"What's wrong, Haylie?"

That morning, I didn't feel like talking to anyone. And worse, I don't want to see Jack's face. If I do, those memories would haunt me again. I couldn't bear the fact that...not saying what I feel is the biggest mistake of my life.

"It's nothing, Hal."

"Okay, nothing again! Why do you keep things from me? We're sisters. We should be telling these kind of things to each other!"

"It's nothing, okay!" She looked startled. I couldn't stop myself from shouting. I don't want her to be involved with my own feelings. I don't want her to worry about me.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I shouldn't be-"

"Hey you! Get your ass off the bed! NOW!"

I heard Dawn screaming at Gail, who was still fast asleep, not in the least unperturbed by her shouting. Gail seems to be dreaming. There's a mischievous smile on her face.

"Gail! Get up! Do you know what date it is? I don't know, but I have been here waking you up for forty-five years now! Get the hell out of your bed!"

Still has no effect whatsoever on Gail. I can see that Dawn is really getting angry.

"Arrgh! Fine! Go and slack off in the job! I'm leaving! Ugh! I hate this!" Dawn gave up in vain. No use waking her up.

"Are we just going to leave her there? She's going to miss selling papers."

"Whatever! Let's go. I refuse to be late and in the end of the line. The boys have already left us! Come on!" Dawn said, but I could've swore she muttered something under her breath. We ran to the Newsies Square fast. I was surprised when Taylor (which I haven't seen in the Lodging House this morning) suddenly appeared beside us. As usual, she didn't say anything but she looked a bit different today. You're not going to believe me in this one, but usually, her face is pale and emotionless, right? Today, for some unknown reason, she's blooming and there's a faint...something on her face. I suspected that...it's a smile. We reached the Newsies Square and saw Jack being chased by the Delanceys again. They seemed annoyed (again). He ran around the square, avoiding the Delanceys. At the Horace Greeley statue, he bumped into two boys. Hallie shifted beside me and smiled. We kept on walking towards the bunch of boys who were cheering and shouting.

"Hey guys!" I said, smiling.

"Hey goils!" they said.

"What, the usual morning scene?" Taylor said. And not in the usual bored drawl.

"Yep." Pie Eater replied with his usual big smile. And, I don't if was imagining it, but Taylor smiled back. What's wrong with the world today? We went forward on and Jack was beating up the Delanceys, who were fuming mad. Morris accidentally hit Oscar on the face. Jack climbed up the gates and the gate swung open. He jumped off and we congratulated him on a job well done.

"Brilliant, better than yesterday!" Racetrack said, patting Jack on the back.

"You're too kind to me, Race. You're too kind." He said, walking on to the counter. Oscar and Morris really looked angry and walked inside the counter.

"See you tomorrow, Cowboy."

"You're good as dead, Cowboy."

Jack just sneered mischievously. He knocked on the wooden board and called Mr. Weisel.

"Mr. Weasel." Then, he rang the bell loudly. The wooden board lifted and Mr. Weisel emerged from it again.

"Alright, alright! Hold your horses! I'm coming!"

Jack sneered again.

"So did'ja miss me Weasel? Did'ja miss me?" And as usual, Mr. Weisel is still called Mr. Weasel.

"I told you a million times, the name's Weisel. Mr. Weisel to you. How many?" Well, I think it's no use convincing these boys to call him by his real name. We're currently in the back of the line. I thought that Dawn would be angry, but no. She's talking to Dutchy, whom I have suspected that she has a crush on. Can't blame her, though. He is pretty good-looking. And with the blond hair, I guess Dawn thinks he's perfect now. Hallie looked very happy today too. I didn't ask her why. Suddenly, I remembered what happened to me yesterday. I told Hallie about it.

"So, this weird guy kept calling you 'Milady'?"

"Yeah. He was so weird. He kept bowing at me. It's very strange."

"And this woman, his wife, told him that it's not you he thinks he is?"

"Yeah. I kept wondering who were they talking about."
Listen, I got an idea. Why don't we go to that place you were saying and ask them about it?"

"Okay. Should we tell the others?"

"Yes."

"Next!"

Hallie was next in line. She spoke immediately.

"50 papers, Mr. Weisel."

"50 papes for the weirdly-named girl! Next!"

I was next. The other weirdly-named girl.

"How many, uh, Yoo-mey?"

"50, sir."

"50 papes for the other weirdly-named girl! Next!"

I paid and took my papers from the counter and joined the group. Jack was talking to the boy he bumped into earlier. Hallie was beside Jack, talking to him as well.

"It's fair, David! Take it or leave it."

"But Hallie.."

"Come on. Please?"

The little boy beside the older one nodded. Finally, he held out his hand to Jack. Disgustingly, Jack spits on his own and reaches for him, who pulls his arm away.

"What'sa matta?"

"That's disgusting!"

The boys laugh, but me and Hallie didn't. That IS disgusting. It seems that Hallie knows this guy. She never told me about him or how they met. She seems to be pretty good friends with him. Wait, we've been here for a few days and we still haven't figured out how to get home. Come to think of it, is Mom and Dad already home? What would happen to them if they found out we're missing? Suddenly, a girl in school uniform hurries past and the newsies take off their hats and stare in awe. Dawn raised her eyebrow and muttered, "She's not that pretty! Her hairline's so weird!" Hallie just laughs at her.

"Baby Born Wid T'ree Heads!"

The others started yelling out various fake headlines. I'm still not very good at making up things. Hallie's getting quite good at it, even though she still feels that it's wrong.

"'Trolley Strike Causes Severe Casualties!' Read all about it!"

We roamed through the crowds. As usual, it was thick again. Jack held my hand again. Probably because I might get lost again if I didn't stay close to them. I feel kinda of weird. I decided to wear my skirt today, which Jack thought was very indecent. Hallie also wore her own, though she also wore black tights along with it to avoid awkwardness. I shouldn't have worn this. People kept staring at me. There was even an old man who attempted to touch my legs. Before he could, Hallie pulled me away from him and walked away fast enough to get away from him. We soon got into a boxing ring, where the match has already lasted up to 58 matches.

"Extra! Extra! Trolley Strike Drags On!" David shouted. It was the real headline in the paper. It was bad, yeah, but it's still better than mine. (Man Falls Off From Trolley!)

Jack shouted his own headline. "Extra! Extra! 'Ellis Island In Flames!' Big conflagration!"

Me, Hallie and David were confused.

"Wait, where's that story?" David asked.

"It's not true, David. He made that up." My sister said, scanning through the papers. I think David didn't hear her.

"Thank you sir. Page 9." He pointed out to us what page was it. I turned the paper to page 9. It was-

"'Trash Fire Next To Immigration Building Terrifies Seagulls'??" Davey read.

"Thousands flee in panic! Terrified flight of inferno! Thousands of lives at stake! Extra! Extra!" I couldn't help but admire Jack. Well, you gotta admit. The guy's got style! Hallie and David shook their heads disapprovingly. Les, (David's little brother) suddenly appears. He is so small that I failed to notice him.

"Hey, you start in da back like I told ya? Ok, show me again." Jack said. Les puts on a distraught face and lets out a fake cough.

"Buy me last pape, mista?" Wow! He's quite good at this. Well, unlike me who can't sell anything. Jack looked proud and laughed.

"It's heartbreaking, kid. Go get 'em."

David protested against this. And so did Hallie.

"My father told us not to lie."

"Well, my father told me not ta starve so we both got an education."

"You're just making up things. All these headlines."

"I don't do nothin' da guys who write it don't do. Anyway, it's not lying, it's just-"

"Improving the truth. Yeah, that's what you call it. It's still lying, Jack." Hallie spoke up. I nodded at Jack.

"Yeah, and I feel wrong about it."

"Well, you two could always quit, if ya want." Jack suggested.

"Oh no, buddy. That's the only thing wouldn't ever do. We never quit, right Haylie?" Oh yes, that's a trait we both share. If we started something, we never quit. If we agree to help people out, we do anything we can.

"Right!"

Jack smiled at us.

"Well, dat's good ta hear!"

Les came back. He faintly smells like beer...

"The guy gave me a quarter! Quick, give me some of those papers."

"Wait, wait. You smell like beer." David said, sniffing Les.

"Well, that's how I made the quarter. The guy bet me I wouldn't drink some."

David looked appalled.

"Hey, no drinkin' on da job. It's bad fer business. And what if someone called a cop on you?" Jack said.

"It's wrong to drink at a young age! You're barely legal!" Hallie hissed.

"Is he a friend of yours?" David said. He pointed to a grim-looking man who was looking at Jack from the other side of the ring. Jack looked surprised when he saw the man.

"Beat it! It's da bulls!"

Suddenly, cops came out and chased us. Jack took me by the hand. I took my sister by the hand and we ran as fast as we could to get away from Jack's pursuer. In that moment, I should be thinking how tight he holds my hand or how warm it is. Instead, I was thinking how embarrassing it is to be running in this short skirt while everyone else on the street was looking at your legs. Note to self: Do not wear this again!

"Hey! Jack! Who is that?!?" I asked. We kept on running until we reached a building. We ran inside it and ascended the stairs.

"No time ta explain! SLEEPER!"

A man was sleeping at the foot of the stairs. I almost tripped when I missed to jump. Luckily, I didn't. We got up to the rooftop. Without stopping for a second, Jack jumped off the roof.

"Jack!" My heart hammered fast. Visions of nasty things raced on my mind. Suddenly, Jack's head pops up on view. I feel so foolish. I thought he was dead splat on the street below. It seems that it wasn't really a high jump down there. We joined him on a ledge and hid below.

"Sullivan! Wait 'til I get you back to the Refuge!!!"

Finally, we escaped him. But there are no guarantees. We kept running until Jack pulls us into a halt outside Irving Hall. I've seen this place before but I haven't inside it.

"I'm not running any further!" David said, catching his breath.

"Yeah, so do we!" My sister said, panting.

"C'mere." Jack led us inside it.

"Hey! We want some answers, Jack!" We said.

"SHHH!"

"Who was he and why was he chasing you? And what is this Refuge?" Davey said, looking angry. Jack took a moment to answer. I wanted to know about the whole thing. Why was he being chased by that man?

"Da Refuge is dis jail for kids. Dat guy chasin' me was Snyder, he's da warden."

I was startled about what he said. He was jailed???

"You were in jail?" Me and Les asked him.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Well, I was starvin' so I stole some food." He looked a little bit insincere. I think he's lying. I think there's more to that.

"Oh yeah, food." David and Hallie clearly doesn't believe him.

"Yeah, food." Jack said.

"He called you 'Sullivan'."

"Well, my name's Jack Kelly. Jack Kelly. You t'ink I'm lyin'?" Jack answered right away. Sullivan? I know it's a common name, but I could've swore I remember someone with that surname...

"Well, you have a way of improving the truth."

"Yeah?"

Les was looking around the place. Then, he looks inside a horse dummy's head. Davey pulled him away from it.

"Why was he chasing you?"

"'Coz I escaped."

I was curious to know how he did, so I listened.

"Well, dis big shot gave me a ride in his carriage." He said with a smile on his face. Hallie rolled her eyes.

"I bet it was the mayor, right?" Davey asked sarcastically.

"No, Teddy Roosevelt. Ya evah hoid of 'im?" Jack answered.

"AS IF! You're pulling my leg!" Hallie shouted. "Are you saying that you got a ride out of your prison from the twenty-sixth president of-"

Hallie was going to disclose an information no one of them should know about. I rushed to her and clasped my hand on her mouth to shut her up.

"You really don't have to tell them that, Hallie!" I whispered to her ear. "We have already broken the boundaries of time and surely, you don't want to screw up the future!"

"You're right. Sorry." We caught the boys looking at us.

"Sorry about that, guys." We just smiled awkwardly. Suddenly, a voice spoke up.

"What is going on down there?!? Out! Out! Out!"