POV- SPOT

"Wes got our pitcha in da papes?" Jackie boy cried out. He snatched the newspaper from Denton's hands. "Look at me! That's my face!"

The strike was going well. I only participated in the next song/dance number because it meant we could be heading back to Brooklyn soon. The strike was almost over, Pulitzer was ready to give in-

As we launched into the next chorus, "Look at me, I'm the king of New York!" Ellis Then came downstairs.

I glimpsed dark blue and craned my neck to see. As a result, when I jumped off of the table, I hit the fan and I let loose a string of curses.

Her hair was curled into ringlets. It was a nice look for her. The gold sheen of her hair stood brightly against the deep blue of her unusual dress. It was knee-length again, but long-sleeved. The color brought out the aching blueness of her eyes. Thinking of where I'd seen that color before whisked me back to Brooklyn.

The Piers were empty. A summer storm was blowing overhead, thunder booming in the sky. Ignoring the rain, I sat on the beach nearby. The sand was like cement, keeping me stuck in a sitting position. A beautifully freezing cold mist drenched me, cutting through the sticky summer heat that plagued Brooklyn.

Her eyes were the mist: glistening, floating, wonderfully cold. I wanted to keep that mist alive. I wanted to shelter her, hide the truth from her. Life as a girl newsie was gonna be tough, especially on some pretty little girl. But that wasn't part of my nature. No matter who she was or what effect she had on me, Ellis Then was just going to be another newsie to me. I didn't have room in my life for a queen of Brooklyn.

Even though hundreds of girls had asked.

She descended the staircase regally with her hand squealing on the banister as she dragged it down, those misty gray-blue eyes sparkling with stifled laughter. I wondered sadly when they would stop sparkling; when she broke her first glass bottle; when a scab soaked her and she came home with a bloody face the first time; when she first jumped off the Piers and trusted herself to the Atlantic Ocean? The newsies's dancing suddenly improved a thousand times. They threw themselves about with crazy abandon.

Ellis Then waited patiently until the end of the song. It occured to me just how pretty she was. I tore my thoughts off of When will her eyes stop shining? Will it be my fault? and finished the song. What was wrong with me? I'd sworn off girls. They were too much trouble.

Jackie boy was the closest to her. Grabbing her and turning her around to face him, he held her hand in a death grip and pressed it to his mouth. She looked shocked and a little angry. Clearly he hadn't done this before.

"Gracie. A pleasure, as always," he said with a soft smile.

I couldn't help but smirk at Ellis Then's barely concealed look of pain as Jackie boy didn't let go. "Actually, Jackie boy, her name is Ellis now."

"Aw, Spot, don't make things up." He didn't even look up.

"He's not. When Spot and I were talking on the fire escape last night-"

Jackie boy dropped her hand like a hot potato. "Ya and Spot on the fire escape?" He shot me a jealous stare. "Movin' up in the world, Conlon? Gettin' youseself a lady?"

If he could have done anything to make Ellis Then even madder, this was it. She backed away from him, eyes glittering like jewels. "I'm not a lady, Jack! I'm a newsie! How many times do I have to tell you? That's why I'm selling in Brooklyn, and not here!"

A giant whoop went up from the Brooklyn newsies, led by me. 'Hattan looked dejected, Blink and Mush most of all.

"But ya're still stayin' heah till after the strike?" pleaded Mush. "So us 'Hattaners'll see ya around?"

"Maybe," Ellis Then conceded. In that moment she looked exactly like the queen I'd seen when I'd first met her.

Jackie boy's face was contorted. "But I- I was runnin' away to Santa Fe with ya! I mean, I uh-"

Ellis Then gave him a deadly stare. "If you need me-"

"It's not fair," muttered Kid Blink under his breath.

"I'll be with Spot."

This was news. "Where are ya goin'?" Race asked.

"Out," I said disdainfully. "If ya really want to know, I'm teachin' her how to use a slingshot. Then she'll really be Brooklyn."

Though Ellis Then was clearly shocked, she hid it well. She turned to me and grinned like the Cheshire cat. "Yes! I've always wanted to learn about slingshots!"

As we turned and left Kloppman/Tibby's, I heard a stifled sob-snicker from Mush.

ELLIS THEN

I'd hoped Spot would show me around town, maybe. A nice walk somewhere. Really anywhere away from Jack and his disgusting "manners." Slingshots were not exactly what I'd had in mind, but if it meant I'd truly be Brooklyn, I'd do anything.

Spot ducked into a corner of an alleyway. "Here we go," he said.

"What? I thought your stuff was all back in Brooklyn," I responded.

"Yeah. I just keep some here in case I ever get. . . .bored." Spot pulled out his slingshot and a marble. "This one's a real good shooter."

I watched in amazement as he pulled back his slingshot and fired at a line of glass bottles. He hit all three of them. And he had maintained eye contact with me the entire time.

"How do you do that?" I asked, suddenly two years old again and jealous of my older sister Rose's skills with avoiding the million boys she attracted.

He smirked. "Magic."

I grinned. "Can I try?" I stretched out my hand, and he dumped an extra slingshot and marble into my palm.

Try as I might, I couldn't even balance the marble in the slingshot. Spot laughed. "We've got a long way to go," he said.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Ya'll never be as good as me," he continued arrogantly, "but no one is as good as me-"

This shot a little wave of anger through me. I had never reacted well to egomaniacs, no matter if they were my new leader. Fueled by determination, I loaded the marble, yanked back the rope, and let fly.

Unfortunately there were no more glass bottles to break, but I had shattered the remains of one of them.

Spot stopped talking and stared at me. His piercing eyes made me feel a little uncomfortable. I shifted my weight and became very interested in my shoes.

"Ya might be better than Wasp," Spot commented.

I glanced up. "Really? You think so?"

He smirked again. "Nah. Beginner's luck."

Laughing, I lunged for him, but he darted out of my reach. "I can do it again!" I yelled, grinning.

"Sure ya could," laughed Spot.

I picked up the slingshot and the marble and pretended to aim at the glass bottle. Just as I let go, I whirled around and shot it right at his forehead. It made direct contact.

"Ellis Then," he warned. "Ya better watch it. . .."

But the reluctant smile he kept trying to hide was denying his words. I shrieked with laughter as he pulled out his own slingshot again and shot me right in the neck. Soon we were engaged in a full-out slingshot war.