Newsies and Orphans

2

During my quick trip to Brooklyn, I was able to avoid any newsies as I picked up the bottle of gin. I had eyed the bottle of Mickey Finn sitting on the shelf, and considered buying it, but decided against it. Hannigan had been pissy enough lately, we didn't need to make it worse just for a single night of freedom. So carrying the brown paper bag, I returned to the orphanage just before noon.

"Took you long enough. Hurry up and get in here," Hannigan barks as I return.

"Sorry Miss. Hannigan," I bow my head and hand her the package as I head inside.

"Paper on the desk. No dinner, and finish that order of dresses by tomorrow."

"Yes Miss. Hannigan." I do as she says and leave the newspaper on her desk as I head to the sewing room. I sit down and immediately start working.

Even as others get up and have dinner or go to bed, I remain on the seat, continuing on the order of dresses Hannigan needed me to finish. My stomach growled, this being the third day I had gone without food, and I could feel my eyes wanting to close.

Once I was sure Hannigan had had her weight in gin and gone to bed, or passed out somewhere, I took a break, heading up to the roof. I picked the lock to the door and sat down with my back against the ledge, curling up tightly as a cold breeze passed through. Finally, a moment to myself. Privacy was a rare treat when you lived with fourteen other girls, so I savored every moment I was allowed to be vulnerable. It was an amazing time to process emotions, because I could finally let the week catch up. And there was a lot that needed to catch up. Aside from the fact almost all of the littles had been causing trouble, my sister, July, was sick, so she couldn't do anything to help, most kids were afraid of Pepper (she was known for being the toughest of us), Isabelle was only 11 and didn't really know how to help, and Annie (as mentioned earlier) had just returned from another runaway, so Hannigan was pissed at her. That left virtually everything to me. And of course the littles were, well, little, all under the age of 8, so taking care of and protecting them could be very difficult when they all decided to push buttons.

Breathing and processing emotions after a long week typically brought crying, so I wasn't exactly surprised when I wiped away the tears that had fallen as I let out a ragged breath. Unfortunately, once a dam breaks, you can't immediately build it back up. And like a broken dam, my tears began to flow endlessly.

Suddenly I heard a groaning on the fire escape and footsteps walking across the roof. I looked up to see who it was and quickly wiped the tears from my eyes. Surprisingly, it was Kelly. I figured he was probably going back to the lodge after a visit to the theater (as he was good friends with Medda Larkin, who let him sit in on shows), and had to pass by the orphanage on the way. Though how he knew I was up here escaped me.

"Hey, I heard cryin' from down below, you alright up here?" Jack asks, coming to sit down next to me. 

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," I lie.

"Duffy, I can't help if I don't know what's going on, so don't fib, you clearly aren't alright. What's goin' on?"

"Nothing, just-'' Jack gives me a look. I roll my eyes before admitting some of the truth. "It's just a lot. Takin' care of the girls, makin' sure they get their food, and their sleep and protectin' them."

"Thought you said Hannigan wasn' hittin' you?"

"There's a lot more than just physical abuse Kelly. I can't let them overwork themselves, or start thinkin' they aren't enough, or that they just need out."

"So you're protecting them from what you had to endure?"

"Yeah, I guess! If you really want to put it that way. I didn't have anyone to watch my back other than July, and that resulted in starvation, sleep deprivation, and the paddle!"