Hey everyone! Keep up the reading, don't worry, it's about to pick up. :) LOL. :) Oh, notes.

elleestJenn: You have such a problem of wanting to know everything at one time. LOL. Don'y worry, I have it too. All will be revealed in time, young one. LOL. Just keep reading, I promise that we'll be getting back to her mother very soon, I'm just trying to add in the romance factor right now. About Spot's sister, you will see all of this is due time. LOL. :) That's all I have to say to that.

Maeko-Nohara: Actually not as many newsies could read as you would think. Many wonder on this, and though some could, others couldn't. Most of the younger newsies couldn't read, and I guess I'm trying to imply that it was mostly the younger newsies who were fascinated with not really the fact that Jenna could read, but the fact that she could read so well. Many could only read well enough to get by selling papes and making up headlines. All of the newsies, however, would gather to hear her read because they didn't get that very much, actually, they never had before unless their mothers had or did, some, I believe, still have parents. Mush is one exception to the older newsies, he can barely read at all.

Chapter 11

"Davey, what do ya think is gonna happen to Belle?" Les asked Davey one night at the dinner table. His parents and Sarah both stared at the two. Jack wasn't there that night so it was just the five of them.

"I don't know, we'll just have to find out tomorrow," Davey replied.

"What are you talking about, David?" his mother asked.

"Oh, just the story Toothpick's been reading to us from this book of fairytales she has," he replied. The room suddenly grew dead silent.

"She?" Sarah finally managed.

"Yeah, she, oh, yeah, you don't know about that," Davey said, suddenly realizing that neither he nor Les had mentioned a word about Jenna since she had come over that one time. "Well, uh, Toothpick's a girl, she was disguised as a boy to prove to us that she can stand on her won. She's trying to earn money for her dying mother, although she's pretty much convinced her mother is gonna die anyway. Her real name is Jenna."

"Wow," Sarah said, her voice dripping with admiration.

"Oh, the poor girl," he mother said, putting her hand to her heart.

"So, ya told your parents?" Jenna asked Les the next day as they made their way down the street with Crutchy, papers over their shoulders.

"Yeah, on accident," he admitted sheepishly and apologetically. She smiled softly.

"It's okay," she assured him, putting her hat off to reveal her glorious hair glistening in the sunshine. She stuffed her hat in her back pocket as her thoughts began to soar. This was what she'd been waiting for, the chance to reveal her identity to Sarah. Now she might have someone to talk to about all the things she had on her mind, someone who'd understand.

"Hey, look over there," Crutchy said, knocking her from her thoughts as she turned to see where he was pointing. Across the street, in the alley, stood Spot shooting rocks through his slingshot at glass bottles.

"He's amazing," Jenna said in awe as she watched him gracefully pull back on the sling and send a rock flying through the air, perfectly hitting a glass bottle as it shattered into a million pieces.

"Yeah, he must be practicin'," Crutchy agreed.

"I wish I could do that," she said.

"I'm sure he's teach ya, why don'tcha axe him?" Crutchy suggested as Les nodded.

"Then you can teach me," Les added. She smirked.

"Well, maybe I will," she said, shoving her papers into Crutchy's arms and marching across the street. Crutchy shrugged and continued down the street with Les.

"Where's your sister today?" a man asked, walking up to the boys and trading them a coin for a paper.

"She ain't feelin' too good today," Crutchy lied as the man's face turned to worry.

"Is she all right?" he asked concernedly.

"I dunno," he shrugged.

"Well, you tell her I missed her," the man said as he continued on. Jenna had made so many friends selling papers that they had all become regulars, buying papers from them everyday.

"Heya, Spot," Jenna greeted as she walked up behind the boy. He whipped around to see Jenna's figure, the sun shining behind her. Normally he would have scolded anyone who dared to interrupt him, but this time his face grew from immediate annoyance to sudden joy. It was Jenna, the girl who had the most gorgeous smile in the world and made his heart race.

"H-hey, Toothpick," he stuttered.

"I saw ya shootin' ova here and I just came ova to watch," she explained.

"Oh, well, that was nuttin', give me a real target and I'll show ya what I can really do wid dis thing," Spot said as she nodded and went to set up a glass bottle about twenty feet away. Spot loaded his slingshot with a jagged rock and pulled back on the sling. The whole motion looked as if it required hardly any effort at all. The shot was dead on, the rock hitting the bottle in the very center, glass falling from the ledge on which it was sitting.

"Wow," Jenna breathed as she watched the pieces of glass sparkle in the sunlight. "You're incredible, Spot; I don't even know how ta use a slingshot."

"Well, I got me own secret, but I guess I could teach ya," he offered.

"Ya would?" she asked, her eyes filled to the brim with hope.

"Sure," he shrugged.

"Well, let's get started!" she cried excitedly, her face beaming with anticipation.