Chapter 5

"So, Spot thinks some guys are makin' their own Brooklyn division with the newsies and getting' others ta join? That's what I gathered outta da whole conversation," I asked Jack.

"Yeah. He figures that's why he ain't seen Bullman and Padlock around. Thinks they got somethin' ta do wit it, but he don't got no proof."

"I don't think he's gonna come right out an' ask for our help, Jack. He's got more pride than all the Manhattan newsies combined."

"I just wanna hear him say it. Da words 'I can't handle dis on my own' would be pure sweet music ta my ears. If he really wants our help, he'll get over his pride and ask." He paused and looked around. "Where'd Flash go?"

I looked around too. "I think she went back da way we came. Did ya see how fast her papes disappeared? Dey practically flew outta her hands."

"I know. I hate ta admit it, but I guess she's pretty good. You're right, we could use her. She seems able to hold her own."

"Yeah. I asked her if she wanted ta stay at da lodgin' house wit us instead of sleepin' outside."

He smiled at the thought and went to sell his last couple of papers. When he came back, he asked, "So what'd she have ta say about your… generous proposition?"

I shrugged. "She said she'd ask. That's all I know. Hey, maybe she could help us wit dis Spot thing. She could help… maybe?"

"Ya know, now dat I think about it, yeah, she could. I got some ideas," he told me smiling. "If he ever asks us."

"Yeah," I said. "Wanna go to Sheepshead? I'm bettin' this time."

"Nah. I'm gonna go to Medda's with Dutchy, Mush, and Blink. Have fun losin'." He grinned and winked at me.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. See ya later," I said to him. That hot tip on the fourth better pull through…

It's colder tonight than it was last night.

I shivered. I was still pretty peeved that I hadn't won anything. Damn you Jack….

It had started to turn dark, so I decided to go back to the lodging house with the boys. Walking in the door I heard the last bit of what Mush was saying.

"… and they lowered it back down. We beat it." He was smiling like a kid who had been told he could have all the candy in the world. He was sitting on the floor talking to Flash, who was on a bed. My bed. She was smiling too.

"That's great! Ya know, I remember readin' somethin' 'bout dat in da paper last year." She looked up thoughtfully. "That was pretty gutsy, what youse guys did."

Jack looked up and saw me standing in the doorway. "Race! Guess who is stayin' wit us from now on."

I smiled. "Good. At least I know ya won't get pneumonia from sleepin' out there. And I see ya still have all ya fingers. What about ya toes?" I asked her jokingly.

She looked back at me grinning. "I gots all those too. Were ya worried about me, Higgins? How sweet. Real touchin'. Ain't ya just a gentleman." She was staring at me, her mouth forming into a smirk.

I snorted. "Me? A gentleman? No one in their right mind could think dat."

She stuck her tongue out at me. "Yeah, well I never claimed to be in my right mind, now did I?"

I laughed. "No, ya didn't."

"Besides, I gotta be outta my mind ta be friends wit youse guys." She grinned even bigger.

"Hey. Watch it," Jack and I said at the same time. The guys laughed at our reaction.

Flash stood there for a second and then yelled out, "Dammit! I left my sack of money back in da alley around da corner! Imma go get it." She ran outside.

I made sure she was gone before I said anything. "Okay you guys, so whadda ya think of 'er?"

"I like her," said Mush. "She's funny and when ya talk ta her, she gives ya attention, like ya deserve it. But at da same time, she has a look on her face dat makes ya think she's on the verge of losing concentration. It makes ya wanna try and keep her attention, if dat makes any sense. And from some of da stories she's told us, she sounds tough. Right fellas?"

There was a chorus of 'yeahs' and 'uh-huhs' around the room.

"Yeah, I agree. She's one of da toughest girls I've met. Most girls look helpless, but she doesn't." That was from Kid Blink.

Snipeshooter was next to speak. "I think she's pretty."

Jack grinned and threw his hat at him. "She's too old for ya. You're young enough ta be her little brudder. What do da rest of ya think?"

All the guy agreed that they liked her and asked if she was gonna be one of us now.

Jack didn't waste any time with answering. "Yeah, she is. I like her too and she isn't like most other girls. Like ya said, she's different."

I looked around to see if she had gotten back. She hadn't. How long did it take ta go around da corner an' grab a bag of money? "You guys, I'm gonna go check on her."

I walked down to the alley hurriedly and saw her sitting on the ground.

"What are ya doin'?"

She looked up at me. "Thinkin'."

"Thinkin'? Why would ya do a stupid thing like dat?" I asked her, trying to lighten the mood. She just shook her head.

"Well come on, spit it out. What are ya thinkin' about?"

"My life. Before I came here," she said to me softly.

"What about it?" I asked her sitting down.

"It was terrible."

"Well, why?"

She shook her head again and stayed silent. She spoke after a while.

"Remember how I said my pa and ma died when I was young? Dat's because my pa killed my ma and da bulls killed him after dat. Right in front of me. I was seven. I had nowhere else ta go so… I was on my own most of da time." She paused and took in a shaky breath. She looked like she was about to cry, but she blinked and it went away. "My real name is Alba. Alba Grace. I got my nickname for bein' a real good flash-man. I'm no grafta, but ya do what ya gotta do ta look out for yaself. Dat's how I got here. Dat's my life," she ended quietly.

I gave her a half hug. It was pretty awkward, but it was a hug nonetheless. I never give hugs. Ya goin' soft, Higgins… "It ain't your fault, Flash. None of dat was your fault. Ya just did what ya had ta do ta take care of yaself. I don't blame ya, so you should blame ya either."

She turned to look at me like I was dumb. "I never said I blamed myself. I know it wasn't my fault."

"Christ… I was just tryin' ta be comfortin'. Sorry," I grumbled and crossed my arms. She sighed and laid her head on my shoulder, making me uncross my arms. She poked my side making me jump. She laughed.

"Thanks for listening though, Race. I normally don't think about it much. I don't let my bad emotions show. Well, not most of 'em anyways. But bein' in there with youse guys is like bein' in there wit my family. A family I haven't had in a long time. I already think of all of youse as my family. I already feel like I belong."

I leaned my head against hers and traced patterns on the ground with my fingers.

"Ya do belong. And if it makes ya feel better, then all the guys like havin' ya around. You're… different. Ya know?"

She nodded and said, "Yeah. It's because I'm not a vulnerable little girl. I'm not a damsel in distress. I hate those types of girls. I try ta show dat ta people, but they look right past it. I guess youse guys can see it though."

I nodded and sat there for a while before standing up and saying, "Come on, we better go. They're gonna think we got lost."

And all that seriousness disappeared. She smiled. "We could never get lost with you leadin' da way; wit da way ya claim ta know this place." She winked at me.

I lightly punched her arm. "You're really sarcastic, ya know dat, right?"

Walking ahead of me she called back, "Yeah, I know. But da otha guys like it."

I caught up with her and asked jokingly, "And how do ya know dat, oh smart one?"

She shrugged. "I just do. They wouldn't have let me hang aroun' if they didn't."

I nodded. "True. They wouldn't."

She grinned. "Plus, ya already told me they like havin' me around."

Chuckling I said, "I could have lied to ya."

She shook her head. "But ya didn't. I wouldn't take ya for a liar, Race."

"Good, 'cause I'm not."

We walked all the way back to the lodging house only to find everyone in bed. Kloppman musta said lights out early tonight. We quietly crept in and got in the two beds that were open.

We laid there for a while before she whispered, "Race, you asleep yet?"

"No," I answered back. "Are you?"

She giggled a little and said, "No." She was quiet for a second. "Race, do ya ever wonder what your life would be like if ya weren't a newsie? If ya could just board a train and leave it all behind ya?"

I rolled over on my side to look at her. "All da time. But if I did hop a train and leave, where would I go? I couldn't leave these guys behind. I'd miss 'em too much."

She nodded. "I know what ya mean. Sorta. I had one person back home dat I didn't wanna leave. Her name was Anna Bellefskii. I tried ta get her ta come wit me, but she wanted ta stay there and find a husband. I think dat's just plain dumb. I guess we wanted different things. Very different things." She was quiet and I thought she fell asleep, but then she said, "I'm glad ta have met ya, Racetrack," and she rolled over to her other side, cuddling her pillow.

"I'm glad ta have met ya too, Flash," I said as I slowly drifted to sleep.

And so the friendship grows :D What could possibly happen next?

Shoutout to E.G. Winston! Thanks sooooo much for your help and feedback! It helped me out TONS 3