Iced Over, Part 2 |
"So, Anita," Morris stood up. "Could I see you tomorrow, after you sell your papes?" "Of course you can, Morris. Where do you want to go?" Anita gazed up at Morris. Martie felt like she was going to gag. "Anywhere with you is fine." "Well," said Oscar, "You two had better get goin'. Don't wanna be late gettin' back, do ya?" He opened the door for the two girls. It would've been a polite gesture, had he not been almost shoving them out. Martie gasped at the same time as Anita said, "Oh my..." The entire courtyard was white. Snow was piled up against the wrought iron fence. It blew all over the place, and into the girls eyes. Anita turned back to the inviting fire. "Maybe we'd better stay here for the night. It looks pretty nasty out there." "No. Uh uh. I'm going back. What's Jack gonna think if we don't come home? He'll soak these two in the mornin' without a doubt." Martie stepped out into the snow. The wind cackled and snatched her hat off of her head. She ran after it, but couldn't catch it. All of a sudden, a hand reached out and grabbed it for her. Martie turned around to see Oscar turning blue with her hat in his hand. "What are you doing? Thanks for what you done, but you go back inside 'fore you freeze ta death!" Oscar said, "You're welcome." and ran inside. Anita called out, "You sure you don't want to stay? It could get very dangerous out there!" "I'm sure!" Martie stepped out the gate and began to cross the street. Suddenly, a carriage turned the corner and the horse, unable to stop, reared up. Martie fell, and her head hit the ground. Everything turned to black. ``````````}}i{{``````````` Martie opened her eyes slowly. Everything was blurry, and she was cold. When everything came into focus, Martie yelped. Oscar Delancy was laying barely 2 inches from her. "What is going on?" Her voice was hoarse, and her throat hurt. "Oh, you're awake. Does your head hurt?" Oscar's eyes showed real concern. Martie sat up. "No, but your's will, if--ah!! Yeah..." She quickly lay back down and cradled her head. "But you'd better explain why I'm here, and you're right there." Oscar said, "Don't worry. I have a good explanation. See, this jerk was drivin' his carriage full speed wit'out a lantern lit, so you didn' see him comin'. I don' think he hitcha, but you fell, an' hit your head pretty hard. You was knocked out, so me an' Morris carried you in here. Uncle Wease don' let us leave the fire burnin' durin' the night, so we normally has to get close to each other--don' laugh!-- ta keep warm. But since Anita's here, Morris would much rather snuggle wit' her, an' I couldn' letcha freeze, so..." "It can't be that cold here." "It is, 'specially wit' this storm. I promise I won' bite ya. But ya needs ta keep warm, or else you could really freeze ta death." "...Fine... you look weird. er. Weirder. Like not how ya normally do. Maybe not in a bad way either, but just..." Martie peered at his face, then her eyes lit up. "Your hat! I mean, you're not wearin' a hat. You have, like, hair." Martie blushed when she realized what she was thinking. "You have real nice eyes, O'Graidy." Oscar grinned lopsidedly. "Umm, thanks Os. Listen, I'm real tired, an' my head hurts, so... I'm gonna go to sleep. But don' try nothin'." Martie glared at him. "I won'! I won', I may be a bully an' a real jerk besides, but I don' disrespect ladies." "Thanks, but I'm not a lady. I'm a newsie." |
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