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Chapter 8

Les became Jenna's selling partner, not that she couldn't do it on her own, but the boy was always with her anyway. Davey and Jack would go off on their own and where Les would usually go with them he didn't anymore. There was something intriguing to him about Jenna. She was so gentle and kind like Sarah but also proud and tough like Jack, two of his favorite people all rolled into one. She had her own personality too though and did things her own way. She had this habit of pulling off his hat, ruffling his hair, and then replacing the hat roughly on his head. She would stare at him for a few seconds and then scoop him up in her arms, squeezing him hard around his middle. Of course this always happened when the rest of the newsies weren't around. Jenna treated Les as if he were a younger brother and he almost became one except for the fact that he didn't live with her, which she was glad about. She didn't ever want Les to have to go through what she was, the death that filled her life. Les had a wonderful family and she never wanted him to lose that.

"Sir, Sir, please, will ya buy a pape?" Jenna begged, slowly coming up to a man who was passing by. She had dirtied herself up with splotches of soot and mud that covered her entire body.

"Maybe some other day," the man replied with an irritated tone as he attempted to shuffle past her.

"B-but, Sir, my brothers, my brothers, they're both in need of medical attention," she said, pulling on the man's arm and pointing her finger in the direction of Les and Crutchy standing by the curb of the street. "I'm tryin' to raise money for Crutchy to have an operation and a doctor for Les, he ain't feelin' too good, his head's real hot." The man looked upon the two ragged boys and his eyes grew very soft and kind as he looked from the boys to Jenna. Digging into his pocket he gently traded her a coin for a paper.

"Here," he said softly.

"Thank ya, Sir," she said, bowing slightly as the man nodded and continued on. "Lookie here, boys!" She rushed back to Crutchy and Les with a fifty cent piece in her hands.

"He gave ya fifty cents?" Les cried, amazed.

"Sure did," she nodded as Les grabbed the coin from her hand and fingered it delicately, catching it in the sun's rays as glorious sunshine flecked and sparkled off of the coin.

"You really convinced him I was a crip?" Crutchy asked.

"Yep," she replied proudly, gathering her hair together and stuffing it all up inside her hat.

"We got a real good scam goin' here, Toothpick," he complimented as she blushed slightly, busily tucking stray hair under her hat.

"Why do you pull your hair up whenever we go back?" Les asked her curiously.

"Well, I don't know, I guess it's because I feel singled out, I mean, I love feeling like I have nuttin' to hide anymore, but at the same time I feel like they're all lookin' at me," she said, feeling as though she wasn't doing a very good job of expressing her emotions. Les still looked extremely confused but Crutchy seemed to understand as he nodded. Jenna looked down upon Les with a smile and took the boy in her arms, placing him upon her shoulders as they walked down the street. "Don't worry about it."

Crutchy had become Jenna's most trusted friend. Whereas Les seemed to be Jenna's younger brother, Crutchy seemed like her older brother, though he was younger in reality. He was so easy to talk to and ever since they had begun to sell together she had felt like she didn't have to hide her hair around him. There was something about Crutchy that made Jenna feel safe. She was gradually getting to the point where she told him almost everything, everything except her love for Racetrack and her situation with her mother. She would mention little things here or there but not enough for Crutchy to know exactly what it was like, just enough to make him worry, and he did, just as an older brother would.

"Oh, there's Racetrack," she breathed as they neared the square. Crutchy just stared at her curiously and as she turned to look at him she realized the tone which she had used.

"What's wrong wid you?" he asked as she blushed.

"Uh, nuttin'," she murmured as she pulled Les down from her shoulders and he rushed off to meet Davey and Jack and show them the day's earnings.

"You're givin' me that look ya get when you're hidin' somethin', ya sure ya don't wanna talk about it?" Crutchy asked gently. She didn't feel like telling him about Racetrack just yet, she felt like it was silly and stupid and he wouldn't understand. "I know ya ain't tellin' me somethin', the problem is gettin' you to talk to me." She smiled and nodded but didn't say a word.

"Heya, Spot, I thought you went back to Brooklyn," Racetrack said as Spot approached the square.

"Nah, I'm still around, still lookin' for me sista, I have a feelin' she 'round here somewhere," he replied.

"Where ya stayin'?" Racetrack asked.

"Just around, tonight I think I'm gonna stay at Kloppman's wid you," Spot replied. "What's the big deal?" Racetrack was looking at him curiously.

"Ya just ain't never hung around here long, that's all," Racetrack shrugged.

"Well, I got my reasons," Spot said mysteriously as he glanced at Jenna who was busy talking to Jack and Davey. Racetrack turned to look quickly and fear grew in his eyes as he put two and two together. His hopes for having Jenna plummeted as he realized that Spot Conlon, the leader of Brooklyn, had his eyes on Jenna as well, and what Spot wanted, Spot usually got.