Newsies' Little Sister

Chapter 6 - Sold! To the man in the Refuge!

A/N I just realised the title gave some SMALL and very minor details out! It's also a very long title!! :) Also poor Elmer - I'm sorry bby

~Time Skip to 29th October 1898~ (Yes, I know! Very specific!)

Emmelines' POV

Skip forward 5 months and I'se a pickpocket and lock picker in Theatre District in Manhattan. I'se never seen in the same place twice, which is real nice for the bulls! There's pretty good pickins what wid all da rich and fancy folk. Most day I'se can get pretty good 'earnins'. All the rich folk have massive, deep pockets that are perfect for me to reach in an' rob em' blind.

My usual tactic is to pick a target, and once they enter a crowd outside a theatre, that's when I strike. And that's exactly what I'se doin' now.

"Hey! Theif! Stop!" It doesn't always go to plan though. I just kept walking until I heard footsteps running up behind me. That's when I took off. I was chased up and down back streets and alleyways. I was fast and tough, but the person chasing me was pretty fast too. I had to change my plan. I saw a ladder connecting the fire escapes of the tenement buildings. I sped up even more, jumped and caught one of the higher rungs. I pulled myself up and lost the guy that was chasing me. I ran across some of the theatre roofs, ya know. Just to be sure. Once I was sure no one was following me, I sat down to count how much I had 'made'. Not enough.

I looked out over the rooftops and admired the view. It was kinda strangely nice, seeing the sunlight streaming through the smoke rising from the busy city below. The sky was turning orange and I needed to get back home. So, I made my way back, careful to not run into any trouble. 

Elmer's POV

I had barely seen Emmeline in 5 months. I saw her about every 3 weeks, but it wasn't enough. I wanted to see her smile again, her eyes, her hair. I wanted to hear her laugh and I just wanted to ask her how she was. To be honest, I kinda have a crush on her, despite barely seeing her.

"Extra! Extra! Fire in The Bronx kills hundreds! Extra! Extra!" I called out. 
"Pape mister?" I asked a kind looking gent. He gave me a dime and strolled off. None of what I said was true, so to be sure he didn't give it back to me, I bolted round the street corner and down the street. The sky was turning orange and I needed to get back to the Lodging House. Just as I ran down past Jay Street, I ran into someone. They looked very familiar.

"Emmeline?!"

"Elmer!" She exclaimed. Wow. 'She's even more beautiful than I remember!' I thought as I looked at her. She was dressed in some very tatty brown trousers, a thin shirt and an overshirt that had about 20 holes in it. She was thin and dirty and had her pretty hair tied back with a dirty rag. She looked a lot sadder than when I first met her, at the Brooklyn Docks.

"How are you?" I asked. She avoided answering my question with any detail. Her eyes darted from side to side and she fiddled with the hem of the overshirt.

"Uhh. Good thanks. You?" She said quickly.

"Fine. It's nice to see ya again." I replied.

Emmeline's POV

I ran right round the corner and straight into...

"Emmeline?!" He exclaimed.

"Elmer!" I was so shocked! I hadn't seen him in at least 3 weeks, and it was too long. But I didn't want my parents finding him and hurting him. I wouldn't ever forgive myself if Elmer got hurt because of me. My eyes darted from side to side, trying to see if there was anyone around. My father has spies that make sure I come home everyday. And they make sure I don't talk to anyone. If they saw me talking to Elmer, they would soak him after I left. I learnt that the hard way.