I walked down the crowded, sunlit street and gazed around trying to decide what to do and where to go. That day I walked around getting the scope of the city and ate, with the small amount of money I had, at a small restaurant occupied mostly by boys of various ages. After eating it had just started to get dark so I found a lodging house near the restaurant.

I walked in and there were a few boys standing around by the entrance.

"Whudda ye want?" one of them asked me.

"Um I need a place to stay tonight."

I felt a little uncomfortable with the boys, around my age, 16, who were looking me up and down. "Well dis is a boys lodgin house but we have two goils in here once in a while." One of the boys said. "Me names Mush."

I held my hand out and he looked a little surprised but then took my hand and shook it.

"Me names'..." (I didn't want to give out my real name, I didn't know if I should trust a guy I just met) "Uh ye can call me Doodles."(a kid name my mother called me sometimes when I mindlessly doodled).

"Nice ta meetcha", said a boy next to Mush, "I'm Kid Blink". He winked at me and I smiled back a little unsure. "Ye can ignore Blink there", Mush said," He's a real ladies man."

Blink playfully punched Mush on the arm just as a tall handsome guy around seventeen and a pretty girl around the same age entered the door of the lodging house.

"Hey Cowboy, Bailey, meet Doodles. Doya think she can stay hea tonight?" Mush said. Jack shook my hand

"Sure. Nice ta meetcha Doodles." Jack said with a smile. "Dis hea's me goil Bailey."

She smiled too and shook my hand.

"Yeah it's good ta meetcha, she said, "why don't we go up stairs and I'll get ya a room?"

I said bye to Mush, Jack, Blink, and the rest of the guys I hadn't talked to as Bailey led me up the stairs.

"Don tell de guys dis but sometimes I jus need ta be with a fellow goil." she said with a friendly smile. "My sista Angel is hea a lot but half the time she's in Brooklyn with her boyfriend Spot." "Spot...?" I asked implying I thought this was a funny name for Bailey's sister's boyfriend.

"De name Spot ain't any funnier dan Doodles." she said with a laugh. I laughed too, something I hadn't done for a while.

"I guess yer right about dat."

"So do ye got a real name?" she asked. "Well yea," I said, "don't everyone?"

"Well," Bailey said, (I could tell she wasn't gonna give up on this one.), "Whudds yers?"

I sighed but I felt I could trust her so I gave in. "Me name's Brin."

"Oh," she said, "why were ye so reluctant te tell me yer name?"

I said quickly, "I don want te talk 'bout it. Maybe anodda time"

She seemed to understand and I was glad for that.

We had been walking down a hallway after climbing the stairs while we talked and we had passed rooms full of messy, unmade bunk beds and a big cluttered bathroom area.

To Bailey I said, "Not te be mean but you can tell boys live here."

Bailey and I were laughing as we stopped at a door.

She turned the knob and we walked into a small room with a bunk bed and not much else.

"I hope dis's alright." Bailey said looking at me. "Its poifect." I said thinking of my mother and her murderer.

"Thanks, well I should get some sleep." I said.

"G'night," Bailey said," tommorow ye havta meet more a de guys and Spot an' Angel who are comin' from Brooklyn."

"Ok," I agreed. Bailey shut the door behind her and for once since the few days ago I felt a tiny bit of happiness.