Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie, "Newsies." The only character in this story that I claim ownership over is Shadow.

Heya, (Insert your name here instead of "Boots"). how's it rollin':D

AHHH LAST DAY OF CLASSES IS TOMORROW. No more homework, no more pop quizzes, no more PMSing french teacher... Life is good :) Or, at least it will be after tomorrow. Then all I gotta get through is finals... oh crap.

Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I got a little sidetracked with some stuff that I had to get done. Soooo here we go.

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Kloppman's voice echoed throughout the room. "C'mon! Wake up, get up! Outta bed. What's' 'ammata wit you kids? Ya sleepin' ya lives away. Get a move on, all 'a ya's! Shadow, foist day! Let's go!"

I opened my eyes a little, saw it was still dark, and closed them again. This guy is crazy. It couldn't be past 6 in the morning.

I started to doze off again when I felt the covers pulled off of me. "C'mon, Shadow! Time to sell da papes!" Blink said. I rolled over and buried my head in the pillow. "Yeah, yeah... sounds like a riot." I muttered, closing my eyes again.

My pillow was the next thing to go. "Hey! I'se sleepin' heah!" I yelled, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. "Not anymore, ya ain't." Pie Eater replied from across the room, grabbing his clothes off his bed.

I sat up and looked out the window. The sun hadn't risen yet and it was still pouring. The rain had not stopped from the day before. If anything, it had gotten worse. The sides of the streets were overflowing with puddles. "I really ain't lookin' forward to goin' out in dat..." I mumbled.

"Ah, cheer up." Blink said, pulling his shirt on over his head. "A little rain never hoit nuttin'. 'Cept maybe our profits... 'nd it ain't very fun when da ink runs all over our hands... 'Course, I could do witout da puddles. Sometimes da water seeps into our shoes 'nd—"

"Blink, ya ain't makin' me feel any better." I said, stopping him from talking anymore. He laughed and shrugged. "Sorry." He replied, grinning.

"A'right, fellas. Listen up." Jack yelled. He finished tying his red bandana around his neck and continued. For the most part, the guys quieted down and turned to listen to him. "Incase ya bums didn't know, we'se got a new newsie wit us. Her names Shadow." Cowboy said, motioning over to me.

"Now, since she's a goil, and we ain't used to havin' any in da lodgin' house, dat means we'se got some new rules. For one, watch what ya say 'round her, a'right? Jus' try to have some manners... Anudda thing, in da washroom... try not to walk 'round in ya underwear, okay?" Jack said, looking directly at Specs. "I ain't da only one who does dat, a'right?" Specs muttered in defense. The other guys started to laugh and went back to getting ready.

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By the time we got there, I was already completely soaked. The large iron gate looked so familiar. I'd passed by there a million times, but I had never been inside the gates at the distribution desk.

I stood next to Kid Blink on the line, which seemed to be moving fairly quickly. "Hey, ya wanna sell wit me?" he asked. "I mean... I know you likes to be on your own 'nd stuff, but since it's your foist day you might want a lil help..."

I hesitated for a moment, but reminded myself that I had to try and trust him. "Yeah, sure. That sounds good." I said, attempting a smile. More people cleared off to the side after buying their papers. We took a step forward and were at the desk. "Wadda ya gettin'?" A man sitting on the other side asked through the bars.

"70 for me." Blink said. The man called out the number over his shoulder, and in a few seconds the papers were slid underneath the bars. He dropped a few coins on the desk and the man took them. "What 'bout you?" He asked, looking at me.

I looked at Kid Blink and shrugged, not knowing what to do. "Uh, she'll take 25 papes." Blink said. I dropped the dime on the desk and was given change along with 25 newspapers.

As soon as I picked up my papers, the ink already started to bleed onto my hands. Blink saw my expression and laughed. "Don't worry, Shadow. It ain't always dis much of a drag. Ya just picked a bad day to start." He said as we started walking towards the streets.

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Blink and I were having tough luck selling. All the newsies were. The weather made it really difficult. All people cared about was rushing from point A to point B without getting drenched by the rain. Very few people stopped to buy newspapers from us.

"Nah, see... if ya yell out dat headline no one's gonna buy." Blink told me, flipping through the newspaper. He stopped on a particular page. "Here. Look at dis headline." He said, pointing to large letters that read "Electrical Fire Starts in Apartment Building: All Residents Escape Unharmed."

He stepped out from under the awning that was sheltering us from the rain. "Extra, Extra! Man intentionally sets apartment on fire 'nd runs! Many left injured!" He yelled. Two people hurrying down the street stopped to buy papes from him.

He pocketed the money and came back under the awning. "See? Now you try." I picked up one of my newspapers and glanced at each page. Seeing a headline that said, "Flu Spreading Around NYC." I stopped on it. "This good?" I asked. Blink shrugged. "See what ya can do wit it."

I went out into the middle of the sidewalk. "Immigration ships bringing plagues to NYC!" I shouted. My voice was lost in the sound of the rain falling hard on the streets. Blink pulled me back under the covering. "That was good!" He said, grinning. "You'se gettin' da hang of dis. Now all ya gotta do is be louder. I could barely heah ya 'nd I was standin' two feet away."

I tried again, but my voice was still unable to be heard. "Hmm... Wait... I'se got an idea." Blink said, looking behind me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me through the crowd of bustling people. We stopped at a wooden crate that was against a building.

"Heah, stand on dis. Maybe you'll voice will go further." I stepped up onto the crate and tried a third time. "Immigrant ship brings plagues to New York City!" I yelled as loud as I could. A few people stopped in front of the crate. I handed them their papers and got three pennies in return. I looked at Blink, who was standing nearby with a smile on his face. I dropped the pennies into my pocket and yelled out the headline again.

A few seconds later, a loud crash erupted from the sky. The thunder made my heart skip a beat. Practically jumping out of , my own skin, I slipped on the wet crate and fell forward towards the cobblestone.

"Woah, watch it!" Blink said, dodging under me and catching me around the waist before I fell. My hands rested on his shoulders for a while as I regained my balance. "Thanks..." I said, smiling at him.

"No problem." He replied, grinning. I realized our faces were only inches apart. Blink was one of the closest friends I had at the lodging house. But the years of avoiding contact nagged me to move away. Still, I stood frozen as we stared at each other.

Someone bumped into Blink's shoulder hard, nearly knocking him over. Broken out of his daze, he let go of me and turned around to see who it was. "Oh, hey Skittery..." Blink said, calling after Skittery who had intentionally (or at least it looked that way) knocked into him.

Skittery rolled his eyes and kept on walking. Blink watched Skittery with a confused expression as he disappeared through the crowd. "What's up wit him?" Blink asked, turning to me. I shrugged. "Who knows? I think dis weather's bringin' us all down." I replied.

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Skittery's jealous, possibly:O

Thanks for reading. I'd love to hear what you guys think, so please review.

NarniaRulz, Trignifty, ktkakes, -BeeVee-THEEAmazing, ImaSupernaturalCSI-- Thanks so much for your reviews :D They were all really nice and much appreciated.