*jumps in singing* i'm not crazy, i'm just a little unwell... *ahem* anew chappie! have fun! ^^ ooh yeah, and the next few chaps are going to take a while to get up since there's school and all. y'know how it is. :P

~*~

POV: Ears

Day: December 24, 1900

Time: 9:06 AM

~*~

WHAT?

"But…"

HE CAN'T BE DOING THIS TO ME!

"Aw, Ears, its only for today…"

Ack, don't pull that puppy dog face on me. I can't take that. You know I can't. I love Mush and all, but I can't handle that face. That face has caused enough trouble already.

"But it's the 24th!"

That was probably not the best excuse, but hey…

"Look at it this way," said Mush, cupping my face with both of his hands, "you can have me all day tomorrow – no interruptions – well, except when I eat 'cause I--."

"MUSH."

"Yeah?"

"Can't you just tell me what and where you're going?"

I know I may be sound like I'm nagging him to death by keeping him by my side and making him tell me what he's about to do, but I really think he's been acting a little awkward lately. I swear I wasn't hallucinating when I saw him in the shadows whispering with Skittery and Specs. Specs, mostly. Somethin's up.

"No, sweetie, I'm sorry. I promised," answered Mush, letting go of my face and giving me a weak smile.

Ack. No way getting out of this one.

"Alright then… see you later at Tibby's?"

"Of course," said Mush as he leaned in to give me kiss on the cheek. "See ya later!"

Sure, just run away from me and leave me here – wait, hey, is that Specs and Skittery?! I swear, you –

"You ready to go?"

Eh?

"You still asleep, Ears?"

Oh, Duck. If you think about it, I haven't been seeing much of her lately. She's one of my best friends, y'know. Her and Brownie. Interesting isn't it that my best friends are the two comedians of the group? But that doesn't really matter. Duck's been always there when I'm stuck with something. You just gotta love that about her. You know that she won't take crap from anybody, especially when they've got beef against your friends.

"Sorry… just thinkin'…" More like ranting, really.

"Oh, well, if you like to share, I'm here," smiled Duck.

"AND QUIT LOOKIN' AT ME LIKE THAT! I AIN'T DOIN' ANYTHING!" came a shout from not to far away. Actually, it seemed pretty close – so close that my ears hurt so bad.

"Let me guess…"

"Jack," muttered all of us at the same time.

"Stupid, old, ugly—."

"Squirrel, yes, we know."

How long has it been? Only a day since Jack has put his evil wrath on the two and Brownie's already been complaining like hell came over and knocked on her door. Well, I guess I'd be also that mad if I can't see Mush. Speaking of Mush…

"Hey, Duck, has Skittery been telling you anything lately?"

"Apart from the fact that he thinks that not enough boys wear colors, no."

Erm, I didn't need to know that.

"But he's been acting a little… shifty, lately," muttered Duck. "I don't know, he's probably just running around getting gifts for everybody."

"And he's making a special one just for you!" cooed Brownie as she poked Duck on the shoulder.

It's been a known fact that Skittery and Duck are best friends, but that's just how the two of them look at it. Goodness, you can handcuff them to each other and they won't even complain. Let me put it this way – they certainly act like they're MORE than best friends – even though they say they aren't.

"Really? I mean, no…"

"Hah! I saw your eyes light up!"

"I… I was amazed by the color of your hair!"

"Aw, Duckie, you can't cover it up… you like him! We know you do!"

"You're not making me say anything! Its early and its morning and you're not going to manipulate me into saying that since you know that my brain doesn't work this early!"

"That's why it's so much fun!"

Heheheh. Get ready Duckie.

~*~

"EXTRY! EXTRY! THOUSANDS OF MINERS TRAPPED BY GAS EXPLOSION!"

Hmm… at least they were warm for a second instead of being out here in the freezing cold!

"I'll have one of those…" exclaimed a gentleman not so well into his thirties, holding out a nickel as he walked towards me.

"Thank you, sir, but it looks like I don't have any change for that."

He looked down expectantly on the money on his hand as he looked at me and back to his hand.

"Would you be willing to…"

"Keep it," smiled the gentleman, taking the newspaper and walking away.

Jackpot.

"Geez, I should've thought of that."

Mush?

"Hey, Ershey."

Maybe not.

"Hey. I just wanted to know if you're still going to the pageant tomorrow night?"

"Of course, I always do. You can't have a pageant without Mary, can you?"

Y'see, every Christmas Eve, St. Anthony's Church holds a Christmas pageant for any kids they can find on the streets willing to watch, or maybe even perform for their neighborhood. The point is, they do this for the kids. I was willing to do anything for that. Not that we have anything special going on in the Lodging House. We usually just eat the food that we can manage and greet each other.

I actually never went to church until Race dragged me along with him. I didn't think it was going to be like that, y'know? Actually finding a place where you can just… spill out your guts to someone who won't pester you to death with questions.

"You know me," chuckled Ershey. "I worry!"

That's true.

"Aw, don't! I'll be there, alright?"

"HEY, ERSH, YOU GOT MORE PAPES? LET'S FINISH IT OFF!" shouted Striker as she waved through the crowd.

"Let's? She's been on a streak today and I'm handing her as much papes as she can get!" joked Ershey, turning her back towards me and disappearing into the crowd.

That leaves me. Again.

Mush went off with Specs and Skittery. Duck's probably playing five card draw with Snipes (so that rules him out too). Brownie ran off looking for Itey. And Ershey went to sell papes with Striker. Gah. I guess I should be pretty happy that I have time to myself; you can't get much of that when you live in the Lodging House.

I think this'd be a good time to look for gifts… yeah, that's a good idea. But what in the world am I going to get them? Them, being almost everyone that I know! Sure, Emu probably already gotten everybody gifts already seeing as how she always does every year. I don't see how that girl manages. Actually… she told me about a place not too far away… and not expensive too… but should I even actually buy them gifts? There ain't no reason in just taking them…

Aw, to hell with it. I know its been a week since she told me where it was, but I remember most of it. Straight down past the bookstore… left until you see a lamppost… right of the café… or was it left? Or am I supposed to go straight ahead?

Great.

"You have everything?"

Hold on. That voice sounds familiar.

"Only one more… and we're done." That's… Skittery! Specs! And Mush! What are they all doing hiding in an alleyway?

"We're nowhere near done until we set it up! We gotta make sure that the bag's big enough for the person to fit in!"

Bag? Person? Fit in? What? I can't help it if I eavesdrop!

"Forget about that! Just get the damn bag – doesn't matter if he fits or not!"

Damn. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

"Quit worrying, Specs! This is supposed to be fun!" retorted Mush.

"It better be. Everything has to go--."

"…the way its planned, we know."

Oh geez. What's going on? What are they planning? My sweet Mush! They ain't going off to do something… drastic, are they? By the looks of it Specs looks angrier than ever while Skittery and Mush are just standing there without a care in the world. It can't be that bad if Mush isn't mad, right?

"Alright, well, I gotta run... We'll finish this later," taunted Specs, before turning around and heading off into a different direction.

"You'd think he'll have a heart attack if everything doesn't go well..." muttered Skittery when Specs was gone.

Mush nodded. "Yeah, that guy needs to cheer up a bit. C'mon, let's go sell some more papes," said Mush.

Ack. HIDE! Thank goodness for having a height a bit below average... who would've thunk it would've came handy? Anyways, the only thing I could do was pull down the rim off my hat as far down to my face and lean against the wall. Please don't see me. Mush won't let me hear the end of it!

"The morning edition better have good headlines today..."

"Hah, well, y'know we can always come up with better headlines!" exclaimed Mush as they left the alley and turned into a different direction.

Aaahh. I can breathe a little easier now. Well, actually...

I'm going to have to keep this to myself. I know I will. I better. No telling anybody. Lips zipped.

Or at least I hope so.

~*~

Shout-outs

Frenchygoil: hahah, i don't really know if they wake up THAT early. i probably wouldn't have been a good newsie either if i needed to wake up at that time. i like to sleep. ^^ hahha. whoot! i'm so glad i'm getting things right... lol. yeah, i kinda modeled her after monsters inc, only she's a little bit more tougher and independent. christmas is almost there! ^^

Sage: hahah, i'm finally getting your reviews! ^^ glad to see that you're finally back around here! i was wonderin' what was happening to you... i go home, check my email, bug my friends on the net, then talk to you - weird not having you here. but you're back! hahah. awww, thankies for the compliments! i luv you too! ^^

Sapphy: hahha, that reminded me of the time when striker came over my house, and tripped over my bed. goodness gracious. lol. i always wanted to learn how to ride a horse... kewlness. but i'm just too darn lazy. lol. ooh and guess what?! i know this is news to ya! i'm going to watch this play, wicked, at NY during spring, and guess who's playing one of the main roles? the original girl who had the part of maureen in rent! forgot her name, but i know you LOVE rent.

Deanie: whoot! new reviewer! *waves* hiii! ^^ thanks! yeah, even me... i take some stuff from my life for the story too. heheh. doing it in different perspective isn't as easy as it look though, i'm just glad that i'm getting the characters right especially when its not mine. but i'm gonna have to say that christmas eve will be very... erm, eventful. lol.

Stretch: yay! i'm glad that i got you right! hahah, i was worried that i didn't - but that's just me. lol. is that a good thing? getting inside's people's heads? hahah, probably for THIS. y'know, i have to reread people's profiles a number of times before i start writin'! kinda like... absorbin' the person's personality. lol.

Kit Blink: thanks! you asked for more, and here it is!

Emu: Hahah, thanks! ^^ School is actually alright for now - especially since its just starting, so we don't have that much work as usual. :P But y'know what? I actually get some of my ideas from school! hahah! ooh, and the teeny font in my other fic! lol! i just had to laugh about that!