Out of a Dream
by: Seven of Nine
Bumlets gave out a long, loud yawn. It was too early for him to get up, and it was still a little dark outside. Why can’t I get back to sleep? He wondered. He closed his eyes once more and this time he fell asleep. Before long, he began to have a dream.
He saw a girl swinging on a swing, and sunlight shone everywhere. When he looked at the girl, he couldn’t breathe. She had short, brown hair; gentle hazel eyes and was one of prettiest girls he had ever seen.
“Come on boys! It’s time to wake up!” Kloppman shouted.
The girl disappeared. Bumlets moaned and opened his eyes again. Kloppman was going around the room waking newsies up, and some of the newsies that were up were heading for the washroom. He threw his covers off, and headed for the washroom.
He changed and headed for Newspaper Row with the rest of the newsies. He took sixty newspapers and started calling out the headlines. When he was finished, he headed back to the lodging house to rest for the remainder if the day. He read a little bit, but after a while, he became bored.
Why can’t I have something more exciting to do? He asked himself. Days are so dull now. I just wish winter would pass so we could go swimming or something. I wish that I could have something really exciting to do.
* * *
Bumlets was stuck reading again the next day. Soon, he got bored and decided to head downstairs and warm up by the fireplace. There were bound to be some newsies down there talking about stuff he liked. He put his book down and headed down the stairs. When he reached the foot of the stairs, he found Mush, Blink and Skittery talking.
“Yeah, I hoid Race lost all ‘is money at the tracks taday.” Said Mush.
“I don’t get it. He’s gotta go down there and lose all his money ta find somethin’ interesting to do.” Said Blink.
“Hi guys.” Bumlets popped in.
“Hey Bumlets.” Skittery said. “What’s up?”
“Nutthin’ really. Mind if I join you?”
“Sure. We’s just talkin’ about Race losin’ his money. Can you believe that? He’s such a gambler.”
“I know, but at least it’s something to keep him going. I’m bored out of my mind here.”
“You said it, brother.” Said Mush. “I tried reading and I lost my mind. I hate this time of year.”
“Especially since Christmas came and went.” Said Blink. “It was here real quick, then it left as soon as it came.”
The door flew open and Jack stepped in. He shivered a little bit but made his way to the fireplace.
“Hear from Sarah?” Skittery asked.
Sarah had gone off to college that year. She wrote Jack whenever she had the time, and Jack had plenty of time to write her back.
“Yep, an’ ya know what’s funny?” Jack asked. “When I went ta pick up me letter, the clerk said dat some guy named Scott Wallace or somethin’ like that got a letter, and it was addressed here.”
Bumlets froze. No one’s called me by my real name in a long time, he thought. But I’m an orphan; who’d send me a letter? He pulled his coat on.
“Hey guys, I just thought a somethin’ ta do, so I’m leaving now. See ya.”
The guys waved and Bumlets took off for the post office. He ran so fast that he was sweating by the time he got there. He rushed up to the front desk and nearly plowed into it.
“Is there anything for someone named Scott Wallace?” he panted.
The clerk nodded. “Yes, one second please.”
Bumlets tried to breathe slowly, but it took him a while. A minute went by and the clerk returned. He gave him the letter and Bumlets headed for the lodging house. When he arrived, he ran past the boys downstairs and up to the bunkroom where there weren’t very many newsies.
He plopped down on his bunk and tore the envelope open. He pulled the letter out and a faint scent of roses came out with it. Confused, he opened the letter and started to read. It said:
“Dear Scott, my name is Elaine Taylor, but everyone calls me Seven of Nine. I have a friend who said they knew you, and they told me a lot about you. I asked them for your address and I decided to start writing to you. I like to sing, dance and swim, and I also like to write. If you got this letter, I’d like to hear more about you, if you like. Please write back, but if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. Sincerely, Elaine Taylor.”
Bumlets put the letter down. Who’d tell a girl about me? He wondered. Oh well, I guess I can ask her, and maybe she’ll give me something to do on boring days. He picked up the envelope and read the return address. Elaine was from Pennsylvania, so he guessed he could write her back.
Heading downstairs, he went to Kloppman and asked a piece of paper and an envelope. Kloppman gave him what he wanted and he headed back upstairs to write his letter.
* * *
A week went by since Bumlets had sent his letter. He was a little nervous, for it was a girl he was writing, and he wasn’t exactly sure how to talk to one. When he finished selling his papers, he went to the post office to see if Elaine wrote back. To his surprise, she did.
He ran to the lodging house to read her letter but almost tripped over a dog on the way. He ran up the stairs, plopped onto his bunk and pulled the letter out. Once again, a faint smell of roses came out with it.
“Dear Scott, I got your letter. I do want to continue writing to you, as long as we never meet.”
Bumlets was a little shocked, but he didn’t mind. He finished the rest of the letter and smiled. I like this girl, he thought. Too bad we can’t meet each other.
“Hey Bumlets! Come back to earth!”
Bumlets looked up and saw Dutchy standing there. He was looking at the letter in his hands.
“Ooh, seein’ a goyl, are ya?” he asked.
Bumlets shook his head. “No, a girl just wrote me, and she said that she knows someone who knows me. I don’t have a clue who she’d know.”
“Where does she live?”
“She says that she’s going to a college in Pennsylvania.”
“Ya know, Sarah’s goin’ ta college in the same state.”
“Well why would she bring up someone like me?”
“It surprises me too.” Dutchy said sarcastically.
Bumlets grabbed his pillow and whacked Dutchy in the face with it.
“Ya bum!”
Dutchy got up, dusted himself off and headed for the stairs. Bumlets could see a little smirk on his face, and he had the feeling he would tell the rest of the newsies.
“Hey Dutchy!” he shouted. “Ya tell anyone an’ I’ll soak ya!”
Dutchy just laughed and ran down the stairs before Bumlets chucked his pillow at him.
* * *
That night, Bumlets had another dream with that girl in it. She was swinging on the swing again, and he was standing by the tree the swing was on and watching her. When the girl stopped swinging, she looked at him and smiled.
“EVERYBODY UP!”
“Arrrrggggg!” Bumlets muttered under his breath.
This was the second time Kloppman had ruined it for him. He threw his covers off and headed for the washroom. He couldn’t get that girl out of his mind, but he was angry that Kloppman had to ruin it.
After he changed and headed for Newspaper Row, he thought of Elaine. I wonder if that’s what she looks like, he thought, but she doesn’t want us to meet.
* * *
Nine months went by. Bumlets had been writing Elaine for a long time, and her letters always made him happy. Now, he was beginning to fall in love with her. Cheese, he thought, I’m in love with a girl I’ve never met, but I know almost everything about.
That day, he decided that he had to tell Elaine how he felt about her, and that he wanted to meet her sometime. He pulled out a piece of paper and began to write.
“Dear Elaine,” he wrote, “I know we decided that we would never meet, but I need to confess something. I have fallen in love with you. Your letters have always made me happy, and I feel like I know everything about you. As I said, we’ve decided that we’d never meet, but I just want to meet you. I know you so well but I want to talk with you face to face. If you don’t want to meet, that’s fine with me, but please tell me how you feel. Love, Scott.”
He stuck the letter in the envelope and headed down the stairs, running into Twilight, the newest newsie and the first girl newsie in Manhattan.
“Oops! Sorry.” He apologized.
“Hey, it’s okay. What’s the rush?”
“I gotta ask Kloppman for a stamp and send something off.”
“Okie-dokie. See ya later.”
Bumlets continued down the stairs. Kloppman gave him the stamp that he needed and headed for the post office. He handed the clerk his letter and headed back for the lodging house.
As he got closer, he began to remember the dreams he had a few months ago with the girl on the swing. It would be neat if that was her, he thought. But, there’s probably no way one this earth that’ll happen.
* * *
A week passed and Bumlets was heading for the post office. I wonder how she feels about me, he wondered. He arrived and asked the clerk if he had gotten anything. The clerk nodded and handed him his letter. Bumlets thanked the clerk and headed outside.
He didn’t want to wait till he got home to read it, so he sat down on a bench and tore the envelope. As usual, there was a faint smell of roses when he pulled the letter out. He opened it up and began to read.
“Dear Scott, I have something to confess too. I’ve also fallen in love with you, and I’ve also changed my mind about us not meeting. At three I’m heading for New York to visit someone, so I guess I can meet you. Meet me four days from now at the George Washington Train Station. I’ll be the woman with the yellow rose. Love, Elaine.”
Bumlets smiled. Out of all the letters he had received, this one had to be his favorite. I can’t believe she feels the same way about me! He thought. This is great! Just then, something popped into his mind.
Wait a second! What if I meet her and she’s not what I think she is? I don’t care, I fell in love with her heart. But what can I wear? Bumlets smiled again. This was a job for Twilight.
* * *
“Hey Twilight!”
Twilight looked up from her book. Specs was sitting next to her, reading along with her and he looked up too.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“I gotta favor ta ask ya.”
Twilight handed the book to Specs. “Here, you keep reading. I’ve read this already.”
Specs nodded and took the book. Twilight got up and walked over to Bumlets.
“So, what’s the emergency?”
“Remember that I told you that I have a pen-pal?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I’m gonna meet ‘er an’ I was wondering if you could steal something nice from your aunt. Doesn’t she have yer pop’s old clothes?”
Twilight bit her lip. “Yeah but I gotta go when she’s not at home. If she caught me there she’d lock me up and I’d never see my Specs again.”
“Would you quit about Specs? We’re all yer friends.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll see what I can do.”
* * *
The next day, Twilight came back carrying a sack. She walked up to Bumlets and dropped it on his lap.
“There ya go.” She said breathlessly. “My aunt came home just when I was leaving.”
Bumlets took the sack. “Thanks.”
He opened it up and pulled out a yellow shirt. He didn’t like the tone of the color, so he frowned.
“Hey Twilight! Yellow ain’t my color.”
“Live with it, okay? Just try the stuff on and see if it fits.”
Bumlets sighed and headed for the washroom. He changed into the clothes and they fit perfectly, but he still hated the color of the shirt. He stepped out of the dressing stall and found Twilight and Specs standing outside.
“Twilight, I feel like a banana.”
“Actually, you look more like a lemon.” Said Specs.
“So you don’t like it?” Twilight asked.
“No.”
“Well, I have a pink dress that might look cute on you.”
“I think I’ll stick with this.”
“Good choice, Bumlets.” Specs spoke up. “Although, I think you’d look pretty cute in her little pink dress.”
Bumlets frowned and took a step toward Specs, but Twilight stopped him.
“Ya do anything to him and you’ll hafta meet ‘er in yer regular clothes.”
Bumlets stopped and breathed. “Oh okay. But when this is all over, remind me to soak ‘im.”
* * *
Bumlets couldn’t sleep. Today he was going to meet Elaine, and he was very nervous. When he finally fell asleep, he saw that girl again. She was walking down the street, and buying a white rose. Bumlets watched as she buried her nose into the rose’s sweet fragrance.
He smiled, but then he heard Kloppman’s footsteps coming up the stairs. He opened his eyes and waited for him to come and wake the boys up. The train from Pennsylvania didn’t arrive till noon, so he planned on buying at least thirty papers and then come back to change.
When Kloppman woke everyone up, he changed quickly and ran to Newspaper Row. He bought his thirty papes and sold them all before twelve. When he was finished, he ran back to the lodging house and changed into the clothes that Twilight let him borrow.
He felt awkward as he walked down the street wearing that yellow shirt, but he didn’t mind. Finally, he arrived at the train station, and the train from Pennsylvania arrived. Bumlets took a deep breath and got ready.
“Don’t turn back.” he whispered.
He walked toward the train and found many people getting off. He looked for a woman around his age carrying a yellow rose in her hand. He watched, then a young woman emerged from the crowd, and Bumlets gasped. It was the girl he had seen in his dreams.
“Oh my Lord.” He breathed.
She was wearing a long, red dress, half of her short, brown hair was pulled back, leaving the second half hanging just above her shoulders. Her hazel eyes shone, and she had a gorgeous smile. She seemed perfect, but she didn’t have the yellow rose in her hand.
Bumlets kept looking for the rose, then something else caught his eye. He saw an old woman standing near a car. She wore her gray hair up in a tiny bun and wore large, wire-rimmed glasses. The dress she wore was a fine brown, and in her hand was the yellow rose.
I fell in love with an old woman? Bumlets thought, I can’t believe it! He saw the girl in the red dress getting closer. Why don’t I go for her? He thought. She’s young, around my age and beautiful. She’s just about anything I’d want in a woman.
Then, his thoughts changed. Wait a minute, he pondered. I fell in love with this old woman’s heart. I didn’t fall in love with her looks. He took another breath and started to walk toward the old woman.
The girl in the red dress had almost reached his now. As she got closer, he began to have second thoughts. When she reached him, he could smell gardenias, and she gave him a gorgeous smile.
Bumlets squirmed a bit and watched her out of the corner of his eye. He looked at the old woman once more. He suddenly got the urge to turn around.
“Scott, you stupid idiot!” he muttered under his breath. “I fell in love with her heart, and I don’t care if she’s old or not.”
Pulling out a smile, he forgot about the girl in the red dress. He picked up speed and walked over to the old lady, who was standing there patiently. He gently tapped the old woman on the shoulder, and she turned around and looked at him.
“Yes?” she asked.
“Are you Elaine Taylor, the woman with the yellow rose I’m supposed to meet?”
The old woman chuckled and shook her head. “Why no, this isn’t my rose. The girl with the red dress asked me to hold it for her.”
Bumlets’ eyes popped open and his jaw dropped. “You mean…” he stuttered.
The old woman smiled and handed him the rose. “She told me to give you this rose, and to tell you that she was going to the restaurant around the corner. She also told me to tell you that this was some kind of test.”