Shoutouts!

Chaos89: Haha, tell them I said 'thanks.' That's real sweet. Haha.

TheAngryPrincess13: OKAY!

koodles4you: I know, I hate dress code. It sucks. Dude, not a chance. I hate Sarah. She's so...lacking in character. Maybe if I spruced her up a bit, but we'll see.

"No...light...?" I whimpered, now scared. "Then why do my eyes hurt so bad?"

"I don't know," Davvy replied. I heard wood sliding on wood. "Here's a bandana. It'll stay on better than that hanker chief." I took it clamped my eyes shut once more, before untying the hanker chief and replacing it with the bandana.

"What's your name?" Les asked.

"Two-Bits," I replied, automatically. Davvy laughed, softly.

"You're a newsie, then?" I shook my head.

"Newsie? No, my friends just call me that 'cause..." I trailed off as Davvy's words hit me. Everything that had been said fell into place. "What did you say your name was?"

"Davvy. Davvy Jacobs."

"Davvy..." My heart was pounding in my chest. "What's the date?" I could almost hear him thinking, Great, I've picked up a lunatic.

"Uh, it's December 18, 1899."

I said nothing.

"1899..." I whimpered. I was actually on the verge of tears, but the bandana soaked them up before they could streak down my face. "Why is it 1899?"

"Well, because last year was 1898," Davvy said in his talking-to-idiots voice.

"Do you know Jack Kelly? Spot Conlon? Racetrack Higgins? Kid Blink? Mush? Skittery? Bumlets?" I demanded, rattling off every newsie I could think of.

"Yeah. I know all the Manhattan newsboys. Do you?" I shook my head.

"I read about them in the paper. About the strike, you know? You were part of it, too, weren't you?"

"Yeah. I helped Jack a bit..." Davvy said, modestly.

"David? Who are you talking to?" said a new voice.

"Mama, this is Two-Bits. She's lost, and there's something wrong with her eyes. Can she stay for dinner?"

"Of course. Get her inside, quick! It's freezing out there! Get her some dry clothes, and then come and eat. Dinner's on the table." I felt hands wrap around my arms and help me through the window. It was freezing. My clothes were sopping wet, too, so I was shaking.

"I think you're too small to fit into Sarah's clothes," Davvy said, thoughtfully, pulling open a few drawers. "Here's an undershirt...shirt...and a pair of my pants." He left the room, dragging Les out with him. After I wandered around the room making sure that no one secretly hiding (I suffer from acute paranoia), I pulled on Davvy's warm clothes, and pulled my hair back in a pony-tail.

"Davvy?" I called, hesitantly. The door opened.

"Yeah?" I blushed, slightly.

"Um, I kind of can't see..."

"Oh, right! Sorry." Davvy took me by the arm and led me out of the room, into the kitchen, where a wonderful smell filled the air.

"It smells great," I said, and my stomach gave a low grumble.

"You must be hungry!" Mrs. Jacobs said, setting a bowl in front of me. Davvy placed my hand on the spoon, and I began to eat, slowly, and carefully, so as not to spill anything.

"So, what brings you on our fire escape?" Mr. Jacobs said. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I don't remember. I just woke up and Les and Davvy were there."

"I see...Do you have a place to stay?" Again, I shook my head. "Well, I uppose you could bunk in Sarah's room for the night, at least," Mr. Jacobs mused.

"There's only one bed, though," Mrs. Jacobs said, worriedly. I smiled.

"Just give me a blanket and I can sleep on the floor," I offered. "Tomorrow I can find out what's going on. I mean, I seriously don't remember anything that happened. I don't even live in New York. I live down in Virginia."

"That's quite a ways away!" I heard the sound of a door opening behind me.

"Mama, what's going on?" came a sweet voice. I turned around in my chair toward where the voice was.

"Sarah, this is Two-Bits. David and Les found her on the fire escape outside their window. She's going to be here for at least tonight. Two-Bits, this is my daughter, Sarah." I smiled in her general direction.

"Pleased to meet you," I said.

"Charmed," she replied.

"Sarah, is it all right if she sleeps in your room tonight?" Mrs. Jacobs asked.

"Sure. It's no problem." I smiled, broadly.

"Thank you very much. I don't know what I'd do if your boys hadn't found me."

"Well, it's no problem, dear. Stay as long as you like," Mrs. Jacobs said, kindly, and I polished off my soup.

My stomach full, Sarah led me to her room, where she gave me a couple blankets and a pillow. I curled up on the floor and stared at nothing, simply because I couldn't stare at anything. I spent hours just wondering what was going on. How on earth did I land in 1899? There was no explanation. The only thing I could figure about my eyes is that either somebody gouged them, or time-traveling messed with them.

Then I began to plot my history. Nobody was going to believe me if I told them I was from the future. They'd send me straight to the asylum.

Okay, let's see...Back in Virginia, my dad...uh...worked with horses. Yeah, he trained 'em. Okay, that's believable, right? And my mom was a seamstress. Yeah, okay. But how did I get all the way from Virginia to New York? Er...I was...uh...kidnapped! Yeah, okay, and then I escaped. Right, right. But I had momentarily forgotten. Amnesia, or whatever. And that's why I'm blind! Yeah, my kidnapper blinded me with lights, so I wouldn't be able to tell anyone who it was that kidnapped me if I ever escaped.

Satisfied with my story, I rolled over and tried to sleep, which, surprisingly enough, wasn't that hard.