Behind the Eyes By Seven of Nine

Heidi sat on her bed, looking out the window and watching her older sister Becky with her boyfriend, Bobby. Heidi heaved a sigh. She was secretly in love with Bobby, but it wasn’t fair that Becky got him. Becky had hardly any talents, but she had good looks and a great body. Heidi was also a fair sight, but no one noticed her when she was with Becky.

I wish Kyle were here, she thought. Kyle was her best friend, but he had run away and told her that he was going to Brooklyn. That was six months ago, and Heidi missed him terribly.

When her gaze returned to her sister, she saw Bobby kissing her goodbye and leaving. Heidi smiled a little bit. Her parents didn’t trust Becky with Bobby, but they had much more trust in their younger daughter. A few minutes later, Becky came in, and she plopped down on her bed.

“How’d it go?” Heidi asked.

“Wonderful, as usual. Too bad you don’t have a boyfriend. If you did, you’d be as happy as me right now.”

“Becky, I don’t know how to say this, but I don’t think that you and Bobby should see each other anymore.”

Becky sat up. “What do you mean?”

“I mean you guys have almost nothing in common. Bobby’s an orphan, and we have both our parents who are filthy rich. Secondly, Bobby is a great liar and he can really act. You don’t have either of those. There’s just too little you have in common.”

Becky started to cry. “You are such a brat! You just don’t like Bobby, that’s what! I’m going to tell mother and father on you!”

Becky stormed out of the room. Heidi gave a short smile. Her parents had been meaning to talk with Becky about Bobby, and now they were going to make her break up with him. Heidi pulled out a book and began to read. Ten minutes later, Becky came into the room, flung herself on her bed and sobbed.

“Why’d you hafta say all that horrid stuff? Mother and father are making me break up with him now! It’s just not fair!”

Becky didn’t notice the smile on Heidi’s face. Great! She thought. After Becky breaks up with him, I can go for him! Heidi chuckled to herself, but little did she know what the side affects would be.

* * *


Heidi opened her eyes. It had been a month since she had left New Jersey, and plenty of things had happened in that short period of time. Becky slit her wrists because she didn’t want to break up with Bobby.

Then, Bobby realized what had happened with her and he killed Heidi’s parents and stole almost all their money. Heidi had escaped Bobby’s wrath with only ten dollars and a few possessions.

She was in New York now, and she was heading for Brooklyn to find Kyle. Fog rolled across the Brooklyn Bridge, but a ray of sunlight peeped through, giving Heidi a way to see through the fog. When she reached the other side of the bridge, she saw two newsboys calling out the headline.

“Buy a pape, miss?” one asked.

Heidi shook her head. “No thank you. Could you tell me where Kyle Conlon is? I really need to speak with him.”

The second newsie looked surprised. “Spot? Youse lookin’ fer Spot? Follow us. ‘E’s in charge a all the newsies here!”

Wow, Kyle really moved up in the world, Heidi thought. She followed the two boys to a dock not too far away. Some boys were jumping off into the water since it was getting warmer outside, but at the end of the dock, Heidi could see a boy shooting glass bottles with his slingshot. One of the boys ran ahead to him and pulled him back. When they boy arrived, he face lit up.

“Heidi!” he exclaimed.

Heidi ran to Spot and hugged him. “Oh Kyle, I’ve missed you so much!” she exclaimed.

“Me too. Say, what’re you doing here?”

Heidi sighed. “It’s a long story, and I gotta tell you alone.”

Spot nodded and the two walked away from the dock. When they were alone, Heidi poured out the whole story, on how she developed a crush on Bobby, how she tricked Becky, and what had happened next. Heidi was in tears when she got to the last part.

“So now I’m here, and I’m scared of what Bobby might do. Do you think I could stay here and be a newsie with the rest of you?”

Spot sighed. “I dunno. There aren’t very many goyl newsies, but I’ll hafta ask the guys first. Just wait ‘ere an’ I’ll ask the guys first.”

Heidi nodded and Spot walked off. A few minutes later, Spot returned, but he didn’t look too happy.

“I ast the guys, but they said that they didn’t wanna goyl newsie cuz youse can get hoit an’ we don’t have enough room fer you to stay in our lodging house.”

Heidi hung her head. “Where else can I go?”

Spot thought for a minute. “Hey! I know! Manhattan’s got plenty a room fer ya! Come on, I’ll take ya there and we can see if Jacky-boy’ll let ya stay.”

Heidi nodded and they headed for Manhattan. When they arrived, Heidi saw two newsies; one with a patch over his left eye and the other had curly, brown hair.

“Hey Spot! What’re ya doin’ here so early?” the kid with the eye patch asked.

“Got somethin’ ta ask Jacky-boy. Ya know where ‘e is?”

The boy with the curly hair nodded. “Yep. ‘E’s over at the lodging house taday. ‘E said ‘e wasn’t feelin’ too good.”

“Thanks Mush. See ya later, Blink.”

Both newsies looked at Heidi and wondered why Spot was bringing her. They thought that he was going steady with another girl at the time. Heidi followed Spot to a lodging house. When they arrived, Spot led her up some stairs and she found two boys sitting at a table and talking.

“Hey Cowboy!” Spot shouted.

The taller boy with brown hair and hazel eyes stood up. “Hey Spot! Yer early taday.”

“I know.” He pulled Heidi to his side. “Dis here’s Heidi, my old best friend.”

Jack held his hand out to Heidi. “Name’s Jack Kelley, an’ this here’s Davey, me walkin’ mouth.”

Heidi shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Jack, Heidi wants ta be a newsie, but we can’t take anymore newsies. Do ya think youse can take ‘er?”

Jack scratched his head. “Well, I dunno. We neva had any goyl newsies before, but there’s gotta be a first time for everything. I dunno how the other newsies are gonna take it.”

“It’s okay, Jack.” Said Heidi. “Spot’s my best friend, so as long as I’m near him it’ll be fine. So, can I stay?”

“I wouldn’t mind if she stayed.” David spoke up. “Hey, this place has always been dull.”

Heidi flashed David a smile. “Thank you.”

“Well, I guess she can stay.” Said Jack.

“Thanks Jack.” Said Spot. “I owe you.”

* * *


“Everybody up!” Kloppman shouted.

Heidi was so stunned that she tumbled off her bunk onto the floor with a thud.

“Ow.” She moaned.

She got up and headed for the washroom. She felt a little awkward since she was the only girl there, but she was sure she’d fit in. When she headed for the stairs, Jack stopped her.

“Hey Heidi.” He said. “Heard ya woke up with a thud.”

Heidi rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t expecting Kloppman to be so startling when he woke us up.”

“Well, that’s not what I need ta talk to ya about. Since yer a newsie, ya gotta have a nickname. All of us goes by nicknames here.”

“Just call me Seven of Nine, okay?”

“Okay, but why?”

“It’s the first thing that came to mind, but call me Seven for short.”

“All right.”

Seven smiled and headed down the stairs and followed the newsies to Newspaper Row. When they arrived, Seven pulled some money out and watched the boys in front of her. When she stepped up, she put two bits on the counter.

“Fifty papes please.”

Fifty newspapers landed on the counter. Seven took her papers and followed Jack down the platform.

“So Jack, are you gonna give me lessons?”

“If ya wanna, but the foyst thing ya gotta do is develop a New York accent.”

“What’s wrong with the way I talk?”

“Nothin’! You just gotta loin to talk like us.”

“Okay. So, are we gonna sell papes or what?”

* * *


A month had gone by since Seven became a newsie. So far, the only friends she had were David, Crutchy, Les, Snipeshooter and Boots. She couldn’t understand why no one else seemed to like her. Every day she’d go to see Spot, and he seemed upset about the same thing.

That night, Seven couldn’t sleep for some reason. She tossed and turned, but after a few hours she finally got to sleep. She slept peacefully, then she had a dream.

She dreamed that she was on the Brooklyn Bridge, waiting for Spot when she saw a figure coming towards her. Thinking it was Spot, she made her way over to him. But when she got close enough, she saw that it wasn’t Spot. Instead, it was Bobby.

“Nice to see you again, Heidi.” He said.

Seven froze with fear. It seemed to her like this was reality, not a dream.

“Guess what, Heidi?” Bobby asked. “I’m gonna kill you, and you’re gonna wish you’d never lived.”

Seven opened her eyes and lurched up. She breathed hard, and Bobby’s voice haunted her mind. She threw her covers off and headed for the fire escape. A cool breeze blew, but Seven sat on the fire escape and thought of what she had done to Becky. Why’d I do it? She asked herself. What I did was totally unfair.

“Seven? What’re you doing out here?”

Seven turned and saw Crutchy looking in the window. “Oh, hi Crutchy. I was just thinking.”

“’Bout what?”

“Something I did, which I shouldn’t have.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“No thanks.”

“Okay, but if you wanna talk with somebody about it, I’ll listen.”

Seven smiled. “You’re real sweet, Crutchy. I’m glad you’re my friend.”

* * *


Seven shoved the money she had made and headed for Brooklyn. She had to talk to Spot, and the sooner the better, she thought. She found Spot waiting on the bridge for her, and she was sure it wasn’t Bobby. She rushed over to him and hugged him.

“What’s wrong, Heidi? Youse neva been like this before.”

Seven looked up at him. “Sorry, but I had a dream last night, and I gotta talk to you about it.”

Spot nodded and Seven told him her dream. “It scares me Spot. For the first time I feel like Bobby’s gonna hunt me down and try to kill me like he did my parents.”

“Don’t worry. If he comes by I’ll be with ya.”

“Thanks Spot. But, I have another problem.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s the newsies. I don’t think they like me.”

“What gives you that idea?”

“The only newsies I can get along with are David, Crutchy, Les, Boots and Snipeshooter. All the others seem to ignore me at all costs.”

“Oh Heidi, they like you plenty. It’s just that they’re not used to having a girl for a newsie. I know just about everything that goes on in Manhattan, and if anything happened to you everyone would be devastated.”

“Yeah right. And I’m the queen of England.”

“Have I ever lied to you?”

“No, but there’s a first time for everything.”

“What would you say if I told you that five guys got a crush on you, and they aren’t the ones you’re friends with?”

“I’d say, ‘in your dreams, Spot.’ I’m sorry, but I know they don’t like me. I wish I could be with you.”

“Don’t say that. The Manhattan newsies need you more than I do.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Thanks Kyle. I gotta head back to Manhattan now, but if anything happens with Bobby involved, I’m coming straight to you.”

“Okay. See ya later.”

Spot patted her shoulder and she headed back to the lodging house. She ran up the stairs, nearly tripping over a stair with someone’s shoe on it. She continued up the stairs and found something on her bunk. She ran to her bunk and found an envelope on it. She opened it and pulled a letter out. It said:

“Dear Heidi, SURPRISE! I’m back, and I’m gonna kill you!”

Seven gasped. She knew she had to tell Spot as soon as possible. She put the letter in her pocket and rushed out of the lodging house. When she got closer to Brooklyn, she could hear someone calling her name.

She didn’t stop running or look back to see who it was. When she reached the bridge, she felt someone grab her arm and pull her around. It was David.

“Seven, what’s going on?” he demanded.

“You wouldn’t understand. Now let me go, I gotta get to Spot.”

“Heidi!”

Seven turned and saw Spot running towards her. She pulled away from David and met Spot.

“Heidi, what’s wrong?” Spot asked.

Seven pulled the letter out of her pocket and handed it to Spot. Spot read it and his eyes grew wide.

“Oh my gosh!” he exclaimed.

Seven breathed. “It was there when I got back.”

“What’s going on?” David demanded.

“Go away, David. This is something between me and Spot.”

“I’m not gonna leave until you tell me what’s going on.”

“She doesn’t want you to hear it, Davey.” Spot snapped.

“No, it’s okay Kyle. Someone else had to find out sooner or later.”

David looked at Seven. Seven looked at Spot, but she knew she needed to tell David what happened.

“A few months ago my sister killed herself because my parents wanted her to break up with her boyfriend. I had planned it because I wanted to have him to myself. Instead, he killed my parents, stole their money and I just barely escaped without getting hurt. Now, Bobby, my sister’s boyfriend, is here, and he wants to kill me.”

David looked at her in surprise. “Did you really do that?”

Seven looked at her feet. “Yes.”

“I’m gonna tell Jack.”

Seven looked up. “No! Don’t let Jack know! It’s me Bobby wants, and I don’t want to endanger anyone else besides you two.”

“He’s gonna come looking for us?” Spot asked.

“I don’t know! I don’t know what’s gonna happen!”

Seven looked close to tears. Spot gave her a hug and a look of understanding. Seven did her best not to cry, but she couldn’t hold back a few tears.

“It’s okay, Heidi.” Spot said.

David put his hand on Seven’s shoulder. “We’re not gonna let anything happen to you. We’re your friends, and we’re gonna stay by your side through all of this.”

Seven pulled away from Spot and smiled at David. “Thanks guys. You’re the best.”

Spot looked at Seven. “I think you should go back with David now. But from now on, I want you to go with somebody wherever you go. I wanna make sure yer safe. David, I want you ta stick with Seven at all times. Heidi, when David goes home, I want you to stay at the lodging house. Got it?”

Seven and David nodded. “Got it.” they said together.

Seven hugged Spot once more, then she and David headed back for Manhattan.

* * *


When David went home that night, Seven stayed on her bunk and read. She turned down several requests for poker and totally ignored anyone who came near. As it got later, more newsies came in.

After a while, Les came in and said that he wanted to talk with Seven. Seven was about to follow him down the stairs to talk to him when Pie Eater came in, and he was nursing a black eye.

“Run-in with the Delancys?” Jack asked.

Pie Eater shook his head. “No. Some guy came up an’ punched me fer no good reason. He only said that he was gettin’ his revenge on someone and he needed somebody to punch.”

Seven froze. It must’ve been Bobby, she thought. Why would he pick on somebody that doesn’t know the truth? She thought a little more. Because he doesn’t know yet, she finally concluded.

“Seven, I gotta talk with you.” Les told her.

“I’m sorry Les, I just blacked out for a moment.”

Seven followed Les down the stairs. When they reached the bottom. Seven sat down on a stair and Les began to talk.

“David told me that something was wrong, but I wanted you to know that if you wanted to tell me anything, I won’t repeat it.”

Seven smiled. “That’s very sweet of you, Les, but I can’t tell you what’s wrong. It would only put you in danger.”

Les looked surprised, but he shook his head. “Okay, I don’t wanna know now.”

Seven chuckled. “Yer cute Les. Just don’t tell anyone we had this talk, okay?”

“Okay.”

Les turned around and left. When he was gone, Seven walked up the stairs back to the bunkroom. She plopped on her bunk and went back to her reading, but she looked away from the pages to look around the room. She remembered what Spot had told her about five guys having crushes on her.

As her eyes scanned the room, she caught Race looking up at her once or twice, Bumlets catching a quick look at her, but that was it. Maybe Kyle was right, Seven thought, but sometimes he’s so smooth who knows what he’s thinking.

* * *


It was very hot the next day. So hot that Seven only bought forty papers to sell. She stayed by David until he was ready to go. It only took them a few hours to sell all their papers, and when they were done they headed back to the lodging house. As they made their way back, they walked through a crowd of people. When they were almost through, Seven noticed that David was nowhere near.

“David!” she shouted.

No answer. Seven began to panic. She rushed through the crowd, looking for David and calling his name. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her. She jumped a mile high and saw it was David.

“Don’t scare me like that!” she shouted.

“Sorry, but when we were separated I thought Bobby found you. I freaked too.”

Seven hugged David quickly but held his arm. “I wanna make sure we don’t get separated again.”

David nodded and they continued on their way. When they arrived at the lodging house, Seven found another letter on her bunk. Frozen with fear, she wouldn’t go anywhere near her bunk. David saw the envelope and he saw her freeze in fear. When he looked in her eyes, he saw that she was terrified.

“You want me to check it out?” he asked.

Seven nodded. David smiled quickly at her and headed for her bunk. He took the envelope, opened it and pulled the letter out. He unfolded the letter and read it. Before he was done reading, Seven rushed to him and ripped it out of his hand. She read it and her eyes grew wide. It read:

“I know how you felt about me, but now you know how I feel about you.”

Seven’s hands trembled and the letter dropped out of her hands. David looked at her and saw that she was beyond frightened. He picked up the letter and put it in his pocket.

“You wanna talk to Spot about this?” he asked.

Seven nodded vigorously. “Yes!”

David gently grabbed her arm and they headed down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, Seven stopped David when she saw Kloppman.

“Kloppman!” she shouted.

Kloppman looked up and her. “What’s wrong?”

“Did you see anyone who’s not a newsie come here?”

“No, why?”

Seven didn’t answer. She just grabbed David’s arm and they ran from the lodging house. They didn’t stop running until they reached Brooklyn. As usual, Spot was waiting for them.

“Spot!” David yelled.

Spot turned and saw the two Manhattan newsies running toward him. Seven broke out of David’s grip and hugged Spot.

“He paid me another visit.” She gasped.

Spot stroked her hair. “Don’t worry. I ain’t gonna let him do anything to you.”

Seven looked at David, whose facial expression showed he had an idea. He got closer to her and looked at Spot.

“Spot, you know that Sarah went to college this year, don’t you?”

“Yeah, why?”

“That leaves more room at our apartment. If I can talk my parents into it, she can stay with me.”

“That’s a good idea Dave.”

Seven looked at David. “But what about Jack? He’ll need a good explanation for my leaving.”

David looked at the ground. “Good point.”

“You could tell Jack that you’ve discovered that Heidi’s really yer cousin. It might work.”

“But I don’t lie.”

“It ain’t lying, it’s improving the truth.”

David chuckled and shook his head. “That’s more than improving the truth, but it might work.”

Seven smiled. “Thanks you guys. You really are the greatest.”

David took Seven’s hand. “Come on, I’ll get you to the lodging house and I’ll convince them to let you stay.”

“All right. Kyle, I’ll get a hold of you if anything goes wrong.”

“You do that. Now head back, we can’t waste any more time.”

Seven nodded and she and David headed back for Manhattan.

* * *


David barged through the apartment door, startling his mother, who was sewing.

“David, what have I told you about barging through the door like that?” Mrs. Jacobs demanded.

David just kissed his mother’s cheek. “Sorry mama, but I have something to ask you.”

Mrs. Jacobs put her sewing down. “What is it? It must be pretty important if you forgot not to barge through the door.”

“I told you about Seven, right? The girl newsie?”

“Yes, you’ve talked about her.”

“Well, right now she’s in trouble, and she can’t stay at the lodging house. Can she stay here?”

Mrs. Jacobs shrugged. “I don’t know. What kind of trouble is she in?”

“It’s a family matter.”

“Oh. Well, we need to wait till your father gets home. You’ll have to take it up with him.”

When she finished speaking, Mr. Jacobs came through the door with Les behind him.

“Hi papa.” Said David. “I need to talk to you.”

Mr. Jacobs sat down next to his wife and set his elbows on the table.

“And what’s that?” he asked.

“Well, the girl newsie, Seven of Nine, is in trouble and can’t stay at the lodging house. Can she stay here?”

“Ask your mother.”

“I just did. She said ask you.”

They looked over at Mrs. Jacobs, who frowned. “Don’t look at me! All right, she can stay.”

David got up and kissed his mother’s cheek again. “Thanks mom. You’re the best.”

* * *


Seven sat on her bed, waiting impatiently for David to get back. She pulled her book out and began to read, but she couldn’t concentrate. Finally, David came up the stairs and ran to Seven.

“You can stay.” He gasped.

Seven threw her arms around David and hugged him. “Thank you so much!”

David hugged her quickly, put pulled away. “You get packed and I’ll convince Jack that you’re my cousin.”

Seven nodded and David ran to Jack. Seven grabbed her clothes, her few possessions and her money and packed them in her pillowcase. A minute later, David came back and took her bag.

“Come on, my parents really want to meet you.”

Seven said goodbye to everyone and followed David. She took his hand once they were out of the lodging house because she didn’t want to loose him again. When they arrived at his apartment, the first thing Seven noticed was the smell. It smelled like chicken.

“Mama, papa, this is Seven.” Said David. “Seven, these are my parents, and you know Les already.”

Mr. Jacobs held his hand out to Seven. “Hello Seven. David’s told us a lot about you.”

Seven shook his hand. “Good things, I hope.”

Mr. Jacobs chuckled a little bit. David took Seven’s bag into the next room and returned when Mrs. Jacobs announced that dinner was ready. Seven sat down at the table and Mr. Jacobs prayed for the food.

When he said “amen,” Mrs. Jacobs came in with a boiling pot of chicken and dumplings. She dished some out to Seven first, then Les, David, Mr. Jacobs and finishing off with herself. It had been a while since Seven had a decent meal, and it tasted so good that she finished her meal last.

“So Seven, David told us that you were having some family trouble. Would you like to talk about it?” Mr. Jacobs asked.

Seven looked at David, then turned to Mr. Jacobs. “Not really. It’s kind of personal.”

“All right.”

Mrs. Jacobs came by and took Seven’s plate. For the rest of the night, Seven talked with the Jacobs about her experience with selling newspapers. They seemed more intrigued than she had expected. After a while, Mr. Jacobs pulled his pocket watch out and checked the time.

“My word, it’s time for you to head to bed. It’s past your bedtime.”

David and Les said goodnight to their parents and kissed their mother, and Seven also said goodnight and followed David to the room.

“You can have Sarah’s old bed.” He told her. “She won’t be back for a while, so you can use it for as long as you want.”

Seven smiled. “Thanks David. See ya in the morning.”

* * *


“Seven? Seven, its time to get up.”

Seven felt someone gently shaking her shoulder. She rolled over and found David leaning over her. She jumped up and looked surprised.

“Calm down, Seven! You’re at my house, remember?”

Seven sighed. “Yeah, but you scared me.”

“Sorry. Come on, we’ve gotta get breakfast and get ready for work.”

Seven nodded, grabbed her bag of clothes and headed for the washroom. She changed quickly and headed for the kitchen. A sweet aroma filled the air, making Seven’s mouth water.

“Good morning Seven.” Mrs. Jacobs said cheerfully.

“Morning Mrs. Jacobs.”

“I made up some pancakes. Do you like those?”

“Yes. I haven’t had any in a long time.”

Seven sat down next to David and Mrs. Jacobs brought a steaming plate of pancakes over and set it in front of them. Seven only took two because she didn’t want to overdo it, and she finished her breakfast quickly.

When David and Les were done, she grabbed her money and followed them to Newspaper Row. When she stepped up to the counter, she placed two bits and took fifty papers. Oscar Delancy slammed them on the counter, startling Seven.

“Heya ya go, tootsie.” He said slyly.

Seven shrugged and took her papers. She was about to head off the platform when she heard Oscar talking again.

“I met up with a friend of yours yesterday.”

Seven froze and whirled around. “Shut up, Oscar.”

“He said that he was gonna get you soon.”

“She said shut up, Oscar!” David snapped. He put his arm around Seven and led her down the platform. “Ignore him. He only wants to tick you off.”

Seven nodded and sat down. She pulled out one of the papers and read the headlines.

“Hey Seven,” Dutchy said.

Seven looked up at him. He was looking at her with a confused look on his face.

“What was Oscar talking abou-ow!”

Seven cut him off by grabbing his nose. She stood up and looked him straight in the eye.

“Dutchy, does it look like I’m in a good mood?”

“No.” Dutchy answered, sounding like he couldn’t breath.

Seven smiled. “Right. Keep that in mind.”

She moved her hand from his nose and slapped it with her other hand. Dutchy covered his nose with his hand and howled. All the newsies that saw began to snicker.

Seven couldn’t hide her smile, and even David began to laugh. When he stopped laughing, they walked away from the gates and started calling out the headlines.

* * *


A week had gone by since Seven had gone to stay with the Jacobs. Every day she had gone to Brooklyn to let Spot know that everything was going fine. Today, she was at their apartment by herself.

Les was staying at the lodging house over night, David had to talk with Jack for a little while, Mr. Jacobs was working late and Mrs. Jacobs had gone shopping and wouldn’t be back for another hour or two.

Seven was stitching up a hole in one of Les’ shirts and humming to herself when the door flew open and David stumbled in. He had a bruise on his face and he was gripping his side. Seven threw her sewing down when she saw him.

“David! What happened?” she exclaimed.

She rushed to him and let him lean on her. She helped him to the bedroom and set him down on his bed.

“What happened?” Seven asked again.

“I was coming home when I saw the Delancys talking with somebody. When I got closer, I heard the person say your name. I think it was Bobby.”

Seven gasped. “But how’d you get soaked?”

“After the guy left, I sneezed and Morris heard me. I tried to get away but I was too late. They were whipping me with a chain but I soaked them worse than they soaked me.”

“Are you gonna be okay?”

“I don’t know. My side’s been hurting, and…oh my gosh.”

David moved his hand from his side revealing a cut. Seven gasped again and leapt to her feet.

“Where does your mother keep her bandages?”

“In the cupboard above the stove.”

Seven ran out of the room and to the kitchen. She grabbed a bunch of bandages and a bottle of alcohol. She ran to the washroom and grabbed a rag. When she had all the things she needed, she went back the bedroom. David was pulling his shirt over his head when she arrived, and she saw that his cut was worse than she thought.

“I got the stuff, David.” She told him.

Seven sat down next to David, opened the bottle of alcohol and poured some on the rag.

“This is gonna hurt, but it’s gonna help.”

David frowned but let Seven do her stuff. She gently patted the alcohol-soaked rag on his wound and David cringed.

“Cheese girl, that hurts!”

“Do you want this to get infected or not?” Seven snapped. “Now shut up and let me finish!”

David sighed but let Seven finish. She often caught David showing signs of pain, but he didn’t say anything about it. When the wound was clean, she wrapped a bandage around it.

“Anything else that hurts?”

David didn’t have to answer that question. Seven found a few more cuts on his body. Grabbing the alcohol and rag she got ready to clean those.

“Oh no, you’re not gonna do it again, are you?”

“As I said, do you want these to get infected or not? Cheese, men are such babies.” Seven muttered the last part under her breath.

She started to dab his wounds, making sure that they were thoroughly clean. When she was on the last one, David couldn’t keep from shouting.

“Dang, that hurts! I feel like I’m on fire!” he shouted.

Seven dabbed it once more then threw the rag on the floor. She set the bottle down on the nightstand, put her hands on her hips and frowned.

“Well for Pete’s sake, where doesn’t it hurt?” she demanded.

David pointed to a spot under his eye. “Here! This is a place where I don’t hurt! You satisfied now?”

Seven just smiled and kissed the spot he had pointed to. David’s anger suddenly melted away.

“I guess this doesn’t hurt too bad.” He said, pointing to his unbruised cheek.

Seven kissed his cheek quickly. David looked at her when she drew back. She gave him a little smile.

“This right here doesn’t hurt.” He said, pointing to his lower lip.

Seven gave out a short chuckle and kissed him. David slowly slipped his arms around her and pulled her close. Several minutes later, Seven pulled back and smiled.

“Now that didn’t hurt too much, did it?”

David shook his head. “Maybe you should’ve done that before you used the alcohol.”

Seven snorted, grabbed his pillow and whacked his in the face with it. David fell back onto his bed and lay flat. Seven leaned over him and frowned.

“You’re not fooling me one bit, Davey. Now get up and put on a clean shirt before your mom comes home.”

* * *


After Seven and David finished selling their papers the next day, they headed for Brooklyn. Spot wasn’t there like he normally was, which confused Seven.

“Hey Seven, check this out.” Said David.

He leaned over the side of the bridge and screamed. Seven just watched him and couldn’t stop laughing. When David stopped, he looked up at Seven and beckoned her to come over.

“Come on, try it. It’s fun!”

Seven shrugged but leaned over the edge with David and screamed. When they stopped, the both of them started laughing.

“Are you two having fun?”

Seven turned to see Spot standing there. He had his hands on his hips but he was smiling.

“Yeah, we are. So, how’ve you been, Kyle? Hear anything about Bobby?”

Spot nodded. “Yeah. Yesterday he came in and soaked one a my newsies, trying to gather information ‘bout you. When he wouldn’t tell ‘im anything ‘e soaked ‘im.”

“Spot, he got the info he needed from the Delancy brothers.” Said David.

“How do you know?”

“Cuz I saw them talking with someone about her.”

Spot’s eyes grew wide. “If they think that Seven’s still at the lodging house he might go there next. You should go back and check on the guys.”

David nodded and he and Seven took off for the lodging house. When they arrived, they found a few newsies gathered around Snoddy, who had been soaked pretty bad.

“Jack? What happened?” David asked.

Jack looked at Seven and didn’t answer David’s question. “Seven, what’s goin’ on?”

Seven looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“The guy that soaked Snoddy was lookin’ fer you. Why?”

Seven looked at David. He looked at her and gave her a look that told her that she needed to tell him the truth. She sighed, then looked back at Jack.

“He’s trying to kill me, Jack.”

Jack stared at her in disbelief. “Why?”

“Because he’s a vengeful guy. I never noticed that until he killed my family.”

“Why would he kill your family?”

“Because my sister was his girl. She killed herself after my parents told her to break up with him. He got so angry that he decided to kill my family. I just barely escaped without getting hurt, but now that he’s found me he’s trying to kill me.”

All the newsies were looking at her now. Jack still couldn’t believe it.

“What’re you gonna do about it?” he asked.

“I know what to do, Jack. I know Bobby, and I know how to stop him. But only I know how, and I need to do it alone.”

* * *


That night after dinner, Seven sat in the bedroom, thinking about Bobby. She knew what he was like; a vengeful, hotheaded boy, but if you spoke softly to him he’d listen. She knew what his core was. After a while, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

The door opened and David came in. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her waist.

“Seven, I gotta ask, how do you plan on stopping Bobby?”

Seven looked up at him. “David, I’m the only person who’s known him for a long time. I’ve known him for years, and he doesn’t know me as well as he thinks he does.”

“Well, what’s he like, and what was it that made you fall in love with him?”

“To you he may seem like a revenge-obsessed young man, but he really isn’t. In fact, he’s one of the sweetest guys you could ever know. He’s fun to be around, and he’s the type of person who’ll listen to your problem. It’s what’s behind his eyes that really counts. That’s why I fell in love with him.”

“I need to ask again, how do you plan on stopping Bobby?”

“When I was little, my grandfather told me that a soft answer turns away wrath. It’s a verse from the Bible, and it’s one of my favorites. I know Bobby, and even when he’s at his angriest, you can still change his feelings by bringing up something he wants to hear but doesn’t know it. I’ve seen it done to him before, and I’m sure it’ll work again.”

“How do you plan on catching him?”

“I’m gonna sell in Central Park tomorrow. I’m gonna tell all the newsies where I am, and if someone gets soaked they can come and get me so I can talk to him.”

David smiled. “Sounds like it’ll work. That’s what I like about you. When you get a hold of something, you have enough faith to go with it.”

Seven looked at her feet. “Sometimes I have my doubts.”

“I do too, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Seven looked back up at David and smiled. “Thanks. I’m lucky to have a friend like you.”

David nodded. “Me too.”

Seven looked into his eyes. She could tell that he seemed a little hurt about her saying they were only friends. It’s behind the eyes that count, she reminded herself.

“David?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think our relationship is beyond friendship?”

“Why?”

“I can tell by your eyes. Remember what I said? It’s behind the eyes that really counts?”

David started to laugh. He pulled her a little closer and smiled.

“You astound me, Heidi. Well, I guess I can say our relationship is beyond friendship without feeling embarrassed.”

Seven slipped her arm around David and her smile grew wider. “I can honestly say the same thing too.”

David reached over and slipped his other arm around Seven. He held her for a moment, then he leaned down and kissed her. It’s behind the eyes that really counts, David thought. I gotta remember that.

* * *


A week had gone by and there was no sign of Bobby. Some of the newsies believed he was gone for good, but Seven and David knew he wasn’t. Seven had reported Bobby to the police and told them everything that he had done. Since she didn’t have a picture of him, she could only tell them his age, height and facial figures.

I shoulda done this earlier, she thought, but then again, I was too scared to tell anybody. When she and David left the police station, David saw Seven sigh heavily.

“Something wrong, Heidi?” he asked.

Seven nodded. “Yeah. Bobby’s just probably waiting to catch us when we’re least expecting it.”

“Well, you know him more than I do, so I guess all I can do is believe you.”

“If I know him correctly, he never attacks directly after he makes a death threat. He’ll make his move soon; I know it. And he will attack when he thinks we’re not expecting it.”

* * *


The next day, Seven kept what she had said the day before in her mind. She couldn’t forget it, no matter what happened. As the day went by, there was still no sign of Bobby. They had finished selling papers, and Seven told David that they should tell Spot what they came up with.

“Maybe we should check with the bulls to see if they found him first.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

Seven took David’s hand and they headed for the police station. They took a shortcut through an alley, thinking it was safe. When they turned down another alley, a stick popped out of nowhere, hitting Seven on the head.

She fell to the ground and closed her eyes. David panicked, and when he turned to see her attacker, he saw that he was just what Seven had explained how Bobby looked like.

“I feel really sorry for you.” Said Bobby.

“Why?” David asked.

“Two reasons. One, she’s yer goyl. Two, yer gonna die with ‘er.”

Before David could react, Bobby’s fist connected with his jaw, throwing him to the ground. David jumped back up, and Bobby put some brass knuckles on. He hit David a couple times in the stomach, but David noticed that Seven was coming around. Before he knew it, Bobby started kicking him in the ribs with his knee. Seven opened her eyes to see Bobby kicking David.

“Stop it, Bobby!” she shouted.

Bobby looked at her and smiled. He kicked David once more and dropped him to the ground. He reached down and picked up a pitchfork, which he pointed at Seven.

“I’ve been waitin’ fer this fer a long time, Heidi. Any last words?”

Seven nodded. “Bobby, I know that you know how I felt about you, and I’m sure you can tell I’m upset about you killing my parents, but I want you to know that I forgive you.”

The smile on Bobby’s face melted. Seven could see the pitchfork trembling in his hands.

“Whaddaya mean? I killed yer family, stole your money and possessions and you forgive me? I didn’t even say I was sorry!”

“I know. But I wanted to say that I was the one who said that Becky should break up with you, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry I ever wanted to hurt Becky in the first place.”

Bobby dropped the pitchfork. “I still don’t understand why you forgive me. I not only killed your family, I hurt your friends! Even your boyfriend! Why do you forgive me?”

“Because I can’t hold a grudge against someone who did something in the past. If I did, I’d end up being like you, and I wanted you to change. Before Becky died, you were one of the nicest guys around. I want you to be like you were before then.”

Bobby dropped to his knees and started to cry. “I can’t believe you’re really doing this. Why did I kill your family in the first place? I’m sorry, Heidi. I am so sorry!”

“It’s all right, Bobby. I already told you that I forgive you.”

From the back of the alley, Seven saw some bulls running toward them. She looked down at Bobby, who was still crying.

“Police are coming, Bobby.”

“I know. Just let ‘em take me.”

Before Seven could protest, the bulls arrived and grabbed Bobby. Two put some handcuffs on him while the third turned to Seven.

“Is this Robert Hemmingway, the boy you reported?”

“Yes sir, it is.”

“He faces two counts of murder and theft, am I correct?”

“Yes sir.”

“Thank you, ma’am. The more murderers we get off the street the better.”

The officer nodded at the other officers, and they led Bobby away. Before he was out of sight, Seven knew she had to remind Bobby of what she said.

“Bobby!” she shouted. “Remember that I forgive you!”

Seven could see Bobby nod before he was stuffed into a wagon. When he was gone, she turned to David, who was conscious, but in a lot of pain.

“I heard what you told him.” he told her.

“Do you hurt much?”

“I think I’ll live.”

“Here, hold on to me. Let’s get you home and get you patched up.”

* * *


Here we go again, David thought. He was more beat up than he was when the Delancys got him, and he knew that it was going to hurt a lot worse than it did the last time Seven had to patch him up.

He closed his eyes when he saw Seven dab that clean rag with alcohol. When it reached the first cut, he did his best not to scream. It took ten minutes for Seven to clean all his wounds, but seemed much longer to David.

When they were clean, she wrapped bandages around him and seemed glad that he wasn’t such a baby about it this time. When she was done, she breathed and wiped her hands on her pants.

“There, that wasn’t so bad now, was it?” she asked.

“No, it was worse.”

Seven shook her head. “You are such a baby, David.”

“Well, why don’t you cut your arm and I’ll put that stuff on you? Then you’ll know how it felt!”

“You’re not just a baby now; you’re totally immature!”

David couldn’t believe she just said that. He just looked at her and shook his head.

“Yeah? Well how’s this for immature?”

He leaned forward and kissed her softly. When they parted, Seven smiled.

“Not bad. Let’s just have one more to see how immature you really are.”