She walked slowly for awhile, her eyes settling on the fruit stands, her mouth watering. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten and knew that was a very bad sign. Noelle drifted closer to the stands, averting her eyes as she slid by, slipping an apple into her sleeve as the stand owner helped another customer. Glancing behind her as she walked away, Noelle smirked and pulled the apple out of her sleeve, shining it before taking a huge bite. She swallowed happily, wiping the juice off her chin. After she finished the apple in several huge bites she looked around, her eyes taking in everything. She noticed a large group of boys entering a gated area and smiled. Newsies. She stepped off the sidewalk and followed them, knowing that whatever happened, she could always be a newsie. Noelle patted the back of her head, making sure all her hair was securely hidden in her hat. Who knew if girls could be newsies here? Better not take chances.
Noelle entered the gates and headed toward the line of newsies, her head down. She didn't even notice the tall newsie blocking her path until she had almost run into him. She paused, looking up at him in annoyance. "You got a problem?" She asked.
Jack was taken aback by the bright green eyes and clear skin of the tall boy in front of him. The boy was a little skinny and hadn't looked too dangerous, yet when he looked into his eyes, Jack saw bitterness and rage, both of which could boil over at any moment. Jack frowned and pushed those thoughts out of his mind, glaring down at the boy. "Yeah, I got a problem. You. Who are ya and where do ya come from?"
Noelle scowled, irritated by this boy already. "I don't see why the hell I should tell you that." She said, her eyes flashing.
Jack's eyes darkened, annoyed by this headstrong boy who could have the gall to speak to him like this. "Because you're in my territory, boy, and so that makes you my problem."
"Look," Noelle said, eyeing Jack. "I just want to buy papes. That's it." She said, attempting to brush past him. His large arm whipped out, stopping that movement right away. Noelle looked up at Jack, finally realizing that she might not get out of this one so easily.
"You're not going anywhere." He said quietly.
"If you want a problem, I can give you one." Noelle said, her eyes holding Jack's.
"Is that a threat?" Jack asked, growing angry.
"You tell me." Noelle said, noticing the growing number of spectators that had gathered around them, and none of them looked friendly.
"Get 'im Jack!" A voice broke the silence, accompanied by muttering agreement from the crowd.
Jack's eyes moved around the group quickly, coming back to rest on Noelle. His eyes held hers, showing no malice whatsoever. My call. Noelle thought, knowing that her future with these boys hinged on her actions. But she also knew that she would never gain their respect if she backed down now. She plunged forward, taking the risk. "Come on, Jack." She mocked, her eyes flashing. "Get me."
Jack's eyes darkened, his face filling with rage. "You asked fer it." He said, his hands forming fists.
Noelle pressed her hand against her side one last time before balancing on her toes to await Jack's first move. He swung high at her face, almost carelessly, which Noelle ducked under easily, placing a hard punch to his stomach, sending Jack staggering backward, a look of surprise on his face. Noelle's face hardened, knowing he wouldn't underestimate her again.
They circled each other warily, Jack finally jumping forward with a punch that Noelle blocked, connecting a moment later with Jack's eye. He grimaced and returned with a punch to Noelle's Achilles heel-her stomach. Pain exploded through Noelle's whole body, centering on the burning fire in her side. She clutched the bandage under her shirt, realizing with growing dread that it was far too wet for a three-day old wound. Noelle tried to stay upright, blocking Jack's punches as best she could, knowing that her efforts would eventually prove futile. Finally Jack connected soundly with her left eye, flinging her backward against the circle of newsies.
Kid Blink watched the fight with growing apprehension, disliking how the boy was holding his side and had stopped attacking Jack, but was simply focusing on blocking Jack's blows. Suddenly his mouth dropped open with realization and he shoved his way through the crowd, trying to get to Jack before it was too late.
Jack punched the boy, who fell back against the crowd. They pushed him back just as Jack heard Kid Blink's voice from the crowd. "Jack, no!" He cried, as the boy was flung into Jack. Jack was surprised and looked down, attempting to hold up the boy who was in fact surprisingly light. But he couldn't and the boy fell heavily to the ground at Jack's feet.
The newsies froze, staring at the still form on the ground. Jack stared at the front of his shirt where a large red smear stained the right side. Then he looked over at the boy-and his eyes widened. The boy's hat had finally been flung off and Noelle's long strawberry-blond hair lay splayed around her head. "Jack!" Kid Blink said, finally pushing through the crowd and reaching his side. "She's hurt." He said quietly before hurrying to the girl's side. He carefully rolled her onto her back and pulled open several of the large shirts that helped give Noelle the illusion of stature.
Jack knelt down next to Blink, staring at the girl's left hand, stained red from Noelle's futile attempt to stop the bleeding. Kid Blink carefully peeled away the last two layers that were soaked with blood and pulled up Noelle's undershirt, getting a good look at the wound. "My God." He said, staring in shock before turning his wide eyes to Jack.
Jack stood, calling over Skittery. "Go tell Kloppman to get a doctor." He said, his voice quiet. Skittery nodded, turning and hurrying away. "And for God's sake tell him it's an emergency!" Jack called out before kneeling again at Kid Blink's side. "What does it look like?" He asked nervously.
Kid Blink sighed, shaking his head. "She's been slashed pretty good." He said quietly.
Jack looked pained and nodded. "I'll take her back to the lodging house." He said, pulling off his outer shirt and placing it under Noelle's undershirt to stop the flow of blood. He carefully lifted her up in his arms, again surprised at how light she was. He stood, her long hair swinging below his arm as Jack held her close so as not to jar her injury. Jack walked slowly through the crowd, heading for the lodging house.
Kloppman was waiting at the door for Jack when he finally arrived. "Come along in here, Jack." He said, leading the way to the small sick room at the back of the front desk.
Jack laid her carefully on the bed, hovering near the bed as he shot questions at Kloppman. "Is the doctor coming?" He asked worriedly.
"I sent Skittery, he should be here soon." Kloppman said as he called over Kid Blink to help him remove the large bulky shirts. Jack folded them neatly and piled them next to the bed. Kloppman carefully folded up the last small undershirt, displaying Noelle's stomach and the blood soaked rag. He peeled it slowly away, grabbing a clean one and pressing it against the wound, which continued to bleed. Kloppman sighed, glancing behind him just as the doctor rushed through the door. Jack stared at him, surprised, as the doctor knelt by the bed. It was the doctor from the hospital!
"It's a good thing that I was coming here already to talk to you about your friends." He said after several moments of examining Noelle. "This girl is in serious jeopardy."
"Will she be all right?" Jack asked, speaking from where he stood on the other side of the bed.
"This wound has to be closed. If she loses much more blood, she could bleed to death." The doctor said, pulling out a needle and thread. "Someone will have to hold her. I don't have anesthetic with me and I can't wait." He said, looking around.
"I will." Jack said, stepping forward.
"Good. Just hold her upper body still. You, hold her legs." Jack knelt down next to the bed, holding her down with his arm across her stomach. "All right, good. I'm going to clean out the cut now. Keep her steady." The doctor poured alcohol onto a rag and carefully pressed it against the slash.
Noelle's forehead furrowed, and she opened her eyes at the sudden added pain to the gnawing fire in her side. She looked down and then up-right into the eyes of the boy who had caused all this. Noelle's eyes grew wide and she thrashed with all her waning strength to get him away from her. Jack was shocked and didn't quite know what to do. He held onto her, attempting to stop her, surprised at the strength she still contained. "Blink, get over here!" Kloppman yelled, narrowly missing getting kicked in the face.
"Jack, let go." Kid Blink said quietly, taking Jack's place. "Hey, calm down." Kid Blink said soothingly, attempting to quiet the wild girl, her eyes wide with fear and delirium. "It's okay." He said when she finally stopped moving, her chest heaving and her eyes darting around the room. "I'm Kid Blink. I'm not going to hurt you. Your wound needs to be closed. The doctor will stitch you up, but it's going to hurt. There was no time to get anesthetic. Okay? Just try to stay still, he'll go as fast as he can."
As soon as the doctor could see that Noelle was calm, he started stitching up her side. Noelle's face contorted in pain, her teeth clenched together to keep from screaming. Thankfully she passed out again halfway through. "Thank you Doc," Kloppman said, shaking the doctor's hand as he left the room.
"Glad to help, Kloppman. Keep an eye on her for a couple of days, she'll be all right. She's a tough girl, that one." He said as he left.
"That she is." Kloppman said, waving for a moment before returning to the room, where Jack stood against the wall, watching forlornly as Kid Blink used a damp cloth to wipe the girl's forehead. "It's all right, Jack. It wasn't your fault." He said, sitting down in a chair by the bed.
Jack's eyes flew over to Kloppman, full of shock. "How can you say that? This is completely my fault!"
Kloppman sighed, standing up and stretching before stepping forward. "Jack, Blink, go now. Sell your papes. She'll be all right here."
"Kloppman! I…" Jack protested, standing up straight.
"No, Jack, go…don't stand in here moping." Kloppman said, holding open the door. Kid Blink strolled through, nodding to Kloppman. Jack followed after one last look at the still form on the bed.
That night the lobby was crawling with newsies, all of whom were waiting to hear about the strange new girl. Kloppman kept all of them away except Jack, who refused to be barred from the room. Jack leaned against the far wall, watching the girl sleep. She looked so fragile and innocent as she slept, though Jack knew all too well the fire that lay beneath the surface. His stomach clenched with nervousness as he saw her shift in the bed, her eyes slowly opening. She stared up at the ceiling, flexing her fingers slowly before her left hand suddenly reached under the blanket to her side, finding the bandage taped there. Knowing instinctively what she would find, her eyes slowly lowered to Jack's, staring at him warily.
"We, uh, stitched it up for you." Jack said lamely. Her eyes remained on Jack as she carefully pulled herself into a sitting position, her left hand glued to her side. Jack stepped forward to help her but was halted by her murderous look. She leaned back slowly, attempting to keep the pain she felt off her face. Once she was settled, she turned all her attention to Jack. They studied each other in silence for several long moments, the girl giving no indication she would speak. Jack finally spoke up, needing to fill the empty silence. "Are you feeling better?" He asked, his voice sounding strange in the silence. The girl stared at him and then nodded, glancing at the table next to her where a jug of water and a glass stood. Looking over at Jack for a split second, she leaned over and clasped the glass.
Jack hurried forward, meaning to help her. She flinched and leaned away from him as he filled the glass with water and held it out. She hesitated a minute before reaching out and taking the glass slowly. "Thank you." She said quietly, lifting the cup to her lips without taking her eyes off Jack.
Jack smiled slightly. "So you do speak." He said, his smiled fading as she stared at him in silence. He looked away nervously, then back to her eyes. "Uh, do you want anythin'? I mean, are you hungry?" Noelle shook her head, sipping the water as she watched Jack over the glass rim. "Oh." Jack said, his face looking more crestfallen by the moment. "Well, Kloppman is gettin' you some food. He should be back soon."
"Why are you doing this?" She asked, her eyes never leaving his face.
Jack was startled to hear her voice but attempted not to show it. "I just wanted, I mean, we just wanted to make sure you were okay." He said lamely.
"I was doing just fine until I got mixed up with you." She said, shifting her weight and grimacing.
"You could have died. The doctor said you lost a lot of blood." Jack said, his face showing his concern.
Noelle glared at Jack. "If I remember right, I was punched in the stomach, which broke open my wound. But then you wouldn't know about that, would you?"
Jack sighed and sat down in a chair by her bed. "I'm sorry. I had no idea you were hurt. If I'd known you were, I never would have picked a fight. I never meant to hurt you."
"Ha!" Noelle burst out angrily, throwing the covers off her and climbing out of the bed onto shaky legs. Jack stood up to help, but just stared as Noelle stood angrily next to the bed in her tank-top undershirt and drawers, her wobbly legs and feet bare. "I have no doubt that you wouldn't hurt a defenseless girl." She spat out, staring him down. "Thank you so much for your concern. Now where are my clothes." She asked, one hand against her side.
"Kloppman sent them to be cleaned." Jack said quietly, still staring at Noelle.
"Fine." Noelle said, heading around the bed to the door. "Oh, by the way," She said, her hand on the knob. "Nice shiner." She said, pulling open the door. She stepped outside into the lobby full of newsies. She glanced around, ignoring the fact that they all stood in shock, staring at the bare legged girl standing before them.
"Hey, don't go out there!" Jack said, pulling her back and closing the door.
"Let go of me!" Noelle yelled, wrenching her arm away.
"I didn't mean…" Jack began, turning to face Noelle.
"Yeah, I'm sure you didn't mean." She said, glaring at him through glittering green eyes.
Jack grew angrier the more he watched the fiery girl in front of him. "You could at least show a little gratitude you know." He snapped, facing her down.
Noelle was shocked. "Gratitude? For what? For beating me? A defenseless girl?" Noelle mocked. "Or maybe it was for almost letting me bleed to death!"
Jack was next to her in an instant, gripping her arm tightly. "I'd recommend not getting me angry, little girl." He said, his voice deadly quiet.
Noelle sneered at him. "That threat didn't work before, why should it work now?" She said, leaning her weight into him and shoving him back with her forearm. Jack's eyes flashed as he pushed himself away from the wall where he had fallen, preparing to return to the battle.
"Stop it, both of you!" Noelle turned to find a small man in the doorway, holding a tray of food. "Jack, sit down." He said, pointing to a chair. "You, young lady, back to bed." Noelle lifted her stubborn chin and refused to budge, folding her arms across her chest. Kloppman sighed and gestured with his arm. "For your own good, please?" Noelle paused for a moment and then grudgingly complied, sitting on the top of the covers. "Good. Now. The doctor has told me you are to stay in that bed for several more days. Ah ah ah," Kloppman said, holding up his hand to stop Noelle from speaking. "No arguments. You will stay in that bed until you're fully recovered." Noelle scowled but remained silent. "Now then, while you eat," he said, carrying the tray over to her. "tell us about yourself."
Noelle opened her mouth, ready with a sharp retort, but at the last moment closed it again. The scowl eased slightly and she took a deep breath, glancing over at Jack for a split second before returning to Kloppman. "I don't know where to start." She said, fiddling with a spoon.
"Why don't you start with your name," Kloppman said, sitting down next to Jack. "And go from there."
Noelle looked down, breaking apart a piece of toast and eating several bites before finally speaking. "My name is Noelle. I came from Chicago. I've been pretty much living on the streets there since my parents died four years ago. They emigrated from Ireland, so I didn't have any other family. People there are poor, they don't have much money, especially to take care of a kid they don't want. So I came here to look for work. The end."
"How'd you get hurt?" Jack asked.
Noelle looked over at him, her eyes like bright emeralds. "I don't know who they were, just a bunch of thugs, I guess. They just kind of jumped me." She said, shrugging.
Jack leaned forward. "Were you over in midtown by any chance?"
"That the territory to the west 'a yours?" Noelle asked. Jack nodded, his eyes neutral. "Yeah." She said quietly.
"I knew it!" Jack exclaimed, his face bright. "They thought you were one 'a Cassie's newsies! Wait a minute, they attacked you with a knife?" Jack asked, surprised.
"Well, obviously."
Jack frowned. "It's just that they haven't cut anybody else."
"Well, maybe he just liked me better." Noelle snapped.
Jack scowled, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms across his chest. "That would be impossible."
Noelle ignored Jack, turning to Kloppman. "How much longer do I have to stay in bed?" She asked.
"You have to stay at least a couple more days, then…" he shrugged. "We'll see."
Noelle frowned. "We'll see what?" She asked icily.
"Well, my dear, you have stitches there. They'll eventually have to be removed. So you'll be making your home here for awhile."
Noelle frowned but nodded, leaning back against the pillows. At that, Jack stood, turning away. "I need to be going." He said, glancing over at Noelle. "I hope you feel better soon." He said, pasting on a smile for her before turning and heading out the door.
Mush, Crutchy and Dutchy were waiting for him, trying to catch a glimpse of the girl before Jack shut the door soundly. "So Cowboy, what's she like?" Mush asked, a smile on his face. "She's cute, isn't she?"
Jack scowled. "She's a pain in the ass, that's what she is." He said, walking past them, knowing they'd follow.
"So what's her story?" Dutchy asked, following Jack out onto the street.
"You won't believe it, she was slashed by Cassie's thugs! They musta thought she was one 'a her newsies." Jack said, sitting on the stoop and pulling out a cigarette.
"Really? Wow." Dutchy said, sitting down next to Jack. "So what are we going to do now?" He asked.
Jack shrugged, taking a long drag and exhaling slowly. "I haven't quite figured that out yet."
"Well, is she goin' to stay?" Crutchy asked, leaning his crutch against the stoop.
Jack frowned slightly. "It seems that way. But she won't be on the streets for several days, thank God."
"Thank God?" Mush repeated. "She can't be that bad."
"She's worse." Jack said, scowling. "She's like a spittin' wildcat."
Mush shrugged, leaning back on his elbows. "She looked sweet to me."
Jack snorted. "Yeah, well you didn't have to talk to 'er." He said, dropping the cigarette and grinding it out beneath his foot. "She's almost as bad as Cassie!" He said, running his fingers through his hair.
"Maybe she's just sore because of what you did to her." Dutchy suggested. Jack rolled his eyes and remained silent, shifting slightly. Dutchy smiled. "So, are you gonna teach her?"
"Teach her what? Manners?" Jack grumbled, looking over at Dutchy.
Dutchy smiled and shook his head. "No. Are you gonna teach her to be a newsie?"
Jack groaned, clapping his hand against his forehead. "I'd forgotten about that!" He moaned, regretting now that he always showed new newsies the ropes. "Someone else can." He said stubbornly.
Mush rolled his eyes. "Jack, you're the best newsie, you gotta show her. And no matta what you say, I can't believe she's that bad."
Jack scowled and stood. "Just wait until you meet her." He said, climbing past them up the stairs.