True Reflections

Ashley Morris slid into her room and leaned against her door. She exhaled. “Oh, Jonathon, where are you when I need you,” she whispered into the darkness of her spacious bedroom. She lit the lamp that was next to her bed. The room filled with the newly lit flame.

She walked over to her dresser and sat down. She stared into the mirror. Then she began to sing:

But she was now. She silently slipped through her french doors and onto the balcony. She hopped over the side with a little difficulty. Her feet instantly touched the ground since she was on the first floor. She began to run as fast as she could from her home in Queens. Her tears blinded her and she continually bumped into people. A lot of people were out which surprised her since it was quite late. She finally realized she was out of breath and stopped. She silently slipped into an alley and curled up. She sobbed silently until she fell asleep, and she stayed in that alley for weeks.

Spot whistled as he sauntered to his selling spot. He would every once in a while hawk a headline and sell a pape or two, but he wasn’t rushed; he had all day to sell. He passed an alley and saw a flash of white. Ordinarily he would just keep walking, but today he became curious. He walked into the alley and saw the figure of a girl curled up in a ball. He looked at her shiny brown hair and soft features as well as her fancy white dress that was dirty and that encircled her small, frail body. He poked her gently, and her eyes fluttered open. He peered into her deep blue eyes that were full of pain and had a lost and scared look to them. He could see his reflection in her large eyes. He smiled and helped her up. She smiled weakly as she brushed off her dress.

“Hiya!” Spot greeted, tipping his hat.

“Hi,” she said weakly.

“Uh, can I help you?” he asked, searching her eyes for an explanation.

“Well, uh..” she began. She tried to take a step forward but collapsed. Spot caught her.

“I think ya need some food,” he said. He let her lean on him as he led her to a nearby restraunt.

He brought her inside, and they sat down at a booth. The waitor brought them some menus as he looked disgustingly at Spot’s raggy clothes and Ashley’s sickly body. “So, whad do ya want?” he asked.

“Um, can ya afford a roast beef sandwhich?” she asked meekly, staring into his deep blue eyes. He nodded and motioned for the waitor. He walked over and took the order.

“So, whad’s yer name?” he asked.

“Ashley, Ashley Morris,” she said.

“Morris? Are ya related ta Kid Blink from Manhattan?” he asked.

“No, I don’t know a ‘Kid Blink,’" she replied. Spot smiled to himself. He knew she must be; her eyes were practically the same as his, and she wouldn’t know what his name would be. “What’s your name?” she asked.

“My names Spot Conlon, and I’m da leada of da Brooklyn Newsboys,” he explained.

“You and ‘Kid Blink’ sure have odd names," she muttered.

He laughed. “No, those are our nick names. We use em so da Bulls can’t find us,” he said.

“Oh,” was all she could say. She still looked completely confused, and Spot laughed again.

“The bulls are the cops. A lot of us are in trouble wid dem,” he said. Her eyes widened a little but then they went back to normal.

“So, ya gotta place ta stay?” he asked. She shook her head. Just then the waitor brought her sandwhich, and she began to gulp it down. He just watched her with amusement. When she finished, he escorted her outside. “Well, there are plenty of lodging houses around New York that you could stay in. Dere is one in Brooklyn, but most of da goils dere ain’t too nice in my opinion. Dey gots one in Manhattan, but dere full. Da Bronx is full. Midtown’s full. I’ll take ya ta Queens. Most of 'em are pretty nice there." She smiled. Now that she had some food in her, she wasn’t quite as dependant on him.

Spot smiled and glanced at the girl next to him. She wasn’t as pretty as his girl Lily. But, then again, in his opinion, no one was. “Come ta think of it, I think I’ll introduce ya ta some people in Manhattan,” Spot said.

“Ok, lead the way!” she said cheerfully. He smiled and headed toward Manhattan.

“So, whad brought ya heah?” he asked.

She hesitated but then decided that she could tell him. “Well, my family is rich. An' let me tell ya, it's not all dat it's cracked up ta be. See, me brother Jonathon, actually he’s my twin brother, he ran away a long time ago. We don’t look very much alike, except for our eyes. Well my eyes, his eye. I imagine his left eye isn’t what it used ta be by now. Anyways, ya see, ta be rich an be a goil is tough. Ya don’t git ta have an opinion. Yer job is ta sit dere an look beautiful. It really annoyed me, so I left. I’m hopin I can find Jonathon. He means the woild ta me, and he’s the only one who cares about me,” she explained.

Spot noticed that she had picked up the newsies' accent a little. “That’s not true; I care about ya,” he said with a small grin.

“Ya do?” she asked, smiling.

“Yeah, I do, and ya’ll find a lot more people who’ll care bout ya. Not jist in Queens, but all ova,” he replied. She sighed and smiled, this was the beginning to a beautiful friendship.

When they finally reached Manhattan, everyone was at Tibby’s for their lunch break. Spot held the door open for her, and she walked in timidly. All of the newsies looked up and smiled. They greeted Spot and asked who his friend was. “Oh, uh…” He glanced at her and quick thought of a name for her. “This is Reflections,” he said, gesturing towards her.

One girl stood up and spit on her hand, she held it out. Ashley, now known as Reflections, took it and smiled. “I’m Lily,” the girl said.

“She’s me goil,” Spot whispered in her ear. Reflections grinned.

Kid Blink finally looked up from his poker game with Race to see who the new girl was. He pushed his way through the crowd. “Ashley!?” he yelled.

Reflections perked up at the sound of her real name. Then she saw him. “Jonathon?!” she shouted. Kid Blink ran up to her and twirled her around. They hugged while everyone in the room stared, and Spot grinned.

“Fellas, ladies, I’d like ya ta meet me twin sista,” he said, proudly putting his arm around her shoulders. Everyone greeted her, and she soon felt very comfortable. Most of the girls were nice and almost all of the boys were.

Just then a tall, handsome boy walked in. He was slender with lean muscles and had dirty blonde hair. His eyes were the darkest brown Reflections had ever seen. She practically melted.

Spot saw this and grinned. "Hey, Ben?” he asked.

Ben smiled and walked over. “Yeah, whad can I do for ya, Spot?” he asked.

“Well, I gots a new goil dat is gonna stay in Queens. Could ya take er dere an show her around? Since ya live dere an' all,” he asked, gesturing at Reflections.

“Sure,” Ben said while he stared at the girl that Spot was gesturing to. Reflections slid out of Kid Blinks grasp and slid under Ben’s arm.

“I’ll see ya lata, Bro,” she mumbled, not taking her eyes off Ben. Kid Blink chuckled. It didn’t surprise him one bit that she had already found a boy, after all, she’d been a charmer all her life.

Reflections and Ben didn’t take their eyes off each other once the whole way to Queens. Once they got there, Ben took her to the Lodging house and walked inside. He looked up and saw that Birdie, Dancer, Leaper, and Screech Owl were there. “Hey, goils. Spot has found yas a new goil. Dis heah is Reflections,” he said.

They all looked up. Everyone smiled except for Fire; she scowled. “Dis heah is Birdie Kelley and Faith Montgomery.” He introduced each while pointing to them. “Well, I’ll see ya lata,” Ben whispered in her ear then softly brushed his lips on her cheek. She blushed.

When he left, Birdie walked over to her. “Heya! As ya know, my name’s Birdie Kelley, ‘n’ I’m the leadah a these Queens girls. C’mon up; I’ll show ya yer bunk, ‘n’ ya can meet the rest of da girls,” she said cheerfully.

Reflections was introduced to the rest of the girls, and they chatted for awhile. Then it was time to go to bed, but Reflections couldn’t sleep. She got up and walked into the washroom. She stared at her reflection and smiled. She finally had a real home, a real family, and she truly saw what was in her heart in her reflection.

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The Pasts

Lilah Stevenson

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