Charles talked to Mr. Lewis. Mr. Lewis told Charles that Grace would be bunking with a few other girls and that she would be sewing everyday from 8:00am-5:00pm, except for Sunday. Charles figured that everything would be okay; after all Grace had the independence of her older sister Laura.
Grace left a week later with high expectations. She was looking forward to meeting her new roommates and being able to sew for other people. Finally Grace arrived, she thought this moment would never come. Yet, when she got to the factory everything seemed dark and gloomy. There was thick, black smoke coming from the buildings. I'm sure the inside is much nicer than this! Grace thought to herself. She remembered seeing a picture in one of her schoolbooks of a factory and remembered that it had the same look.
The worker that met Grace at the train station escorted her down the alley all the way to the back of the factory. Behind the factory there was a smaller factory. He led her up a few flights of stairs on the outside of the building. She was led down a dark, concrete hallway. The worker directed her to a room and then left. When she walked in the room she saw two rows of beds that seemed to continue endlessly. There were girls writing letters, cleaning, and some were already asleep. One girl noticed Grace standing at the entrance.
"Are you new?" She asked, without a hint of hospitality.
"Yes, I am." Said Grace nervously.
The girl looked around the room and pointed to the last bed in the first row. "You can stay there."
"Oh, yeah what happened to Denise?" One girl asked.
"I think she was in a machine accident and was sent to the hospital." Grace heard another girl answer.
As Grace walked down the row, she felt that everyone was staring at her. She heard some girls whispering, but decided to ignore them. She placed her suitcase under her bed and sat down. She went to sleep.
"Hi!" Grace heard a loud, cheery voice near her. She opened her eyes and saw a girl with black hair, and green eyes staring at her.
"Hi." Grace said groggily. "I must have fallen asleep." She looked around the room. "Where is everyone?"
"Oh, they have gone to dinner." The girl explained. "My name is Maria, how about you?"
"Grace. Grace Ingalls."
"Well, it is nice to meet you Grace Ingalls."
"If it is dinner then why aren't you eating?" Grace wondered.
"Are you kidding? The food here is horrible. I would rather starve. Actually, I do eat, but only when they serve something I can tolerate, which is every other day since they only serve two different meals."
"Oh." Grace said disappointedly.
"So, Grace where are you from? You don't seem like a factory girl."
"I'm from Iowa. My family lost their business so I am trying to raise money to send home so we can by a farm back in Minnesota where the rest of my family lives."
"Did you're family make you get a job?"
"No. I wanted to work here. I wanted to help support my family, and I also wanted to see what a factory was like."
Maria was shocked. "Why would you want to do that? These factories are not fun."
"Oh." Grace said again, even more disappointed. "So, why are you here?"
"My family and I are immigrants, and we moved here a few years ago. My father could not find work because he does not speak English. They sent my sister and me to school to learn English, but they said as soon as we knew enough we had to find a job. Our family would always move from one apartment to the next. We barely ever paid rent, so we would sneak out right before our rent was due. My family still has to do that on occasion, but not as often since my sister and I can send them money."
"Is your sister here?"
"No. She works in a meat packing plant in New York City."
"How long have you been at this factory?"
"A year."
"Are you going to go home?"
"Not until I turn eighteen, and I don't have to been under anyone's consent. That isn't for five more years though. Maybe my father will win money somehow and then my sister and I can come home." How long are you staying here?"
"My pa and I made a deal that I could stay here for a month."
"A month?" Maria asked in surprise.
"Yeah, a month."
"There is no way Mr. Lewis will allow that. You have to stay here for at least a year."
Grace felt as if she were going to throw up. Tears welled in her eyes. Maria saw her worried look.
"Don't worry. Everything will be fine. I will help you get started on the job tomorrow."
"I'll write my pa to get me out of here." Grace stammered.
"You can try, but all of our letters are censored."
Suddenly, a bell rang and children flooded back into the room.
"Dinner is over, and it is time for bed now. We have to get up at four in the morning." Maria told Grace.
"Mr. Lewis told my pa that we don't start work until eight."
"Well, Mr. Lewis tells people a lot of things that aren't true."
"Thanks for being my friend Maria." Grace said as Maria walked to her bed, which was right next to Grace's.
Maria smiled. "Anytime Grace. I think we will be great friends. Tomorrow won't be as bad as you think."
Maria wasn't being completely honest. She wanted to be Grace's friend, but she was just as scared as Grace, yet she could not let Grace know that. Everyday was a danger; one was lucky if they came out of the factory with only one severe machine injury.