Jack, Race and I hurried through the streets of the city. They led me just a bit passed broadway until we reached a small building (small compared to the buildings around it). I stood and studied the brick building until Racetrack grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me into the building. The inside of the building empty other than us and an older man sitting behind a desk in a bowler hat. He was reading a book that he was so invested in he he didn't notice us enter the boarding house. He was dressed middle class clothing very extravagant but not rags either.
"This is our landlord Kloppman. In other words he owns the joint." Jack said.
Kloppman looked up from his book and up at us.
"And who is this lovely lady?" Kloppman asked.
I smiled at his complement.
"This is Maria." Jack told him putting his hands on my shoulders.
As he did I felt the heat go to my cheeks.
"Nobody's hear cause they're still working." Race explained. "There are a lot more of us newsies you just wait an see."
They led me upstairs to a large room with several bunk bed scattered about.
"Down that hall is my room." Jack said pointing to the hallway a few feet away. I looked around the rest of the room the beds were stuffed into every corned and each empty space. On there other side was a washroom. It was a quite a site. It was pretty disgusting used rags were everywhere the floor was still wet from the morning and I couldn't help but cringe a little. I turned away from the the wash room and back to Jack.
"So you're the only one with a separate room?" I asked.
"Yeah... But there is a reason!" He said. I could tell he was trying not to sound like an ass.
"Do you remember about the strike with me and the rest of the newsies year ago?" He asked.
I didn't read the papers like my father did and especially because we had lived n New Jersey I hadn't heard of it.
"I don't think so..." I mumbled.
Jack opened his mouth.
"Jack is going to drag this out so here's the short story," Race said. "a year ago we had a big strike against Pulitzer and we won. Jack led the strike so he got a fancy bedroom."
It was then that a boy stepped in. He was dressed in rags like the rest of Jack and Racetrack the one difference was that he wore an eyepatch. He had reddish blond hair (but mostly red). The one eye he had or the one eye he had showing was a light shade of blue.
"Hey guys I just sold me last pape and I-" He looked up and noticed that I was there."Who's your friend?"
"Hey Kid Blink this is Maria." Jack said.
He looked at me with a friendly grin.
"Hi Maria." He said.
"Hi Kid Blink." I said.
Not long after that more and more started to walk onto the room. They some came alone others in groups. Some by two some by three some by more. Each greeted me with warm smiles. As each of them came inJack informed me of there names.
"So Maria this is Specs, and this is Mush and this is..." He continued.
I tried to remember every name but I couldn't manage to get them down. After calling Specs Snitch I decided to just point to them if I didn't know their name. Some of the boys played poker in the corner, others just talked on the bunks. It wasn't much later when a girl walked into the room. She had brown curls and deep brown eyes.
"Oh and this is Faith." Jack said.
Her face looked so familiar... Had I seen her before? She didn't even acting as if I was there at me until she limbed up onto her bunk.
"Who is she?" Faith asked without even looking at me.
"Her name is Maria." Jack answered.
"Oh yeah you mentioned her."
She finally turned her head and looked over at me.
"Nice to finely meet you." She smiled.
I smiled back. She seemed tired from selling papers. Her she was dressed in rag like the rest of them. Then I noticed a key around her neck... It felt familiar again.
"She needs a nickname." Kid Blink shouted out.
"Yeah what's it going to be Race?" Mush said.
All eyes turned to Racetrack and me. I looked over at Race. I didn't like to be stared at and so I figured if I looked at him so would the rest of them.
"Maria stand up i need to get a good look at you." He said.
"Uh... ok." I said as I stood.
He studied me. He sat there staring at me for a long time. The awkward began to sink in. I decided to speak up because otherwise who the hell knows how long this would go on!
"Race what are you-"
"Quiet!" He demand.
Small laughs came out of the crowd. I knew that this was either a joke to make me look stupid or Race was just insane...
"Turn." Race instructed.
I stared at him for a second.
"Racetrack... can you please tell me what your doing?"I asked.
The laughs got a little louder.
"You should get used to this. He does it every time." Faith laughed. "He names most newsies based on looks and personality."
I stood for what seemed like an hour with Race just staring at me.
"I think I got something for you..." He finely said. "Doll, like a porcelain doll."
The newsies nodded in agreement. I smiled it was a nice name.
"It's getting late, I should be getting you home." Jack told me.
I felt a chill go down my spine thinking of going home. I didn't want to back and see my family... I wanted to say something but i didn't know what to say. I tried to think of an excuse.
"Come on lets go." Jack said before I could think of anything.
We walked out of the boarding house and down the street. I looked around and saw children curled up in corners or ally ways. My mother had always called the poor children on the street urchins and had told me to never speak a word to them. I had always felt bad for the them. I hadn't seen them on the streets like this in a long time though.
"You know," Jack said snapping me out of my thoughts. "I only got you out of there so I could spend dome time with you alone."
I felt the heat go to my cheeks and my heart skip a beat. He smiled at me warmly.
"I like spending time with you... Your different than everyone else I know." I said smiling back at him.
"Different how?"
"The way you live, the way you act. Being rich is so much different then you think sometimes. It's not always that easy."
"Nether is being poor. I make pennies, your father makes hundreds. Sometimes when you live one way the other way always seems better don't it?"
"I know what you mean." I said.
I thought about what had happened earlier wit my father. I was so worried... Was it really just the liquor?
"Jack when we get to my building can you leave me in the back by the fire escape?" I asked.
The second I said it I wished I hadn't because from the look on Jack's face I was about to get questioned.
"Sure. Why do you need me to leave you in the back?"He asked.
"Oh no reason."
Jack nodded his head. He looked like he wanted to ask me why again but he didn't. Jack left me in the back of the building. Once he left I climbed the fire escape until I reached my floor. I climbed into my bedroom, changed my cloths and slipped into bed quietly. Then I slowly drifted off to sleep.