"I so did to win that game!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Yeah huh!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Yeah huh!"

"Uh, Flight?" Flight jumped and snapped her head around to face the door of the bunkroom, where Blink stood with a sheepish smile on his face. Flight's eyes narrowed and the smile left Blink's face.

"Would you mind?" Flight asked icily, turning back to Catwalk. Catwalk, being her usual cheery self, smiled and nodded, leaving the room without question. Flight gathered the cards spread out on her bed and began to shuffle them absentmindedly, refusing to look at her brother.

Blink sighed. So maybe this wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.

"Um, Flight, you know I didn't mean to." Flight glared at the cards. Blink swallowed. "Being drunk can make you do stupid things. If I knew what was going to happen, I wouldn't have –"

"But you did. And we could be dead in three weeks if you don't watch it. 'Cause now all of New York knows, or all of New York that matters, anyway, and that's enough to get us busted. You knew you shouldn't have done that, and you decided to be an asshole again and blow it, like you always do. I can't believe you didn't figure it out before that. When you, of all people, are drunk, you are a danger to yourself, and me, too." Flight was on rant mode. At least now she was looking at Blink. "Do you even remember it happening? Or are you just going off of the nice things Race told you to make it sound not so bad? You don't think, do you?"

"Ah, no, not really," Blink cut in. He didn't want this to go much farther. "Flight, I'm sorry. You know that. You also know that you're not really mad at me, because you never are, and I know that, too, okay? Please stop acting all prissy and get over it, 'cause I gotta go sell the afternoon addition, and every minute I spend in here arguing with you is a penny lost for me." Blink stopped to draw breath, but then realized he didn't really have much to say.

"I hate you," Flight said, her voice sugar-coated in sarcasm. Blink smiled again. It was evident that she wasn't really mad at him. "Up for a round?" she asked, pointing to her cards.

"Always."

Blink always made it a point to visit his sister every day after that for the remainder of the three weeks when she was not allowed to walk. They played poker mostly, or talked about what was currently going on in the world (Blink brought Flight a copy of the newspaper everyday), but always was careful to avoid the subject of just how much danger it was possible they were in.

Things had been going well, and Flight was a week and a half into her confinement, when Race decided to show up for a visit. It was very obvious to Flight that Race was extremely miffed at her for not telling him that his best friend was a girl.

He stood leaning against the crumbling door frame, wearing his usual plaid pants and wringing his cabby hat in his ink stained hands. He seemed slightly thinner than usual because he had lost a whole week of pay to a man at Sheepshead and was too proud to except food from any of the newsies. He had the distinct smell of someone who had not bathed for a while, considering he had not been able to pay for board at the Lodging House either.

The only sound in the room for a few minutes was the shuffling of the now worn cards in Flight's long fingered hands. The uncomfortable silence stretched for so long that even Race, who was always so cool, calm, and collected, felt that it was unbearable. He was just getting ready to say something when Flight finally looked up and gave him a smile. He didn't return it. Her smile faltered.

"You can put your hat back on Higgins. There's no reason to keep it off, and you'll be warmer if you do keep it on," Flight said, finally breaking the silence. Racetrack grunted. "Sorry? Didn't quite catch that."

"There's a lady in the room, apparently." Even Racetrack's voice sounded thin and raspy, as if it hadn't been used for a long while. Flight scanned the room.

"I don't see one."

"You're the apparent lady, dumb ass," Race informed her, accompanied with a bark of laughter. The blonde's green eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I'm no lady, Race, and don't call me a dumb ass."

"You seem pretty dumb to me! Even forgot to mention what you really were!" Race had straightened up from his slouching on the door frame.

"What? A girl?"

"A bitch, more like." Flight let out an angry hiss and attempted to leap from the bed but was stopped when shooting pain spread from her ankle again.

"Look, Race –"

"Don't look Race me!" Race said, a bit of a maniacal gleam in his eye, his voice becoming increasingly louder and stronger. "You're just trying to make yourself look better! Being a boy! Because you know that men will always dominate over women. You were just being a stupid little bitch like all little girls are and tried to rise over that. Women! They are so weak!" The air rang with that last remark, and Race's chest heaved as he gasped for breath. He really needed to eat.

"Come over here so I can break your nose, Race," Flight finally said.

Race could feel his stomach growling. He must be going insane from want of food. Had he really just said that to Flight?The person he had considered hisfirst real friend?

"Race, I had to." Race opened his mouth to speak again, but the look Flight gave him made him realize that he should shut up for once and listen. "I . . . well . . . I can't tell you why. It's too dangerous still. I don't know who's working for them. Hell, it could be you. So I can't tell you but . . . Race, I really am sorry." Flight had the sudden urge to cry, but swallowed the lump in her throat defiantly. She would not, WOULD NOT, cry in front of Race, because that would almost be backing up his statement that women were weak.

"I don't even understand it fully, so I couldn't explain it to you properly even if I was allowed to." She swallowed again. "And women aren't weak."

Race sighed and slapped his cap back onto his head.

"Yeah, I know. I just . . ." Race fumbled for an excuse. "Yeah." That didn't seem quite satisfactory. "Sorry." That was a bit better. Maybe he should ask for forgiveness. Race was opening his mouth to do just that, but Flight cut him off.

"I forgive you." Her ears went pink. "Before you ask, 'cause I know you would." Race opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, and then closed it. He knew he must look like a fish.

"Friends?" The word came out in a rasp. His voice seemed to have given out on him again. Flight nodded.

Unexpectedly, she reached under her bed and produced a burlap sack. She opened it, plunged her arm inside and came back out with a roll, which she tossed to Race. He looked confusedly at her.

"I hate 'em, and Catwalk keeps giving them to me, so I just save 'em in case I'm desperate." Then she added, "You look hungry."

Racetrack devoured the roll. His thank you was muffled, due to the fact that his face was stuffed full of bread.

Everything seemed quite easy between the two after that. Race ate the whole bag of rolls in fifteen minutes and played 18 rounds of crapshooter with Flight, all in a comfortable silence.

Flight jumped at the chiming of a clock downstairs.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

"You should be going now," Flight reminded Racetrack with a nudge to his shoulder.

"Yeah. I'll see you soon"

"Yep."

Flight didn't know what on earth made her say it, but just as Racetrack was closing the door, she blurted it out.

"How's Skittery?"

Racetrack turned to stare at her.

"Dunno," he answered slowly.

"How do you mean?" Flight asked, furrowing her brows.

"I dunno. He disappeared."

Author's Ramblings: I'm baaack! It's been more than a month, but here I am! Sorry for the long while it took to get this up here. I'm not going to even try to find an excuse, because that would be pointless. I give you my permission to smite me with muffins. Note: I am now one year older than when I last updated. I have also been to camp, gone on vacation to the U.S. Virgin Islands, got a wicked tan, and won the conference swim meet! I mean, my team did, not just me. Righto, shout outs!

DodgerMcClure: Hey! I'm glad you like it! Um, I probably knew that at some point. Mrs. Polite MIGHT have mentioned that in health once or twice, but I dunno. Really shows you how much I deserved health student of the month. Anyway, why do you ask?

Cinnamon Spice: Mush loves you too. Hope you had/are having fun in Kentucky. Make up Newsie day on Thursday?

SilentTwilight: Glad you're excited. Hope Spot's winning on the email war thing!

lainie-d: Why thank you!

antiIRONY: I'm glad new chapters make you happy. They make me happy too!

Alrighty, love you all. Continue to be awesome and review please!

Also, I'm sorry it's so short and pretty much pointless. I've been having major writers block. Oh yeah, no excuses. Sorry.