CHAPTER TWO
"'ey youse!"
The voice, harsh, demanding, made her wince. Her head was throbbing, and her body ached all over, freezing cold from staying all night in the open air. Groggily, Annalise opened her eyes to find herself staring directly at a gold-tipped cane that was pointed at her, the end barely an inch from her face. Her green eyes traveled the length of the black cane, over the bare forearm and rolled up sleeves of the boy holding it, across his red suspenders and a key hung around his neck to his face. It wasn't a very long trip, as he wasn't very tall; Annalise judged him to be maybe a inch, perhaps even two, taller than her. He looked young, maybe 15, about the same age as her, and had stormy grey-blue eyes set in a boyish face and blonde hair. His expression was something like suspicion, though his lips curled upwards in a slight smirk. Two other boys, both heavily muscled and taller than him, stood at either shoulder.
"I said what'cha dooin' 'ere?"
"I. I was." she stammered, intimidated by his superior stature and voice, his aggressiveness in questioning. She starts to pull herself to her knees, but before she could finish her answer he replies,
"Don't'cha know that if youse gonna sleep in an alley you sleep at th'back of 'em? You tryin' to freeze?"
She still gaped at him, stunned at the harshness of New York people. Where was the friendliness her mother had talked about, the ability of the New Yorkers to welcome you with open arms? "No. No, I didn't know.."
He gives her a strange look as she got to her feet, swaying slightly, but steadied herself on a nearby barrel. Now she could see some thirty-odd more boys standing behind him, all gazing at her with an aloof curiousness. "Well now you do. So don't let me catch youse sleepin' on tha curb no more." With that final 'gracious' sentiment he turned, muttering something that sounded like 'goils.' to his henchmen, sticking the cane through a belt loop, and strode off, the motley crew he apparently lead following.
Annalise stared after them, tempted to follow to at least have company, but after the way they had treated her, decided it probably wouldn't be the best idea to aggravate them anymore. Sighing, she headed in the opposite direction. She needed a place to stay. And without an money, she couldn't find a place to stay. So what I'm really looking for is a job, Anna thought to herself as she peered at the name plates on the buildings around her. A construction company, a forge, an alehouse. none of them sounded like places for a girl to be working. One building caught her attention. It was an art shop, run down but there were still paintings displayed in the. Curious, she mounted the steps and pulled open the door, instantly greeted by an elderly man's voice yelling in a wheezing tone, "Get out!! Get out!! We don't need beggars in my shop!!"
"But I was looking for a job - "
"We don't have any!! Especially not for the likes of you!"
"But- but. I can draw! And paint!" she protested, hovering at the door, wincing as the shop owner shouted at her once more.
"Stupid girl! We don't make art here! Just sell it! And I don't need any help from children!" he said before slamming the door in her face. Discouraged, she hopped off the steps, giving the building a final backwards glance before trudging on to see what else she could find.
Several attempts later, Annalise found herself back in the same alley she had started the day in. None of the other shops and factories had been any more helpful than the art shop. Some of the owners gave her a kind word, must most just turned her away as the old man had. Now she was cold, hungry, and tired from walking. She flopped down on the filthy ground at the entrance to the alley, her rumpled dress folding beneath her, then for some reason the words of the blue-eyed boy came to her, and she got up again, dusting herself off, and retreated to the back of the alley. Here she found that although it wasn't any more comfortable than where she had spent the previous night, it was indeed warmer, and she curled up into a ball, exhausted, and promptly dropped off to sleep.
"'ey youse!"
The voice, harsh, demanding, made her wince. Her head was throbbing, and her body ached all over, freezing cold from staying all night in the open air. Groggily, Annalise opened her eyes to find herself staring directly at a gold-tipped cane that was pointed at her, the end barely an inch from her face. Her green eyes traveled the length of the black cane, over the bare forearm and rolled up sleeves of the boy holding it, across his red suspenders and a key hung around his neck to his face. It wasn't a very long trip, as he wasn't very tall; Annalise judged him to be maybe a inch, perhaps even two, taller than her. He looked young, maybe 15, about the same age as her, and had stormy grey-blue eyes set in a boyish face and blonde hair. His expression was something like suspicion, though his lips curled upwards in a slight smirk. Two other boys, both heavily muscled and taller than him, stood at either shoulder.
"I said what'cha dooin' 'ere?"
"I. I was." she stammered, intimidated by his superior stature and voice, his aggressiveness in questioning. She starts to pull herself to her knees, but before she could finish her answer he replies,
"Don't'cha know that if youse gonna sleep in an alley you sleep at th'back of 'em? You tryin' to freeze?"
She still gaped at him, stunned at the harshness of New York people. Where was the friendliness her mother had talked about, the ability of the New Yorkers to welcome you with open arms? "No. No, I didn't know.."
He gives her a strange look as she got to her feet, swaying slightly, but steadied herself on a nearby barrel. Now she could see some thirty-odd more boys standing behind him, all gazing at her with an aloof curiousness. "Well now you do. So don't let me catch youse sleepin' on tha curb no more." With that final 'gracious' sentiment he turned, muttering something that sounded like 'goils.' to his henchmen, sticking the cane through a belt loop, and strode off, the motley crew he apparently lead following.
Annalise stared after them, tempted to follow to at least have company, but after the way they had treated her, decided it probably wouldn't be the best idea to aggravate them anymore. Sighing, she headed in the opposite direction. She needed a place to stay. And without an money, she couldn't find a place to stay. So what I'm really looking for is a job, Anna thought to herself as she peered at the name plates on the buildings around her. A construction company, a forge, an alehouse. none of them sounded like places for a girl to be working. One building caught her attention. It was an art shop, run down but there were still paintings displayed in the. Curious, she mounted the steps and pulled open the door, instantly greeted by an elderly man's voice yelling in a wheezing tone, "Get out!! Get out!! We don't need beggars in my shop!!"
"But I was looking for a job - "
"We don't have any!! Especially not for the likes of you!"
"But- but. I can draw! And paint!" she protested, hovering at the door, wincing as the shop owner shouted at her once more.
"Stupid girl! We don't make art here! Just sell it! And I don't need any help from children!" he said before slamming the door in her face. Discouraged, she hopped off the steps, giving the building a final backwards glance before trudging on to see what else she could find.
Several attempts later, Annalise found herself back in the same alley she had started the day in. None of the other shops and factories had been any more helpful than the art shop. Some of the owners gave her a kind word, must most just turned her away as the old man had. Now she was cold, hungry, and tired from walking. She flopped down on the filthy ground at the entrance to the alley, her rumpled dress folding beneath her, then for some reason the words of the blue-eyed boy came to her, and she got up again, dusting herself off, and retreated to the back of the alley. Here she found that although it wasn't any more comfortable than where she had spent the previous night, it was indeed warmer, and she curled up into a ball, exhausted, and promptly dropped off to sleep.