Sunshine had been so depraved of doing newsieish-stuff that she sold the afternoon and evening editions. She had slipped into her old rhythm easily- for a while she feared she might have forgotten how to do it. The sun danced on its east-ly trek until it had dipped well blow the skyline and was about to vanish. The cool night air was settling in and Sunshine was enjoying sitting on the front step of the Lodging House watching the last rays of light dancing across Duane Street. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She heard the door open and close and felt a presence behind her. The person walked closer and she could see their shoes. The owner of the feet- and everything attached to them- sat down next to her. She looked over to see that Ryan was there, pulling a cigarette out. Hye offered one to his companion at the moment but Sunshine just shook her head. He pulled out an expensive looking lighter and lit his cigarette.

"Where'd you get the lighter?" she asked him, looking at his face, which was turned to look at the street and the people walking by. He turned and looked at her, his eyes looking directly into hers. He smiled and handed it to her. She looked at the front. It was engraved with the symbol of the office of the president of the United Stated. She gave a low whistle and turned it over. On the back it read "Jack Kelly- May your dreams come true and your friends stay by your side. –Teddy Roosevelt"

"He gave it to my Dad when he came back to visit New York. My Dad gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday" he said as she handed it back to him. She smiled.

"It's a nice watch- never pawn it. It'll be worth a lot of money to your grandkids." She said seriously.

"Are you all of a sudden an antique dealer?" he asked jokingly.

"As a matter of fact" she said, mock anger in her voice, "I am. My Dad used to run a pawnshop before he got in to the Newspaper business. I learned real fast to tell the fake stuff from the real- and what to sell and what to keep.". The two talked for a few more minutes. By the time they were done it was totally dark out and people were lighting street lamps. Ryan stood up and held his hand out to Sunshine. She almost didn't' accept it- she never accepted the help of anyone if she could avoid it- but she took his hand anyway. He helped her up and kept hold of her hand even after she was up. She was so disconcerted by this- no guys had *ever* liked her- that she tripped. A split second later she found herself in the awkward- but not unenjoyable- position of being in Ryan's arms. She looked into his face, hers burning with embarrassment, and saw that he was laughing. He wasn't laughing meanly; it was more like he was laughing with her. She smiled and began to laugh as well. She regained her footing and the two walked inside, still holding hands.

The opened the door to the bunkroom and joined the game of poker that had started. They were playing doubles and Mouth asked her if she wanted to play with him. She nodded and looked around for a chair. There was nothing else to sit on at all. The bunks were too heavy to move and all the empty crates form the alley had already been brought up. Mouth got a really big grin on his face.

"Well, it looks like you'll just have t sit on me lap" he winked. He opened his arms and she sat down. He grabbed the cards from the small tabe the were using to play on. He wrapped his long arms around her so they both could see the cards. She leaned against his chest to be more comfortable. The game of poker didn't end for a long time. The teams, which had been Mouth and Sunshine, Ryan and Stella, Orion and Wild Card, Vixen and Skunk, and Nuts just watched, had ended up being in the end game Mouth and Sunshine vs. Orion and Wild Card. The two teams squared off and agreed to one last game, winner take all. It troubled Sunshine a little to possibly take $10 from kids who supported themselves, but thought that she would save it and lose it back to them later. Orion smirked and put their hand down, face up

"Two Queens and two Jacks! Beat that, Big Mouth." He crowed. Mouth put on a frown and said

"Wow, you really beat me good," his eyes sparkled, "If we didn't have a Royal Flush!" he practically yelled. He jumped up and swung Sunshine around, which was met with a shriek of delight from her. He hugged her and set her down. He noticed Orion's expression and stopped cheering. He suddenly felt like the lowest creature on the face of the earth. Orion had wanted to take his Race and Stella out to dinner to celebrate Race's job at the university. Mouth knew that Orion would never accept it now- it was against his pride to take what he considered handouts.

"I want a rematch" he declared, looking down at Orion. His face turned up and he looked into Orion's deep chocolate eyes.

"No. You won fair and square. I won't play again". He stood up and spit in his hand. Mouth did the same, and he gently squeezed the other boy's hand. He knew Orion didn't' hold a grudge against him. But he knew that taking his dad and sister out would have meant the world to him. Orion walked away and up the ladder leading to the roof. Nobody could figure out why Orion was taking it so hard- he had only told his dream to Mouth. Sunshine sensed something was wrong. She got up and headed to the roof as well. She didn't know all the newsies all that well yet, but she wanted to. She saw Orion perched on a crate by the edge of the building. She advanced slowly, not quite sure how to proceed. She rounded the crate and sat on the adjacent one.

"He Ri" she said, shortening his nickname.

"Hey" he responded without even looking at her.

"What happened in there, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Nothing. Just leave me alone" he said and turned away from her. This made her a little perturbed. She could understand that he was angry about something, but taking it out in her wasn't right. However, she pushed the anger aside, knowing that he wouldn't yell at Mouth- they were too good of friends.

"You either tell me or I'm gonna throw you offa this building" she said, only half joking. He looked at her with a shocked expression. He explained his dream and how Mouth had betrayed him by winning.

"I see that you mean. But, by the way he called for a rematch so quickly I think he hadn't remembered how much you needed the money. Don't be mad at him. People aren't perfect, but he is trying to be a good friend" she said as she put her arm around the younger boy. He leaned into her side and she rested her head on top of his. She could tell that he was crying but said nothing of it. He pulled away and looked at the door. She had made sure no one was eavesdropping.

"Tell ya what. I'll lend you the money. But every month you gotta pay me back $2, with a penny interest every month." She pulled a wad of bills out from her boot. She handed him $15.

"No, I can't. I wouldn't feel right" he said, looking at the money in her hand.

"Look. Nobody'll know. I promise. And you're gonna pay me back, so it's you who's really spending the money, not me. I actually stand to make some money," She said, pushing the money into the boy's hand, ignoring his protests. After a minute of Orion tying to give it back, he finally conceded.

"Thanks. It means a lot to me."

"I know, just remember not to tell anyone. I don't wanna get hit up for money by every newsie in New York." She smiled and got up, "I gotta go to bed. I'm dog tired." She opened the trap door and made her way to the small room where she kept her things. Mouth followed her in and closed the door.

"What was that about?" he asked, which startled Sunshine.

"I just went up and talked to him, that's all." She bent down and rummaged around in one of the bags.

"Did he tell you…" he started but was cut off.

"Yes, he told me about Races' new job and wanting to go out to eat." A look crossed Mouth's face that was a mix of guilt and anger, "But I also know that you forgot and won on accident, not on purpose." His face relaxed a little.

"I lent him a couple of bucks to go out on, so you don't need to worry." Relief flooded from him followed by anger.

"Why'd you do that? I would have found a way to give it to him without hurting his pride. I could have fixed this, I don't need someone to clean up my messes!" Ye practically yelled the last part and left the room, slamming the door behind him. He walked through the bunkroom, down the stairs, and out the door. He could care less about Heather seeing him, since it was past curfew.