I'm the Queen of New York!

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

We caught out on a train we heard was heading for New York City. I told Markas to sleep and that I would wake him up when we arrived.

"But I'm not tired, Juliana." Markas whined.

"You will be soon. Just lie down and relax." I cooed. He obeyed and in ten minutes or so, he was breathing heavily, telling me he was asleep.

About two hours later, we reached New York City. I woke Markas up and we jumped out of the train car and ran until we reached what I thought was Manhattan. We found an alley and that was where we lived for a few weeks. We didn't have much food and Markas kept getting weaker and weaker. I was sure I was losing him. One day, he couldn't hardly move he was so weak.

That night I told him, "It's alright, Markas. If you need to, you can leave. I love you more than anything in this whole world."

"I love you, too," he mumbled. I held him in my arms and soon after, his breathing became very shallow. His body began to grow colder and colder by the minute. He closed his eyes and I couldn't feel his heartbeat anymore. I instantly started to cry. After a while, I got up and walked around, looking for anyone who could help me find a place to bury him. I ran into a boy about my age.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"Don't be. I'm Jack Kelly, my friends call me Cowboy, though. What's your name?"

"Juliana." I replied.

He saw my red eyes from crying. "Hey, are you okay?"

I told him about my father and about Markas' death and about needing help finding a place for him to be buried. He was commendable for all he'd done. He understood about what had happened to me and he found a place to bury Markas. We walked to a little park and buried him under a tall, old tree. 

"Thank you so much, Jack." I thanked.

"Don't thank me. I only did what any of us would have done." Jack said.

"Us?"

"The newsies. We're a big bunch of orphans and runaways. We have room in the lodging house and I'm sure old Kloppmann would let you stay. You've got an unforgettable face, so people would always come back to you for papes everyday."

"Alright. I think I'll take you up on that." I said.

"Good. Come on, I'll take you there. You need to rest and get some food in you. I'll tell you about everyone." he started as he guided me in the other direction. "Racetrack is an incessant gambler. Everyday he goes down to Sheepshead Bay everyday to sell papes. He's always got either a cigarette or a cigar in his mouth. Usually a cigar. Great guy, though. Mush's name is kinda the most ironic thing. He's really muscular and strong, but he's the nicest guy around. He's like a teddy bear with huge muscles. Blink has an eye patch. Had it the whole time he's been a newsie. He's the womanizing kind but a great guy. Boots is a cool kid. He's always sayin' somethin' like "that doesn't scare me, it just makes me noivous." Snipeshooter likes to steal Race's cigars. I almost forgot about Crutchy. Crutchy's right leg is, I guess you could say lame, so he has to use a crutch. It slows him down a bit, but it doesn't stop him." He talked until we reached the lodging house. I was still in my dress, which irritated me. I always hated wearing dresses. I still had my  bow hung over my shoulder and my quiver around my waist.

"Hey, you guys have spare clothes? If I'm gonna be a newsie, I'm gonna need the right clothes." I gestured to my dress and high heels.

"Of course." Jack replied as we walked through the door. If the boys inside were doing things, they stopped instantly when they saw me. A boy who by Jack's description looked to be Blink walked over to me, grabbed my hand, kissed it, and said, "What's a nice girl like you doing in a dank place such as this?"

"Blink, right?" I asked.

"How did you know?" he replied with another question.

"You didn't think I wouldn't tell our newest about our existing? I thought you knew better, Blink," Jack said.

"Newest?" Everyone asked in unison.

"Yep," I responded.

"Guys, we need to find a new name for Juliana here." Jack announced.

"What's the bow and arrows for?" The boy who I thought was Racetrack asked.

"I'm the best archer in all of Russell, Pennsylvania."

"I've got it! Archer! How about it?" Who I thought was Mush suggested.

"I like it!" I exclaimed.

"Good, now let's get you into the right attire." Jack said. "Who's got extra clothes?" Racetrack stepped forward.

"Follow me." He said simply.

We followed him into what kind of looked like a dorm room. We walked to a bunk with a side table with cigars and ashtrays on it. Yep, this was Racetrack's bed and side table. He pulled open a drawer and pulled out a shirt, a pair of trousers, and suspenders. He handed them to me and I thanked him. He obliged and walked back into the lobby. Jack led me to what I thought was his bed. He gave me a pair of socks and a pair of shoes. Surprisingly, they fit almost perfectly. I would grow into them in a few months.

"You can probably score a hat sometime in the next few days, I think." Jack said.

"Where? How?"

"To score either means to borrow and not return or to... ya' know," Jack explained.

"Yeah, I know," I laughed.

"Okay, you can bunk with Race. The top bunk has always been empty."

"Is there a reason?" I asked.

"No. Race is one of the greatest guys. You won't have any problems with him." Jack replied.

"Alright. Do you mind if I get some sleep?"

"Not a problem, but don't you want any food first? We've got apples and bread. Milk, too." Jack suggested.

"Sure. Are you sure Kloppmann will let me stay?" I asked.

"I'll talk to him. You wanna go ahead and get changed? I'll get you some pajamas." Jack said.

"Okay." I walked into a stall, took off my dress and heels, put on my new clothes, which fit well, laced up the new shoes, and walked back into the lobby. I pulled my hair to the side and braided it. I sat down next to Racetrack at a poker table.

"You play?" Racetrack asked.

"I know my way around the game."

"Deal her in." Race told Blink. I was dealt in and a little while later, I won. I was heavily congratulated and told that it's not often that someone beats Racetrack at poker. Even Racetrack congratulated me. I could tell that being a newsie was a new life that was welcoming and welcomed.