Marie (Part 2)

"Marie, take care of your brother, we'll be back in the morning." My parents were going to my aunt Beth's wedding, and were leaving me in charge if myself and my brother. This was Opportunity with a capital "O". It was a perfect time to get Lynn ready for my party the next day. So while my brother was outside playing, I went to the lodging house to get her. I told her about my party, and how I would fix her up so she could come. I led her back to my house. We looked through some of my dresses, and she found one she liked a little bit, (she was fairly disgusted at what her options were, compared to what she usually wore) that was small on me. It was navy blue, with a little bit of white lace around the bottom and the sleeves, and a white collar. When it fit me, I don't think I ever wore it. It fit Lynn perfectly. She looked down at it and muttered a little bit about how uncomfortable it was. "Oh, come on Lynn, it's only one day." "Fine...." she grumbled. She then quickly changed back into her normal clothes. I looked over her. "And now it's time to fix your hair." I heated up some water on the stove, just a normal temperature. She complained of how I was burning her up. And her hair was... well, you could tell that she'd probably never really washed it. "Now I'm all wet!" she moaned. Poor Lynn. I don't think she'd ever looked decent, for a girl. After her hair had dried, she put the dress back on after much complaining. I could hardly tell she was Lynn. I put a navy ribbon in her hair, and she looked great. "Ok Lynn, that's what you are going to wear tomarrow." "I looks like one 'a dose ladies who's all rich 'an stuff!" she cried. I gulped. My parents would notice if one of my party guests talked like newsie street trash. "Umm.... Lynn?" "Yeah?" "Would you mind talking a bit more... normal?" "I's talkin' plenty normal!!!!" she yelled defensively. "Try talking like me." "Talkin'... I means talkING, like you?" "Just try it." "Hello. I's- uhh...... I am Marie." she said slowly. "How ya doin'?" she blurted out after thinking for a while. "How about saying 'how are you doing?' instead of 'how ya doin'?' " "How-are-you-doing?" "Umm.... that's better." I helped Lynn so she could talk a little more normal, but she was still a little bit slower. Much improved though. I decided to take her to the Lodging House while still wearing her 'party-outfit.' I watched through a window as she made her entrance. Not one newsie recognized her as Lynn. It was kind of late, and they were all just sitting around, talking. Mush, who was not wearing a shirt, quickly ran to the washroom so he could look a bit more decent. Some of the newsies let out low whistles. A lot of them looked a little disturbed that some GIRL had just walked in and they were not looking their best. Kid Blink walked over to her. "Hey dere, sweetheart." The newsies laughed. Lynn laughed. He bent over to kiss her hand, but she was having way too much fun to let him do that. She quickly moved her hands behind her back, causing Kid Blink to flush pink and walk away. Jack elbowed him and laughed. A little bit of silence was broken by Lynn bending over laughing. "Hey dere boys, it's me!" she cried. There were some gasps of "Lynn?". Kid Blink threw himself at his bunk in embarrassment. They laughed hysterically. Mush came back from the bathroom, wearing a shirt, vest, and even a bow-tie. He looked really strange. The newsies laughed harder upon seeing him. "No need to dress up, Mush.... it's just Lynn!" yelled one newsie. Mush joined Kid Blink's club of horrible embarrassment. I laughed from my window.

*******

My guests started arriving. Lynn came early so I could fix her hair. I introduced her to my parents. "Mom, dad, this is my friend Lynn. Lynn, these are my parents." They exchanged "pleased-to-meet-you"s, (yes I taught Lynn how.) "Lynn," asked my father, "I haven't seen you around here. What's your last name?" WHAT? We'd never practiced this. I panicked inside, but Lynn coolly answered "Kelly." It took every last ounce of my willpower to keep from laughing. So now Lynn was related to Jack, now! "Lynn Kelly. Pretty name. What do your parents do for a living?" "My dad..... uhhh... he works for the New York Sun." Another of my guests arrived. Brooke was at the door. And then came Sarah. Lynn and Brooke had never met Sarah. "Brooke, Lynn-" I began to introduce them, "ha ha ha!!! Brooklyn! Brooke-Lynn, Brooklyn!" I laughed. Sarah and Brooke looked at me strangely. "I... um... have a friend in Brooklyn." Lynn piped up. "His name is Sp- uhhh... his name is Conlon." Good Lynn. My friends would wonder about a friend named Spot. Sarah and Brooke said something like "That's nice," or "Really?" but neither one was very interested. My last guest, Emily, arrived and then we went and sat down in my living room. Lynn nearly sat down on the FLOOR, but I glared at her sharply and she sat next to Emily on the couch. Brooke sat on a chair, Sarah sat on the other chair, and I sat on the couch next to Lynn. Brooke finally persuaded us to play this gave she loves, called Dares. I think she made it up. "What's Dares?" asked Lynn. "We go around in a circle and dare each other to do something. I went first. Lynn, Brooke, Emily and Sarah consulted with each other. "You have to lean out the window and yell 'Hello, handsome!' the first boy you see." That was pretty rough as Dares go. I leaned out the window and yelled "HELLO HANDSOME!" to some boy. He looked up and made a strange face at me. I ducked back and laughed. So did everybody else. Then Sarah had to stand on her head and sing. Now it was Lynn's turn. Sarah suggested that we make her jump out the window, but Emily quickly stopped thoughts like that. Then Brooke said something so unbelievably perfect I thought I would die. "No!" cried Sarah, "She'll never do it." "Oh yes she will!" We argued for a while, and then Sarah looked out the window to see if something was still there. She nodded to Brooke, who said to Lynn "You have to go kiss that newsboy." she said, pointing out the window. "I's gotta WHAT?" I cringed. My friends looked at her, wondering.

********

Lynn smiled sweetly and looked out the window. She saw Mush and Pie Eater chatting. The sweet, fake, smile was replaced with a look of dread. "Umm.... which one?" she asked, shrinking into a corner. "The tall one." answered Emily. Pie Eater. Oh my. I thought Lynn would cry. "It's not that bad, Lynn. It's not." Lynn looked at me with an expression that meant "But he likes me! He'll get the wrong idea!" She then looked up at me and my friends, gave a forced smile, and walked out the door so she could do her dare. My friends giggled. We all plastered ourselves on the window to watch. "Lynn!" cried Pie Eater, "Whaddya' ya doin'? Yoa' supposed ta be at Marie's party!" (Lynn told me all of this later.) Lynn didn't say a word. She just looked helplessly into the sky. Then, with a surge of bravery, she leaned forward and kissed Pie Eater lightly on the cheek. Pie Eater jumped backwards, his mouth an 'O'. Mush smiled at Pie Eater. Pie Eater shot a puzzled glance to Mush, and then to Lynn. Mush shrugged. Pie Eater shrugged, and then smiled. I thought I would die laughing. Lynn turned and walked back into my house. "You better wash your mouth, Lynn!" laughed Sarah, "Newsboys are pretty dirty!" Lynn looked indignant. "He had a clean face." she said. Emily made a face, "Suit yourself" she shrugged. We then dared Emily to go kiss Mush, "the other newsboy", but she flatly refused. We then told her to go buy a paper from "the other newsboy", a very mild Dare. While walking over to them, she overheard a little conversation. "It weird, Mush. I ain't complainin', but it does make me wonder." "Guess she likes ya, Pie Eata'." "No she doesn't, 'Pie Eater'! Hey, uh..... he called you Mush, right? Can I buy a newspaper, Mush?" interrupted Emily. "Sure..." he pulled a newspaper off of his stack. "You read newspapers?" "Umm.... no, actually I don't." She handed him a penny and he gave the newspaper to her, wondering what was wrong with her. Emily turned and hightailed it for my house, and we all laughed when we saw her. She started to read the newspaper. "Bank robbery! Hundreds of dollars stolen!" she read the headline to us. Lynn frowned at the headline. "Pretty dumb, isn't it? Hundreds of dollars? Big deal!" she cried. My friends turned to stare at Lynn, and Lynn blushed, realizing her mistake. Suddenly Sarah pulled me over. "Why'd you invite that Lynn? She's weird." she whispered to me. I thought I would explode! How dare she insult my friend!? "Don't worry about it." I whispered, "she IS my friend and this IS my party, AND IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, LEAVE!" I realized I'd just yelled at her. Sarah, Brooke, and Emily turned to stare at the girl who told her guests off at a party. "I will. I'll leave. Brooke and Emily, it was wonderful." Sarah turned and walked primly out the door. Lynn snorted. I rolled my eyes. "Don't worry about it, she's just like that sometimes." I told the remaining friends of mine.

*******

After the fireworks, nobody acted quite the same. A little more careful not to insult me. It didn't really matter to me, though. Nothing really happened after that, and then at the end Emily and Brooke left. Lynn stayed a little while later, and changed into her normal clothes. We sat on my bed and talked. "Oh Marie... I wish I hadn't kissed 'im. It was like kissing me brudda." she complained while absent mindedly scrubbing her lips with her hand, maybe to get the Pie Eater germs off of her. I smiled. "You're lucky to have brothers like that, Lynn." I told her. "They're so nice to everyone." She laughed. "Not quite everyone, Marie." We laughed, and then my mother appeared in my doorway. She glared at me, and then at Lynn. I jumped up. "Oh, hi mom. We're just playing dress-up. Look what Lynn found in my closet! Isn't it funny-looking? It makes her look like a newsboy!" Lynn opened her mouth to object, but she then closed it, in the best interest of me, and herself. My mom looked at me inquisitively, "Marie, you haven't played dress-up for years." "Umm.... yeah, I haven't but Lynn likes to, and it's pretty fun sometimes." I lied. Lynn smiled at my mother. My mother did not return the smile. "Why was that in your closet? Where did you get that? It's...." she walked over to Lynn to see the outfit more closely, "These are trash. I'll be back in a minute... could you change out of those... clothes... so I can bring them to the Lost Children's Home? I'm sure they'll appreciate it more than you ever will." "Yeah, ok mom." I said. Oh no. But Lynn had a plan. When my mother left, Lynn climbed out the window. (My room is on the first level.) She took the dress she borrowed with her, so my parents wouldn't find it and wonder. ("What are you going to do with it?" I had asked her. She wasn't quite sure.) This saved Lynn, but what was I going to say when my mother returned and found Lynn gone? And then... my mom appeared in my doorway. "Where's Lynn?" she asked. "Oh, Lynn had to go home. She was late." "Where's that disgusting thing she was wearing?" "Ummm.... the Lost Children's Home is on the way to her house, and she took it herself." "Marie?" "What?" "Was it just me, or did that Lynn friend of yours act a little bit... odd?" I made a confused face, "Odd? No, not really. Why?" "Just.... I don't know. Gosh, it scared me to death finding Lynn in your room with those clothes on. I thought you invited that newsgirl in! What is the newsgirl's name, anyways?" Oh no. "Her name is Lynn, too. But my friend Lynn Kelly at my party? She spells it like.... umm... like L-I-N. It was her great aunt's name or something."

*******

I couldn't tell if my mother beleived me or not. I hoped she did, because this would not be the first time I got in trouble for being with those "newsboys." And just about every day when she looks at my arm, she would get this... this look on her face and mumble something to herself about those newsboys. I prayed that she wouldn't grill me about anything. She didn't. When she left, I sighed with relief and flopped down on my bed. Lynn appeared in my window. "Hey dere Marie!" She cried. Shhh Lynn, my mom's going to hear you. I tried my best newsie-speak. "Hey dere Lynn... were youse spyin' on me, when me mudda was askin' 'bout youse?" Lynn rolled her eyes. "I don't talk like DAT, Marie!" "So, what are you going to do with the dress?" She looked down at the wrinkled blue mess in her arms and groaned. "I dunno, Marie. What do you think?" "You could give it to... ehhh... do any newsies have sisters?" "Just Davy. And Sarah is much bigger than me!" "You could keep it if you wanted it, Lynn. You'll need it some day, if some guy asks you to go to a fancy resteraunt or something." Lynn frowned at the thought of going to a fancy resteraunt, with 'some guy', wearing the uncomfortable dress. "Oh Marie, no guy is eva' takin' me to a fancy resteraunt." "Just keep it, Lynn. You'll need it." She made a face. "Now go, because my mom'll see you." "Bye." "Bye." Lynn turned and left. I sat, daydreaming as I looked out the window, hoping that some day 'some guy' would ask ME to go to a fancy restaurant with him, and I could wear a pretty dress. A few newsies walked along, talking with each other. They stopped when they got close to my house, and debated for a while. Then Jack shoved Racetrack away from the crowd and he walked over to my window. "Ehh... hey dere, Marie." "Hi Racetrack." "Hows yer arm?" "Fine." "Uhhh....... me and da guys, we's goin' ta Tibby's for lunch, ya wanna come?" "Sure." Ok, so it wasn't a fancy resteraunt. And it wasn't 'some guy', it was a bunch of guys, so it wasn't a date or anything. And I wouldn't have to dress up. I quickly explained to my mother that I was going on a walk with some friends, and before she could object I left. I hung back behind the group the whole way there.

*******

"Lynn!" I cried when I saw her. She ran over. "Hey dere Marie. Followin' da guys around?" she asked, and then grinned. "No. They asked me to go eat with them." Lynn smiled, "Can I come? I'm starved. I didn't eat dis mornin'!" "Why not?" "Wasn't really hungry. But I am now." We walked for a little while, and then Lynn's stomach growled loudly and we all laughed. I noticed that Jack and Racetrack were smoking, and Racetrack's cigar smelled horrible. I wrinkled my nose. When we got to Tibby's, there was a sign on the door that said "Closed for the Day". Pie Eater left. Jack groaned, "Oh, shoot! Now what are we going to do?" Lynn made a face then dropped to the ground dramatically. "I.... I think I'm gonna DIE of starving. Help me!" She rolled over and lay still. Racetrack kicked her with his shoe, and she sat up. "Racetrack!" she yelled. "I thought ya were dead." he replied sarcastically. She glared at him. Lynn has an evil glare. She rubbed her elbow where she had been kicked. "Pretzels for all!" cried a voice happily. I looked up to see Pie Eater. He held out 6 soft pretzels. Everyone grabbed one except for Lynn, who was sitting and complaining. When she noticed everyone else's, she asked "Hey! Where's ya get the pretzels?" "Pie Eater gave 'em to us." Lynn looked over at Pie Eater. He counted everyone. "Oh shoot!" he cried, "I forgot about Marie! I didn't get enough. I'd let you have mine... but I already ate it." "I suppose dat means I'm gonna die here, doesn't it?" said a pouting Lynn. "I thought you already died." I laughed. I handed her my pretzel. "I've already eaten." She inhaled it before thanking me. "Thanks Marie.... I'm alive again." Racetrack rolled his eyes. We started walking away, but I don't think we were going anywhere in particular. I spotted my mother talking with some friends of hers. "Hide me!" I whispered sharply. I shrank down and the newsies surrounded me to keep me out of sight. This is so dumb, I thought to myself. I'm forbidden to be friends with the only people who are really my friends.

To be continued (maybe)...

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