Chapter 5:Let the Rain Fall
"This is your tent, D-Tent. The D stands for Delinquents." Mom said, gesturing to a new girl who rolled her eyes and muttered a sarcastic comment. I laughed and mom looked at me. I turned back around and headed to the Library to get my shovel.
"Who's the girl with the backward hat?" I asked X as he walked up to me.
"That's Rain, shes Squids girl…Shes got an attitude so I'd watch out." He nudged me and laughed. I smiled and turned around to look at her.
I tilted my head sideways. "I like her ring." I said to no one. When I didn't hear a response I shrugged my shoulders and walked back to the digging site.
After 30 minutes of digging I heard someone shout.
"Hey! New Girl, yea you! Throw ya dirt somewhere else!" I recognized the voice as Flames and I walked over to her partially dug hole.
"Ey don't talk to me like that I'se can toss my dirt where ever I wanna." She said leaning on her shovel. I looked at her long blonde hair, which was pulled into pigtails and admired her ring once again.
When Flame jumped out of her hole and made her way over to Rains I immediately went for her arms, restraining her to move any closer, while Squid had a firm grip around Rains waste.
"Lemme GO!" Flame yelled, as she kicked me and I fell backward, and she lunged on top of Rain. I shook my head and went after her again.
"Rain, Rain!" Squid yelled as she threw a fist in Flames direction. She dodged it but was shoved away by squid.
"Let go of her, let 'em fight!" I said pulling squids hands, releasing the grip he had on Rains wrist. He stared at me wide-eyed.
"Rain has the learn that Flame can fight." He looked at me irritated when I was suddenly hit in the cheek and knocked to the ground.
"What the Fuck?!" I yelled, looking to my left and seeing Rain sitting on top of Flame. I dove over to her, knocking rain off of Flame and jabbed my knee into her stomach. She winced in pain but kicked me off of her when Caveman ran toward Flame, helping her to her feet. HE grabbed hold around her waste as Squid ran toward Rain, who was coming after me.
I was about to run toward her when I was jerked back abruptly, since I hadn't noticed Zigs grip on my upper arm.
"Listen up, ya can't fight or the Warden'll come after all of us." X explained strictly. I slowly nodded my head and shook myself from Zigs grasp as Rain and Flame did the same.
Within another hour of digging, and glaring over at Rain, my water was gone and you culd see the dirt rising as the water truck came by.
WE got in line, Rain being set behind squid and in front of me. I rolled my eyes as she glanced back at me.
"Scab." She mumbled under her breath. My jaw dropped. "NO WAY!" I screamed, making her jump.
"What?" She said.
"Scab! Scab!" I yelled to her excitedly. She looked at me confused.
"Jack was a scab, fer like…a day." Flame said from behind me. Rain looked over my shoulder.
"You know newsies?" She asked Flame.
"Um, Flare and I LIVE for Newsies." She told her, as if stating the oblivious.
"I Love Newsies!"
"I could tell by your Snitch hat." Flame said laughing.
I took a deep breath in and they both looked at me. "Snitch reminds me of Snipes, who stole Race's cigar…" I said dreamily. The boys were looking at us as if our sudden mood swings toward each other were unusual.
They laughed at me as I sang Race's lines.
"…And there I be!
Aint I pretty?
Its my city
I'm the King of New York!"
The three of us laughed as we got our water and all sat back in Rains half-dug hole. I glanced down at her hands, wondering why there weren't any blisters. She smiled.
"I like to dig." She stated, and I looked at her as if she were crazy.
"Oww!" Flame said, looking at Rains sunburned shoulders. "That's gotta hurt!" She said, shaking her head in sympathy. I walked back over to my hole, and in twenty minutes I saw Zero walking back, glancing over at me along the way. Every time I tried to smile at him he quickly averted his eyes.
"Holy shit. He finished fast, who is he?" Rain yelled from her hole.
"That's Zero. HE doesn't talk much…" I started.
"Yea, Except to you." Caveman added with a wink. I smiled at him as Rain went back to digging.
After I was done I spit in my hole and headed back to the tent with Flame.
"I didn't like rain, at all, but I like her now." I told Flame. She nodded.
"Yea, she came in here like acid." She stated as we laughed.
"Shes got a tattoo." We heard from behind us. We turned around and it was Tumbleweed.
"What do you want?" I asked, remembering the times he hit on me, "and how do you know?" He winked at me and walked ahead of us, as we heard jogging footsteps as Rain appeared out of nowhere.
I had to do a double take to make sure it was really her. "Wow. That was…wow." I told her as she smiled proudly.
"That was cool!" Flame yelled, also smiling.
"Who was that?" rain asked, as her smile faded and she looked up at Tumbleweed.
"A jackass, a womanizer, and a pig, so try ta keep your distance." I said angrily.
She stared at me as I walked ahead, and heard Flame tell her that I knew that from experience.
By the time I got back to the tent many of the boys were already eating, since I took my time and went in and out of the holes.
"GET. AWAY. FROM. ME!" I heard someone yell. Recognizing the voice as Rains I walked into the wreck-room.
Tumbleweed had his arms wrapped around her as he pulled her into a kiss. She lifted her knee fiercely and he automatically shut his eyes in pain. She shoved away from him as Squid took his time walking over to him and punching him in the face, giving him a bloody nose. It took Flame, Zig and I to hold back Rain, and that's when we knew that if she was determined, she was determined.
We brought her out of the wreck-room, she sat down on a cot in the tent and we let her catch hr breath.
"God it's boring here!" She said in a sigh. I nodded my head.
"It gets worse, tonight we talk with mom, he'll ask us how we got here." Her eyes grew wide and she smiled mischievously, and I scooted over to her.
"What are you thinking?" I asked raising my eyebrows.
"Have you ever seen Chicago?" She asked me. I nodded my head and the tree of us huddled together.