"Den go back ta Brooklyn." Jack replied calmly. He could tell his friend wasn't as angry as he acted, or at least not at Clown. Something was bothering him. "I ain't t'rowin 'er out, Spot."

"Ya t'rowin' me out, den?" Spot challenged.

"Ya hoid me. Go back ta Brooklyn, if ya want." Jack retorted.

They glared at each other for a several minutes. Spot finally backed off, turning his glare on the wall. "I can't."

"Jack, check the window quick!" Dave exclaimed. "I think I just saw a pig fly by!" When Spot turned to him, he added seriously. "What is it, then?"

The Brooklyn newsie didn't answer and turned back toward the wall. "We ain't leavin' till ya tell us, Spot." Jack said.

"Ya know dat kid Karl, little guy, we called 'im Gardener cuz 'e was always swipin' flowers from people's gardens ta give ta his sista?"

"I t'ink I rememba him." Jack said exchanging glances with Dave. Was? he thought.

"Yeah, well, he's dead. Got caught by some big thugs las' night. We found 'im dis mornin'. Five minutes from da docks, too! I was five minutes away an' din't know anyt'in about it! I got spies all ovah New Yawk, an' I don't know when one a me boys is gettin' attacked right under me nose!" He pounded a fist into the desk. "Dammit, Jack! I'se s'posed ta protect 'em!"

"It ain't yer fault, Spot." Jack offered. He hadn't expected this.

"He wanted a sellin' partner cuz t'ings'd been rough aroun' his spot lately." Spot went on more quietly, not really hearing him. "Ast me - but no one was free an' I always sell alone - ya know dat."

"Yeah, I know."

"An' da next I see 'im, he's lyin' dere in dat alley, an' 'e still gots dose flowers fer 'is sista!" He pulled a wilted bouquet out of his pocket. "Said ta make shoa she gets 'em. So I cann't go back ta Brooklyn. I gotta stay heah in Manhattan an' find dat orphanage an' tell Lynn dat 'er brudda's dead an' it's my fault."

"Spot-"

"It ain't really da goil's fault." He admitted. "Jist - I ran inta her jist afta we found 'im, an' I was pretty hot fer a fight anyways. I was lookin' fer da scabs dat got Gardener - still gotta find 'em." His eyes shifted from blue to a dangerous grey. It was a grey that meant no one he turned on would be quite safe, not even his best friends, not even his family, not even himself. They turned back to blue, and both Dave and Jack breathed silent sighs of relief. "I s'pose I'd betta apol'gize."

Dave tried not to stare. Apologize? Spot? The last time he apologized to someone it was Porter. He never even apologized for nearly killing Jack when he showed up at the lodging house after switching sides again. He gave Jack a questioning look.

Cowboy looked suspiciously like he was laughing. Dave would have to get the joke out of him later. "Come on, den." Jack said. "Let's go tell 'er."

Spot looked less enthusiastic. Dave checked his watch. "Les and I should be going." He grinned ruefully. "We were supposed to be home a couple of hours ago.

"Since da loveboids is up on da roof, I betta show ya aroun'." Truth said. "How tall is ya, by da way?"

"Five feet, one-half inch - why? And who are the lovebirds?"

"D-n! Still taller! I'se four-eleven. - Oh, jist so's ya know in da mornin' da washrooms t'rough dere." Truth waved at a door to their right. "We gotta share wit da boys, but Kloppman gets us up foist. - What was I sayin'? Oh, yeah, da loveboids is Spitfire an' Crutchy. Dey's got dis t'ing 'bout sunsets. Jist as well dey ain't down heah wit da rest a us. Dey goes really sappy sometimes."

"Oh, give 'em a break, Truth." laughed a brunette Lacey remembered as Nickel. "Dey ain't been tagedda fer a month even yet."

"Take any a da bunks dat ain't got stuff on 'em." Truth said to Clown waving around the room. "Still, da way dey goes on-"

"Long as ya live heah, ya'll never need sugar!" said Pounce in laughing agreement. "Aw right, we gots a new goil - gossip session!"

All the girls laughed at her, but they formed a circle in the middle of the room. Clown smiled as she noticed the Pips and Grins, much younger than the others, squeezing in importantly. As she sat down, she saw a short red head glaring at her. "What's your problem?" she asked angrily. The girl dropped her eyes and muttered something under her breath. "What?"

"It's short, gots brown hair, an' looks like it jist left da circus." She said louder.

"Fly, don't start-" Nickel sighed as Clown shot to her feet, temper flaring. Another girl tucked her writing book under her arm and put a hand on Clown's shoulder.

"I don't unnerstand ya - alla ya!" The red head stood herself in one of her extremely rare outbursts. "Dis goil jist waltzes in an afta what she jist doen ta one a yer friends, ya's treatin' 'er like yer best friend. Ya wanna find anudda one, Nickel?" She ran out of the room, with Nickel following her.

"Don't pay attention ta Fly." Truth said when Clown would have gone after the girl. "She's liked Spot since day one, an' if he's mad, she's mad. She'll get ovah it."

"Speakin' a Spot bein' mad," Pounce wasted no time in getting to the gossip. "Whadja do ta 'im, anyways?"

"I was walking through Brooklyn and ran into him. He was a jerk - hasn't changed, I might add - and we got into a fight."

"An' ya got out witout a scratch? Youse eidda incredibly lucky or a d-n good fighta!" Clouds shook her head with appreciation. "Honestly, do ya know how few people's even drawn even wit Spot Conlon?"

Pen nodded. Of the girl's she and Pounce had been at the lodging house the longest. "Da las' one was Cowboy, an' dat was a friendly fight. 'Sides even dose two ain't fought since-"

"-'Fore I came." Truth interjected. "An' I'se been heah goin' on t'ree yeahs. I'se hoid da story, though." Everyone rolled their eyes and smiled slightly as she turned to Clown. "Somebody - I t'ink it was Race - convinced 'em ta settle who's betta, once an' fer all. So ev'ybody gathers in da Bronx - neutral groun', ya know? (Though, honestly, Spot knows New Yawk like da back a his hand, not jist Brooklyn.) An' Jack an' Spot is in da middle a dis ring a newsies - dis is like da biggest t'ing since da las' good headline. Ev'ybody's takin' bets on whose gonna win.

"So dey starts fightin' 'bout nine in da mornin'. Ev'ybody 'xpects it ta be a long fight, so dey ain't surprised when Noon goes by an' dey's still fightin'. Nobody wants ta leave ta eat, though, cuz dey don't wanna miss da end a da fight or get cheated on deir bets. So dey stay. An' it gets aroun' seven - dey's still fightin'. Nine o'clock - still fightin'. Midnight, one, two, nine da next mornin' an' dey's been fightin' fer twenty-four hours an' still ain't nobody won. A week goes by, an' even da papes're coverin' it, but dey don't stop. Anudda week goes by, an' soon it's been a month an' still ain't nobody won da fight. Da mayor's come ta see, an' he steps in an stops da fight, fin'ly cuz alla New Yawk is dere in da Bronx, cuz da papes ain't bein' sold an' dere ain't nothin' bein' done cuz alla New Yawk is dere in Da Bronx watchin' dis fight. So Jack an' Spot, dey agrees ta stop, an' wouldja believe da one dat comes outta dat fight da woist is da mayor! Truth!"

"Truth!" Pounce groaned. "Dat was horrible. Neidda one, did win, though." she added to Clown. "An' it lasted a few hours. Dere's a few people say dey faked it-"

"Uh, uh." argued Pen. "Cowboy wouldn't, an' even if he would, Spot definately wouldn't."

"Cool it, Kathleen." Pounce said. "I din't say I agreed wit 'em!"

"I'se two yeahs ya senior-" Pen mock threatened the other girl with her writing book. "When ya catch up, ya can call me by me real name. Until den, I'se Pen, an' yer -"

"Ya sista! An' if ya start, I can always tell ev'ybody-"

"Pounce, if ya do, I will kill ya, I swear!"

Pounce ducked and scrambled to the other side of the circle. "Guess what, goils! I know-"

"Pounce-" Seeing she was about to be unmasked so to speak, Pen caved in. "Oh, aw right, I give up!" She swatted her sister with the book again. "But jist you wait-"

"Truth?" Clown had been thinking.

"Yeah?"

"Jack and Spot - they're good friends, aren't they?"

"Da best!" the tiny blond replied. "Dey grew up tagedda. Ev'ybody t'ought Spot's gonna be jealous when Davey joined, but dey all jist got closer. Toined out as bad as da t'ree musketeers - dat's Race an' Mush an' Blink." she added.

"Then I don't think I started out very well." Of course, if Cowboy was going to hold his friend's feelings against her, then that was his flaw.

"What, cuz Spot don't like ya?" Clouds asked in surprise. She had caught everyone's attention. Clown nodded.

"Jack ain't like dat." Pen stopped bickering with Pounce and joined in the conversation. "Heck, he stood for Spitfire once against him, an' she Spot's cousin - so ya know he musta been mad if he was even t'inkin' 'bout touchin' 'er!"

"They're cousins?" The revelation that Porter's partner was also her boyfriend had already surprised her. Why it should, she didn't know - she'd seen the way they acted together - but she was surprised. This added news surprised her even more. It also embarrassed her for some reason she didn't understand, and (for a reason she understood even less) relieved her.

"Couldn't ya tell from da tempa?" joked Truth. "Yeah, dey don't always tell people - an' it coitainly don't show much, but dey is."

"Who is what?"

"Da Conlons - answer two question's at once." Truth replied, tipping back her head to look at her friend upside down. Spitfire was approaching. "Enjoy watchin' da sunset?"

"Was ya even watchin' da sunset?" Pounce added meaningfully. They all laughed.

"As a matta a fact, we was, I did, an' dat's all any a ya needs ta know, so content yer filthy minds wit dat." Spitfire retorted. "What about me an' Spot?"

"Jist lettin' our rookie in on all da fam'ly secrets."

Spitfire nodded. "Where's Firefly an' Nickel?"

Truth shook her head. "Fly got mad an' stormed out. You know."

Spitfire made a face. "Nick's wit 'er den?"

"Yeah. So what was ya tellin' us 'bout yer date on da roof?" Truth teased.

"Absolutely nothin'." Porter retorted, finally sitting down. "-An' it wasn't a date!" she added quickly.

"What da youse call it den?" Clouds asked.

Spitfire shook her head, smiling a little too broadly.

"C'mon, Spitfire!" begged Pounce. "I tell ya all 'bout my love life."

"What love life?" Clouds laughed.

"Not ta put too fine a point on it, Pounce - ya ain't got one!" pointed out Pen. "Not dat I can tawk. None a us do, 'less youse gotta guy?" She asked Clown who shook her head.

"Tell me." said Pips loudly to Grins. "Jist what makes boys so great dat oldah goils is always tawkin' 'bout dem?"

"I dunno." The second youngest female newsie replied. "I t'ink somet'in happens ta yer brain when ya hit 10."

"C'mon, let's go play marbles." Pips jumped up and ran for the door. "Boots might have some." The older girls tried not to laugh.

"Dere, ya see!" Truth had the air of one presenting an indisputable argument. "Ya gotta be da voice a experience fer da rest a us."

Spitfire looked exasperated. "We wasn't doin' nothin', aw right! Leave it alone, awready!"

"I'se crushed!" Truth stayed crushed for all of five seconds, after which Spitfire took off her hat and hit her, then ran for the other end of the bunkroom with her best friend hot on her heels.

They nearly slammed into Kloppman who had just entered. "Carefull!" He caught them before either could fall. "Runnin' aroun' at all hours a da night! An' dey complains when I tries ta wake 'em up!" The two collapsed giggling. He watched them for a few minutes, grumbling unconvincingly.

"Aw right! Dat's enough! Ta bed all a youse! Truth! Spitfire, you are not takin' dat book ta bed! An', Pen, no writin' till all hours tanight, eidda! C'mon! Lights out! Ev'ybody ta bed! Nickel! Firefly!" When the last two appeared, he continued on to the boys bunkroom. "Game's ovah for da night, Race! C'mon, ev'body ta bed! Youse two, Spot! Same rules for visitors! Pips! Grins! Back ta da goils' room! C'mon! Ta bed! Ta bed!"

"It'd be a lot easier ta go ta sleep witout him shoutin'!" commented Truth.

"Oh, no." Clown put in. "This is perfect! Yelling to Dream By." The girls laughed and began changing for the night.

"Clown, ya got a nightshoit or anyt'in?" Clouds called across the room. She shook her head. "Heah, borrow somet'in a mine." An unknowing new girl, Lacey walked past the door carrying her jumpsuit over her arm to get the shirt.

Clouds made a face at her, and hissed "Don't go by da door like dat."

"Why not?"

"Shhh!" Truth joined them. "Da problem wit livin' wit twenty or so guys." She whispered and nodded at the door. "Keyholes."

Clown's eyes widened and flashed angrily. "You've never stopped them?"

"I din't say dat." Truth grinned mischeviously. "Dis is what'cha do. Pen!" The older girl walked over. "What'cha writin'?"

"Nothin' much. Jist-" They strolled nonchalantly over towards the door, chatting. Suddenly Truth pushed the door open very fast and pulled it shut. There was a yelp from the other side.

"Boys," called Pen in a sing-song voice. "If ya ain't back in yer own room before we opens dis door again, ya ain't gonna be able ta even t'ink about spyin' fer da next yeah, at least."

"Nice an' subtle, huh, Pen?" laughed Spitfire, climbing into bed.

"I wasn't tryin' ta be." The writer replied. She turned to Clown. "Now we wait an' see who gots da black eyes in da mornin'."

Spot, Dave and Jack returned upstairs. "Where's da goils?" Spot asked as David dragged his brother away from a game of marbles to return home.

"Ah, Truth dragged 'em away fer a gossip session." Race replied, without looking up from the card game.

"Dave, ya t'ink yer parents'd be upset if youse two stayed heah tanight?" Jack asked.

Dave shook his head regretfully. "I'd like to, but I'm already in for it for being out this late. See you tomorrow. Carrying the banner."

"Carryin' da banna'."

Kloppman entered yelling, shooing them all into their beds. Pie Eater and several of the other boys, knowing he always called the girls first, ran over to the door that separated the two bunkrooms in the hopes of catching them at least a little less than fully dressed. Spot rolled his eyes and removed his cane, placing it next to his bed as always. He'd go see Lynn tomorrow. What am I gonna say ta 'er? and he' apologize to Clown in the morning, too. After all, she was knew to New York - and he had to admire anyone who could stand up to him, particularly someone that pretty . . .

Clown found a top bunk, next to Pen and Pounce's bed. She thought she was going to like this new family of hers. She wasn't really angry at Spot anymore - she never stayed angry for long at anyone. After all, he'd grown up according to different rules than she had. She shook her head at the darkened room. She still thought him a more than a little arrogant and his temper definately needed work, but he was an interesting person, to say the least. Lacey smiled remembering her own words to Porter The attitude leaves something to be desired, but he is handsome. And somehow she fell asleep thinking of those blue eyes.