The Grave Digger

Chapter 9: Rebel

   He watched Bones walk towards them. Without Boots. She looked really upset, and he just wanted to wrap her in his arms and kiss her. Woah, calm down, Rebel, he thought. She wouldn't want him to do that, and she would freak out. But she was supposed to sell with him again today. She worked out this thing so that she can sell with all her friends. Two days with Chuckles, two days with Spot, two days with Race down at Sheepshead, and two days with Rebel. And when her two days with him were up, he couldn't wait for their next two days together.
   They talked all the way to the Navy Pier, and the whole time, Rebel wanted to reach out and grab her hand. It was so small and pale and covered in freckles, and he loved the way it would have looked in his big, tan hand. Glad she had just told a joke, he laughed off the thought. He felt so tall and protective next to her. But he knew that in any scenario, she would have been the one to beat up any person who tried to mess with them. She's so adorable, he thought, as she just made a face, mocking some person who tried to take a paper without paying her the other day. He watched as she scrunched her nose in the way she always does when something annoys her, and she changed her voice to imitate a rich lady who had complained about Bones wearing "boy's clothes" and selling newspapers, rather than learning how to "be a proper young lady." Rebel laughed as she gave a loud annoyed sigh, passing the same lady, whom had heard the whole thing. The lady sent an icy glare their way, but left them be. Bones put her regular troublemaker smirk back on her face, and Rebel flicked her shoulder. She scrunched her nose again, and started making fun of some drunk guy she and Race ran into at the tracks the other day.
   The rest of the day went fairly well. Rebel noticed she sold more newspapers than usual that day, which was really good, and less people ignored her, and went straight to him. But when all of his papers were sold, and she had sold as many as she could, Rebel was gloomy. He knew she was selling with Chuckles again the next day, and he'd have to wait five more days after that to sell with her. And that was the only time he really got to hang out with her. After they got back to the pier, she always spent the time before they went to sleep with Chuckles and Spot, or playing poker with Race. He just wanted to hang with her, even just to talk. Honestly, Rebel was jealous of them. They were always with her, and he only got to be with her when they were selling together, which wasn't often.
   The more he thought about how she was always with Chuckles and Spot, the more jealous he became. And the more jealous he was, the more angry he became with her. He finally expressed this anger when they were selling together the next time. He told her he needed to talk to her, and pulled her into an alley, making sure no one else was around. It didn't take much longer for them to get into a fight. They had had small fights before, but not many, and not any as huge as this. They were nearly screaming at each other, until Rebel got so angry, he slapped her across the cheek. She looked at him like he was a monster, and started to back away from him. "Bones, I'm so sorry, I don't know wha' came ovah me." He started toward her, and she kept backing away, until her back was against the other wall. He saw her breathing quicken as he came closer, but she slipped out of his reach and ran away from him. He stood there, staring at the spot she had just been, before walking back towards the navy yard.
   He was selling near the ship that was still being built, when a man in a navy uniform came up to him. The man bought a newspaper, but before he walked away, he asked Rebel how old he was. "17." The man nodded, and brought out a pamphlet. "You ever think about joining the navy?" Rebel nodded as he took the pamphlet. He was still looking at it as the man walked away. He was 17. He needed to think about his future, he knew he couldn't be a newsie forever, and he was almost an adult. Rebel finished selling his newspapers as quick as he could, and walked to find where he could sign up.

An: Comments are appreciated. I don't want to sound needy, but they let me know what you think of my story, and if there was anything you want me to change.