That night at the game everybody did come even Spot. Every now and than I saw his eyes flash from me back to his cards. It was him, Race, Jack,Kid Blink,Mush and Cruchy. Poker never really interested me, so I just sat in the corner. Spot had also brought a few of his Brooklyn buddies who's names I didn't know. By the time the game was finally done an hour and a half had past and Spot had won. Nothing new.

I feel a tap on my shoulder. It's Spot Conlon. I turned back around, I didn't want to see his face.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"To apologize." He said

Spot wanted to... apologize? He wanted to apologize? I was shocked! Was he being a gentleman? Than I remembered what happened on the dock. He's playing just me again! What race said creeped into the back of my mind. He loves games because he always wins... I turned around to look at him again.

"Spot stop trying to-"

"No I mean it... I was a real ass before." He said holding out his hand for me to shake.

I stared at it for a moment. I was bothered, confused, tired but this just made me more so. Why the hell was he doing this? Why now? Hesitantly I shook his hand. I saw a smile come across his face. But not like the one he would give me on the dock. This one was... different.

"I wanted to talk to you." He said looking at me with his blue eyes. They seemed much warmer now.

"Why? You never seemed to give a damn before."

He looked down at his shoes almost as if he was looking for an answer on the hard dusty floor.

"I don't know I just... I'm not as much of an ass as you think." He mumbled still staring at the ground.

"Spot!"somebody called "Time to go!"

"Shit..." he mumbles under his breath. "I'll see you around."

His eyes finely lifted from the floor back to mine. And for a moment I feel my heart skip a beat.

"Yeah... see you around."

He walked up to the door way close to the coat rack. I looked down at my shoes for a moment. Than back to Spot. I realize he's looking at me! He was also smiling. Not the one like on the docks but the other smile... I realized I liked that smile.

"Can't believe I lost thirty cense tonight!" Jack said snapping me out of the state I was in.

"I warned you!" I said. "Sorry Jack, but you should listen to me more!"

He laughed as he took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. He took a puff and blew the smoke in my face like we used to when we there little. It always made me laugh. This time was no exception! I turn back to to the doorway. Spot is no longer standing there.

"What are you looking at?" He asked.

"Nothing." I snapped.

"Okay, okay no need to be so protective!" He jokes."It's getting late, I'm going to bed. Goodnight Faith."

"Goodnight."

I looked around to make sure no one was looking. I rush to the window and onto the fire escape. I look down, I can see some boys but can't make anyone out. I'm to far away. But I can hear voices. I heard a few that I don't know, but than I heard a Manhattan newsie or two. They where just being stupid nothing I care about. So I look up at the sky. That night I could see stars and the moon. The moon was almost full. I knew the next night of night after would show a full moon if clouds don't roll in.

"It's a nice night." Race said scaring the crap out of me!

"Racetrack it's you!"

His head was poking through the window. He crawled out onto the fire escape.

"Who else would it be?" He laughed. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm to easy to scare! You've got to toughen me up!" I joked.

He took a cigar from hid pocket and lit it. A sudden seriousness appeared on his face. He stared down at the ground below.

"So I saw you talking to Spot earlier... Was he bothering you" He asked his face was hard serious. Serious was not really a word that you would describe Race with. So seeing him like this was a little odd. I searched for something to say...

"No... not at all." I muttered.

"W-what where you talking about?"

I felt heat go to my face!

"Nothing important..."

"Oh... all right." He said.

There was a pause.

"Why do you ask?"I said. Trying to break the silence. I can't stand awkward pauses.

"Well it's just that you hate him so much I thought he might be... Well ya know."

Race was right I did hate Spot... I hated Spot a lot... Didn't I?

"Yeah I know what you mean. So Jack really took this loss hard huh?" I said trying to change the subject.

"Yeah and he was starting to dig into his pocket deep!" He laughed.

"Thirty cense he lost right?"

"Yeah. I think I should be heading back in. It's getting late." Race said as he started heading towards the window.

"I'll be inside in a few minutes."

He nodded and went inside. I wanted to think... Why was I starting to not mind Spot? And was that the real him I saw? Or was it just another of his games? Was that all I was to him? I had so many questions and didn't know where to go for answers! No, this was why I couldn't get close to Spot! I knew how he treated his girls! What the hell was I thinking? I took a deep breath. My knuckles where white and my palms red from clutching the railing of the fire escape so tightly.

I made my way inside everyone was fast asleep. So the room was silent, except for some loud snoring. I found my way over to my bed in the darkness. I tried putting all that I'd thought about on the fire escape out of mind. I didn't want to think about it. I silently slipped off into sleep.

"Faith wake up! Wake up!" Is what greeted me the next morning. I awoke to Race shaking me and yelling this. And that isn't easy to sleep through.

"All right! All right! I'm up!"

"Have sweet dreams." Race laughed. He knew that I hadn't remembered my dreams since I was small. Even if I did I often forgot it quickly. So he tried to make a joke out of it when ever he could. In the morning the boarding house was a mess of boys trying the prepare for the rest of the day. I managed to make my way into the washroom and tried to get a spot by a mirror. When I finely did I had to brush my curly hair that constantly had knots in it and wash my face too. Then I got dressed and I was ready to go.

In about an hour I was on the street selling papers. I had brought a hundred paper. I'd already sold about twenty or twenty-five. Maybe even thirty.

"Extra extra read all about it, hole family dies in fire! Five lives lost!" I screamed the fake headline through the streets.

"I'll take one!" A man said.

He hands me the money. It was a little over the exact price, so I stuck my hand in my coat pocket to get the change. It wasn't money I felt in my pocket... It was a piece of paper!How did that get in there? I tried to ignore it. I searched around for his change. I finely fond it! I hand him the change.

The second that he turned his back I take the paper from my pocket. The paper is folded. I looked around to be sure nobody is watching. I opened it up quickly. It reads:

Meet me outside your boarding house tomorrow night.

-Spot

I was shocked! When did put this in my pocket? Than I remembered! I was talking to Jack last night, he must have slipped it in then and left! He was right by the coat rack. This was for tonight! I folded it up and put it back in my pocket. Should I go? I took a deep breath.

"Hey Faith how many papers you got left?"I heard a voice say.

I turned to see Jack. I was glad he was there I could get mind off things. Jack was good for that sort of thing. I counted my papers.

"Seventy-five. You?"

"About the same."

That day we where cursed with a terrible headline. The woman being killed would be old news until they found a break in the case. Me and Jack both knew that.

"I think I should find a new selling place. I think that they are getting used to my tricks here!" I whisper to Jack to be sure no customers will hear. You never want to scare away customers.

"Yeah, I've been thinking if going to Wall Street."

I nodded in agreement. Wall Street was always a good selling place. A crowed street with lots of business men in a rush to get to where they are going. Thats good because if in a rush they could give you more than the price. It also means more customers in a hurry to get there news quick.

For the next few hours we sold newspapers together. We sold until we were done with both our seventy-five. I wanted to talk to Jack about the note from Spot. I wanted to ask him if I should go. But I knew that if I did he probably wouldn't let me and because he was leader of the Manhattan newsies I would have to go by his rule. On our way back to the boarding house we meet up with Race. Which didn't really help the guilt I was feeling. Race I could tell. But what would I say?

"So Jack did you get that thirty cense back?"Race joked.

"Shut the hell up Race!" Jack mumbled.

I had a hard time holding in my laughter! Jack always got really pissed about losing. Especially when somebody made fun of him for it. And that was pretty funny sometimes.

"Hey Race I herd that you lost forty cense the other night." Jack said. A menacing smile spread across his face.

I bit my lip to hold in the laughs.

"At least I took it like a man."

That was it! I bursted out laughing! It was to much! I looked around to see some people staring at me. I shut up right then.

"Come on, lets go!" Race said pulling on my sleeve.

We went over to our boarding house. On our way all I could think of was the note. Should I go? He had been such an ass... Was this just another of his tricks was he just not going to show up? No! I had already thought this through! I couldn't get close to him! This was why he would just play games and I didn't need that in my life! No I wasn't going!

"Faith you okay you look a little stressed?" Race asked.

"Yeah Race I'm fine..."