A/N: When I was coming home the other day, I passed by a KFC restaurant, and saw people that were protesting cruelty to chickens… cough IDIOTS cough cough

Anyway, Sorry about the lack of communication, I've been extremely busy with… life in general. I know I promised to send everyone an e-mail responding to their character, but lets face it, I got over 20 profiles… that's a lot of typing. I'm saying right here that I will try and fit absolutely everyone in, though I can't promise huge parts to everyone throughout the whole story, considering the fact that I have to introduce everyone, and other stuff… It really is a challenge just to write this… I had to spend a considerable amount of time making a graph with everyone's names, nicks, ages, and other critical info… Because I did not think of these characters myself, it is a real challenge to write them. It is a challenge I am really looking forward to… just give me patience, as I am slow in getting out chapters. Ah, and I'm pretty much nixing the whole everyone's different accents thing. Forget about it, that's too confusing for me as an author. Ah, onto the chapter!

The first night there in the brand new bunks, covered with a brand new blanket, with a brand new pillow under your head, was like a dream come true, for both Lizza and Alaska. For different reasons, of course, but a dream come true, nonetheless. For Lizza, it was a beginning of something good, for Alaska, it was the end of something bad. Since she was sort of, even though she wouldn't admit it, afraid of Ms. Basson, the owner of the boarding house that she was sleeping at. Not living, since a blanket and the softest piece of floor you can find near the fireplace for warmth is not really living there. In fact, after the guys had asked her where she was from, and why she was there, and her philosophies on life, and whether or not she had plans for world domination... well, maybe not, but they asked her a WHOLE lot of questions... They asked her about where she was living before, and sensed her fear of the woman. After the whole lot of them left for the day, Mush and Racetrack came back after about a half hour, and gave her all of her things that she had left at the boarding house, along with her first month's "rent" that was promised back to her at the beginning when she first got there. "What sweet guys" she thought to herself as she slipped into slumber.

Early the next morning, Anlu sat on the steps of the lodging house, with a hot cup of nice strong coffee held securely in her hands. Breathing in the strong bitter smell of the excellent coffee, she sighed. The morning was going to be beautiful, if the sunrise she was watching meant anything. She closed her eyes and let the sun wash over her, breathing in the still cool air. After taking one more look at the orange tinted sky, and draining the last swallow from her cup, she stood, and walked back inside. After a stop in the kitchen to leave her cup on the counter by the sink, she made her way up the stairs and into the room the two girls were sleeping in.

"Rise n' shine, my girls! It's gonna be a beautiful day!" She said brightly, pulling back the curtains from the windows.

Alaska groaned and sat up, but Lizza buried her face in the pillow and mumbled something unintelligible.

Anlu walked over to her bed, and shook her shoulder. When Lizza didn't move, Anlu simply said, "I made coffee."

Lizza's head shot up, and her eyes lit up. "Woo hoo! I'm up, I really am!" she declared, scrambling to a seated position next to Anlu.

"Alright, now get going, or you won't be at the distribution center when the gates open." Anlu prompted to them both.

"I'd never live it down" Lizza said, jumping out of bed

Anlu smiled at Alaska as she walked out of the room, and went back down the stairs.

"So, Alaska, who's yer usual selling partner?" Lizza asked as they got ready to go.

"It's just me… I've never had a selling partner."

"Seriously? It's not very safe for a girl to be selling by herself too often… there are some sick people out there that watch for girls by themselves… I'll find you a selling partner." She stated, leaving no room for the shy girl to argue.

After a quick breakfast of pancakes, and a cup or two of coffee, the two girls set off together towards the distribution center.

"You ever sold before?" Lizza asked Alaska as she kicked a pebble on the sidewalk.

"Yeah, have for six months..." she said.

"Oh, where have you been selling?"

"Manhattan."

Lizza stopped walking and stared at her, "Are you sure?"

With a funny look on her face, Alaska nodded her head and said, "Yeah, Mr. Wiesel's center."

"How is it that I don't know you then? I thought I knew everyone!" Lizza said, studying her. There seemed to be a vague familiarity about her, but nothing too familiar. She was shorter than Lizza by about 6 inches, and looked very slender next to Lizza's sturdy, athletic structure. Her light brown hair was cut relatively short, and her eyes were light, ice blue.

"I like to be unnoticed." Alaska stated as they kept walking.

They spent the next few minutes in a comfortable silence, with Lizza humming a song. Suddenly, a girl came around the corner, and plowed into Lizza, knocking her, and herself over.

"Sorry, sorry." The girl said in a frustrated voice as they untangled themselves from each other.

Alaska helped them up, and as Lizza brushed herself off, the strange girl tried pushing her huge amounts of long unruly black hair out of her face. Her dark hair almost overpowered her fair skin and pale hazel eyes, but somehow, with the smattering of freckles across her button nose, her colors all evened out. She was relatively short, only an inch or so taller than Alaska, making her about 5'3".

"You alright-?" Lizza said, trailing off.

"Melinda. Or Mel, or Lin. Or, you can call me Skitzo… lotsa people do." She said with a shrug.

"Skitzo?" Lizza asked.

"Oh yeah, Skitzo…Like Schizophrenia. Dey say my moodswings are outta dis world. It's like there's two a me in one body sometimes. So who're you'se guys. I mean goils. You know what I mean!"

"Alaska"

"Lizzabeth."

"Gotta nick' Lizzabeth?" Skitzo asked.

"Other than Lizza, you mean? Ah, Sometimes they call me Stilts."

"Stilts?"

"See, I used to be an apprentice to a woodworker, and he was asked to build some stilts for the circus in town, and I became fascinated by them. I made myself a pair and walked all over town on them. But more people call me Lizza than Stilts, it's kinda old news."

With a snicker, Skitzo said, "mmm, ok."

"Why you in such a hurry?" Lizza asked

"Oh, I gots ta go fetch the laundry from the Laundromat for my landlady… lazy…" she trailed off, saying a few choice words under her breath. "I pay the lady for rent, and she threatens that she might let the room out to someone else iffen I don't do her chores!" she said, scrunching her face in frustration. "An' I'm supposed to start a new job today, I'se gonna try my hand at sellin newspapers... an I'm late!" she said as she started walking off.

"Wait!" Lizza said, stopping her.

Skitzo turned back around and waited patiently for Lizza to talk.

"Interested in getting a bunk at a newsgirls lodging house? Rent's pretty cheap."

Skitzo's face brightened like the sun, as she asked, "Newsgirls lodging house? Can I join?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Lizza said, "sure."

"What's the caretaker like? "

"Well, Anlu's-"

Without waiting for an answer, she kept on asking questions. "Just how cheap is the rent? How old is the building? Are there enough bunks for everyone? Is there only one washroom for lotsa people? Will I get fed there? Is there mold in the building? I don't like mold."

Lizza just gave her directions and told her to go ask for Anlu, she'd answer all of her questions, for sure.

After Skitzo went skipping down the street towards her current place to collect her things and say goodbye, Alaska and Lizza turned to keep on walking towards the distribution center.

Before they got too far, they heard a frantic shout of "Hold up!" from somewhere above them.

Looking up, they noticed a girl that appeared to be about seventeen sitting on a fire escape with her legs sticking out between the bars. She was swinging her legs as she held a half eaten piece of bread. Her long, wavy brown hair hung down her back, hastily pulled into a ponytail, and she was looking at them through wire-rimmed glasses. After shoving the piece of bread into her mouth, she nimbly climbed down, jumping the last 5 feet or so, and landing right in front of them.

"I was listening." She informed them after she swallowed her food. "Is there really such a place?"

"Yeah, My Aunt and I started it just yesterday, 'Laska, here's the only one 'sides me so far. And now Skitzo, if she gets there alright."

"And you are?"

"Lizza. What's your name?"

Proudly puffing up her chest, she answered, "They call me Inquisitive. Or sometimes Ink. But my real name's Danielle."

"Well, Ink, if I can call you that?" Lizza waited for a nod before continuing. "There are lotsa open bunks, you're welcome ta join us."

"Sounds like a wonderful idea!" she said, her face brightening. "Can I bring anyone with me?" she asked, clapping her hands in anticipation.

"I don't see why not…" Lizza said.

"There are more open bunks that filled bunks, at the moment." Alaska stated.

"Do you have anyone in mind?" asked Lizza, thinking she might know them.

"Nope, but I'll find someone!" Ink said with a grin. "I'll meet you there after I'm done selling." She said with a wink before turning on her heel and skipping off.

'If life was ever boring before, I don't think it will be ever again…' Lizza said as they started off once again for the distribution center. They met no one else along the way that stopped them, so they got there quite quickly.

Standing off to the side, near the gates, Lizza scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar face. Amongst the pack of newsies, there were young ones running around, and getting in some serious playtime before the bell rang, and it was time to work, and older kids, bleary eyed, and half asleep, most likely from staying up past midnight, and having to get up at five in the morning. Dutchy waved at her, catching her eye. Grinning, she waved back, and motioned for Alaska to follow her.

"I saved you'se guys a place in line." Dutchy told them, as they got closer. As soon as they got in line with Dutchy, Skittery, Bumlets, Boots and Kid Blink, the bell rang, and the gates opened, signaling them to file up to the counter.

"So, Alaska, what do you know about selling papers?" Kid Blink asked her.

"What are you talking about?" Skittery asked him, with a bewildered expression on his face.

"I'm just tryin to be nice! Maybe she's never sold before." Blink said to Skittery, good naturedly smacking him on the arm.

"What's with you today?" Boots asked Skittery, "you don't usually get mad at us for tryin to help anyone new."

"She's been sellin here for months!" Skittery said, exasperated, and was met with confused looks from the rest of the boys.

"It's nice to know that at least one person noticed me in the last six months…" she said slowly, smiling at Skittery before turning to the others, "I usually prefer not to join the crowd, and am usually sitting over there," she said, motioning to a pile of crates along the wall, "reading, or writing in my journal… I really didn't really know anyone until last night…"

Boots looked back at Skittery, "So how is it that you're the only one here that noticed her?"

Skittery was taken aback. "I dunno… I just… notice things sometimes, that no one else notices."

Skitzo crept quietly up the fire escape, and climbed in through the window of her room, trying to be as quiet as possible.

If I can pack up and leave before she knows it, she can't yell at me for not doing her grunt work. She thought to herself as she looked around the room at her scant belongings, and pulled her leather suitcase from under the bed. There wasn't much that she owned, so it didn't take her long to put all of her clothes in, and take down her few newspaper clippings, sketches and postcards that she had collected, and pinned to her wall.

Looking around the room one more time, her gaze fell on a small, framed painting of an angel that she had loved ever since she had come to live there. I'm sure she wouldn't even notice! Skitzo snickered as she pulled it off the wall. Stifling a laugh, she noticed that there was a bright blue rectangle on the wall behind the picture where it had shielded the once beautiful wallpaper from the harshness of the sun. Okay, so maybe she will notice… but I don't really care! She said with a grin as she fastened the buckle on her suitcase, and crept back out the window and down to the street.

Lizza walked out of the gates, and looked around. "Where's Alaska, she was just here! She was right in front of me in line." She said out loud to herself.

Dutchy, who had just followed after her through the gates, looked up and down the street. "Oh, she's with Skittery, they took off thaddaway." He said, pointing to them as they walked down the street. "I think Skittery just found a friend that doesn't care that he's not cheerful."

Giggling, Lizza agreed, "That's true… "

Ink made her way down the street, among the hustle and bustle of the city. She loved it! Here she could watch people, fascinated by their mannerisms and movements, and just how different people were from each other. Not knowing where her feet were taking her, she just kept wandering down the street. All around were restaurants, shops, and vendors of every kind.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the form of a girl came hurtling backwards out of a doorway, almost knocking her over. Ink instinctively grabbed her elbow, supporting her so she wouldn't fall. Looking up into the doorway, Ink saw that man that had just nearly tossed the girl out of the doorway was disappearing back inside, only to come back and roughly throw a faded carpetbag at the girl, before slamming the door.

The strange girl dropped the bag, and threw her faded blue cap on top of it, and started screaming at the closed door, in what Ink assumed was French.

'What happened, are you alright?' Ink asked her.

Not even noticing that Ink was there, she kept on fuming, and shaking her head at the door.

"Hey Frenchy." Ink said, trying to get her attention,

Whirling around, her short blonde hair flying around her head, she started talking to Ink in French, not bothering to ask her if she spoke the language or not.

"Whoa, hold on, can you speak English?" Ink asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she said with a heavy accent. "I am fine… I was needing a job, and this man said he can give me a job at the restaurant. He gave me a pinch on the bottom, and I hit him, so he threw me out." She said angrily, before she dropped her head and started crying.

"What? Did he hurt you? Are you alright? What's wrong?"

In between sniffles, she answered. "No, he did not hurt me, I was just… being hopeful of having a job, and being able to eat something this day."

"What's your name?" Ink asked her.

"Cèdre.'

"Well, Ceee… Can I call you Frenchy?" Ink asked, and after receiving a nod, continued, "Frenchy, I'm Danielle, but you can call me Ink. Do you have a place to stay at all?"

"No, Not having a job is not letting me pay for rent any place." She explained.

"Well, I was on my way to a newsgirls lodging house, and I can loan you the first month's rent, and show you how to be a newsie tomorrow!"

Her face brightening, Cèdre wiped the tears off of her face, and gave Ink a big hug. "You are my rescuer!"

A/N: Woot! Long chapter! It's just that I'm trying to get so much into one chapter that I have a hard time knowing where to end them! I hope that you guys like it! And for those that I introduced, did I portray your characters right? I hope so! I'm already working on the next chapter, so it should be out sooner than my other ones… I'M SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO GET THIS OUT!!!!!!