Lady Rach—Ah, you're awesome! Thanks for the, like, four reviews! I read them at midnight:30 last night when I couldn't get to sleep, and I was so superbly happy...if superbly is a word that fits in that context...and I don't think it is. But whatever! Thanks!

Dreamer—Have fun at school! My schedule pretty much goes class, off, class, choir, lunch, choir, class, off. I win! But make no mistake, when those three classes get boring, there will be massive amounts of fanfic writing going on!

Repeat—You read my mind! Or maybe you're just smart. Or both. Anyways, be prepared for some Rosie disappointment later on...

Kpstar25—I hate it when that happens! And it does happen to me too! I'll do what I can to keep this one going!

Cricket—Mary-Sue fanfics = everything wrong with the world. I still blame them for any bad luck I have, EVER. I might be joking, I might not be! You know how it goes!

Here's chapter 8! REVIEWS...AHHH. GIVE ME REVIEWS...:::foams at the mouth:::


"Hey Johnny, you wanna spot me two bits?" I was absoloutely broke. I had been for the past two days, and my best friend knew this.

Johnny raised his eyebrow. "Am I ever gonna get it back?" he asked

"With interest," I replied. Johnny sighed and dug into his pocket.

He pulled out a quarter. "I'm trustin' you, Jacobs," he said, holding the coin between his thumb and his forefinger in front of my face.

I took it and smiled. "You're a real life-saver, you know that?" I said.

"Yeah, yeah, you ain't jokin' neither." Johnny glanced up at Rosie, who was still up on my shoulders. "She's sleepin', you know."

I could feel Rosie's head resting on mine. Her arms were still wrapped around the top of my head, and her legs were draped over my shoulders like a scarf. I had a firm grip on her tiny feet. "Yeah...I kinda figured that when I kept talking to her and she didn't answer," I replied. "I'm just afraid she's gonna fall or something."

"Doubt it," Johnny said with a shrug. "Kids are like monkeys. I was, at least. Climbin' trees in Central Park and sleepin' there. Didn't fall down once." He paused. "Well maybe once. But it didn't do me no harm, now did it?"

I grinned and opened my mouth to say something, but Johnny stopped me. "Not one word, Jacobs...not one word."

Fifty papers would do it for the morning. If I sold every one of them, I could pay Johnny back that day and have an extra quarter. It's doubtful that on a freezing day in February a kid could sell fifty papes, but I was determined enough to do it.

I found a corner void of any other newsie claimed it as my spot for the day. Slowly I crouched down and let go of Rosie's legs. I could feel her stirring as I gently let her down onto the ground.

"You awake?" I asked. I stood up and turned around. Rosie yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"I'm cold," she complained, and I frowned. I couldn't blame her, but what could I do about it?

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," I said. Now I'm usually not the giving type, especially not when it looks like it'll snow. But I was practically a father now; I had to show some responsibility.

Looking back, it was a stupid idea, but I was starting to love this little girl. I unbuttoned my coat and pulled it off. "You want my coat?" I asked her.

She shrugged. I took that as a yes. "Come 'ere." I helped her put her arms into the sleeves and buttoned one button—there was no need to fasten the coat any more than that. Rosie looked pretty amusing in that coat meant for someone three times her age. I took off my cap and placed it on her head.

"There," I said. "That better?" She nodded. "All right. All you gotta do is just stand here while I sell these papers. That sound okay?" Again, she nodded. "Great. Just...stand there. All right?" Another nod. "Okay."

I grabbed the paper on the top of my stack and thrust it up into the air. The headline was complete junk, so I just came up with something off of the top of my head. "Bloody gang fight in Harlem kills sixteen! Read all about it!" I yelled. That one got me three papers sold. I just had to make sure I didn't get caught lying.

In the half hour that Rosie and I had been standing on that street corner, I'd sold more than half of my papers. I couldn't figure out why, though, until a woman commented about what a "sweet little girl" my "sister" was.

Why didn't I realize this before?

With this kid's puss and my God-given talent, we could move a thousand papes a week.

Rosie wasn't just a great kid, she was a business lifesaver. An hour passed and the fifty papers had turned into fifty pennies. I stuck them in the pocket of my coat, which still rested on Rosie's shoulders.

Now I don't know if you've ever been out in the cold for an hour with short sleeves and no coat, but it's not too pleasant. I couldn't just take back the coat, though. I'd feel bad. So Rosie got to keep my coat, but as we walked back towards the distribution center, I could feel myself getting weaker and less alert. I couldn't control the shivering.

We must have been close, because I could see Johnny, and Johnny never sells too far away from the distribution center. (He maintains it's because he's so damn good at it, he needs to be able to buy more papers if he needs to.)

As I walked towards him, I knew something wasn't right. I tried to call out to him, but my mouth couldn't form the words. Before I knew it, I had fallen to the ground. My head must have hit something, because the next thing I knew, I wasn't outside anymore.

"Is he gonna die?" Six.

"Donno." Johnny.

"What happened?" Rum.

"Gave his coat to that girl..." Johnny.

"He's bleeding, Johnny."

"Jesus Christ..."

I was out again. No dreams, no black. I just skipped the sleep of unconsciousness and when I awoke, Johnny was still hovering over me. My head felt like it was imploding.

He must have seen my eyes open. "Thank God," he said with a huge sigh of relief. I stared up at him. "I think you're gonna be all right."

I didn't say anything; I couldn't remember how to. I was so tired and confused, but I was warm. There must have been twenty blankets covering me. I was back in my bed at the lodging house.

"I guess you got real cold, and when that happens, you can't really move and stuff, so you fell, and must have hit your head," he said. So that's why my head hurt. "Your kid's fine. I went and got your brother when we couldn't wake you up. He took her out to get some food." He laughed a little. "We all thought you were a goner, Les, you idiot. You've been out for nearly an entire day now. When you hit your head, there was so much blood..." He paused. "Talk to me, Les. Say something."

I managed a mumble, but I don't think I was actually saying words. "I'll get you something hot to drink," Johnny said. "Rum says no alcohol though, and I donno why I'd give you alcohol anyways. Seems to me he just said that 'cause he knows from experience."

All I wanted to do was sleep. I worried about my little girl, but I had the feeling that I should be worrying more about myself. I felt sick and restless, so I closed my eyes and waited for sleep. Before long, it came, and I was happy again.