Finding a New Home
By: Cowgirl A.K.A Brooklyn's Angel
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"Hey Kloppman look what we got out here." One boy about 16 said to a man about 30. The boy had a bandana tied around his neck and a cowboy hat that hung down his back.
"Shh cowboy she's still sleeping." Another boy who was about 15 said. He had an eye patch over his left eye.
"Looks like she's been wandering the streets for awhile Blink." One very short Italian boy said.
"Yeah also looks like she's a hoity toity to me Race." The kid known as Blink answered.
"Let's bring her in boys. Boys bring her stuff. I'm going to go lay her in a bunk and let her sleep." Kloppman said as he picked me up and brought me upstairs to the bunk room. He then laid me down in a bunk and watched as the boys put my stuff under my bunk.
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"Jeez Cowboy she can sleep through anything." Race said.
"Just let her sleep you guys." Cowboy said as he lay down in the bunk next to hers to watch her sleep.
"Never fear Brooklyn is here!" they all heard from the doorway.
"Hey Spot." Jack said not taking his eyes away from the sleeping girl in the bunk beside his.
"Hey what is this beautiful thing doing sleeping here?" Spot said as he walked over to the bunk that he usually slept in while in Manhattan.
"We found her on the porch this morning." Blink said. Spot then eyed the way that Jack looked at the sleeping girl.
"Awe you guys it looks like jacky boy's got a crush." Spot announced to them.
"Shh you'll wake her up spot!" Jack said as he hushed him.
"Alright already." Spot said
"Isn't she beautiful Spot?" Jack said as Spot really looked at her for the first time since he had been there.
'Yeah she is beautiful.' Spot thought.
"Yeah whatever Jacky boy." He answered not actually going to say what he felt.
"Why don't you boys go to Tibby's to get something to eat? I'll stay here and watch her." Kloppman said from the doorway.
"Ok." They all answered as they threw on their jackets and left.
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All four boys ate hurriedly because of the fact they wanted to be there when she woke up. On there way back they laughed and joked not even noticing that for once Jack wasn't laughing with them. He was being quiet as ever. Which is a rare occurrence for Jack or as they liked to call him Cowboy. He was always laughing, joking, and just plain hanging out with the guys. They never knew that it would take one girl to put his mind in a tizzy and set his mind on what he wanted. They also didn't know that she would be the girl to steal his heart and make him not even give any other girls the time of day. They had been sitting in the bunkroom for the past 15 minutes when something finally happened.
"So it was a bad dream." I said to myself as I sat up and hit my head on the bottom of the top bunk.
"Ouch that hurt." I said as I tried to rub the pain out of my forehead.
"Hey your awake. Cowboy she's awake." A boy with an eye patch yelled.
"Well good morning sunshine." A boy with a bandana said to me. He had brown hair and these pretty blue eyes.
"Where am I?" I asked them.
"You are in the Manhattan Newsie Lodging house. I'm Jack the leader of this bunch of bums but they call me Cowboy. See the hat." The boy with the bandana told me as he proudly showed me the hat that hung down his back.
"I'm Kid Blink because of my patch and this is Racetrack or Race because he's always at the Sheep's head races and this is Spot Conlon. He's the leader of the Brooklyn Newsies. And what would your name be doll?" Blink asked me. They seemed like such nice guys and I felt completely safe here and with them around.
"It's Justine." I told them.
"Why would a pretty girl like you be wandering the streets especially alone?" Jack asked me as my cheeks suddenly felt warm at the thought he said I was pretty.
"My parents were killed in a train accident. The police suspect foul play. But my parents were such nice people who would want to kill them?" I said as I started to cry. Jack crept over, sat down beside me and wiped away my tears with his thumb.
"The world works in weird ways. Everything happens for a reason. Maybe your parents were killed to bring you here." Race offered.
"Well at least your parents were killed. Mine abandoned me." Spot said.
"So did mine." Jack said.
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"Well I have to get going. Thank you for letting me sleep here. I appreciate your hospitality." I said as I reached under the bed to get my stuff.
"Where are you going?" Blink asked.
"Keep walking. Don't know where I'm going but I'll know it when I get there." I told them.
"Stay here I'll teach you how to be a Newsie." Jack offered.
"You want me to stay?" I asked them.
"Yeah I do." Jack said.
"But the question is will you?" Race asked.
"Of course." I said as I ran into jack's arms to give him a hug.
"Thank you." I whispered in his ear.
"No problem we'd love to have you here." Jack said back to me.