Disclaimer: Someday. Someday it will happen.

Chapter 5

Flora's POV

"Elle!" I called. It was morning, and I was standing in front of my mirror, quietly taking in my appearance. There was one burning question on my mind.

"What?" she asked, emerging from under her bed. She couldn't find one of her romance novels, and was convinced the nuns had found it, and she'd get another week added to her sentence. Not that that would be the worst thing in the world, mind you…

"Up or down?" I pulled my hair into a bun, and then let it drop to demonstrate.

"Hmm…" she thought about it for a minute. "Down. That way David will definitely notice you."

"I don't think your book's lost, Elle," I retorted. "I think it seeped into your head while you slept and left all sorts of crazy notions!"

"The boy couldn't take his eyes of you!" she laughed. "Especially after your near death experience!"

"Which you facilitated!"

"I told you you'd eventually thank me for it!" she grinned mischievously. "And yesterday you didn't seem to care what you were wearing. Now suddenly it's the pretty dress, and the 'what should I do with my hair?'" She moved closer, and pulled a small jar of makeup off the vanity table. "Now hold still." She began to smear makeup along my cheekbone. The slap mark was barely visible, but when the Mother Superior had hit me her ring had left a nasty scratch on my cheek. We were covering it up with makeup until it healed.

"There we go!" she put down the jar, and stood back to admire her handiwork. "You can't even see it. Now if you'd just let me at the rest of your face, I could hide all those nasty freckles."

"I happen to like my freckles, thank you very much!" I exclaimed. We quickly finished our preparation for the day, and left the room without a second glance.

"Good morning newsies! Who wants coffee?" I sang out. The morning was cloudy and threatening to rain, but I didn't let that dampen my mood. Elle and I flounced through the crowd, dispensing food and hot drinks.

"Ey Flora," Skittery called. I'd been introduced to all the newsies by then, but sometimes got them confused. "Have yous got a boyfriend?"

They all got quiet very fast. "No, I don't," I responded. "Do you have a girlfriend? After all, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of good fortune must be in want of a wife!"

"Pride and Prejudice!" David exclaimed. "You've read Austen?"

"One of my absolute favourites!" I said. "I declare there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner anyone tires of anything than a book!"

"I have not the pleasure of understanding you," he shot back.

"Ya, well neitha does anyone otha than da two of yous!" Jack interrupted, and we all burst into laughter.

"Excuse me, miss?" a tall boy walked over. The newsies all tensed; it was immediately obvious that there was mutual dislike going on. "Are these boys bothering you?"

"Beat it Delancy," Race threatened. Delancy? I'd heard of them. Mainly bad things about what they'd done during the strike. Of course, I had my own reason for disliking one particular Delancy…

"No, Race, it's fine," I said, and stepped forward. "And you are?"

"Morris Delancy, at your service," he held his hand out for me to shake.

"Well, Morris Delancy," I retorted. "They aren't bothering me as much as you are right now." The newsies broke down laughing, and Morris clenched his fists. "Run along, I'm sure you have very important work to do, being Pulitzer's lapdog."

"Morris, get a move on…" another boy yelled. I didn't recognize him immediately, but as he got closer, it clicked in my head.

I turned to Elle, who'd been flirting with Kid Blink. "Elle, it's him. It's the guy from last time."

Her eyes grew wide, but she squared her shoulders with a steely resolve. "I'll get Sister Mary Martha," she began to push her way through the crowd.

"We have to…" his voice trailed off as he recognized me.

"Hello Oscar," I smiled icily.

He took a step forward and smiled sleazily back. "Hey dollface, back for more?"

I slapped him across the face. He reared back, then rage replaced the slimy charm in his eyes. He drew his fist back and drove it into my stomach. All went quiet in my mind as I fell backwards into the arms of Mush. Briefly, I noted that the other newsies had sprung into action. Jack was pummeling Morris, and others were trying to hold Oscar down, but he broke through them, and stalked towards me. I brought my leg up in a perfect arc, a high kick that smashed into his nose. He collapsed on the ground, moaning. Morris pushed Jack off him and ran to his brother.

"What the hell did you do!" he growled at me.

I straightened up. "Nothing he didn't do to me the last time I saw him." I spun on my heel and pushed my way back through the crowd. I couldn't go back to convent. I'd never be let outside again. There was only one place to go.

"Flora!" a voice called. A male voice. I was seized with panic, and whirled around. "Flora, are you alright?" I heaved a sigh of relief. It was David.

"I'm more or less fine," I sighed. "Apart from the spectacular black eye I'm going to have tomorrow." I looked more closely at him. It didn't look like he had any really big injuries, but looks can be deceiving. "What about you?"

He waved off my concern. "I'm fine. The Delancy's didn't get in any good shots," he paused, as if trying to formulate his next words. "Why'd they, you know…"

"Attack me?" I smiled bitterly. "It's kind of a long story…"

"I'd like to hear it."

"Fine," I said. I hadn't told anyone the full story except Eleanor, and I didn't know how to tell him. "But not here. Come on, I'll tell you at Medda's." As if sensing my mood, the sky opened up and began to pour.

We arrived at Medda's sopping wet and shivering.

"You still want to know?" I asked tentatively. He nodded.

I took a deep breath and began.

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