Hearts In The Wind
" Leave me alone, will ya?" I yelled back to my father, who was chasing me down the street. I ran as fast as I could. I was never going back, he couldn't make me, no one could make me go back to that house, to that life. After a few minutes of running I looked back and saw that he stopped chasing me. Good, I thought, but I kept running. I ran for what seemed like hours until, finally, I reached the train yards. I jumped into the first train I saw. I leaned on my knees, trying to catch my breath, but it wasn't working. I tried to control my breathing, but it wasn't working and before I knew it, I passed out.
I was awaken by a jolt of the train, it seemed to have stopped. I didn't realize how long I was sleeping and I didn't have time to figure it out. The cart door flung open and a man started yelling at me and threw me out of the train. I was thankful the train had stopped, but being thrown to the ground still hurt. I stood up, dusted myself off and looked around.
I started walking and after a few minutes, I found a town, or I guess it would be a city. Trying to figure out where I was and finding somewhere to stay was my priority. It was getting dark out, and I didn't have a place to stay, or any food or money. Maybe I shouldn't have done this, I thought. No, this was the right thing to do. It was the only way out. So I kept on walking and eventually found myself in an alley. I thought I'd be safe here but then I heard a voice from behind me.
" Hey'a sweetface. Whatcha doin in a alley all by your lonesome" I turned around to see these two boys standing in front of me. They hovered over me in height and they had these smug looks on their face. I was terrified; I could try to fight, but that wouldn't do any good.
" I.uh.I was just leaving." I tried to walk around them, but the one with the mustache grabbed my arm and pushed me to the ground in front of them.
" No ya ain't." One of them said, as they started checking my pockets.
" I don't have anything." I tried to say calmly, but it was obvious they could tell I was horrified.
" No money? Well that ain't a good thing, is it Oscar?" Nodding his head, the boy called Oscar picked me up by my hair and punched me in the face, which knocked me flat on my ass. He was about to do it again when I heard this voice.
"I wouldn't do that again." I looked to the front of the alley and saw a couple other guys. The tallest one with the cowboy hat walked over and helped me up.
"Leave her alone." He said, looking Oscar in the eye.
" You can't protect everyone, Cowboy. Come on Morris. We'll be seeing you sweetface!" With that they strutted outta the alley. The man standing beside me looked at me.
" Are you'se alright?" I looked straight into his eyes and was fully prepared to tell a lie when I was cut off by someone.
" What a question. Ya, um miss, even though you were attacked and beat up, are you alright? Ha ha, Jack you're a bucket of laughs!" This curly headed kid started laughing pretty hard. To me, he looked insane. What part of that was funny?
"I meant how hurt are you. Damn Mush, just let the girl answer." The boy called Mush settled down and they all looked at me.
"Oh, me? I'm fine, thanks."
"That eye of yours says otherwise." Instinctively my hand went up to my injured face.
"C'mon, we'll go get you fixed up." He offered.
"Uh, no thanks, I'll be alright."
"Look, we aren't going to hurt you. I just can't leave a hurt girl on the streets when the sun is going down. It ain't safe. I swear on my honor as a newsie, we honestly mean you no harm. Just come back to our Lodging House and if you don't like the looks of things, you don't even have to go in, alright?" I didn't know what to think. Should I trust them, should I run, should I go home?
" Uh, sure, thanks. Uh, my name is Chelsea." I said very hesitantly.
" I'm Jack Kelly. That is Mush Kid Blink, Davey, Race and thats Specs." With that Jack spat in his hand and extended it out. Ew. He took my hand and I tried to not mind the spit and we shook on it. I could feel the spit and it was all slimy, ew, but I knew better than to say anything about it, so when we finished shaking hands, I waited till no one was looking and wiped the spit off of my hand.
When we got outside of their lodging house, I started to observe it. It looked pretty decent to me. Jack looked at me and I shook my head, letting them lead me into their home, and eventually into their world. Jack signed me in and brought me upstairs to meet the rest of the guys. We walked into a room of about 30 guys. One of them walked up to us.
" Bring'in strays, Jack?" the boy that said this was walking with a crutch.
" Very funny Crutchy. Listen up this here is Chelsea. She got a little roughed up by the Delancy's and she's gonna stay here the night." With that he led me to the bed I would be sleeping in. I said thank you and started looking at all the guys. It was a bit of an uncomfortable situation. There were very few girls in the room.
" Hey, don't worry about them. Manhattan has decent guys, they won't bug you to much." I smiled at him and sat on my bunk. Jack walked away and came back a few minutes later with a damp cloth, he gave it to me and let me clean up my face a bit before taking it away and telling me to get some sleep.
The next day I was woken up by an old man called Kloppmen. He explained that he was the adult who looked after the place, and the newsies in it. He told me to go get washed up as he woke everyone else up. I found him to be a very gentle old man. He pointed me to the bathroom and I went and washed up. The bruise on my eye looked pretty bad, but other than that I felt ok. As I walked out of the bathroom, all washed up and ready to leave, I saw that everybody was up. I walked to the window and looked out of it. I didn't know what I was going to do that day, or what job to look for, I was lost, and then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and was face to face with Jack. " Hey. Your eye looks like it'll be alright. So, you wanna learn how to be a newsie, it'll give you something to do for the day, and I can make back the money I spent on you last night for rent."
"Uh, sure but I have no idea how to be a newsie so I might not be very good at it."
" That's alright. I'm a good teacher, plus no one expects to much out of a newsie on there first day. The only thing that can make you good at this job is experience. You'll learn." I looked at him with some hope. Maybe I would be ok here. Jack led me out of the bunkroom and to the distribution office. When it was our turn, Jack got his usual amount and an extra 20 for me. When I reached to get them, a hand grabbed mine and I looked up and saw one of the horrible boys from the day before.
" Let go of my hand." I tried to get out of his grasp, but he was strong.
" You didn't let us introduce ourselves properly last night. How's about later you and me go back ta my place and we can have a little fun.
" Now I thought I told you to leave her alone?" I looked behind me and saw Jack towering over me. Oscar let my wrist go as he winked at me. Jack led me down the stairs and out of the distribution center. That morning he taught me how to sell properly. It was a lot harder than it looked. People could be so rude and I wasn't having much luck. I barely was able to sell my twenty. I had no idea how Jack sold a whole hundred. At lunch, we went to Tibby's, where some of the Manhattan newsies ate lunch. We sat at a table with Jack, a guy named Race, and a guy named Snoddy.
" So, how did ya do for your first day?" Race asked as we sat down, I sat right across from Snoddy.
" I guess I did alright. I had a good enough teacher." I said. For the duration of the meal, there wasn't much serious talk. It was just a bunch of chit chat. I mostly just sat there and listened. After lunch, I stood up and made my way outside. I sat on the curb and tried to absorb everything. I thought that running away would be a little harder than that. I mean, I get into town and right before I get hurt badly this group of guys help me out, give me a place to stay and a job. It seemed lucky to me. But that's what I felt was wrong, life didn't happen like that. At any moment something was bound to happen. Something was bound to smack me back into the real world. Someone approaching me from behind disturbed my thinking.
" Oscar, come 'ere. Look who I found. It's that girl from the alley last night." I stood up and turned around to face possibly the ugliest man I have ever seen. I couldn't believe I kept running into them. Then again, maybe this was the universe's way of saying that I pushed my luck to much.
" What's this, Cowboy isn't here to help you out? We could gonna soak you real bad right now." I slowly started to back up, when I noticed that a couple of the guys were coming out of Tibby's. Oscar and Morris also saw them.
" Saved again. The moment we get you alone, you'll regret the day you met us." Didn't they realize I already regretted the day that I met them. Maybe if I told them they would leave me be. Probably not though. They took off. I was so relieved, and then I realized that eventually they would find me alone and beat the hell out of me. I had no idea how to fight. I had no idea how to defend myself. Maybe someone could help me with that. Maybe Jack could, he seemed like a nice enough guy.
" Leave me alone, will ya?" I yelled back to my father, who was chasing me down the street. I ran as fast as I could. I was never going back, he couldn't make me, no one could make me go back to that house, to that life. After a few minutes of running I looked back and saw that he stopped chasing me. Good, I thought, but I kept running. I ran for what seemed like hours until, finally, I reached the train yards. I jumped into the first train I saw. I leaned on my knees, trying to catch my breath, but it wasn't working. I tried to control my breathing, but it wasn't working and before I knew it, I passed out.
I was awaken by a jolt of the train, it seemed to have stopped. I didn't realize how long I was sleeping and I didn't have time to figure it out. The cart door flung open and a man started yelling at me and threw me out of the train. I was thankful the train had stopped, but being thrown to the ground still hurt. I stood up, dusted myself off and looked around.
I started walking and after a few minutes, I found a town, or I guess it would be a city. Trying to figure out where I was and finding somewhere to stay was my priority. It was getting dark out, and I didn't have a place to stay, or any food or money. Maybe I shouldn't have done this, I thought. No, this was the right thing to do. It was the only way out. So I kept on walking and eventually found myself in an alley. I thought I'd be safe here but then I heard a voice from behind me.
" Hey'a sweetface. Whatcha doin in a alley all by your lonesome" I turned around to see these two boys standing in front of me. They hovered over me in height and they had these smug looks on their face. I was terrified; I could try to fight, but that wouldn't do any good.
" I.uh.I was just leaving." I tried to walk around them, but the one with the mustache grabbed my arm and pushed me to the ground in front of them.
" No ya ain't." One of them said, as they started checking my pockets.
" I don't have anything." I tried to say calmly, but it was obvious they could tell I was horrified.
" No money? Well that ain't a good thing, is it Oscar?" Nodding his head, the boy called Oscar picked me up by my hair and punched me in the face, which knocked me flat on my ass. He was about to do it again when I heard this voice.
"I wouldn't do that again." I looked to the front of the alley and saw a couple other guys. The tallest one with the cowboy hat walked over and helped me up.
"Leave her alone." He said, looking Oscar in the eye.
" You can't protect everyone, Cowboy. Come on Morris. We'll be seeing you sweetface!" With that they strutted outta the alley. The man standing beside me looked at me.
" Are you'se alright?" I looked straight into his eyes and was fully prepared to tell a lie when I was cut off by someone.
" What a question. Ya, um miss, even though you were attacked and beat up, are you alright? Ha ha, Jack you're a bucket of laughs!" This curly headed kid started laughing pretty hard. To me, he looked insane. What part of that was funny?
"I meant how hurt are you. Damn Mush, just let the girl answer." The boy called Mush settled down and they all looked at me.
"Oh, me? I'm fine, thanks."
"That eye of yours says otherwise." Instinctively my hand went up to my injured face.
"C'mon, we'll go get you fixed up." He offered.
"Uh, no thanks, I'll be alright."
"Look, we aren't going to hurt you. I just can't leave a hurt girl on the streets when the sun is going down. It ain't safe. I swear on my honor as a newsie, we honestly mean you no harm. Just come back to our Lodging House and if you don't like the looks of things, you don't even have to go in, alright?" I didn't know what to think. Should I trust them, should I run, should I go home?
" Uh, sure, thanks. Uh, my name is Chelsea." I said very hesitantly.
" I'm Jack Kelly. That is Mush Kid Blink, Davey, Race and thats Specs." With that Jack spat in his hand and extended it out. Ew. He took my hand and I tried to not mind the spit and we shook on it. I could feel the spit and it was all slimy, ew, but I knew better than to say anything about it, so when we finished shaking hands, I waited till no one was looking and wiped the spit off of my hand.
When we got outside of their lodging house, I started to observe it. It looked pretty decent to me. Jack looked at me and I shook my head, letting them lead me into their home, and eventually into their world. Jack signed me in and brought me upstairs to meet the rest of the guys. We walked into a room of about 30 guys. One of them walked up to us.
" Bring'in strays, Jack?" the boy that said this was walking with a crutch.
" Very funny Crutchy. Listen up this here is Chelsea. She got a little roughed up by the Delancy's and she's gonna stay here the night." With that he led me to the bed I would be sleeping in. I said thank you and started looking at all the guys. It was a bit of an uncomfortable situation. There were very few girls in the room.
" Hey, don't worry about them. Manhattan has decent guys, they won't bug you to much." I smiled at him and sat on my bunk. Jack walked away and came back a few minutes later with a damp cloth, he gave it to me and let me clean up my face a bit before taking it away and telling me to get some sleep.
The next day I was woken up by an old man called Kloppmen. He explained that he was the adult who looked after the place, and the newsies in it. He told me to go get washed up as he woke everyone else up. I found him to be a very gentle old man. He pointed me to the bathroom and I went and washed up. The bruise on my eye looked pretty bad, but other than that I felt ok. As I walked out of the bathroom, all washed up and ready to leave, I saw that everybody was up. I walked to the window and looked out of it. I didn't know what I was going to do that day, or what job to look for, I was lost, and then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and was face to face with Jack. " Hey. Your eye looks like it'll be alright. So, you wanna learn how to be a newsie, it'll give you something to do for the day, and I can make back the money I spent on you last night for rent."
"Uh, sure but I have no idea how to be a newsie so I might not be very good at it."
" That's alright. I'm a good teacher, plus no one expects to much out of a newsie on there first day. The only thing that can make you good at this job is experience. You'll learn." I looked at him with some hope. Maybe I would be ok here. Jack led me out of the bunkroom and to the distribution office. When it was our turn, Jack got his usual amount and an extra 20 for me. When I reached to get them, a hand grabbed mine and I looked up and saw one of the horrible boys from the day before.
" Let go of my hand." I tried to get out of his grasp, but he was strong.
" You didn't let us introduce ourselves properly last night. How's about later you and me go back ta my place and we can have a little fun.
" Now I thought I told you to leave her alone?" I looked behind me and saw Jack towering over me. Oscar let my wrist go as he winked at me. Jack led me down the stairs and out of the distribution center. That morning he taught me how to sell properly. It was a lot harder than it looked. People could be so rude and I wasn't having much luck. I barely was able to sell my twenty. I had no idea how Jack sold a whole hundred. At lunch, we went to Tibby's, where some of the Manhattan newsies ate lunch. We sat at a table with Jack, a guy named Race, and a guy named Snoddy.
" So, how did ya do for your first day?" Race asked as we sat down, I sat right across from Snoddy.
" I guess I did alright. I had a good enough teacher." I said. For the duration of the meal, there wasn't much serious talk. It was just a bunch of chit chat. I mostly just sat there and listened. After lunch, I stood up and made my way outside. I sat on the curb and tried to absorb everything. I thought that running away would be a little harder than that. I mean, I get into town and right before I get hurt badly this group of guys help me out, give me a place to stay and a job. It seemed lucky to me. But that's what I felt was wrong, life didn't happen like that. At any moment something was bound to happen. Something was bound to smack me back into the real world. Someone approaching me from behind disturbed my thinking.
" Oscar, come 'ere. Look who I found. It's that girl from the alley last night." I stood up and turned around to face possibly the ugliest man I have ever seen. I couldn't believe I kept running into them. Then again, maybe this was the universe's way of saying that I pushed my luck to much.
" What's this, Cowboy isn't here to help you out? We could gonna soak you real bad right now." I slowly started to back up, when I noticed that a couple of the guys were coming out of Tibby's. Oscar and Morris also saw them.
" Saved again. The moment we get you alone, you'll regret the day you met us." Didn't they realize I already regretted the day that I met them. Maybe if I told them they would leave me be. Probably not though. They took off. I was so relieved, and then I realized that eventually they would find me alone and beat the hell out of me. I had no idea how to fight. I had no idea how to defend myself. Maybe someone could help me with that. Maybe Jack could, he seemed like a nice enough guy.