Lorraine grew accustomed to living in Brooklyn, although she
considered Manhattan her home still. In
Manhattan, she had grown attached to Kloppman as a father figure. In Brooklyn, most of the newsies considered
Spot their father figure and protector, but Lorraine felt uncomfortable around
him. She could tell that he didn't like
her and didn't want her there, and she could not figure out why he let her
continue staying there. The rumors of
her being a thief circulated through Brooklyn, but it seemed to have the
opposite affect as in Manhattan. The
Brooklyn newsies seemed to respect her, and even fear her, because of her
reputation. Lorraine befriended two of
the girls, Jinx and Fleet, by teaching them how to pick pockets.
"Jinx, I
gotta ask ya somet'ing," Lorraine
finally asked. Winter had passed, and
the two girls enjoyed the sunny walk to the distribution center.
"Yeah?"
Jinx urged curiously.
"Why does
Spot let me stay heah? I know he don't
like me."
"What?" Jinx was caught off guard by Lorraine's
question. "Why would ya t'ink dat?"
"Come on,
Jinx, I know he don't like me! I can
tell! You're my friend, tell me da
truth." Lorraine persuaded. Jinx paused in thought.
"Spot
doesn't like ya, but Jack asked him to let ya stay. When he kicked ya out of Manhattan, he was gonna kick Race out
too, but he owed him a favor. So Jack
let him stay, but he felt real bad about makin' you leave, so he woiked it out
with Spot foist. Den he had your buddy
bring you heah ta Brooklyn. Jack told
everyone heah dat you was da greatest thief in New Yawk so it would be betta if
we all treated ya wid respect," Jinx
finished with a sigh.
"So why
does Spot hate me?" Lorraine was in
shock that Jack had gone to so much trouble for her. Maybe he wasn't so bad afterall.
"Dunno. I t'ink Spot's a little jealous of your
reputation," Jinx said with a
giggle. Lorraine walked quietly,
thinking about the information she had just learned. She decided to visit Manhattan the next day and apologize to
Jack. It was the least she could do
after all the trouble she had caused him.