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She followed Snoddy down the stairs and into the lobby silently. The boys rose and took their hats off when she entered the room. She raised her eyebrows at their manners. 'What a pleasant surprise," she thought to herself. 'These are definitely not Harlem newsboys.'

Snoddy began introducing her to the boys one by one. He simply told her their name and moved on. She knew he was not telling them her name because he did not know. She wondered why he had not asked for it. She found that telling the boys apart was not as difficult as she thought it would be; they all looked very different and, as expected from a crowd of newsies, had very unique name. Mush, Racetrack, Specs, Snipeshooter, Boots… The list went on and on.

"So, what's her name," Racetrack asked after the introduction were done.

Snoddy shrugged. "Jack has to name her."

"I have a newsgirl name already," I told him.

"Jack has to name you," Snoddy said. "Anybody living under this roof has to have a Jack Kelly or Spot Colon nickname. It's just how it works."

"That's exactly how it works," she heard a booming voice say and she looked up to see an unfamiliar boy in the doorway. "So, who's I gotta name, huh?"

Snoddy cleared his throat and stepped forward. "This girl. I found her. She's been kinda worked over."

Jack nodded. "I can see that."

Snoddy cleared his throat and said, "This is Jack Kelly, our leader."

Jack held his hand out to her. "Pleased to meet ya," he exclaimed in his thick accent. "Ya know, Snoddy," he said, turning away from her. "I usually don't like when you boys invite strangers into the house without my consent but this one is so pretty, I'll have to make an exception!" Snoddy smirked and stepped away to give them privacy. He knew Jack had to set the rules in place and give her a name but he did not step too far away. He considered this girl his responsibility and if Snoddy was good at anything, it was being responsible.

"Could I speak to you alone," she questioned boldly before Jack could say anything.

Jack nodded and cleared his throat. "Alright, boys, head up to the roof. All your breathing is stinking the place up," he ordered, addressing the boys.

The room suddenly became very hectic with all of the boys scrambling to collect their cards, marbles, and hats and to get roof before Jack could bellow any more orders at them. Using this chaos to his advantage, Snoddy grabbed her arm and pulled her ear against his mouth. "Do you want me to stay," he murmured, low and deep.

She shook her head slightly. "No, it's okay."

Snoddy hesitated, then sighed. "I'll be right outside the window. It's open. I'll be able to hear everything. Yell if you need me."

She nodded and before she could even blink, it was just her and Jack 'Cowboy' Kelly left in the lobby. She knew all about Jack and David and the crazy strike and how they stood up to Pulitzer and proved victorious. She knew all about it but, as much as it impressed her, she was not intimidated by Jack Kelly.

"So," Jack said, sitting on the arm of the couch. "Your name is?"

"Thought that didn't matter. Thought you had to name me," she replied softly, testing her boundaries only slightly.

"Well, seems to me like you're Snoddy's responsibility and that he's earned the right to name you." Jack paused before bellowing loudly, "Isn't that right, Snoddy?"

Snoddy poked his head through the window and smiled sheepishly. "Yes."

Jack smiled and Snoddy disappeared again. "So, forget the name thing. What happened to you?"

She sighed and began to tell him the whole story. "My bit for selling papes is 'a hug and a pape for just a penny.' It's truly harmless. I just give the men a one-armed hug and they keep coming back every day. They all think I'm only 13 so no one ever pushes for anything more. I relocated here from Harlem just two or three months ago. I spent a few weeks at the working girls lodge house but it was the wrong crowd for me...waitresses and bartenders and such. The roof over my head wasn't worth all the fighting and trouble, the bulls coming in everyday...no way! So, I started squatting in a storage unit downtown. One of the workers told me it belongs to some hoity toity gal who hasn't come by in three or four years but pays the bill every month. I wear her dresses and sell in a different spot within the same 15 block radius. It's a good set up. Yesterday, I decide to go just outside that radius. I was doing my usual routine, a hug and a pape, and it was all fine. Until, of course, these two boys- I kind of assumed they were brothers- came up and asked for ten papes. They gave me a dime. I gave them their ten papes- a dime is a dime, you know- and one hug each. I ain't going around hugging or cuddling into grown men. It's platonic. The boys, they didn't like that very much. They started following me on my short walk to this fruit stand I buy lunch from. Well, I never made it to the stand. They cornered me in that alley Snoddy found me in. I'm not totally educated on the streets of New York yet. I could have sworn that alley went through to the next street over!"

Jack interrupted her for the first time. "What alley?"

She hesitated before calling out. "Snoddy? Which alley was it?"

"4th and Broadway," Snotty called out. She smiled and Jack nodded.

"Continue," Kelly requested.

"Well, I ain't a total uneducated street rat. I jumped up and grabbed the fire escape; it was all folded up. I was climbing as fast as I could when the tall boy grabbed my ankles and ripped me down the ground. They started shouting about wanting what they rightfully bought. We got into a little bit of scuffle when one of the boys was holding me back when my arms behind my back and the other one was coming toward me. I don't like being touched, so I went a little bit crazy. I couldn't really take both of them though, not at the same time! And eventually, I just...played dead. It worked out pretty well for me... they got bored." She finished the story with an anticlimactic shrug.

"What did the boys look like," Jack asked curiously.

"Oh, um...well, pale skin and dark hair. Maybe 19, early 20's. Brothers, like I said. One of them had a mustache, I think," she answered with another shrug.

"Thought so," Jack said, angrily shaking his head.

"You know them," she asked, raising her eyebrows.

He ignored her question. "I don't want the boys to hear the story from you," he said. "I will call a meeting tonight, when you're asleep, and tell them. I'm going to stretch the truth a little bit. I'm just going to skip over the 'hug and a pape' thing, you understand? Now, come on. We'll go introduce you with your new name to the boys!"