Chapter 4
Alley quickly fell into a routine as an official Manhattan newsgirl. She slept in the smallest sickroom all by herself, complained to Kloppman daily that her rent was a half penny higher than the boys', and was woken each morning by Snoddy, who addressed her cuts and bruises every day until they were healed and helped her lace up her dress each morning and unlaced it each night. She sold with Snoddy every day and every afternoon. They took turns treating each other to a lunch of sour lemonade and peaches from Alley's favorite fruit stand, just as a thoughtful gesture since it cost the same every day and, when it came down to it, they were really just paying for themselves. After selling the evening edition, they would stop off in a bakery or deli and see what was left over and on sale. Sometimes, if they got a particularly good deal, they would find themselves bloated to the brim with burnt bread, stinky old cheese, and ham shavings. As early September became late September and the warm summer evenings began to cool, Snoddy began sneaking into Alley's room. He would crawl into her bunk beside her and, though they never touched, they would whisper about nothing and giggle and tease each other for hours until they fell asleep.
Snoddy and Alley did kind things for each other all the time. Alley scrubbed all Snoddy's clothes, giving them the first good wash they had ever had, and finally getting rid of the sweat stains on the shoulders and armpits. She mended the holes in the elbows of his shirts and let out the hems in his pants to get them closer to his ankle. Snoddy fixed the window in Alley's sick room and bought her pieces of pie for 3 cents each whenever she was having a particularly hard day.
As Alley fell into her routine, Snoddy fell into a new one around her. Long gone were the days in which Snoddy woke up to Snitch's dirty feet in his face and Kloppman yelling in his ear. Long gone were the day in which Snoddy sold by himself and sometimes went all day without speaking to a friend. Snoddy had always been "the doctor" of the group, the one the boys came to with black eyes and infected cuts that oozed all kinds of colors. But Snoddy had always been the shiest too. Though he trusted and loved his fellow newsboys, he never had much a personal connection with any of them. He mostly hung in the back with Itey and Jake, the other quiet newsboys and sold his papers without any fuss. But all of that was gone now.
These days, Snoddy found himself at the center of attention. Since that day on the roof about five weeks ago in early September when Jack had announced Alley as Snoddy's responsibility, it had became very, very true. Sweet, outspoken Alley with her long brown hair and loud laugh was everyone's favorite. Though everyone had their own relationship with Alley, Snoddy was never far behind and wherever she went, the boys would instinctively separate a path for Snoddy to follow. He was always by her side and, as she began developing friendships with other newsboys, he did too. Through Alley, Snoddy was suddenly good friends with Kid-Blink and Racetrack and Boots and David and he couldn't have been happier.
AN: A short transition chapter today! I had originally planned on this chapter and the next two that will follow to all be one single chapter but it got way way too long so I had to configure it into smaller chapters. I hope you all are still reading and enjoying! Please review!