Whoop-whoop! No school for me today! Teachers had meeting all day, so yeah.

I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for the reviews!

- Emily

*at the end of the week*

Maia walked down the road toward the lodging house. Beside her, clutching her arm a if she would run away, was Snyder. Why he thought she needed escorted she would never know. Where did he think she was going to run to?

"Tell me again why I need an escort?" She asked, rolling her eyes. Snyder jerked her so that she stumbled a little.

"I don't want you running off anywhere. I'm keeping my eye on you." He responded.

"Whatever." She mumbled. This time he jerked her arm so hard she fell onto the ground.

When they finally got to the lodging house Snyder rapped on the door three times. Maia could hear the boys yelling and joking around inside and her stomach flipped a little. She had no clue what their reaction would be.

Thankfully, Kloppman opened the door and smiled at her.

"Maia! Great to see you back! Thank you, Warden. I can take her from here." Kloppman said, reaching for Maia. Snyder pulled her back out of his reach.

"You are to keep close tabs on her at all times. I will be watching out for her, and next time her sentence will be fully served. Her father is allowed to see her whenever he likes, and he knows she is here. If I hear he is not permitted to see his daughter her sentence will be extended and harsh." He said, putting an emphasis on will. Kloppman nodded.

"I understand." He said. Snyder pushed her forward and Kloppman caught her before she could fall again.

"For goodness sake! Do you have a thing for pushing kids to the ground? Honestly!" Maia said, annoyed. Snyder glared his eyes at her and took a step forward, but Kloppman already had a hand over her mouth and was swinging the door shut.

"You never know when to shut your mouth, do you?" Kloppman laughed.

"Nope. Thanks, Kloppman. Um, is Jack here?" She asked.

"Jack is gone. He's a scab. Forget about him." Race said, walking up to her and smiling. He pulled her into a hug.

"We missed ya around here." He said. Maia froze, surprised. Then, she hugged him back.

"I thought you guys hated me?" She asked. Race laughed.

"Well, we did-" Specs hit him on the back of his head. "- Ow! I wasn't finished! But then Crutchie left Specs a note and explained to us what went on. So, were you really that upset?" The boys laughed as Maia's face turned bright red.

"Race I oughta soak ya'." She said, laughing.

"Fine, but then it's back to the Refuge, prison girl." Mush said, walking up to her and swinging an arm over her shoulder. She smiled.

"Hey, Mush. Now seriously, what has Jack done?" she asked, her face going pale. Mush cocked his head to the side.

'Ya really don't know, do ya?" He asked.

"Tell me." She said, her voice cracking slightly.

"Jack...he switched sides. He's working for Pulitzer again. He talked to us the other day and said we should abandon the strike." Mush said. Maia groaned.

"It's my fault! That stupid idiot! He shouldn't have done that!" Maia yelled, punching the door. Mush and Race ran over and restrained her before she could hurt herself.

"Let me go!" She yelled.

"No! Listen, Crutchie said that Jack made some type of deal with Snyder and Pulitzer. You knew that. There is no changing his mind. Maia, he wants to protect you. Can't you let him do that?" Race asked. Maia swarmed out of their grasp.

"I'm not letting the strike fall because of me." She turned around and opened the door. not even looking back, she ran as fast as she could to find Jack.

It seemed like forever, but she managed to find him. He was down by the harbor shouting of headlines. It seemed different though. The enthusiasm he used to carry and shout was gone. He didn't lie about headlines, he read them exactly as they were.

"Jack!" She called out, running up to him. He looked over and dropped his papers.

"Maia!" He embraced her in a tight hug.

"Jack, you had me worried sick in the Refuge! Snyder told me that you had made some type of deal in order for me to be released early to Kloppman. He wouldn't tell ne what you did, then the next time I went to check on you, but you were gone." She said, her body starting to shake.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. I'm sorry, I didn't know Snyder was going to do that! He was right though, but he didn't tell you all of it. Yes, your out because of me but I also accepted to keep the other boys safe. If I accepted his offer, Snyder wouldn't put any of the others in the Refuge, and he would let you go." Maia stepped back out of the hug.

"Oh. Jack, we need you back. The boys aren't mad at you anymore, at least the Manhattan boys understand a little bit. I can't say for Spot. But please, you have to come back." She said. Jack sighed and shook his head.

"I can't. Snyder-"

"Jack! Don't think about Snyder! The strike will continue with or without you, so either way they are going down. This about who the enemy is." She said.

"Get back to the lodging house. I have a feeling that you took off without telling anyone." Jack said, not looking at her. Maia sighed.

"Fine. Be like that." Maia said, turning and walking away.

Dumb Jack. He never listens to anything anyone says. Maia thought. She was so deep in thought that she didn't hear the footsteps come up behind her. It wasn't until a pair of arms were wrapped around her, trapping her arms down, that she noticed something wasn't right.

"Hello, Flame. I thought you weren't supposed to be out without a newsie with ya, huh?" Morris. Maia stepped on his foot and he cried out, but his grip never loosened.

"Not so tough without your fists, are ya?" Oscar.

"What do you want?" She asked, still struggling as much as possible. Morris drug her into an ally and threw her into the wall. Her head connected first and it was amazing she was still conscious.

"Pulitzer wants us to teach the newsies a lesson about fighting back. With Jack out of the picture, it looks like your in charge now." Oscar laughed, kicking her in the shin. She winced and fell.

"No, I'm not! I haven't even been here two months!" She said.

"Yeah, but the newsies look to you for answers, don't they?" Morris asked, pulling her up by her hair.

"That doesn't make me the leader of the strike." She said, punching him in the gut. He double over and let go of her hair, but Oscar was right behind her. He swung her around and punched her in the nose. Blood gushed everywhere as she fell back onto the ground. The Delanceys advanced on her when she heard a voice call out,

"Get away from my little girl!" She kept her eyes closed, but could hear the sound of fist hitting flesh and the sound of the brothers running away. The person knelt next to her and touched her cheek.

"I am so sorry, Maia." The person said. Maia opened her eyes to look at the person who helped her.

"Dad?"

Ta-da! Did you expect that? It wasn't Jack who helped her, it was her dad! So, what happens next? You'll have to wait and see!

Thanks! Review please!

- Emily