A/N: Ahhh three chapters in two days! I'm proud of myself. I even did it without any help from my good-for-nothing muses…damn muses…they're no help what so ever. I don't know why I keep them around anyway…

CHAPTER 3- New York Has Turned Communist

I saw the boys I had "met" the day before walking down the street at 8:30 a.m. I decided to follow them to see where they got their papers. Eventually they were joined by many more boys of all shapes, sizes, and ages. I took the nickel out of my pocket and held it tightly in my fist. I put the most defensive and stubborn look on my face that I could muster and marched towards the building where the newsies were getting their papers from. One of the boys, a short one with curly red hair, spotted me first. He tapped Jack on the shoulder and pointed to me. Jack started smiling and laughing a little before he called out,

"Well if it ain't miss Ellie Orlesworth!" he said my name in the best British accent he could manage, which was actually not too bad. I narrowed my eyes and tightened my lips as I marched straight up to him. I stopped only about three inches away from him. For the first time, I realized how much shorter than him I was. My eyes only reached his chin. Therefore, I had to look up at him, which made my position a lot less intimidating than I had meant it to be.

"Yes, its Ellie Orlesworth. What is it to you?" obviously Jack didn't take me seriously as I glared up at him. He just kept laughing. Very annoying.

"Ah, nothing! I was jist wonderin' what you was doin' 'ere"

"I'm here to buy my papers, and sell them. Just like you."

"Okay, okay! don't gotta get snippy 'bout it now!" I just rolled my eyes and walked up to the window.

"How many papers can I buy with five cents?" I asked the old man behind the window.

"10 papes" he said as I dropped my nickel on the counter. He reached over and plopped the stack of papers onto the counter. I picked them up and slung them over my shoulder as I started to walk out the gate. I looked at one of the papers to see what I should be yelling, and I couldn't find anything interesting. So I just started yelling the headline on the front page:

Russian Ambassador Visits Mayor

I started to listen to the other cries of the newsies, and I noticed something. Nothing they said was in the paper. I turned around and saw Jack ambling over to me. Oh God here we go again. I thought. I pretended not to notice him, so maybe he would go away. I just kept yelling my headline until he just stood behind me and started to talk.

"You nevah gonna sell any papes dat way. You gotta…"

"Improve the truth a little" said the Dave from behind Jack. They both chuckled a little so I just assumed that it was some inside joke.

"Instead of yellin' 'Russian Ambassador Visits Mayor', you gotta think a somethin' a little more creative." I took his advice, and decided on my "improved headline".

"MAYOR TRIES TO TURN NEW YORK INTO COMMUNIST COUNTRY!" I wasn't raised this way. I really wasn't. I wasn't raised to steal and lie. But who really cared what I was raised like? Right now I just needed money, and this was the only way I could think to get it was to do this. After that ship sank, along with everything else in my life, my morals were dragged under as well.