| Prologue All my life I've been labeled as a street rat that has nothing to offer but fleas. People would watch me on my corner day after day and assume that I was selling more than just newspapers, but they were wrong. The only people that every tried to understand me were the people I cared most about, the newsies. They and only they knew what inner fantasies and wishes were beneath my surface. Only they knew how I felt and shared my pain. I didn't want a life like this, well not the being poor and sleeping on a rock hard bed with cold, thin blankets part at least, but it's all you know after living with it as long as I have. And let me tell you, I wouldn't trade it in for all the money Pulitzer makes in, oh, let's say, three lifetimes. Part One July 23rd, 1888 - Midnight in the Lower East Side Smoke came billowing out of the 7th floor windows of the tenement on 14th street. People were scrambling as fast as they could down the cluttered fire escapes only to end up falling to an almost certain doom. Six-year-old Amanda Willis watched in horror as flames engulfed the area where she and the rest of her large family slept. She frantically ran around the room trying to wake up her family only to find that the smoke had gotten to them before she could. Suddenly, she heard banging from the window behind her and turned to see a fireman looking in at her with outstretched arms. Amanda knew that going with this strange man was the only was for her to survive, so with tear-filled eyes and a heavy heart she held onto the fireman tightly as he brought her to safety. The fire continued to burn straight through to sunrise when Amanda realized that she was alone and that all she had ever known was reduced to a pile of ash and broken dreams. All around her she saw families reunited but hour after hour went by and no one came for her. She was almost completely asleep when she saw two dark and ash-covered people approach her. "Mommy? Daddy?" she asked weakly. "What do we do with this one?" the one figure asked the other. "I dunno," the other replied. "She's the little blonde one that Carlson pulled out the window last night. He said she was the only one left." "Hmm... Maybe we should see if good old Kloppman'll take her. I'd rather see her there than in the orphanage or the refuge." "Good idea, Jason, Kloppman's always been good with cases like this." "Luke, pick up the girl. I'll get her blankets," Jason said, picking up the blanktes that lay next to Amanda on the ground while Luke hoisted her into his arms. Jason and Luke made their way through the winding streets until they reached the newsies' lodging house on Duane Street. Jason rapidly knocked on the door and backed up on the stoop. "Who is it?" Kloppman asked, opening the door just enough so he could see out onto the stoop. "Kloppman, it's Mardsen," Jason replied. "Luke and I have another child for you. We thought it would be best to bring her here instead of sending her to the refuge or the orphanage." "Oh, so it's one of those cases, eh?" Luke nodded, "She's the only one left. We figured that here you'd teach her how to make a living selling newspapers, something that Jason and I consider a lot better for a child of her age than working in a dark, dusty factory all day." "Let me see the girl," Kloppman said, brushiung a stray piece of Amanda's blonde hair from her face. "Look at her, she's so seraphic and peaceful while she's sleeping. She must've had a hard night last night. Let's just hope she's like this when she's awake too. Follow me upstairs, I'll get one of the bunks ready and tell the girls to look after her until she wakes up." Jason and Luke followed Kloppman up the stairs and waited outside the bunkroom until Kloppman told them they could go in. The bunkroom door opened and a tall brunette with big, emerald colored eyes stepped out. "Mr. Mardsen, Mr. Edwards," she started, "Kloppman said you can come in now." "Thanks, Emmy," Luke said, following Jason over to the bunk that Kloppman had set up for Amanda. "Just put her down on the bunk," Kloppman whispered so the girls that were still sleeping wouldn't be woken up. "Emmy's gonna look after little Seraphin until she wakes up. Thank you both for bringing her here." "Well thank you for taking her," Jason replied. "We really didn't want tto send her anywhere else but here. We knew that she'd be taken care of." "Jason's right," Luke agreed, "But we really must be going now, they'll be expecting us back at work soon. If you ever need anything, like warmer blankets or anything of the sort, you know how to reach us." He politely shook Kloppman's hand and walked out of the room with Jason not too far behind. Kloppman sighed, shaking his head, "I've got lots of work to do around here. Emmy, I want you to wake up the girls in about five minutes or so, I'll go and wake up the boys. By the time I get them up an' movin' the girls'll be halfway out the door." Emmy laughed, "No problem, Kloppman. But what should I do with Seraphin?" "Let her sleep. Once she wakes up, I want you to explain everything in the best possible way ya can. If you can get her to talk, try to find out the basic things about her like her real name and age. Then, take her out and teach her how to hawk the headlines with the best of them." "Can do, Kloppman! Oh, and be careful with little Frankie Sullivan, he's gettin' an attitude the size of Snyder's bald spot!" Kloppman chuckled light-heartedly. "I'll be sure to remember that. Every time I tell that boy to wake up, he pulls that cowboy hat that's three sizes too big over his eyes and tells me that he's a cowboy and that cowboy's don't wake up 'til noon," he said, still laughing as he made his way to the boys' bunkroom across th hall." Emmy laughed and pulled up a chair to sit down next to Amanda's bed. "You poor girl," she said. "To be so young and lose your family in a tenement fire. But you're not alone. Trust me, you're not alone." The minutes went by and soon it was time for Emmy to wake up the rest of the girls. "Oh gosh, Emmy!" Buttercup cried, "I'm a growin' goil an' I need my sleep!" "Well you should stop putting dirt in the boys' hair and go to bed earlier." "But, Emmy! Snitch desoived it, he called my braids wirey!" "BC, you know that they aren't! Just you wait and see, in ten years the boys'll say nice things because they like you instead of mean things because they do." "Ewww! Boys are yucky!" BC yelled, scrunching up her face in disgust as she followed the rest of the girls into the washroom. Emmy sighed and sat back down in her chair, "You'll grow to love these girls like sisters because in a strange way, you'll start to think of them as the family you lost. They may never be able to replace your mother and your father, but they'll mean just as much to you in the long run." Amanda slowly opened her eyes and sat up in her bunk. she looked around the room before bursting out into tears. "Mommy!" she sobbed, "Where are you?" "Don't cry, we'll take care of you." "Wh-where am I? What happened after the fire?" "The fire? Well, a nice fireman pulled you out of the window of your room and Mr. Mardsen and Mr. Edwards brought you here to live with us because they knew that we'd take care of you and help you back up onto your feet." "You mean I won't see my family again?" "No, I'm sorry, sweetie. Wait a second, do you think you could tell me your name so I could tell Kloppman who you are?" Amanda nodded slowly. "My name's Amanda.... Amanda Willis. My mommy named me after her mother back in England. She said she was a real nice lady and that she had hoped that I'd turn out just like her when I got big," she replied, a small hint of a smile coming across her face. "That's really sweet, Amanda. Do you know how old you are?" "I'm six!" Amanda replied proudly, holding up six fingers, "This is what six looks like. My sister, Lisa, taught me that." "She did, huh? She must've been very smart. Do you have any questions for me?" "Yeah, what's your name? I told you mine but you didn't tell me yours." Emmy laughed. "My name's Missy Cartwright, but everyone here calls me Emmy. And I'm this many," she said, showing Amanda seventeen fingers. "Why do that call you that?" Amanda asked, a slightly puzzled look on her face. "Because everyone here has a nickname. It's like when you play pretend and you make believe that you're someone else and everyone calls you that name, except they do it all the time here." "Pretend?" Amanda asked, her eyes widening, "Can I have a name?" "Of course you can, Amanda! Kloppman and I already thought one up for you." "What is it?" "It's Seraphin, because you were seraphic and peaceful when they brought you here." "What does sir-af-ick mean?" Emmy giggled, "It means angelic, and by the looks of things, the name suits you perfectly. Do you like it?" "I love it, Emmy! It's so pretty, thank you!" Amanda threw her tiny arms around Emmy's neck and hugged her, "I want everyone to call me Seraphin from now on!" "Don't worry, Seraphin, they will. Say, do you wanna see what you're gonna do?" Emmy asked, standing up. "Sure, are there other girls and boys here my age?" Seraphin asked eagerly, following Emmy out the door. "Oh, lots! There's little Frankie Sullivan, but he likes to be called "Cowboy", and there's Nicky Meyers, they call him Mush, and there's Buttercup, and Wisteria, and so many others that I can't remember them all!" "Well, we better hurry, Emmy!" Seraphin cried, pulling Emmy outside. Emmy laughed, taking Seraphin's hand, "We'll get there, Seraphin, it's not too far. Just down this road," she said, leading her down the street. At the distribution center, all the little newsies stood in line, waiting for their papers. "Awww, Jimmy, ya shoulda seen dis goil!" Nicky Meyers sighed, a far-off look in his eyes. Jimmy shrugged, adjusting his eye patch, "It's jist a goil... goils are yucky." "But I'm gonna spend da rest a' my life wit' 'er!" "I sweah, ya toin ta mush whenevah ya see a goil. 'Sides, she's a rich goil an' ya ain't gonna see 'er no more." "No, jist dat one! Her hair was as bright as da sun an' as red as a.... a... apple!" Jimmy rolled his eye, "I bet ya didn't even get 'er name!" Nicky nodded, "Yeah, I did! It's Felicia!" Just then, Emmy walked up with Seraphin. "Hey, look, dere's a goil. Don't toin ta mush," Jimmy teased. "I ain't gonna!" Emmy walked up to Jimmy and Nicky, laughing, "You two are too funny. Boys, this is Seraphin, she just got here this mornin'." Seraphin waved shyly and the two strange boys she was being introduced to, "Hello...." Nicky smiled, "Nice ta meetcha, I'se Nicky an' dis is Jimmy," he said, pointing to the boy with the dirty blond hair and the patch over his left eye. Jimmy nodded, "Dat's me, but some a' da oldah kids call me Kid Blink 'cause I'se a kid an' I wear dis eye patch." Then, he looked at Nicky and grinned, "I'm gonna start callin' Nicky Mush 'cause 'e thinks he's in love wit' dis goil dat he pro'lly won't nevah see again." "I will too see Felicia again!" Nicky grumbled. "Wanna bet on dat one?" asked Anthony Higgins, a grin on his face and a gleam in his eye. "No, 'cause yer gonna lose!" Nicky replied, shaking his head. Anthony groaned, "No one wants ta make bets wit' me, I don't get it!" he whined, storming off. "Don't let them scare you," Emmy said to Seraphin. "You'll get used to it. It just takes some.... time with this bunch." "Oh, don't you worry, Emmy," Seraphin smiled. "I like it here already!" Just then, a short little boy wearing a raggedy black cowboy hat that was three sizes too big for his head ran up to Emmy and threw his rope around her. "Ha! I got ya!" he cried. "Now, make a move an' bang! yer dead," he said, laughing. Emmy pretended to tremble, "Oh no, please don't hurt me, Cowboy Frankie. I'll be good, I swear!" Frankie reluctantly let Emmy free, "I'll let ya go dis time, but next time I might not be so nice." "Whatever you say, Cowboy," Emmy grinned. "Seraphin, this is Franics Sullivan, I mean, Cowboy Frankie." Frankie nodded proudly, putting his rope away and lowering his hat over his eyes like a real cowboy, "Dat's me, liddle lady." Seraphin giggled, "Nice to meet you, Cowboy." "Say, d'ya know Spot?" "Spot? No, I don't know him." Frankie snickered, "He thinks he's real tough 'cause he said his pop used ta say he was da toughest kid in Brooklyn." "Brooklyn?" Seraphin asked, her eyes growing as big as dinner plates. "You go to Brooklyn?" "Yep! Shoah do. An' no one messes wit' me 'cause no one messes wit' a cowboy an' dat's what I am." "Where's your horse?" "What?" "Your horse. All cowboys have horses." "I ain't got a horse, I asked Kloppman but 'e said dat I couldn't get it up da stairs to da bunkroom." "Come on, you two," Emmy sighed, leading Seraphin and frankie up the ramp to get in line. "No, Katy! I ain't lettin' ya sell wit' me!" Anthony shouted from behind them at a little dark-haired girl who couldn't be any older than four or five. "But, Tony!! I wanna play wit' you an yer friends," Katy whined. "No, yer too much of a botha, ya nevah leave me alone!" "But I like yer friends." "Well, dey don't like you," Anthony replied, digging two dice out of his pocket. "Heah, go play wit' dese or somethin', jist don't break 'em, dey was dad's." "Da shiny cubes! I get ta play wit' da shiny cubes! Thank ya, Tony," Katy said, hugging her brother's waist. "I wondah if Danny'd like ta play wit' me." "I told ya, Danny don't like ya!"' "But 'e will, jist you wait." Seraphin turned away from the scene behind her and back towards Emmy, "Are they always like that?" Emmy nodded, a slight hint of a laugh in her voice, "Yeah, they're always carrying on like that. Katy's always tagging along with Anthony, Jimmy, and Nicky and Anthony always gets upset." "Look out below!" a voice called from above their heads. Emmy and Seraphin looked up to see a medium-sized Latino boy with dark hair and eyes looking down at them from the rafters. "Dominic! Get down from there!" Emmy cried. "You're gonna fall! Remember when you tried it on that fan in Kloppman's office? You broke your leg and couldn't sell for a month and a half. Do you want that to happen again?" Dominic laughed, fondly remembering how fun it was to spin on that fan, "Dat was a lot of fun! So what if I fall? Yo soy tan fuerte como un toro." "What?" Seraphin asked. Emmy chuckled, "He says he's as strong as bull. That's what he says now... just wait 'til he falls." "I told you, I'm not gonna fall!" "Come on, let me help you down," Emmy said, reaching up for Dominic. "One.... two.... three!" Dominic cried, jumping down into Emmy's arms. "How'd you get up there?" Seraphin asked, still looking up at the rafters. Dominic shrugged, dusting off his shoulders, "I dunno. I climbed on those boxes," he said, poitning to a row of crates. "Hey! He ruined our fort!" A little boy with a bowler on his head shouted." "Uh oh... Oscah an' Morris!" "Yeah, dat's right, ya doity liddle newsies, it's us!" a smaller boy said, standing up next to the one in the bowler. "An' Morris an' me are gonna soak ya good fer messin' up our fort. Right, Morris?" "Right," the boy with the bowler nodded. "Now who should we hoit foist, da liddle Spanish kid or da cute blonde?" "You ain't gonna hoit no one!" a voice from behind the Delancey brothers said powerfully, yet calmly. "An' who says?" Oscar asked, turning around to see a tall, lanky boy with thin thin-framed glasses and a big, black bowler atop his head. "Oh, uhh... Mark..." "Now what was you sayin'?" "I said dat Morris an' me are gonna hoit yer friend, Dominic, an' dat liddle blonde goil." Mark shook his head, "No, yer gonna toin yerself around, walk back inta dat shack ya call a fort, an' leave dem alone befoah I hafta show ya what soap is used fer!" Dominic snickered, "Yeah, an' we don't care if ya go an' tell yer Uncle Wease, 'cause yer jist a sissy!" "We'll get ya next time, four eyes, we're tellin' Uncle Wease!" Morris shouted, running back to the crates. Oscar rolled his eyes, "We ain't scared a' no newsies," he said, following his brothers. "Stupid apes," Mark mumbled, shaking his head. "Are you'se two okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Mark," Dominic nodded. "I'm just fine, thank you," Seraphin smiled, still slightly frazzled. "No problem," Mark shrugged. "Come on, Dom, it's almost our toin, Frankie's gettin' his papes." Dominic turned to Emmy and Seraphin and shrugged, "I guess I bettah go an' get my papes befoah dey're all gone. Plus, I don't wanna miss seein' Frankie bug Weasel. I'll see ya later, okay?" "Okay, you go and be good, okay?" Emmy said, nodding, "I'm gonna show Seraphin what being a newsy's all about." "Okay, I will! Bye!" Dom yelled, running after Mark. "So, Seraphin, you ready to be a newsy?" Seraphin nodded excitedly, "I sure am, Emmy! I can't wait to start!" "Okay then, follow me," Emmy said, taking Seraphin's hand and leading her to the growing line by the distribution window. "This is where we wait until it's our turn," she explained. "Once we get to that window, we tell that nasty man behind it how many papers we want. Then, he gives us the papers and we give him teh money." "It's that easy?" Emmy nodded, "It's that easy." After fifteen minutes, Emmy and Seraphin finally reached the window and Emmy picked up the sample paper and began thumbing through it. "How many?" the man behind the barred window asked. "Give me a second, Weasel. I need to see how much of this fish wrapping I should buy today, Good headlines aren't so easy to come by, you know that!" Weasel rolled his eyes, "Well, just hurry it up a bit, you're holdin' up the line." "Yeah, yeah, if you say so. You just want to get rid of me and go on your marry little, though somewhat plump, way. Give me 100." Weasel looked over his shoulder to a man behind him who brought over a relatively large stack of newspapers. "Here, take 'em and go," he said, sliding the papers under the window. Emmy scooped up the papers in her arm and put down her two bits. "And you have a nice day, too, Weasel," she grumbled. "Come on, Seraphin. Now you're going to learn how to sell with the best of us. We'll start off in the park, that's usually where I sell before lunch." As Emmy had said back at the Distribution Center, the park was an excellent place to start off the selling day. "Wow, Emmy," Seraphin smiled. "Almost all of our papers are gone! How did you do it?" "I find what's going to get people's attention," Emmy replied. "But if I don't find anything, I have to make it up." "Did you have to make any up today?" "Not a one," Emmy answered, shaking her head and handing Seraphin a paper. "See that headline? It says 'Tenement Fire on 14th Street, Few Survive. 'Headlines like that can sell all my papers faster than you can say 'Extry, extry! Read all about it,' Seraphin. On a good day, we'll go back to where we got our papers as many as three times before lunch time." Seraphin studied the paper in her hands, small tears forming in her deep blue eyes, "That was where I lived. I'm one of those few...." "Awww, Seraphin! I'm so sorry! But everything's okay now, I promise. As long as I'm around, nothing bad will happen to you, and I promise that I'll be around for a very, very long time." "Thank you for being so nice to me, Emmy. You're just like my other sister, Elise, was." "You miss your sisters, don't you?" "Yes, they were my best friends in the whole, wide world," Seraphin nodded, wiping her eyes free of tears. "It's hard losing everything and everyone you know in the blink of an eye, but it gets easier as you get older and meet new people. They help to slowly make everything all better again. That's what I love about everyone here, only they know how I feel about everything. You'll learn that too once you've been here enough. Sometimes, it feels like we're all the same person, it's all very special." "What happened to your family?" "I don't know," Emmy replied with a shrug. "I was left on a doorstep one summer night when I was very small. The family that took me in was a poor, yet kind, family. They did all they could to raise me correctly. That was until the horrible winter of 1876 when, somehow, all of them, with the exception of myself, caught pneumonia and died. I wasn't much younger than you, but I left the freezing cold apartment that night and wandered the cold, dark streets until I saw a warm, welcoming light in front of me. I ran towards the light as fast as I could and found myself at the lodging house, the very same lodging house I still live in today. I've been there for the past twelve years and I still wouldn't trade it in for anything in the world." "Even if your real mother and father showed up one day with a whole bag full of money just for you?" "I still wouldn't leave then, everyone at the lodging house has been like a family to me, I couldn't bear to leave them, not even if my life depended on it." Part Two Winter, 1889 It had been well over a year since Seraphin had arrived at the lodging house and things had happened just the way that Emmy said they would. Even at seven years old, Seraphin could hawk the headlines as well as the older newsies and fight off the taunting comments thrown at her by Oscar and Morris Delancey. Every day, Seraphin found herself worrying less and less about the past and focusing on getting her job done while having with her new found friends. "I'm back!" she called as she walked into the lodging house, a strong gust of wind behind her blowing the snow inside. "So, how'd you do today by yourself?" Emmy asked, turning around after putting another log on the dimming fire. "I did okay," Seraphin said, smiling. "I sold all my papers!" "All of them? That's great! I have to run outside really quickly to get more wood for the fire," Emmy said, standing up. "Do you want me to go with you?" Emmy shook her head. "No, that's quite alright, Seraphin. It'll only take a minute," she said, walking out the door. Seraphin sighed and wrapped the thick blanket that Emmy had left on the floor around her shoulders. Outside, a horse whinny and a piercing scream were heard, followed by a loud crash. Seraphin sprang to her feet and ran to the window to see what had happened. Frankie ran inside, his face as white as a ghost, "It... it...." "It's what?" Seraphin asked worriedly. "It's Emmy." Seraphin shook her head, unable to believe what she was hearing, "No, it can't be true!" she shouted, running into the street where she found Emmy wedged under a wagon wheel. Emmy looked up at Seraphin and smiled weakly, the deep emerald color in her eyes slowly fading, "Don't worry about me, Seraphin. I still won't let anything happen to you." "How'd this happen?" Seraphin asked, tears rolling down her cheeks as she dropped to her knees by Emmy's side. "There was a patch of ice in the street, and the carriage drive didn't see it until it was too late. The horse slid and the wagon flew up into the air and fell down on me. Please, do me a favor." "Anything! I'll do anything!" "I want you to look after everyone. Keep Dominic from spinning on the fans and don't let BC throw dirt in Snitch's eyes. Most important of all, never let anyone see you are weak no matter how difficult it is." "You can't leave me! You'll pull through this. Emmy, please! I need you!" Emmy shook her head slowly, growing weaker with every word she spoke, "I'll always be with you. It may not be in person anymore, but I'll live on in your heart and in the hearts of everyone else here. I promise." She reached up and wiped the tears from Seraphin's face once more before her green eyes shut for the last time and her limp arm fell to the ground, making an imprint in the fresh snow. Seraphin held onto Emmy's arm until Kloppman finally came outside and picked her up to carry her back into the lodging house. "Frankie, get me my hat. I'm going to the police," Kloppman said, putting Seraphin down in front of the fire. "I want you to look after Seraphin while I'm out. Can you do that for me?" Frankie nodded, running back to Kloppman with his hat in his hand, "I can do dat, Kloppman! Ya can count on me!" he replied, handing Kloppman the hat. "Thanks a bunch, Cowboy," Kloppman said warmly, taking the hat from Frankie's hands and placing it on his head. "I shouldn't be too long, but I'm not sure what'll happen while I'm there," he called over his shoulder at them as he walked out the door. "Are ya okay?" Frankie asked, sitting down next to Seraphin. Seraphin shook her head, the tears still rolling down her face like two tiny rivers flowing from her eyes, "She was right, Frankie. She said it could all change in the blink of an eye and she was right! She didn't let me go outside with her, but if she did I might've been able to save her!" "But, Sera, she was also lookin' of fer you. If you went out dere, da horse mighta run ovah you instead a' her. I always hoid 'er tell ya dat she'd nevah let ya get hoit an' if ya think about it, she kept 'er promise by not lettin' ya go wit' her 'cause she knew da roads were dangerous in wintah." "So it's not my fault?" Seraphin asked, sniffling. Frankie shook his head, "It ain't yer fault unledd you were da one dat caused da accident an' you know an' I know dat you didn't have nothin' ta do wit' it." "Thanks for listening to me, Frankie," Seraphin said, a slight hint of a smile on her face as she leaned over and gave him a brief hug. "It means a lot to me." "Yer welcome, Sera. I was close ta Emmy, too, an' I know how ya must feel right now. An' I jist want ya ta know dat I'm always heah for ya." "Do you mean that?" Frankie nodded, "Every woid. An' you know dat my woid is as good as...." "Good as gold," Seraphin laughed, finishing his sentence. "If not bettah!" "How can anything be better than gold?" "Friendship's bettah den gold," Frankie shrugged. "Ya can eitha spend awl yer gold or have it stolen, but yer friendship can nevah be spent or stolen." "Did you make that up yourself? It's really good." "My friend, Medda, said it ta me once when she was talkin' about my dad or somethin', I was really payin' attention ta what she said about my dad." "Why not?" "Because 'e took my mom away from me an' because a' him, I can't see 'er no more." "Do you miss your mother?" "Awl da time, she was such a good lady." "So was mine, Frankie, so was mine." "Sera...." "Yes?" "I was kinda wonderin' if ya'd like ta come wit' me ta visit my mom sometime. I wanna visit her, but I can't go dere by myself." Seraphin nodded, "I'd love to. I'll do anything to help my friends if I could." The next day after they had sold all of their papers, Seraphin and Frankie met up at Tibby's so they could go and visit his mom's grave in teh cemetary on the East Side of Manhattan. "Are ya ready?" Frankie asked after he had finished up the rest of his knockwurst and sarsaparilla. Seraphin nodded, putting her napkin on top of her plate, "Yes, now let's go see your mom." Frankie opened the door to go outside and followed Seraphin into the street, "I'm kinda noivous, Sera." "Why's that, Frankie?" "I haven't been dere since dey buried my mudda. What if I cry or somethin'?" "It's okay if you cry, Frankie, I'll be there for you." "But boys ain't s'posed ta cry." "Whoever said that never had his mom die. You can cry if you want to, I won't make fun of you." "Promise?" "Cross my heart." "Well, heah we are," Frankie said, looking up at the cold, wrought iron gates that stood before them. "Dere's no turnin' back now. We got dis far an' we can't toin back now." "I wouldn't even let you turn back if you wanted to." "Why not?" "Because you have to do this, Frankie. You have to show her that you still love her and will never forget her. Now, which way do we turn?" she asked as they approached a split in the path. Frankie carefully studied both paths, "Left. She should be on da cornah by dat angel statue." "Come on, Frankie, it's time to meet your mom," Seraphin smiled, taking his hand and leading him down the path. Frankie stopped when they reached the corner and lightly dusted the snow off of the head stone, "Dis is her. It says 'Amelia Sullivan. Born: Decembah 17th, 1853, Died: April 10th, 1885. Life is like a candle, you never know when it will burn our.' Sera, I really miss 'er." "You're always going to miss her, Frankie, you'll see. Talk to her, it's been a long time." Frankie knelt down in fron of the headstone and took a deep breath, "Mom, it's me, Frankie. My friend, Sera, came wit' me, she's da one da said I should see ya. I jist wanted ta say dat I love ya an' I miss ya an; dat I'll still visit ya. I'm real sawry about what dad did ta ya, it wasn't right an' ya didn't desoive it. If I could fix it, I'd make it so dat I could have more time ta spend wit' ya, dat's awl I really want in life, but I can't have it." Seraphin silently sat down beside Frankie and looked over at him, studying the mournful look on his face. Then she smiled to herself knowing that in some way she was helping him cope with his loss. Frankie sniffled and looked over at Seraphin, wiping the tiny tears from his eyes. "Sera, thanks fer comin' wit' me. Ya know, wit'out yer help, I'd pro'lly be at home tryin' ta make Kloppman play Cowboys an' Indians wit' me. Say hi ta my mom, Sera, she woulda liked ya." "Hello, Mrs. Sullivan," Seraphin said shyly. "I just want you to know that you won't have to worry about Frankie, I'll do my best to make sure he's okay." Part Three Spring, 1890 Winters passed quickly and spring soon arrived. Frankie and Seraphin travelled to the cemetery together every weekend to visit his mother and tell her everything from the day's headlines to Snitch's loose tooth to Bumlets spinning on the fan again. "Frankie," Seraphin said, taking a small book out of her pocket. "I have something for you." "Ya do?" Frankie asked, turning around. Seraphin nodded, handing him the book, "I saw this and I thought you'd like it." "What is it?" he asked, looking the book over. "It's a book, a book about cowboys," Seraphin shrugged. Frankie turned the book over and examined the front cover, "Da Adventures a' Jack Kelly, Cowboy Extraordinaire." "Do you like it?" "I love it! Thank ya so much, Sera," he exclaimed, hugging her. Seraphin blushed slightly, "I just wanted to thank you for helping me out." "Aww... look at da two love boids!" a voice from behind them shouted, laughing. Frankie turned around and rolled his eyes, "Shaddup, Mush! Jist because you ain't got dat goil ya ain't gonna see evah again don't mean ya can make fun a' us!" "Oh please!" Mush laughed, "I ain't makin' fun a' you, I think it's cute. An' stop talkin' about Felicia like dat! I will see 'er again!" Frankie rolled his eyes, "An' da day dat happens I'll change my name ta Jack Kelly!" "Jack Kelly? Who's dat?" "He's a cowboy, da best cowboy dere is. It says so in dis book Sera got me!" Seraphin nodded, "Yep, he's right, Mush." Mush grumbled, "Shoah, if ya say so. I'm jist gonna head ovah to da park now!" he said, walking away. "He sure is touchy, isn't he?" Seraphin asked. Frankie nodded, "In a woid, yeah. But he'll get ovah it sometime." "Like when he finds another girl?" "Yeah, like den," he laughed. "Say, do ya wanna go an' meet Medda?" "Sure," she shrugged. "Where is she?" "At Irving Hall! She owns da place, ya know." "That's the place a few streets away, right? The one that everyone always goes to?" Frankie nodded, "Yep! Dat's da one!" he said, leading her to Irving Hall. Once they arrived, Seraphin was astonished at the size and appearance of the building. "She owns the whole thing?" "Yes, she shoah does," Frankie replied. "She owns every last brick. Well, except one," he said, pointing to the corner stone with the year "1877" engraved on it. "She said I could have dis one." "She did? That was nice of her, she let you have the special brick."Prologue "It says da year it was built! Do ya wanna go inside an' see what else dere is?" "Sure," Seraphin smiled, following Frankie inside. "Medda? Are ya in heah?" Frankie asked out loud once they got inside. Promptly a with curly, light red hair and dark colored eyes descended the staircase, "Frankie? Is that you?" "Ya guessed right! An' I brought a friend wit' me!" "A friend? Is it Blink or Mush?" Frankie shook his head, "No, it's Seraphin." "Seraphin? That little girl that you always tell me about?" "Yeah, dat's her," Frankie chuckled. "Well bring her over here, Frankie. I want to meet her," Medda replied, motioning for them to sit down by her. "Hello," Seraphin said shyly. "So you're Medda?" "The one and only. You know, Frankie talks about you a lot." "He does?" Medda nodded, "He sure does! And if he doesn't, then my name isn't Medda Larsen, which it is." Seraphin laughed, "He talks about you a lot, too! It's always Medda this or Medda that." Frankie shook his head, his face turning a slight shade of pink, "I don't do dat... awl da time." "Yes, you do!" Seraphin modded, "Don't fib, Frankie!" "Yeah, don't fib," Medda laughed. Frankie rolled his eyes, "I ain't fibbin', I'm improvin' da truth a liddle, dat's awl." Medda sighed, "You sound like your mother did when she was eight." "I do?" "Yes, young Francis, you do. Everyday growing up she would say something like that." "Wait.. you knew his mom?" Seraphin asked, a confused look on her face. "Yes, Serphin. She was my younger sister. In fact, she helped me when Irving Hall first opened . We named it after our father, Samuel Irving. It was actually here where she met James, Frankie's father." Frankie nodded, "Yes, dat's how it happened. Medda tried ta stop 'em from gettin' married 'cause she knew dat my dad was trouble, but he told her ta stay away from him an' my muddah. Dat didn't work, though. While my dad was out drinkin' at night my mom brought me heah so she could make enough money ta make up fer da money my dad drank an' gambled away an' so I could have a chance ta know more family den just her an' dad. Now Medda's da only family I got left." "Well at least you have somebody," Seraphin shrugged. "Someone you can talk to about what bothers you. I wish I had that. Emmy was always who I could talk to, but she's gone." "Sera, I'm heah for ya, I jist want ya ta know dat," Frankie said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You are?" she asked, wiping her eyes as she looked up at him. Frankie flashed her a friendly smile and nodded, "I shoah do, an' I ain't improvin' da truth on dat one!" Seraphin laughed slightly, "Thank you, Frankie, it makes me feel good to know tgat I have someone to talk to." Medda glanced up at the clock on the wall and sighed as she slowly got up, "I have to go get ready now, but I'll see you later, Frankie. Okay? It was nice meeting you, Sera." "It was nice meeting you too, Medda," Seraphin smiled, standing up with Frankie. "Okay, Medda, I'll see ya tomorrow!" Frankie called over his shoulder as they walked back out into the street. "So she's really your aunt?" "Yep, she shoah is. But she don't look nothin' like my mom did." "What did your mom look like?" "Well, she was tall an' blonde an' she had real pretty blue eyes. An' she singed good, too. She used ta sing me ta sleep at night when she was still alive. Sometimes, when I'm goin' ta sleep at night, I can still hear her singin' ta me." Seraphin sighed, brushing back a piece of her hair, "You miss her a lot, I can tell." Frankie nodded, "I think about 'er everyday, Sera. Everyday." Part Four Summer, 1891 It was still dark out when Seraphin awoke and climbed out of the bunkroom window and onto the roof. She sat herself down on the edge and stared out towards the east as she waited for the sun to rise. "So much can change in two years," she thought to herself. "I can only imagine what's still to come." Suddenly, she heard a noise behind her and turned around. "Frankie!" she cried, somewhat surprised. "What brings you up here?" Frankie shrugged as he approached Seraphin and sat down next to her, "Sera, I'm nine years old now an' I've been thinkin' about somethin'." "What's that?" She asked, looking over at him. "Well, for da past two years you've been my best friend." "I have? Really?" "Yes, ya have, An' havin' a goil for a best friend is kinda like bein' married ta her. An' I was wonderin'... ummm.... well, if ya'd.... would ya umm... marry me when we get growed up? "But, Frankie, that's ten years from now. That's almost forever!" "I know, but yer da only goil dat I like an' I'se made up my mind. I wanna ,arry you." "Let me think about it," Seraphin smiled, pretending to be deep in thought for a moment or two. "Okay!" Frankie laughed, a huge smile coming across his face, "Thanks, Sera. So it's settled. We'se gettin' married in ten years." Seraphin nodded, glancing over at the sky and seeing a huge explosion of color on the horizon. The pinks and oranges and reds grew more and more brilliant as the moments passed until finally the entire sun was in teh sky above them, "That was the prettiest sunrise that I've ever seen. It was just like the one that I saw the day Mr. Mardsen and Mr. Edwards brought me here." "Does it?" Frankie asked. "I've nevah seen da sun rise befoah." "Never? I love the sunrise, it's so calm and pretty." "Well I'll hafta try ta see more den, huh?" Seraphin nodded, "You should." "I will! I will!" Frankie chuckled, "Come on, let's go get our papes so we can finish quicker." "Okay, that sounds like a good idea," Seraphin replied as she stood up. Frankie stood up and walked over to the fire escape, "Come on, we'll climb down dis." Seraphin carefully climed down the fire escape, firmly planting her feet on the ground as she reached the bottom, "That was fun!" "Yeah, ain't it?" Frankie smiled, "Follow me." Part Five Later that Morning - Kloppman's Office "Kloppman?" a man asked, peeking his head inside the door of Kloppman's office. Kloppman looked up and smiled slightly, "Mardsen! Nice to see you again. What can I help you with?" "I came to talk to you about Amanda Willis, the one you call Seraphin," Mardsen replied, sitting down in the chair across from Kloppman's desk. "Sera? Why do you need to talk to me about her?" "Well, recently someone's come to the office asking about her." "I.... I don't understand. She's a great girl she never does anything wrong. I.... I...." "Relax," Mardsen interrupted. "She's not in trouble, not even close! These people just want to adopt her." "Adopt?!?" Kloppman repeated, his eyes sadly looking down at the papers on his desk, "Poor Frankie... he'll be heartbroken. Jason, please, tell them to pick another child." Mardsen sighed softly as he shook his head, "I'm sorry, but it's not that easy. They're already at City Hall signing the papers. And she'll have someone her age to play with. They have a son, David, who's a year or two younger than she." "Do you really think it's best for her?" "Kloppman, she'll have a family again. That's all a child her age really needs." "She's out selling right now, I'll have BC get her things together for her. I just hope that Frankie doesn't take this badly," Kloppman sighed, obviously beaten. "Okay," Mardsen said, standing up. "I'll come back with the Jacobses at around 4 o'clock. Have her ready by then." "She'll be ready," Kloppman replied, watching Mardsen leave the room. He looked around the empty office and sighed sadly to himself. "This isn't gonna be easy." Moments later, Seraphin and Frankie walked into the office with smiles as wide as the Brooklyn Bridge across their faces. "Hello, Kloppman," Seraphin said, sitting down. Kloppman looked up and tried his best to smile, "Hey there, Sera." "What's wrong?" Frankie asked. "Ya look as sad as a map." "Well, Frankie, Mr. Mardsen stopped by my office today." "He did? What did 'e say?" "He said that a family wants to adopt Sera." "Are ya lettin' them take 'er?" Kloppman nodded slowly, "It'll be good for her. She'll have a family again." "No!" Seraphin shouted, tears welling up in her eyes. "You're my family! I don't want to leave! I'll do anything to be able to stay!" "I can't do that, Sera," Kloppman sighed. "They already signed the papers. They'll be here for you at 4 o'clock." Frankie looked at Kloppman with a look of disbelief on his face, "Don't make 'er go, Kloppman! She's my best friend an' I don't want 'er ta go away." "It's not that easy, Frankie. You know how the Children's Aid Society works. Once they make up their minds it's hard to get them to change." "But ya can try, can't ya? Please say ya can!" Frankie pleaded, tears forming in his eyes as well. "I could've tried to stop it if they told me a week ago, but they only told me a short while ago. There's nothing I can do." "They can't take me away!" Seraphin sobbed, "Emmy never would've let me leave!" she shouted, running out of the room and up the stairs into the bunkroom. "Sera, wait!" Frankie cried, running up the stairs after her. Seraphin threw herself onto her bunk and buried her face in her pillow as she sobbed loudly, "I can't leave, I just cant...." Frankie quietly walked over to Seraphin's bunk and sat down by her feet, "I'll still visit ya," he whispered. "We'll see each otha again, don't worry 'bout it." Seraphin slowly looked up at Frankie, her eyes now red and puffy from her heavy sobbing, "Do you mean that?" "A' coise I do," Frankie nodded. "Yer my best friend." "I guess we should go back downstairs then, shouldn't we?" "Dat would be a good idea. Yer new family will be heah for ya any minute now." Seraphin slowly stood up and picked up the small burlap bag that BC had put her things in, "I really am going to miss it here." "We'll awl miss ya too, Sera," Frankie replied as they headed down the stairs. When Frankie and Seraphin walked back into the lobby, Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs were just walking in. "Mr. Kloppman?" the man asked, "I'm Mayer Jacobs. This is my wife, Esther. We're the people that Mr. Mardsen was telling you about earlier. We're here to pick up our new daughter." Kloppman looked up at the clock on the wall and scratched his head, "But it's only 3:30." Esther Jacobs nodded, "We know, but we couldn't wait any longer. Our little David is just so excited to meet her. Aren't you, David?" The little curly-haired boy looked out from behind her nodded. "Oh, okay. Let me go get Sera for you." "I thought her name was Amanda...." "Yes, it is, but for the past two years we've been calling her Sera, which is short for Seraphin." "Do you think she'd answer to Amanda anymore?" Mayer asked. Kloppman shrugged, "I dunno, but in my opinion Sera Jacobs sounds a lot better than Amanda Jacobs." Esther laughed, "Maybe we'll change her name to Sarah then, she's already used to it. What do you think, Mayer?" Mayer nodded, "Sounds reasonable to me." "Okay, you two wait here," Kloppman said, walking over to the stairs. "Sera, your new parents are here. Oh wait, you're already here on the stairs...." Seraphin nodded shyly, "I... I I think I'm ready to go." "Great," Kloppman replied, forcing a smile onto his face. "They're already here for you." Seraphin walked down the rest of the stairs, stopping at the bottom to look at Mayer and Esther, "Are you my new parents?" Esther nodded, opening her arms to her, "Yes, Sarah, we are. I'm your new mom, he's your new dad, and Davey's your new brother." "Would you like me to take your bag, Sarah?" Mayer asked, reaching for the small burlap bag. "Okay," Seraphin replied, handing him the bag. Mayer turned to Kloppman and shook his hand, "Thanks for everything. Now if it's okay, Esther, David, and I are going to take Sarah home now. We have a big day tomorrow." "What's tomorrow?" Seraphin asked. "Tomorrow we're moving to Jersey City," David replied excitedly. Seraphin glanced over at Frankie, the tears once again coming to her eyes, "J-jersey City?" David nodded, "Yep! And it's going to be great!" "Come on, Sarah," Esther said, smiling down at her and taking her hand. "It's time to go home now." "Bye, Sarah," Frankie called sadly after her. Seraphin looked over her shoulder at Frankie and waved sadly back at him, "I'll miss you." Part Six July 13th, 1899 An Apartment Building in Lower Manhattan Sarah Jacobs, now 17 years old and her hair darkened with age to a medium brown color, set the box she was carrying in down on the table and walked over to the window, "Well, Frankie, it's been eight years. Are you still out there somewhere?" Suddenly, she felt something poking her in the back and she squealed, turning around quickly to see what it was. "Les!" she cried. "Watch where you aim that sword." Les laughed, pulling his sword away from Sarah's back and tucking it through his belt loop, "Sorry, Sarah. Who were you talkin' to?" Sarah shook her head, "No one, Les, don't worry about it." "Aww, come on! Please tell me!" "No," Sarah replied. "Where's Davey?" Les shrugged, "I dunno. I think he's waitin' for me so we can go to the newspaper place." "The Distribution Center," Sarah laughed. "Yeah, that. How did you know?" "I, umm, heard someone talking about it." Les stared blankly at Sarah for a moment and sighed, "Okay, if you say so. I'm gonna go now before Davey leaves without me." "Okay," Sarah replied. "If you need any help selling I'll be here helping Mama and Papa unpack." "Okay, Sarah...." Les shrugged, walking out of the apartment. Sarah turned back to the window and watched David and Les walk down the street towards the Distribution Center, "Time to get up and sell the papes. Time to get out there and carry the banner." A short while later, David and Les arrived at the Distribution Center gates to find a big crowd of newsies in the middle of the street. "Excuse me," David said, tapping the shoulder of a tall girl with red curly hair that reached to just above her shoulders. "Yes?" The girl replied, turning around. "Is this the Distribution center?" "Yes, it is, but we won't be going in until Cowboy skunks the Delanceys." David held his hand out to the girl and smiled, "Oh, by the way, I'm David Jacobs and this is my brother, Les." The red-haired girl smiled and shook his hand, "I'm Felicia, I mean Firecracker, Williams and this is my boyfriend, Mush." she said, pointing to the boy with brown curly hair next to her. "Watch out!" Cowboy shouted, running past the four of them and nearly knocking Firecracker over. Firecracker jumped out of the way just before she could fall down, "Dammit, Jack! You almost ran into us!" "Are you okay, Fire?" Mush asked, turning around. Fire nodded, "Yeah, Jack's just being himself. Oh, this is Davey and his little brother, Les." "Heya, Dave," Mush nodded at them. Dave was just about to speak when all of a sudden a loud cheer erupted from the crowd of newsies and the Distribution Center gates opened up with Jack hanging on the top of them. "Come on, Mush!" Fire laughed, pulling her with him to the line. "Nice meetin' ya, Dave!" Mush called over his shoulder as he followed close behind Fire. Davey looked down at Les and sighed, "I guess we better go get in line." "Okay, Davey," Les replied, following him to the quickly forming line. Surprisingly, the line was constantly moving, so Davey and Les soon reached the barred window where they were to get their papers. "How many?" the scruffy-looking man behind the bars asked. Davey sighed, leafing through the sample newspaper, "Hmm.. give me twenty newspapers." "Only twenty?" Jack asked, walking up behind him. "Bad headline," Davey replied simply. Jack laughed, "Lesson one, headlines don't sell papes, newsies sell papes." Part Seven Back at the Jacobs Apartment "Mother," Sarah said, picking up a basket from the table, "I'm going to the market to get some food for dinner. I'll be back in about an hour or so." "Okay, Sarah. Be careful," Esther replied, unpacking the boxes in another room. "Bye," Sarah called over her shoulder as she walked out into the street. The marketplace was just as Sarah had remembered it: a noisy, bustling place full of carts, people, and newsies. "Buy me last pape, miss?" a boy from behing her asked. Sarah spun around to see a tall boy with a patch over his left eye smiling at her, "Jimmy?" she asked almost inaudibly. "How... how didja know my name?" the boy asked, a confused look on his face. "Blink, it's me, Seraphin. Do you remember me?" Blink looked over Sarah with a thoughtful statement on his face before he finally nodded, "Jack still talk about ya awl da time." "Jack?" "Ya knew 'im as Frankie." "So I'm guessing that Felicia girl is here then?" "Ya knew about her?" Sarah nodded, "I gave Frankie, I mean Jack, a book about this cowboy named Jack Kelly, and Mush was talking about this girl named Felicia and how he couldn't wait to see her again. Well, Jack said that if Felicia ever did show up that he would change his name to Jack Kelly." Blink laughed, "An' ta think we awl thought dat he made dat name up hisself! So, how long have ya been back?" "We just moved back yesterday and we're unpacking today, but my brothers went to the Distribution Center to be newsies." "Davey an' Les?" "Yes, how did you know?" "Jack's teachin' 'em how ta sell. Jist wait 'til Jack hears yer back, he'll wanna see ya!" "I'd like to see him again too, but this is an even bigger city than I remember and I don't want to kill myself looking for him." "I'm shoah he'll be da one ta find you." "He'd do that?" Blink laughed, "Sarah, ya don't got da slightest clue how much he's missed ya. Aftah ya left, he wouldn't do nothin' fun fer a month, awl he did was sit an' watch da sunrise." "I cried for a week after I left," Sarah sighed, placing the vegetables she had purchased into her basket. "We awl missed ya a lot, Sarah, 'specially Jack." "I figured that he would've forgotten about me by now," Sarah said, sighing sadly. Blink shook his head, "He could nevah ferget about you! Ya meant too much ta him." "I did?" "Ya did den an' ya still do now." "Blink, I'd hate to do this, but I have to go and start dinner for my family. I'll see you around, okay?" "Okay, Sera, it was nice seein' ya again. When I see Jack latah, I'm gonna tell 'im dat yer back." "Thanks, Blink!" Sarah called over her shoulder, smiling back at him. Sarah hurried all the way home, her mind racing with memories of her young childhood as a newsy. "Sarah? Are you okay?" Esther asked, noticing that her daughter seemed to be thinking deeply about something. "What?" Sarah asked, looking down at the full basket of vegetables. "I'm fine, really." "Are you sure? You seem worried about something." "I saw one of my old friends at the market, that's all," she replied, cutting up the carrots for the soup. "Oh, I see. I was wondering what was keeping you, because I was hoping to have the soup done before your brothers came home." "Don't worry, mama, it'll get done." Part Eight Dinnertime at the Jacobs Apartment "Okay, mama, the table's set," Sarah smiled, helping her mother pour the soup into bowls. The door opened slowly and Davey, Les, and Jack walked inside. "Sorry we're late, mama," Davey apologized. "Oh, I almost forgot, this is my new friend and selling partner, Jack Kelly." As soon as Sarah heard Jack's name mentioned, her head shot up to look at him. "He still looks the same," she thought to herself. "Just like I remembered him." Jack smiled warmly at Esther before looking around the room and seeing Sarah sitting down right in front of him. "Hi," he said, sitting down next to her. "I'm Jack, Jack Kelly." "Hello," Sarah said shyly. "I'm Sarah." "Something about her seems so familiar," Jack thought to himself. "So, have ya been heah long?" Sarah shook her head, "No, we just moved back from Jersey City yesterday." "Joisey City?" "Yes, do you know someone there?" "Dis goil I knew when I was little, 'er name was Sera too. But she got adopted an' dey moved away," Jack answered, trying to see if Sarah would tell him anything. Sarah took a deep breath and could almost feel the tears coming to her eyes, "So, what makes a headline good?" "Catchy woids. Woids like moider, lovenest, and uhh.. nude. Sorry I'm tawkin' too much..." "No, it's okay. Would you like some more soup?" Jack nodded, "Yeah, thanks." He studied Sarah as she got him his soup and her wondered why she wouldn't tell him anything about them knowing each other before she moved away. Sarah sighed heavily. She knew that she had to tell him that she was Sera and that she had missed him dearly, but every time she opened her mouth to speak, an unintelligent question would come out instead. "Why can't I just tell him?" she asked herself. "He should already know anyway." Part Nine Nighttime at the Lodging House Jack walked into the lodging house with a dreamy look on his face, "Heya, everyone!" Fire looked up from the conversation she was having with Mush and laughed, "Well look who's Mr. Sunshine and Rainbows tonight!" "Awww, leave me alone! I jist saw Sera!" "Sera?" Mush asked. "Yeah, she's back!" "Oh... nice," Mush replied, pulling Fire back into their conversation. Jack rolled his eyes at Mush and Fire and continued up the stairs on his way into the bunkroom when he saw Blink walking towards him, "Heya, Blink!" "Heya, Jack," Blink smiled. "I saw yer goil taday." "My goil?" Blink nodded, "Sera's back. I saw 'er at da market dis aftahnoon." "An' ya didn't tell me soonah?? I jist got back from havin' dinner at her house an' I didn't even know she was dere 'til I got dere an' saw her. If I knew soonah, I woulda made myself look awl presentable like." "Aww! Someone's in loooove! Looks like we should change yer name to Mush!" Blink teased. Jack shook his head, "I don't think so, Blink. Mush is still a lot woise den I'll evah be." "I know, it jist sounded good." "I think I'm gonna go an' visit Sarah latah or tomorrow or somethin', I gotta tawk ta her." "Well don't go rushin' ta see her now, git some sleep an' pay 'er a visit at lunchtime." Jack nodded, "Dat's a good idea, Blink. I'll see ya in da mornin'." He yawned deeply and waved goodbye to Blink before dragging himself off to bed for the night. He was nearly asleep when the sound of a window being pushed open startled him. "Mush!" he whispered loudly. "What are you doin'? I'm tryin' ta sleep! I gots a big day ahead a' me!" Mush blushed slightly as he continued to climb out the window, "I, uhhh, I'm goin' on da roof. Jist pretend ya don't see me an' go back ta sleep, okay?" "Ya wouldn't wanna keep yer hot date waitin'," Jack teased, chuckling softly. "Shut yer mouth! Ya know dat we ain't gonna do nothin'!" "If youse two don't do nothin', den I ain't seein' Sarah tomorrow... which I am!" "I'll be back befoah Kloppman comes in da mornin'. On, an' Jack, good luck wit' Sarah tomorrow," Mush said, grinning as he disappeared onto the roof. Jack sighed, laying back down onto his bunk and closing his eyes, "Some things nevah change. Hopefully, da same thing can be said fer Sarah." Morning came quickly and Jack was awakened by the sudden burst of light that flooded into the room as Mush climbed inside. "Has Kloppman come in yet?" Mush asked, quickly climbing back into his bunk and pretending to go to sleep. Jack shook his head, letting out a long yawn, "Not yet. Ya made it back in record time!" Mush laughed, "Yeah, I know. I've been practicin'! So, are ya excited?" "I can't wait!" Jack replied, a huge smile taking over his drowsy face. "I ain't seen ya smile like dat since ya was liddle an' you an' Sarah did everythin' tageddah." "I hope she's jist as swell as I remembah." "She will be. Fiah's changed a lot since I saw her dat foist time an' she's real swell now, so it'll definitely be da same fer Sarah." "Thanks, Mush," Jack said, smiling as he got up to get dressed. While Jack was busy getting ready to pay Sarah a visit, Sarah was busy practicing how she would tell Jack the truth. "Now should I just tell him the truth or should I try to hint? No, no hinting, that’s what messed things up last night. I have to go right ahead and say it. Yes, that’s what I’ll do! I’ll ask him to sit down and I’ll say, ‘Jack, I know that it’s been quite a few years now, but now I’m back. It’s me, Seraphin.’ Yes! That’s perfect!" "What about Seraphin?" Jack asked, sitting down outside the window. Sarah looked up at Jack and blushed, pulling the curtain in front of her to try to hide her embarrassment, "I, umm, I’m Seraphin, Jack. I tried to tell you before, but I didn’t know how to say it. I, I didn’t know you were there." "It’s okay, Sarah," Jack replied, a slight chuckle in his voice. "I’m glad ya were gonna tell me, but I already knew." "You did? How?" "Yer smile, I could nevah ferget dat smile. ‘Sides, I could tell dat ya were tryin’ ta tell me wit’out really tellin’ me." Sarah blinked, part of her was embarrassed while the other part was flattered, "I don’t know what to say, Jack. That was so sweet!" "Ya don’t hafta say nothin’," Jack whispered softly, pulling her into a hug. "Jist nevah leave me again." "I won’t," Sarah whispered back. "Emmy used to say that everything can change in the blink of an eye, but no matter how many times you blink, the fact that I love you, and that I always have and always will, will never change." |
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| In the Blink of an Eye |
| Author: Firecracker Williams |