A/N: w00t! w00t! Another chapter! Go me! Lol. I'd like to thank all my many reviewers…all two of them. Lol.
Shout-outs:
Teepot- Maybe Jack will be the love interest…maybe not. Oh who am I kidding, it's going to be Jack. Thanks for reviewing!
Repeats-thanks!
CHAPTER 4-The Ex
"Uh, Ellie? You got somewhere to stay tonight?" Jack asked me after I had finished selling my last paper.
"Well, that alley over there was looking mighty comfortable" we both chuckled. I came to the conclusion that Jack wasn't such a bad guy after all. I had spent the day selling with him, and he's a lot more interesting and smart than you'd think. He told me some useful things about how to ration my money, and he even lent me some money since it was hard to ration ten cents.
"Well why don't you sleep in da lodgin house tanite? Kloppman will probably set up a mattress in the backroom for ya. Its only two cents a night, but Kloppman will let you stay for free if you don't got the money for a night. He ain't the kinda guy to just throw you out." Jack really didn't want me to sleep in an alley. I narrowed my eyes slightly and looked him over to make sure he was telling the truth.
"Sure. I could use a nice bed for a night."
"Great! Now, lets head to Tibby's n I'll intraduce ya to da guys."
~*~
"Ey guys, dis is Ellie. She's gonna stay at da lodgin house tanite" I smiled as I looked them all over.
"Ellie, dats Kid Blink, Mush, and Racetrack over dere, and Snitch, Skittery, Specs, Itey, n Dutchy at dat table, Pie-Eater, Snoddy, Bumlets, Jake, Crutchy over dere, and the little kids at the counter are Snipeshooter and Boots." Each boy nodded or gave a little wave as Jack introduced them. We sat down and ate lunch. Then we headed to the lodging house. When we got there, all the boys piled up the stairs and around the corner into what I assumed was the bunkroom. Jack and I waited in the main hall for an old man wearing a brown bowler hat.
"Ey Kloppman. Gotta new goil sellin', I was wonderin' if you could help 'er out." Jack asked the man.
"Oh, I think we can figure something out" he said as he winked at Jack. That only made me feel more suspicious. But then I came to a resolution. I was going to trust them. Whatever happened, I was going to trust them until they betrayed me. What did it matter anyway, because I really didn't have anything to lose anymore. But I really hoped they would betray me, because I was starting to like the whole lot of them. When we had everything straightened out, a cot set up, and I had paid rent, Jack and I went up to the bunkroom to join the other guys. When we walked in, they were all in the same groups that they were at Tibby's except there was one boy that I didn't recognize. He was sitting with Kid Blink, Mush, and Racetrack but stood up and walked over to Jack and I. The two boys spit in their hands and shook, making me wrinkle my nose in girlish disgust.
"Ellie, dis is Spot" the short skinny boy gave a crooked smile as he bowed to me.
"Spot, dis is Ellie. She's gonna be sellin' wit me." I curtsied to Spot. He looked me over thoughtfully and said,
"She ya new goil Cowboy?" We both protested at once, but neither of us could manage to think of a complete sentence. So we just sort of babbled incoherently until we just started laughing at each other. Spot just rolled his eyes and walked back to his friends on the other side of the room mumbling something about how me and Jack were definitely a perfect match. Making us laugh harder, even though none of it was really all that funny. Jack decided to join Spot, Blink, Mush, and Race.
"Spot helped us out last year. He's da leadah a Brooklyn" Specs, who was standing behind me, explained.
"Helped you out with what?" I asked.
"Da strike a course" what Jack didn't tell ya? Dat's why Spot sounded so surprised. He thought Jack was still wit Sarah."
"Sarah? Who's Sarah?" I asked, already knowing the answer though I still wanted to know more about her.
"Oh, Dave's oldah sis. Dey hooked up at da end a da strike. Big make-out session in da street. Jack n Sarah, not Dave n Sarah. Jack dumped 'er bout, eh, two weeks latah. Said she was too air headed. N dat has to be pretty damn air headed, for Jack to be sayin dat, seein' he's not exactly da sharpest pencil in da drawer eidda." we both chuckled and Specs left me to think about all of this. Jack Made out with some girl in the street then broke up with her two weeks later? Did he really go through girls that quickly? How long would it take before he disposed of me? Wait, me? I am not goin out with him! I would never! I wonder what could have possibly caused that thought to pop into my head. I didn't even like him in that romantic way. Nope. He's just a friend. And that's all. Nothing more. Honestly, I do not have a thing for Jack Kelly.