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December 1898. Manhattan Lodging House. New York.
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Spot somehow managed to open the front door to the lodging house with Sydney in his arms. Despite to odd looks from the others he went upstairs without a word of explanation and laid her in the first bunk he saw. Mush and Blink followed Spot up the stairs and sat next to Sydney as Spot left the room to get some blankets.
"Is she dead?" Mush asked poking Sydney in the side.
"Na, she's alive." Blink answered, brushing her hair out of her closed eyes.
"How ya know?"
"I'm psychic," he paused as Mush looked at him with wonderment in his eyes, "She's breathing ya dope." Blink slapped Mush and then brought his attention back to the girl.
"She's pretty," Mush stated, and Blink nodded in agreement.
Spot who had not come back with an armful of blankets rolled his eyes, "Da goil's practically dead and you'se talkin' bout how pretty she is? Get outta heah you dopes."
"We'll she is," Blink said as him and Mush left the bunkroom.
After arranging the blankets so all of Sydney was covered, with the exception of her face, Spot headed down to the kitchen, hoping to find some soup or broth for her. With no avail he headed over to the Jacob's house. Surely David's mother would have something warm for the girl.
Spot stood in front of the Jacob's apartment. Sure he knew David and Les, he had never met anyone else in the Jacob family. He finally found some courage and knocked on the door. After a few moments a girl around his age opened the door.
"Hi, I'se Spot. A friend of David and Jack."
"Hello, I'm Sarah. What can I do for you." Sarah made no movement to invite Spot in, so they stood still in uncomfortable silence while Spot thought of a way to explain himself.
"Well, I found dis goil in da snow and she's real sick. And I was wonderin' if ya had any soup or somethin' I could give her."
"Momma's making some stew for dinner. Let me ask her if we can give you some." She shut the door in his face and returned a few minutes later with stew in hand. "Here you go. It may be a little watery, but it's all we got."
"Thanks. Um...bye." Spot said. Sarah shut the door without saying bye, and Spot began to jog back to the lodging house, hoping to get there before the stew got cold.
When Spot returned, Blink and Mush were back in the bunkroom. This time accompanied by Skittery and Race. Spot gritted his teeth, "Get out! Blink! Mush! I already told ya to leave!"
"Yea, but she woke up," Blink explained. The boys stepped back revealing the girl sitting up. Spot couldn't figure out if she was scared or happy or anything. Her facial features were like stone and showed no emotion.
"I brought ya some soup. I think it's still warm."
She nodded and took the soup. "Thank you," she said weakly.
"So where she staying?" Race asked.
"Heah," Spot answered.
"No way. No goils in dis lodging house! Dis is a newsBOY'S lodging house," Race said.
"Really?" said Spot, standing over Race, sizing him up.
"Uhh..."
"She's stayin' heah till she's well enough, den she can stay in Brooklyn."
All but two lodging houses were for boys only. There was the Newsgirl Lodging House in Queens, and the 'lodging house' Spot ran. In reality it was an abandoned warehouse that the previous leader had claimed his own, then leaving it to Spot when he took over.
"So, you'se got a name?"
"Yea," Sydney said.
After a moment of silence, "Well, you'se gonna tell us it?" Sydney shook her head. "Why not?"
"Can't."
Spot nodded, "Den we'll just have ta make you one." Sydney nodded, too tired to reply. Spot thought a moment, "Well, I'se don't know ya well enough ta name ya, so we'll think of a name latah. Eat your stew and get some sleep. I'll check on ya latah."
Sydney nodded and watched the boys leave the room. 'At least they didn't ask questions,' Christi said.
"Yea." Sydney answered.
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December 1898. Apartment in Brooklyn. New York.
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"You got fired!?"
"Uhh... yea."
"What do you mean you got fired?" Page began to pace back and forth. They had to pay rent in a few days and paying for that and food wouldn't be possible with only her meager wages as a waitress.
"Well I guess they found someone stronger than me. I never liked that job anyway," Mark said nonchalantly.
"It doesn't matter if you didn't like it. We need money!"
Mark raised his hands in a surrendering manner, "Relax, I'll find a job tomorrow."
Too angry to talk to him any longer Page stormed out of the house. She walked down the street a while before noticing two men following her. She quickened her pace but before she knew it one of the men had grabbed her and dragged her into an alleyway.
"What's a pretty goil like ya doin' all by you'se self?" said the first man.
Page couldn't find any words to escape her mouth, so she stood there, pinned against a wall, gawking at the two. 'Oh my gosh, I'm going to get raped. They're going to kill me," was running through her head.
"Wait a minute. Do ya have a sistah?" the second man asked. Page was able to give a slight nod. "Mikey! She's Sydney's fuckin' sistah!"
"Where's Sydney?" Mikey asked. Holding his fist out, ready to punch Page in the face if she didn't oblige.
"I... I dunno. I came here looking for her. But I don't know wh..where she is," Page stuttered.
Mikey lowered his fist and pulled out a switchblade, holding it to Page's neck, "You know now?"
"No... I don't know where she is!" Page answered, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Mikey pushed the switchblade on Page's neck. Blood started to trickle down her neck when a voice from the end of the alleyway disrupted Page's coming death. "What you doin heah Mikey?"
Page saw several large boys walk towards her. 'This definitely can't be good,' she thought.
"We're in da middle of somthin," Mikey said, turning back to Page.
"Let her go," Mikey didn't move, "Now!" Mikey slowly pulled the blade away from Page's neck, and let her go. She backed away from the two men and found herself nearing the boys.
"Get outta heah, before we tell Spot, and you know he won't be happy you was in Brooklyn."
"And you know he won't be so kind as ta let ya walk away from dis," another added.
"Lets go," Mikey said, motioning for the other man to follow.
"You'se alright?" one of the boys said to Page, only for her to realize that one of the 'boys' was a girl.
"Yea. Thanks," Page said, regaining composure, "No offense but why'd they run from a group of kids?"
"Cause dey was outnumbered," said one of the boys. Page nodded.
"So you gotta name?" the girl asked. Sure, they had just saved her life, but Page wasn't sure if she could trust them with her name. After all it seemed like the two men knew her sister and weren't to happy with her.
"Lavivian," Page lied, taking on the identity of her mother.
"Lavivian..." the girl shrugged, "It'll probably change soon, the newsies don't like long names too much."
"Newsies?"
"Yea the kids who run around sellin' papes," one of the boys said.
Page nodded. "Oh, stupid me, lemme introduce everyone. Dis is Snag, Cards, Blue, Pyro, Jinx, and I'se Thorn," Thorn pointed to each boy in turn, each of them either giving their variations of a hello.
"Interesting names," Page noted, hoping not to offend any of them. All the boys, Thorn included looked tough.
"Newsies don't usually keel der names. Used ta be only da newsies in hiding took up newsie names, but it became sorta tradition. Now almost everyone has one."
"Oh. Well I better be going. I got to get home," Page said, turning to leave.
"Lemme walk you," Thorn said before Page could get too far.
Not wanting to get attacked again, Page agreed and her and Thorn made their way to Page's ramshackle apartment.
December 1898. Manhattan Lodging House. New York.
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Spot somehow managed to open the front door to the lodging house with Sydney in his arms. Despite to odd looks from the others he went upstairs without a word of explanation and laid her in the first bunk he saw. Mush and Blink followed Spot up the stairs and sat next to Sydney as Spot left the room to get some blankets.
"Is she dead?" Mush asked poking Sydney in the side.
"Na, she's alive." Blink answered, brushing her hair out of her closed eyes.
"How ya know?"
"I'm psychic," he paused as Mush looked at him with wonderment in his eyes, "She's breathing ya dope." Blink slapped Mush and then brought his attention back to the girl.
"She's pretty," Mush stated, and Blink nodded in agreement.
Spot who had not come back with an armful of blankets rolled his eyes, "Da goil's practically dead and you'se talkin' bout how pretty she is? Get outta heah you dopes."
"We'll she is," Blink said as him and Mush left the bunkroom.
After arranging the blankets so all of Sydney was covered, with the exception of her face, Spot headed down to the kitchen, hoping to find some soup or broth for her. With no avail he headed over to the Jacob's house. Surely David's mother would have something warm for the girl.
Spot stood in front of the Jacob's apartment. Sure he knew David and Les, he had never met anyone else in the Jacob family. He finally found some courage and knocked on the door. After a few moments a girl around his age opened the door.
"Hi, I'se Spot. A friend of David and Jack."
"Hello, I'm Sarah. What can I do for you." Sarah made no movement to invite Spot in, so they stood still in uncomfortable silence while Spot thought of a way to explain himself.
"Well, I found dis goil in da snow and she's real sick. And I was wonderin' if ya had any soup or somethin' I could give her."
"Momma's making some stew for dinner. Let me ask her if we can give you some." She shut the door in his face and returned a few minutes later with stew in hand. "Here you go. It may be a little watery, but it's all we got."
"Thanks. Um...bye." Spot said. Sarah shut the door without saying bye, and Spot began to jog back to the lodging house, hoping to get there before the stew got cold.
When Spot returned, Blink and Mush were back in the bunkroom. This time accompanied by Skittery and Race. Spot gritted his teeth, "Get out! Blink! Mush! I already told ya to leave!"
"Yea, but she woke up," Blink explained. The boys stepped back revealing the girl sitting up. Spot couldn't figure out if she was scared or happy or anything. Her facial features were like stone and showed no emotion.
"I brought ya some soup. I think it's still warm."
She nodded and took the soup. "Thank you," she said weakly.
"So where she staying?" Race asked.
"Heah," Spot answered.
"No way. No goils in dis lodging house! Dis is a newsBOY'S lodging house," Race said.
"Really?" said Spot, standing over Race, sizing him up.
"Uhh..."
"She's stayin' heah till she's well enough, den she can stay in Brooklyn."
All but two lodging houses were for boys only. There was the Newsgirl Lodging House in Queens, and the 'lodging house' Spot ran. In reality it was an abandoned warehouse that the previous leader had claimed his own, then leaving it to Spot when he took over.
"So, you'se got a name?"
"Yea," Sydney said.
After a moment of silence, "Well, you'se gonna tell us it?" Sydney shook her head. "Why not?"
"Can't."
Spot nodded, "Den we'll just have ta make you one." Sydney nodded, too tired to reply. Spot thought a moment, "Well, I'se don't know ya well enough ta name ya, so we'll think of a name latah. Eat your stew and get some sleep. I'll check on ya latah."
Sydney nodded and watched the boys leave the room. 'At least they didn't ask questions,' Christi said.
"Yea." Sydney answered.
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December 1898. Apartment in Brooklyn. New York.
-----------------------------------
"You got fired!?"
"Uhh... yea."
"What do you mean you got fired?" Page began to pace back and forth. They had to pay rent in a few days and paying for that and food wouldn't be possible with only her meager wages as a waitress.
"Well I guess they found someone stronger than me. I never liked that job anyway," Mark said nonchalantly.
"It doesn't matter if you didn't like it. We need money!"
Mark raised his hands in a surrendering manner, "Relax, I'll find a job tomorrow."
Too angry to talk to him any longer Page stormed out of the house. She walked down the street a while before noticing two men following her. She quickened her pace but before she knew it one of the men had grabbed her and dragged her into an alleyway.
"What's a pretty goil like ya doin' all by you'se self?" said the first man.
Page couldn't find any words to escape her mouth, so she stood there, pinned against a wall, gawking at the two. 'Oh my gosh, I'm going to get raped. They're going to kill me," was running through her head.
"Wait a minute. Do ya have a sistah?" the second man asked. Page was able to give a slight nod. "Mikey! She's Sydney's fuckin' sistah!"
"Where's Sydney?" Mikey asked. Holding his fist out, ready to punch Page in the face if she didn't oblige.
"I... I dunno. I came here looking for her. But I don't know wh..where she is," Page stuttered.
Mikey lowered his fist and pulled out a switchblade, holding it to Page's neck, "You know now?"
"No... I don't know where she is!" Page answered, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Mikey pushed the switchblade on Page's neck. Blood started to trickle down her neck when a voice from the end of the alleyway disrupted Page's coming death. "What you doin heah Mikey?"
Page saw several large boys walk towards her. 'This definitely can't be good,' she thought.
"We're in da middle of somthin," Mikey said, turning back to Page.
"Let her go," Mikey didn't move, "Now!" Mikey slowly pulled the blade away from Page's neck, and let her go. She backed away from the two men and found herself nearing the boys.
"Get outta heah, before we tell Spot, and you know he won't be happy you was in Brooklyn."
"And you know he won't be so kind as ta let ya walk away from dis," another added.
"Lets go," Mikey said, motioning for the other man to follow.
"You'se alright?" one of the boys said to Page, only for her to realize that one of the 'boys' was a girl.
"Yea. Thanks," Page said, regaining composure, "No offense but why'd they run from a group of kids?"
"Cause dey was outnumbered," said one of the boys. Page nodded.
"So you gotta name?" the girl asked. Sure, they had just saved her life, but Page wasn't sure if she could trust them with her name. After all it seemed like the two men knew her sister and weren't to happy with her.
"Lavivian," Page lied, taking on the identity of her mother.
"Lavivian..." the girl shrugged, "It'll probably change soon, the newsies don't like long names too much."
"Newsies?"
"Yea the kids who run around sellin' papes," one of the boys said.
Page nodded. "Oh, stupid me, lemme introduce everyone. Dis is Snag, Cards, Blue, Pyro, Jinx, and I'se Thorn," Thorn pointed to each boy in turn, each of them either giving their variations of a hello.
"Interesting names," Page noted, hoping not to offend any of them. All the boys, Thorn included looked tough.
"Newsies don't usually keel der names. Used ta be only da newsies in hiding took up newsie names, but it became sorta tradition. Now almost everyone has one."
"Oh. Well I better be going. I got to get home," Page said, turning to leave.
"Lemme walk you," Thorn said before Page could get too far.
Not wanting to get attacked again, Page agreed and her and Thorn made their way to Page's ramshackle apartment.