon," Lauren replied.
"That means absolutely nothing to me,"
"Friday afternoon's we are allowed to leave the school for a few hours, so that if we need to buy a new dress or something like that we can. Mind you we have to do it with our own money, Howland won't pay for anything." Lauren explained patently.
"Basically we get to wonder the streets?"
"As long as we stay with at least one other girl, yes."
Dag smiled, she couldn't wait to be back on the streets. She'd be in a dress, there was a time restriction and she couldn't go off alone but other wise she couldn't wait. Dag got another idea and her smile turned into a smirk.
"Lauren, would ya be an angel and do me a favor?"
"What?" she asked eyeing Dag's smirk cautiously.
"Okay we is going to pretend I was with ya de entire time."
"Alright," Lauren replied not wanting to know what Dag planned to do on her own.
"I just got a nickname for ya,"
"Really?" Lauren asked excitedly.
"Yep, Angel."
"Angel," Lauren said trying out her new name. "Thanks Dag."
"No problem Angel."
Stepping out onto the street Dag filled her lungs with the fresh air. It felt so good to be outside that she almost let her guard down but remembered that was probably the last thing she wanted to do. As she began to walk she took mental note of the street the school was on and began to take in her surrounding. The streets in Maine were similar to New York but had their own style. There were no New York accents but street slang was still present.
Turning onto a new street she noticed the local distribution center selling the afternoon addition. Dag was tempted to go get a few to sell while she wandered but decided that if the local newsies were as territorial as the New York ones that might not have been such a good idea.
A young about Les Jacob's age was trying to sell near her to a few local merchant's with a lot of success. Dag wondered if he had a good headline or if he pulled of the pathetic look really good.
"Fountain of life found in Minnesota!" He boy called out. Dag laughed this boy new how to improve the truth. He noticed she was watching him and walked approached. "Buy a pape lady?"
"Sure," She said pulling out a quarter and pretending she didn't have a penny. She handed it to him and he awed at the quarter before running off.
She followed him with her eyes as he ran over to an older newsie. The older boy smiled and patted him on the head before adding it to their funds. Dag laughed as she realized the boy had forgotten to give her a paper. She sighed not really caring so she turned to continue wandering.
"Excuse me miss," she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around slowly raising her guard. She relaxed when she noticed it was the older newsie. "Kleine was so excited 'bout de quarter he forgot to give ya your pape." He handed her a paper.
"Thanks," Dag replied carefully. "Didn't notice."
"Ya didn't notice, or ya didn't care?"
"Didn't care,"
"Just wanted to give him a quarter?"
"Yeah," Dag nodded.
"We don't take charity,"
"It's not charity, I wanted a pape and didn't have a penny." Dag lied even thought the boy knew the truth. She held up her paper as a prop.
"I see," the boy laughed.
"So who is I not giving charity too?" Dag asked slipping her voice into a little heavier New York accent.
"I'm Mark, that's Kleine, and you are?"
"Dag,"
"Nice to meet ya Dag, hope to see ya around soon." He winked before disappearing into the crowd. Dag stood hoping that he didn't mean it the way she thought.
Dag sighed and started back towards the school.
"What was that?" Lauren asked motioning towards Dag's bed.
"Just some stuff a friend gave me before I left."
"Can we see?" asked Ariana.
"No," Dag replied sharply. She didn't want these girls going through her stuff. The stuff that mattered anyway.
"Why is your hair so short?" asked a girl about 10 in her doorway.
"I cut it,"
"Why?"
"Wanted to look more like a boy,"
"Why?"
"Can you say a sentence wid out de word why in it?"
"Yes,"
"Wow. So who are you?"
"Alexandra Morrill," The younger girl answered.
"So you're Alexandra." Dag said studying the girl from a distance. Dag smiled she had a nickname for this girl already. "Alexandra is pretty long huh?"
"Yea, I've always thought so too." Alexandra agreed.
"Does Alexandra get a nickname too?" asked Lauren.
"A nickname?"
"Something we can call you cuz yeh name is so long." Dag replied. "And I already have one for ya."
"What is it?" Alexandra edged closer to Dag.
"Why,"
"What?"
"Yeh nickname is Why."
"Why?"
"Yeah cuz ya say 'why' a lot."
"I like it," decided the newly duded Why.
"It's a little silly isn't it?" asked Lauren.
"No I like it," Why defended her new nickname.
"Yeah it's not silly. I have a friend named Spot, Why isn't that silly."
"Spot? How did she get that as a nickname?" asked Ariana.
"He, and I don't know. Never asked." Replied Dag.
"How did you get your nickname Dag?" Lauren asked.
"I'm not as strong as the boys so I carry daggers around with me." Dag replied pulling out the knife she had sheathed against her calve. "And a few friends decided that Daggers was too long so they shortened it to Dag." The girls all jumped when she pulled out her knife. Dag laughed and returned it to it's sheath.
"You said daggers, I only see one." Why announced.
"That's cuz I didn't think I'd need 'em here so I gave 'em to Spot, and he decided that I needed at least one. So I carry that one on me."
"Time for bed girls." A teacher yelled in from the door to the dorm.
"Good night," Ariana and Lauren said leaving.
"Night," Dag replied before getting ready for bed.
The nest morning Dag woke up just as the sunlight snuck through her bedroom window. Getting up she changed then sat down by her bed knowing that the other girls wouldn't be up for another hour. Pulling out the slingshot from under her bed she ran her finger over the SC on the handle. She was already homesick for New York. More specifically the streets of Brooklyn but she'd been missing them for a while now.
"Dag are you up?" Why knocked on the door.
"Yeah," Dag stood up and shoved the slingshot back under her bed. She opened the door to find Why standing still in her night gown.
"I heard a noise coming from your room." Why noticing that Dag was fully dressed for the day.
"I wake up with the sun." Dag replied.
"Ah, we don't have to be down for breakfast for another hour and a half." The younger girl told informed her. Why yawned and turned to go back to her room. "I'm going to get ready."
"Alright," Dag responded following her out into the common room and finding a piece of an old newspaper and pen.
Brooklyn,
That was about as far as she got. She didn't know what to say. She knew if she told them to come get her they would in a heart beat, but she couldn't. She also knew that if she said something to sappy like I miss you so much, they might and come get her anyway. Dag gave up after an hour and a half sitting there and went with Why down to breakfast.
They were two of the first ones down there. Emily and clique were off on one side of the table and Dag got an idea. There was nothing more fun back in Brooklyn than soaking a scabber and she was pretty sure Emily would fit under the definition of a boarding school scab. Dag couldn't exactly soak her but piss her off was enough to lift her spirits.
"Hello Emily," Dag said walking over.
"Dag," Lauren called walking over.
"Dag?" Emily asked.
"Yeah it's me name."
"What kind of name is Dag?"
"What kind of name is Emily?"
"The name my parents gave me,"
"The name me friends gave me," Dag replied imitating Emily.
"Girls, take your seats." A teacher said before Dag could piss Emily off. Dag growled she was still really homesick.
Breakfast passed and Dag was pulled into the crowd to morning classes. Some poor teacher attempted to teach Dag how to speak properly by order of Howland. She was terribly unsuccessful because Dag knew how to ditch her accent and choose not to. After lunch however things started to look up.
"What's this for?" Dag asked as Lauren handed her a particularly ugly hat.
"It's Friday afternoon," Lauren replied.
"That means absolutely nothing to me,"
"Friday afternoon's we are allowed to leave the school for a few hours, so that if we need to buy a new dress or something like that we can. Mind you we have to do it with our own money, Howland won't pay for anything." Lauren explained patently.
"Basically we get to wonder the streets?"
"As long as we stay with at least one other girl, yes."
Dag smiled, she couldn't wait to be back on the streets. She'd be in a dress, there was a time restriction and she couldn't go off alone but other wise she couldn't wait. Dag got another idea and her smile turned into a smirk.
"Lauren, would ya be an angel and do me a favor?"
"What?" she asked eyeing Dag's smirk cautiously.
"Okay we is going to pretend I was with ya de entire time."
"Alright," Lauren replied not wanting to know what Dag planned to do on her own.
"I just got a nickname for ya,"
"Really?" Lauren asked excitedly.
"Yep, Angel."
"Angel," Lauren said trying out her new name. "Thanks Dag."
"No problem Angel."
Stepping out onto the street Dag filled her lungs with the fresh air. It felt so good to be outside that she almost let her guard down but remembered that was probably the last thing she wanted to do. As she began to walk she took mental note of the street the school was on and began to take in her surrounding. The streets in Maine were similar to New York but had their own style. There were no New York accents but street slang was still present.
Turning onto a new street she noticed the local distribution center selling the afternoon addition. Dag was tempted to go get a few to sell while she wandered but decided that if the local newsies were as territorial as the New York ones that might not have been such a good idea.
A young about Les Jacob's age was trying to sell near her to a few local merchant's with a lot of success. Dag wondered if he had a good headline or if he pulled of the pathetic look really good.
"Fountain of life found in Minnesota!" He boy called out. Dag laughed this boy new how to improve the truth. He noticed she was watching him and walked approached. "Buy a pape lady?"
"Sure," She said pulling out a quarter and pretending she didn't have a penny. She handed it to him and he awed at the quarter before running off.
She followed him with her eyes as he ran over to an older newsie. The older boy smiled and patted him on the head before adding it to their funds. Dag laughed as she realized the boy had forgotten to give her a paper. She sighed not really caring so she turned to continue wandering.
"Excuse me miss," she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around slowly raising her guard. She relaxed when she noticed it was the older newsie. "Kleine was so excited 'bout de quarter he forgot to give ya your pape." He handed her a paper.
"Thanks," Dag replied carefully. "Didn't notice."
"Ya didn't notice, or ya didn't care?"
"Didn't care,"
"Just wanted to give him a quarter?"
"Yeah," Dag nodded.
"We don't take charity,"
"It's not charity, I wanted a pape and didn't have a penny." Dag lied even thought the boy knew the truth. She held up her paper as a prop.
"I see," the boy laughed.
"So who is I not giving charity too?" Dag asked slipping her voice into a little heavier New York accent.
"I'm Mark, that's Kleine, and you are?"
"Dag,"
"Nice to meet ya Dag, hope to see ya around soon." He winked before disappearing into the crowd. Dag stood hoping that he didn't mean it the way she thought.
Dag sighed and started back towards the school.
