Enter some newsies of my own making. True there are some of the origional newsies later on and they dont' belong to me (i wish they did but yeah). but the Greenwich Newsies don't all belong to me either. Random is a character belonging to a friend. Calypso belongs to my friend Casche as does Pharoh and Blue. Shadow owns himself and Cleo. Book belongs to my buddy Ty. I am Cookie. and slightly Mina too if you mix them. Pockets, Tails, and Cook's brothers and Mina's brother are all from my head. and all that. Greenwich Lodging House (at least the one in this story) belongs to Ran, Caly, and me.and of course the other newsies residing there.

enjoy. please review.

A week later David was well enough to go back to work at one of New York's many factories, and Mina was left on her own once again. She sometimes took in the sewing of some of the richer people of the city but that was the only thing she did all day. Things went back to normal. David's best friend Tails would come every morning and walk with Mina around the city to collect the sewing. Tails was a newsie so he just sold papers as the two of them walked, he had become an extra brother to Mina over the years and he did what everyone else did: protect her from the harshness of the world. She was tired of it but she still enjoyed his company.

One morning as Tails and Mina were walking, Mina carrying a basket, a tall, dark complected boy came up and pushed Tails.

"Where do ya think yer goin?" the boys voice was angry but his green eyes twinkled.

" 'EY! Where ya been kiddo?!" Tails grinned and clapped the boy on the back.

"Oh ya know... here...there," he said, trying to be mysterious.

"Jersey?" Tails asked.

"Actually I 'ad some 'business' in New Orleans, 'n' I hopped down ta Texas ta check on some stuff..."

"Meanin ya found an excuse ta go search for Cookie's brudda's?" Tails asked matter of factly.

"Yeah."

"Ya didn' find nothin did ya?"

"Not a thing! Dey wouldn' jist go off 'n' leave 'er! Poor kid, I can' tell 'er dat I didn' find nothin, tha's why I didn' tell 'er why I went," the boy seemed sad.

"Poor kid..." Tails said sympathetically.

Mina just stared at them in wonder, even she was feeling sorry for this "Cookie" that she had never heard of before.

"Oh! Dis is me pal Mina. Mina dis rascal is Pockets," Tails said remembering that Mina was just standing there.

"Nice ta meet ya," Pockets, the green eyed boy, tipped his hat.

"Nice to meet you too," Mina smiled at him. "Are you a newsie also?"

"Yup! Sure am! Cook's made a honest man outta me now, no more pickin pockets," Pock grinned mischievously.

"You picked pockets??" Mina asked, she wasn't horrified, a lot of the orphans in New York resorted to that. "And..um...who's 'Cookie'??"

"Cook is an old friend o' mine. She's a newsie, couple o' 'er friends 'n' 'erself run a lodgin house ova ta Greenwich way," Pockets said.

"Cute kid, 'er 'n' Ran 'ad one o' da best scam jobs dis city eva saw. Lot's o' kids 'ave tried their approach but only dey could pull it off, den they went honest," Tails grinned to himself as he remembered how he had met the duo.

"What did they do?" Mina asked, she was interested in these girls who could just go out and take everything for themselves. They had even gained respect from these two boys, and she imagined countless others.

"Well Cook 'as dis believable cough, 'n' like Tails said, she's a cute kid, when she wants she can be da most pitiful person ya eva saw. 'n' when da beggin didn' woik, Ran jist picked da person's pockets. Dey neva knew wha' hit 'em," Pock grinned.

"Wow," Mina said quietly. She wished she could do something that made her money and gained her respect, she was tired of being a proper young girl. Soon Tails and Pockets started talking about something and Mina was left alone with her thoughts.

Mina knew what she must look like. Her long jet black hair was in a low bun on the back of her head, her plain skirt was modest and her shirt waist was a perfect white. Mina came back from her own little world when she heard Pockets saying something about a nasty knife wound. She tuned back into Tails's and Pockets's conversation so that she could figure out who had been hurt.

"I couldn' leave til if knew she was alrigh. Thank goodness Book knows kinda wha's she's doin." Pockets said, his brow furrowed.

"How'd i' 'appen dis time?" Tails asked.

"Well ya know da goils are always feelin like dey gotta prove demselves, 'n' I guess dey kinda do. Dey got in a fight wit' some scabs. Whole thin' was bloody but we won o' course," Pockets said with some pride.

"Everybody in on i'?" Tails asked.

"Yup, almost all o' us was dere. Ran, Caly, Cook, Book, Phae, Blue, Riddle, Wolf, meself, 'n' o' course Shadow, Cleo was outta town."

"Ya got a tough group."

"Most o' 'em don't really enjoy fighten though. Especially since Cook usually gets hurt," Pockets shook his head sadly.

"Was she the one that got the knife wound?" Mina asked quietly.

"Yup," Pocket smiled sadly at her.

"What are the other people like?" Mina asked excitedly. "Ever'body else?" Pockets grinned. "I'll jist give ya da short version. Ran, well i already kinda tol' ya bout 'er, she's kinda loud 'n' she lets ya know how she feels. Nevah make 'er mad, she'll kick yer butt, but she's real nice 'n' helps people out when she knows dey need it. Always a good friend," Pock grinned.

"Caly, she da otha leddah...now she's tough. She ain't all smiley like Ran 'n' Cook but she still knows how ta 'ave a good time, you'll jist 'afta meet 'er ta understand. She keeps daggers wit' 'er 'n' man is 'er aim good.

"Den ya got Book, da name speaks for 'er. She's always readin, 'n' she's kinda quiet. Riddle don' say much eitha, 'n' da same wit' 'er bruddah Wolf, who tends ta tawk wit' Book 'bout...well books.

"Phae, well 'e's been dere longer den Cook 'n' Ran, same wit' 'is bruddah Blue. Phae's sweet on Caly deep down but 'e's been real sweet on Cleo eva since she arrived. Blue don't seem ta say much eitha but 'e's good ta 'ave aroun.

"That brings me ta Cleo, she's Shadow's cousin. Man, can she get angry but den she'll calm down. She reminds me alot o' Shadow.

"Now for Shadow, 'e brings tons o' culture ta da house. 'e's part o' dis jazz band 'n' dey come 'n' we 'ave parties on da roof, tons o' fun. Da goils tend to let loose 'n' man can dey dance," he winked at Tails. "Shadow's brought many a fight for us too, but dis last one came cuz o' out three gorgeous leddah's." Pockets finished his spill, and grinned at how wide Mina's eyes had gotten because of how fast he talked.

"Ya get all o' dat sweetheart?" he asked with a wink.

"I..I think so," she smiled shyly. "Did anybody else get hurt?" Mina tried to seem like fights were normal to her too.

"Jist da usual," Pockets said with a shrug.

"Is Cookie alright?"

"Yeah, she's used ta it by now. In fact she was out sellin da next day," Pock grinned somewhat sadly.

"And she was stabbed?!?!"

"Yea, she's got anotha scar ta add ta 'er collection," Pock laughed at Mina's shock.

"Has that happened to anybody else?"

"Well, Shadow's been shot a few times, nothin major but it shoah scared da hell outta everyone."

"Shot?!?!?!"

"Woah you gotta get out more kid," Pockets winked at her.

"Ain't dat da truth," Tails grinned at Mina.

"Yeah, you're right..." Mina could help blushing at how naive she was.