20. New York Again

As I walked, I breathed in the delicious air of New York. Technically it was smoggy and over industrialized, but to me it was home.

I passed many newsies selling the evening papers. I didn't recognize any of them, but the ones I had known were probably just reaching their twenties and moving on.

I decided that I would search for a job tomorrow; I just wanted to enjoy New York for tonight.

I sat down on a park bench and began sketching the scenes going on around me.

"By a pape miss?" asked a teen boy, probably about fourteen or so.

"Anything woith reading?" I asked.

"Um....no."

I laughed, but the guy didn't find that funny, he was sizing me up.

"And jus' why are you'se lookin at me that way?" I asked.

"Do I knows you?"

"Oh come on, every guy had tried dat line some time in 'is life." I said, flipping my book shut, and preparing to leave. I stood up but the guy put his hand on my arm.

"No I mean it. I knows you. Yoah Loki!" said the boy, excited that he had remembered my identity.

I turned and faced him, trying to remember who he was but I could not. "You knows me, but I don' know you."

"Good, I geuss you nevah will." The boy looked at me cockily and began to walk off.

"Hold it!" I grabbed the back of the kid's shirt and dragged him back.

"Tell me who you are an' I'll buy a pape from ya."

It was a tempting offer, and if the boy wanted to eat and sleep, he might as well sell to whomever he could. I held up a penny in front of his face. The young teen stared at it longingly. Suddenly he grabbed the penny and ran, not giving me any paper in exchange.

"Hey!" I shouted. I was about to run after him, but I realized I was wearing the wrong dress, and would have to save this fight for another time. He would be at the distribution center, and one morning I would be there to greet him.

I stayed out until after the sun went down. I had bought myself dinner from a street vendor. When I arrived back at the apartment building, the Higgins's door was still hanging wide open. I began to wonder whether they even closed it when they went to bed.

"Me no wanna go to bed." Screamed a girl voice from in the room.

"Come on sweetie. If ya lie down Uncle Jack will tell ya a story. Won' ya Uncle Jack?" called Sunny.

"I shoah will!" I heard the sound of Jack's boots walking across the floor. I could hear Jack's voice talking to little Maria, his words inaudible.

I wondered if he ever told true stories about his life as a newsies. If he did, then he was defiantly the hero of the story, and me the enemy.

I realized that I had been leaning on the wall right outside their door. I straightened my dress, and quickly walked passed their door to the staircase.

"Loki!"

I was halfway up the stairs, but I stopped and turned around and looked down at Jack.

"Can I talk too ya tomorra?"

"'bout what?" I asked.

" 'bout wheah you've been, what you've seen."

"You can if ya want, but I will be soichin foah a job tomorra. So you can catch me in the moahnin or the evening."

Jack walked up the stairs so he and I were face to face. "If yoah looking foah a job, Tibby's is hiring. I live in room numbah six, maybe I'se can walk you there tomorra."

I looked at Jack carefully; two years had totally changed his attitude towards me. But then, I no longer thought of him with hatred like I used to. Come to think of it, I didn't think of any one with hatred anymore.

"Shoah." I said finally.

Together we walked up the stairs, I went to my room (#4) and he went to his room down the hall.

I got ready for bed, and was surprisingly lonely. I didn't know the sounds of my apartment, and I wasn't used to not hearing the others moving around in their rooms.

I woke up early but I was tired from traveling and I fell asleep for another half hour. In my sleep I suddenly remembered that I had to be awake, so I quickly opened my eyes and jumped into the shower (A/N Were there showers back then?)

I had just thrown on my clothes and was doing up my hair when I heard a knock on the door.

"Its unlocked!" I called. Jack opened to door and walked in. "I'm not quite done, just give me a minute." I told him.

Jack nodded walked around the room. He stopped when he saw my sketchbook sitting on the table, and flipped it open. On the first page was a remake of the first picture I had ever drawn, the one with the newsie selling.

I finished my hair and walked over to where Jack was still staring at that one picture.

"Did you do dis?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm ready."

Jack reluctantly set down my book; I could tell he really wanted to look through the rest of it. I was kind of embarrassed about my drawings, so I was glad when he set it down and we headed out. We walked silently for a while, neither of us quite sure what to say.

"Wheah did you go?" asked Jack suddenly.

"Foist to Washington, den Pennsylvania, Boston, Jim once took us to New Jersey for two weeks."

"Woah dats a lot of places. I still havn't left New Yawk. Who's Jim?"

"You got rid of yoah hat, Cowboy," I said, flicking his hair. I know it had been obvious I had changed the subject, but I didn't feel like talking about everyone right now, I missed them all to much.

" Nah I still got it. I even weah it now an' then," confessed Jack with a sheepish grin. I laughed at this. He hadn't changed as much as I thought he had.

We got to Tibby's and there we parted, Jack to the distribution center and me into the restaurant. I man in an apron came out to me.

"Hello Miss, may I get you a table?"

"No, I'm here for a job," I said, holding my head high.

The man smiled brightly. "We've really needed a worker. Take a seat and I will call for the manager."

I sat down and waited, but not for long. The manager quickly came, a huge grin on his face. As it turned out, a waitress had suddenly quite, and they were now in desperate need of a new one.

Apparently the waitress had quite because she didn't like being hassled by the newsies and other male customers. The manager was very pleased to hear that I had worked in a pub and knew how to handle guys who felt like being fresh. I was hired on the spot and asked to start immediately.

This meant that when the newsies came in for lunch, I was there to serve them. I was surprised that I could actually remember a few faces in thee swarms, and I was very relieved that so far none of them remembered me.

Jack and another guy walked in. I remembered that the guys name was Mush, and I had played a trick on him so many years ago in order to eat dinner.

Jack saw me and was about to call out, but I quickly put a finger to my lips, indicating that I didn't want to be revealed. Jack and Mush sat down, and I walked swiftly over to them.

" Can I take your order?" I asked, in my crystal clean voice.

Jack ordered for him and Mush as if I was a normal waitress. Mush had been staring at me the whole time, his mouth hanging wide open.

It was very obvious that he knew who I was. I winked at him and pushed his chin to shut his mouth, before walking back to the kitchen to get their orders.

When I came out again, I noticed that the boy who had stolen from me the other day was sitting at a table with his friends. I walked back to Jack's table and gave him their orders.

"Who's that?" I asked, as I set down their plates. Both men looked in the same direction as me.

"Dat's Snipshootah," said Mush.

I nodded and walked away. I remembered him. He was the one who had told me where to find Oscar. He would be sorry that he had stolen from me.

The next time I walked passed him, I very 'accidentally' spilt a cup of water on him.

"Oh I am sorry. Here, let me help you." I grabbed a napkin and began to rub his face, blocking his vision. As I did this, I slowly dipped my hand into his pocket and pulled out his money wallet.

"Get 'way from me goil!" exclaimed Snipeshooter. I was happy to oblige. I walked quickly behind him and into the kitchen.

I stayed there until he had discovered his money was missing and one of his friends had to pay for him. It would take him awhile before he figured out how his money had gone missing.

When I got home, Maria Higgins was sitting on the front step playing with her doll. As I was going up the staircase inside the building, I looked back at her. I could only see the back of her as she hunched over her doll, the sun setting slowly.

It was such a picture perfect moment that I ran upstairs and grabbed my art pad. I came back down the steps and sat at the bottom one, looking at Maria sitting outside.

"Maria, mummy is goin shoppin, come put dolly away."

"Mummy, I don' wan' go." Whined Maria.

"I can look aftah her if you wan'." I said. Sunny turned around, noticing me for the first time.

"Would you?"

"Shoah. I ain't goin noweah."

"Thank you," said Sunny. She looked a little relieved that she wouldn't have to drag her child along with her when she had enough to weight her down. She told her daughter to obey my commands, and then headed off to do her shopping.

I sat and finished drawing the young girl, and then I called her and took her up to my room with me. I had brought some food from Tibby's home with me to eat for dinner.

I also had bought two cupcakes, and when I brought them out, Maria squealed with joy. She began to gobble hers up. I slowly ate mine, enjoying watching Maria enjoy hers. I know you weren't supposed to eat desert before dinner, but tonight I was.

When she was finished, I set the young girl up with a piece of paper and a pencil and let her draw as I ate the rest of my meal.

There was a knock on my door. "Come in!" I called, not standing up from my chair.

"I've been sent up on official business, in search for a Maria Higgins age 2." Said Jack, swaggering in.

"Hmmmm I've heard of some one with that name. She's over there," I said nodded over to the other end of the room. Maria was bent of her paper, humming to herself as she scribbled.

"Turning her into an artist?" asked Jim.

I shrugged and took another bite of food. My art pad was sitting in front of me , and Jack immediately reached out and picked it up again.

He flipped through it silently as I ate.

"Who's this?" he asked, holding up a portrait I had done of Madeline. She was in a chair on a train, all dressed up for travel.

"That's me best friend Madeline."

"Wheah did ya meet her?"

"Washington, but she traveled with me the whole time aftah that."

"She looks very superior," said Jack, studying the picture.

"Yeah she was," I laughed. "She was a real hoity toity. Her fathah was the manager or a bank until he was arrested foah embezzlement. We took Maddy with us aftah that."

Jack flipped to the next page, which held a picture of Drake, sitting at a table, holding a drink.

"He a friend of yoahs as well?" asked Jack.

"Yep, he woiked foah Jim so he was with me the whole time. He and Maddy got married about a yeah ago. They owns a pub in Boston."

"That's interesting. Did you live with them?"

"Yep, lived and woiked with them foah them the last yeah."

"Who's Jim?" asked Jack.

I leaned over Jack and flipped the pages to a drawing of Jim leaning back cockily on the side of a bridge. He had the wind blowing his hair, and the beginning of a beard growing on his face.

The collar on his long jacket was pulled up around is neck and he was grinning at me. I couldn't help but smile at the picture; it was the perfect likeness of him.

" Boyfriend of yoahs? Asked Jack looking up at me. I snatched the book from his hands and smacked him on the back of the head with it.

"I guess that is a yes." Said Jack.

"That was a huge no!" I said, turning and glaring at him.

"So why did you leave them?"

I turned my back to Jack and walked to the window. I was about to simply answer that I missed New York but thankfully I was interrupted.

"There you'se are! When I sent ya to get me kid I didn't think you'd go and nevah return." Said Sunny, coming into the room. "Thanks for looking after Maria," said Sunny.

"No problem." For the first time I really looked at Sunny's eyes and I was surprised. They were iridescent, neither brown, violet, or gray, but somehow all of those at once. Sunny picked up her child and left the room.

Jack still remained there. "So are you going to answer me question?" he asked.

" Don't you knows its rude tah come in an' stay wit out an invitation?" I asked quickly.

"Fine I'm leavin. But I will find out." Said Jack, heading for the door. "Oh an' Loki, Snipeshootah will need 'is money back tomorrow."

I grinned and got the young newsies money wallet from my purse. I threw it to Jack, who caught it and winked at me before leaving, closing the door behind him.

Shouts outs

ShortAtntionSpaz: I know you havn't gotten up to this chapter yet, but thanks for all the reviews you have recently been sending in.

Koodles4you: Sorry that Jim and Loki didn't end up the way you planned lol. But do not worry, i have not wiped him out of the story yet. Yes Jack looks really good looking...but i never liked QUinn's beard in reign of fire, it made his mouth look funny.

Air: You hate my story? You think it sucks? Your JOKING?!?!?!? I'm glad you were so excited you had to visit the bathroom gnome. I was talking to him just last week...he said his name was Jimmy...or at least i think so. What did he tell you?

HAZZAGRIFF: I'm gald you like my story. I love new reviewers (and my old ones) so welcome abord!(i think i just spelt that wrong. I am the worst speller alive)

Special thanks to Doc Na Skywalker and Shrieksy for reviewing to me personaly.