Katherine was able to get out of the building before the tears fell down her face. She kept her head down as she walked. She didn't want others to see her crying.

"Damn it Katherine! Stop crying! This isn't the end of the world."

No matter what she said she couldn't stop the tears from coming. She was so sure this was her shot! She thought she was finally going to be published. As her vision started to blur she ducked into an alleyway and slid down the wall crumbling onto the ground. She took some deep breaths and tried to calm herself down.

She was so angry! Angry at Charles for getting her hopes up, angry at Thomas for being at the Burlesque house, and angry at herself for reacting like this. In times like this she wished she could talk with her mother. She always had the right thing to say to make her feel better. But Katherine knew what she would say if she were here.

"Take a minute Kitty, and let it out. If you don't it'll stay in your head and distract you from what you want. Let it out. Then pick your head up and keep writing!"

Katherine collected herself and walked through the alleyway. She did feel a little better. She wasn't quite sure where she was. Her vision was blurry long before she stopped in the alleyway. She looked at her reflection in a store window. She looked quite a mess. Red eyes, tear streaks down her face, dirt on her blouse and skirt.

As Katherine was assessing her appearance she could hear some commotion coming from a few blocks away.

"Where is that coming from"

She looked around to try to get some hint at to where she was. Just in the distance she could make out the tall skyscraper she knew very well

"The World?!"

Before she knew what her feet were doing she was already moving swiftly in the direction of her father's paper.

When Katherine arrived at the front gate of The World she could hear the newsboys arguing, and yelling with the circulation workers. She walked up just as a boy was writing STRIKE! Across the headline board.

"YEAH!"

"Strike….Strike….Strike! Strike Strike Strike!"

Once Katerine got a little closer she saw newsboys throwing down their papers, news bags. They gathered together and started walking out of The World's gate. As she watched the boys pass she was able to get the attention of one. He seemed to be the youngest.

"Excuse me...can you tell me what's going on?"

"That ass Pulitzer's hiked up the price of the papes! We can't afford to pay, so we're on strike!"

"Les...comeon! Jack's gonna need us!"

"Coming Davey….We's gonna go tell Mr. Pulitzer what we's think about this? I've got a few things to say to him."

He met the older boy and they disappeared into the building. Katherine was dumbfounded….Her father was trying to gouge these poor boys? That little boy couldn't be more than 7...maybe 10? She had half a mind to follow these boys up there and give him a piece of her mind! But arguing with her father whom she hadn't seen in years didn't seem like the best way to approach the situation. She didn't even work here, but there had to be something she could do…

The doors to the building shot open and 3 boys were thrown out. The little boy, Les screamed as the doors closed in his face.

"You can tell Mr. Pulitzer a few days into the strike he's gonna be asking for an appointment to see me! You got that!?"

He turned back to the boys

"He got that!"

"Comeon boys let's go regroup."

All the news boys followed who seemed to be "their leader?". Katherine watched them leave.

"Those boys….how are they even going to have a chance against a News Giant like my father? They are just young boys, and my father is a man with all the resources of the world at his fingertips. They need someone to stand up for them!"

Katherine thought through what she was saying. Maybe she could help them? She could be their voice...she could write an article on their poor treatment, unfair working conditions, and how the the prices shot up overnight. She could bring it to Mr. Dana and beg him to publish it. These poor kids need to be heard!

She quickly pulled out her notebook and ran to tail the boys. This could be the story that changes their generation!