“Scrapes, are you all right?” I ran up to him turning him over so I could see the damage they had done to him.

“I told you to high tail it outa hera’, whats you’se still here for?” My brother glares at me. He holds his stomach with one hand and uses the other to help himself up.

“Why you always makin’ someone ticked at you? Why you always pickin’ fights? You ganna give me answers or just stand there and expect me to feel sorry for ya? Ya know I don’t and neva’ will feel sorry for you’se.” I give my brother a stern look.

“Ya, I knows that, ya tell me everyday, like I’se stupid. What can I do to show you’se I sorry?” He asks as he shakes out some of his sore spots.

“Nuthin’ and you’se knows it.” I snarl!

“Then why did you came back? You didn’t have to come back ya knows.”

“Oh ya, and stay there. You promised me, understand, you promised!” I yelled on the verge of tears.

“I came back, and you’se hera’ now” he explained trying to make me understand how he felt. Many times he had tried, but I was blind to the truth.

“Eight years latter, sure you came back.” I cried.

“Oh shut up!” He starts to walk in the directions of The Hang Out. “Ya comin’ or you’se ganna’ stay here all day.” He gives a simple motion for me to fallow.

“What did you say to Tracks that made him soak you.” I ask my brother in hopes to annoy him. “And what were you doing by Brooklyn anyhow? Hea`ro warned you Tracks was still mad about the last time.” Now I can see that my attempt to annoy him is working. “After last time you picked a fight with him, I figured that you had learned your lesson.” I’m now able to scold him because his gaurd is down. “Besides your are my brother and I...” My brother cuts me off mid sentence, his gaurd is never down for long.

“Don’t be talkin’ all prim and proper, you’se now miss little rich goil no more. You’se home is the streets of New Yoik’, not Main Avenue no more, so act you’se class.” he yells in my face. “You’se woulda’ been betta off comin’ out here with me when we was kids.” He mumbles under his breath as he turns to leave.

“You were eight , I was barely six. Look at were it has gotten you.” I look up at my brothers bruised body that has stopped walking in front of me.

“Oh ya, well look at where stayin’ has gotten you’se, no where, at least I can defend myself”

“Sure you’se can, is that why you’se all scraped up and covered in bruises.” I say to his face showing no fear. “I can hold my own, do you want me to show ya, or are you chicken to fight me.”

“You’se me sista’, I ain’t gonna beat the snot out of ya. Besides, there were four of them and only one of me, it wasn’t a fair fight.” He says cooling off.

“I can’t stand you, you aren’t always the hero, you let me down, and pickin’ fights doesn’t make it up to me.” I say under my breath, turning my back to him with a scowl on my face.

“ We need to meet the guys at tha hang out, don’t take too long gettin’ there.” he says giving up the argument. It was pointless to argue with me because I never seemed to let the other person get in what they had to say.

“Hey, LaRae, wait up!” I hear from behind me. I turn to find Andrea running to catch up with me.

“Ya knows, you’se still the only one that eva’ calls me that anymore. All the newsies call me Ray.” I explain to her again.

“You’se still the only one that calls me Andrea, all the newsies call me Andy; so I guess we’re even.” she claims as she finally reaches my side. “ so, were have you been today?” she asks as she reaches my side and we begin to walk down the streets together.

“I followed Scrapes over to the bridge. He picked a fight with Tracks and got soaked.” I looked up across the street and saw Mike Finley (one of the many enemies fo the newsies) glaring my way. “Hey Andrea, do you want to see sumin’ extremely funny? Watch this!” I had learned and mastered the art of making Mike Finley vary mad, the funny part is, when he would try and catch me, he couldn’t do it.

“Hey lard brains, ya got lead feet of they just suppotin’ a three ton body!” I screamed in his direction and took off down the street. Once I had reached the end of the block, I turned the corner and kept running. When I reached the next corner I checked to see if Mike was still there, sure enough he was. When I reached the next corner I checked on the slow-poke and saw him struggling to continue after me, and by the time I reached Andrea, he was half a block back gasping for air on his knees.

“You’se shouldn’t tease him like that, if he ever caught ya...” she started.

“You know he can’t do that, besides if he ever did, I’d pound his brains in.” I look back at Mike, “Lets get to the hang out before he can breath” we laugh at his expense and are on our way.

“Hey, goils, whats tha hurry?” We look back at Scrapes who was moseying down the street next to Beam (a newsie friend).

“Oh nuthin’, she was teasing Mike and now, once he catches his breath or tells Liam (Mike’s cousin) she’ll be back on the run again.” Andrea tells Scrapes as she slow down to his speed.

“You’se there, Hey goil, you’se been teasing my cousin, and now you pay!” Liam boldly yells at me.

“Hate to tell you, but you can’t catch me.” I take off down the road with Liam far behind me and the distance between us continues to grow. He managed to follow me around most of the city between our starting place and the Greeley square, but then gave up the chase. I headed to the hang out at a full sprint.

“Well, it took you long enough loose him.” my brother jokes at me when I walk through the door of what all the newsies call the Hang Out (The only resturant in town that will serve newsies)

“I took him down to da square. Tha sucker couldn’t keep up. Left him in the dust madder than a wet hen” I walked up to the table and pulled up a chair. “My life would be so boring if I didn’t get ta do that once a day.”

“Ya shouldn’t do that, there are more of the scabs that just Mike and Liam.” Hea`ro said. Hea`ro is like the leader of the group, but he has this attitude like the doesn’t need any help. I guess that is what makes him such a good leader; he doesn’t depend on everyone else to get the job done.

“I didn’t ask ya to look afta me.” I replied.

‘We’ll, I’s doin’ it any ways, so don’t tease them any more.” he scowls at me as I roll my eyes at him. Now that my old man is out of the picture, I don’t take orders from anyone anymore; I’ve been warned about that.

“FIVE BUCKS, I WON!” Race Track comes in the door hysterically repeating. “FIVE BUCKS I WON, I DID IT!”

“Nice Race, that’s vary nice.” Hea`ro turns back to me, “Ray, I know...”

“Doesn’t anybody care that I won a bet around here?” Race says with all the enthusiasm completely gone.

“Race, I said that it was nice but I’m in the middle of telling Ray something,so we’ll celebrate latter.” Hea`ro said over his shoulder to Race. “Ray, I know that you’se still gonna tease Mike and Liam, Just remember that there’s more of the scabs that directions for you to run!”

Extremely ticked off, I stand to leave. “I don’t have to take this.” I mumbled under my breath.

“Were do you think you’se goin’? You’se ain’t goin’ nowhere without one of the guys goin’ with you. Blink, you’se done eatin’, you’se take her were ever it is she thinks she is goin’.” Scrapes states as he stands in my way. Kid Blink rises from his seat and escorts me out of the restaurant.

“So, were are you’se headin’?” Kid Blink asks as he puts on his hat and a sly grin. “Can I come?”

“Guess I have no choice on that one. I’m headed to some place were I can get some food to eat. All that runnin’ can woik up an appetite.” I said to him as he hurries to keep up.

“Ugh, you’se goin’ the wrong way, tha Hang Out is the other way.” Blink explains as he confusingly points behind him.

“I don’t want to listen to Hea`ro and Scrapes lecture me about teasing Mike and Liam.” I turn the corner but Blink still follows me. “Don’t you have anything better to do?” I ask him a bit annoyed that he wasn’t leaving me alone.

“No, I have orders to keep my eyes on you; that’s one order I’ve been waitin’ to get. If you do that without permission, you get soaked.” Blink teases me as I head into the lodging house.

“I thought you’se said that you was hungry, ain’t you’se gonna eat?” Blink asks in concern as he follows me up stares.

“Na, I’s gone with out eatin’ before, ain’t no biggie!” I said as I plopped down in my favorite busted chair. I find a spot on the wall to occupy my mind. If I had to be around a person, I might as well make the best of it and ignor them. I could hear Blink talking to me but I wasn’t paying much attention to it till he roused me out of my fixated trance on the spot on the wall.

“Well, are you?” Blink asked me once more a bit louder.

“Am I what?” I respond a bit agitated.

“Ever gonna be Beat’s goil?” He questioned with that sly grin across his face.

“Not in my life time. Who gave you that bone-head idea?” I asked in disgust.

“No one, Beat just said he wanted to make you his goil, you’se brother didn’t have any objections.” he said with the grin wiped off, there was a bit of disappointment in his voice.

“Four months ago you said the same thing, did it happen? No, so don’t believe everything that you hoid.” I take off my black hat and my hair falls down my back.

“Lord have mercy, you look gorgeous when you do that.” I look up and find Beat staring at me all starry-eyed.

“You can look, but don’t touch. I ain’t yours for the taking!” I stand up and head for the door; unfortunately Beat was in my way. I roll my eyes at him and he graciously gets out of my way. I walk past him and start down the stares.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have a perfect body.” He calls down to me desperate for a chance.

“Has anyone ever told you to shut-up!” I call back to him over my shoulder.

“All I want is one chance with her, Scrapes said that if I said that, she would be all mine.” Beat says to Blink disappointed that the lines hadn’t worked.

“Listen to me,” I yell as I turn back up the stares. “Scrapes doesn’t know one thing about me. Don’t go looking for a way to get you on my good side through him, he doesn’t know me, he gave that up ten years ago.” I could see questions building up on their faces as it does anytime I bring up our (Scrapes and mine) past. “Don’t ask, you should know better than that by now.” I head back down the stares; leaving the two boys in silence. Angrily I jump over the railing skipping the bottom four steps.

“Hey Ray.” an old man says from behind the counter. “Are you going in or are you leaving at this late hour.”

“I’m leaving Pete, probably to central park..” I calmly walk out the building and down the street. The evening was just starting and I was alone, just like I liked it, just as it had been all my life. That’s the way I preferred things to be. I reached central park and headed toward the Brooklyn Bridge.

I’ve dreamed up all sorts of stuff in central park; I figured that I needed a change of scenery. I like to make up a life for myself, to pretend that my life had been better than it really had been. Growing up like I did, that is the only way for me to even imagine that I was more than what reality had made me. One dream can break a person’s heart; that is, if it fails to come true.

I had been all over the world, but never to Brooklyn. I gazed across the bridge in awe of the simplicity of what lies on the other side. I’ve heard many stories about things that have happened over there. I’ve also heard that the people over there are not ones to be trifled with. I’ve witnessed that with Tracks and Scrapes. I’ve never seemed to get the gumption to go by myself and no one will come with me. When the boys go over for a day or so, I’m not permitted because they are there on business; they normally leave some one to keep an eye on me. For what seems hours I stare across the bridge wondering what exactly lies on the other side. Before I knew it, the sky had grown dark and I started on my way to the lodging house all the way back in Manhattan

“Were you’se been? I hear as I walk in the door. “You told Pete that you was goin’ to Central Park You wasn’t there. I know, I checked. We looked all ova’ for you’se. Ya better have a darn good excuse.” my brother scolds as I sit down in my favorite broken chair I had previously occupied.

“I was over by the bridge. What’s gottin’ unda you’se skin? Why you’se been keepin’ such close tabs on my whereabouts?” I ask. I look away from the crowd of boys that had gathered around me as if glad to see me alive. “What is wrong with you? I’m alive and well, you don’t have to go into shock that I’m here.” I look at them discussed that they have nothing better to do than worry about me.

“Just don’t goes off by you’se own. Stay with da guys.” The lights go out but the room remains restless for about an hour. Eventually the room goes silent and I carefully make my way to the east window. There I can gaze out at the stars. I remembered back to the only memory I had of my Mother actually talking to me. If she had stayed alive, my life would have been perfect.

“Hey sunshine, I want to show you something special. See those, those are the stars. You can pick anyone of them and make it your star. When you get lonely or confused, you close your eyes and go there and take time cool down and believe in yourself. That will make the whole thing better. And when I’m gone, you look at that star and remember everything about me. When I’m not with you, that is were I’ll be.”

I look over the starry sky for the star my Mother had pointed out to me that night. “I miss you momma!” I cry almost silently as a solitary tear runs down my cheek.

Part 2
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