�Extry, extry! Young goil found in fact�ry basement! Sources say da manager�s da prime suspect!!� Crutchy held out his last pape as he shouted his headline. Sure, so the �goil� was only a rag doll that some worker had forgotten about and the manger had put it in the lost and found�which happened to be in the basement�but Crutchy�s headline sold more papes.
An upper class woman held a penny out to Crutchy and snatched the paper out of his hand without looking at him. Muttering something about the injustices of the factories in New York to her blue-blooded friend, she walked off. Crutchy grinned and put the penny in his pocket with all the others from the day. He started off towards the Brooklyn Bridge, whistling. Even though the dark skies overhead threatened a storm, Crutchy was in a good mood. He had had a great selling day and now had enough for the poker game tonight. The first few droplets of rain hit Crutchy�s head as he picked up the pace towards Brooklyn.
Suddenly, Racetrack, Kid Blink, Spot, and a few other newsies rushed past Crutchy in the opposite direction. Crutchy grabbed Race by the arm. �Heya Race, what�s da mattah?�
�It�s Snydah! He�s escaped from jail- an� he�s sworn revenge on awl da newsies!! Cheese it!� he yelled, taking off again. The rain came down even harder as Crutchy took of as fast as his leg and crutch could go. He looked back and saw Synder�s face illuminated in a brilliant flash of lightening.
�Make friends with the rats, eh, gimp?� Crutchy heard him yell. His stomach twisted in fear and he hobbled faster to catch up with the others. Unfortunately, Synder also caught up with the boys. Race slipped in a puddle, and immediately the three friends made a u turn to help him. Snyder smiled evilly at the boys and his eyes looked even more possessed in the eerie glow of the lightening. The four boys stood transfixed as Synder raised his arms to strike, when�
*flash* BOOM!!
Synder blinked and looked around. The four newsies were nowhere to be found. Damn, he thought wiping rain from his eyes to see well. Where could those street rats go to in that single flash of lightening?
Little did he know, the newsies were wondering the exact same thing.

Cary, North Carolina, 2000
As the school�s clock finally reached 3:10, Samantha and Mara breathed a sigh of relief. The day was finally over, and the girls were free for the weekend.
�Okay, guys, clean out your paintbrushes and then you can go. And I don�t mean maybe!� Ms Steele told the class, repeating her favorite line. She giggled to herself while the class rolled their eyes. Samantha quickly rinsed her brush and put her painting up to dry, eager to get back to the main building of the school. She turned around at the door of the art room and put her hands on her hips. �Come on, Mara!!� she said impatiently. �It�s really coming down out there!�
Mara put her painting on the rack and wiped her hands dry with a paper towel. �Geez, Sam, it�s not like it�s gonna slow down in the two seconds I�m cleaning up!� Mara grinned at her friend and held her arm out to Sam. They walked out with linked arms and saw the puddles of rain that had already formed on the sidewalk connecting the art building and the upper school, making the 30 second dash a nightmare.
Mara wrinkled her nose. �Today was so NOT the day to wear my heels,� she commented, pulling up her favorite knee high boots. She grinned at Samantha. �Shall we make a break for it, dah-ling?�
Samantha grinned back and opened the door for her friend. A crash of thunder made them both jump. She took a deep breath. �Let�s go... 1� 2� 3!!�
Laughing, the two girls ran across the sidewalk, making record time to the school door.
�Well, I guess the softball game�s cancelled,� Mara, who was on the varsity team this year, said.
Sam laughed as they turned the corner into the tenth grade hall. �Naw, you think?�
They walked up to the circle where their group of friends was standing and talking.
�Could you believe Weaver�s test today?� Kyra was complaining.
Tessa rolled her eyes. �I know, and like, half the stuff that was on there we didn�t even LEARN!!�
Brookelynn, who was more commonly known as Brooke throughout the school, grinned. �It�s times like this� I�m glad I have Rushin for chemistry.�
The rest of the girls all groaned. �Yeah, yeah, yeah, rub it in!� Mara said, hitting Brooke lightly on the shoulder.
The five friends looked around. They realized that they were virtually the only ones left in the hall. Most everyone else had migrated to a room somewhere and started their homework. The group made their way over to a corner next to the lockers and sat down to �do their homework,� or rather, talk.
Sam opened her algebra two book. �You know what I�ve had stuck in my head all day?� she mused.
The others grinned. They knew what was coming. �Hmm, could it be... �King of New York�? Or what about the �World Will Know�?� Tessa said, grining.
Samantha mock pouted. �For your information, Tess, it was �Carrying the Banner�!!� Which of course got them all started on a chorus of, �It�s a fine life! Carrying the banner through it all�� which in turn brought several choruses of groans from nearby classrooms. It was a well-known fact that those five girls had an �unhealthy obsession� with �that newsboy movie�. The girls giggled and resumed working.
Suddenly, a loud clap of thunder and a bright flash of lightening made all the girls jump. The lights went out for a minute, bringing cries of sorrow and the occasional colorful metaphor from the people who were doing work on the computers in the classrooms.
When the lights came back on, the five girls couldn�t believe what they saw.
Four very familiar figures, soaked through the skin were crouched in front of them. One was standing slightly, but held a crutch under his right arm. Another was on the ground, as if he had slipped earlier. A cigar dangled from his gaping mouth. The boy next to him had a cane in one pocket, a slingshot in the other, and a smirk on his bow shaped mouth. The last boy had an eye patch, hiding the left bright blue eye. All four were dressed in late 1890�s clothes.
They straightened up, looking around. The expressions on their faces were looks of pure confusion. Slingshot broke the silence first. With a very Brooklyn accent, he said, �Where are we?�
Sam, Mara, Kyra, Tessa, and Brooke stared, mouths hanging open in shock.
�It�s � it�s � it�s-� was all Kyra could spit out.
The two groups started at each other for a while, unsure of what to say to one another. Kyra, Sam, Tessa, Brooke, and Mara all knew who were standing in front of them, but the four boys certainly didn�t know the girls- or even where they were, for that matter.
Tessa regained composure first. Even though they all knew the answer, she decided it was best to play dumb. �Who are you?� she asked.
Brooke asked the more important one however- the one no one knew quite yet. �And WHAT are you doing here?�
Racetrack smiled his slick, charming, �double-or-nothing� smile. �Well, I can answer da foist question. Me name�s Racetrack, and dat�s Crutchy, Spot, an� Kid Blink. As fer da secint one�well, we was hopin� you could help us wit dat one.�
�CONFERENCE!� Sam yelled, and the group got in a tight circle. The newsies looked at each other and a couple eyebrows went up.
�Okay, so to recap, we have four newsies, who happen to be our favorites, sitting in front of us. They have no clue where they are, who we are, or how they got here. Coincidence? I think not.� Sam summed up.
�So what�re we gonna do?� Mara asked.
�Play along,� Kyra answered, grinning. �Kid Blink is standing in front of me!! Ehehehe!�
The girls quieted Kyra and broke the huddle, returning their attention to the puzzled boys.
Sam smiled at them. �I�m sorry that was kinda rude. I�m Samantha.�
�Kyra.�
�Mara.�
�Tessa.�
�Brookelynn.�
�Nice ta meet-� Spot started, and paused. He blinked, and turned to Brooke. �Yer name is what?�
Brooke and the girls giggled. �Brookelynn. But most people just call me Brooke.� She spit on her hand and offered it to Spot, who deliberated for a minute then spit on his and returned the shake. The other newsies and the rest of the girls soon did the same. Contact had been made.

Later that night, at around seven thirty, the girls and the newsies were in a small circle on Kyra�s bedroom floor, talking. Spot was exploring Kyra�s movie case, while the others were raising eyebrows at her TV/VCR, CD player, computer, and other random electrical devices in her room. Kyra noticed Spot especially, and nudged Brooke, who was closest to the movie case, and nodded towards the pink-boxed movie with the newsies� faces on it. Brooke got the message and swiftly retrieved the movie before Spot saw it. She threw it behind a pillow and smiled sweetly at Spot, who was eyeing her suspiciously.
�What?� Brooke asked innocently.
�So ANYWAYS, guys, back to the task at hand. If the newsies are in North Carolina, in the year 2000, and they USED to be in the year 1899 in New York... we are left with two questions�how they got here and how to get them back.� Sam said.
�Left wit? Doncha mean started wit?� Kid Blink asked.
�Okay, so they�re the questions we�ve been faced with the whole time. Work with me here! So� anybody have any suggestions, comments� answers?�
They sat in silence for a while, thinking. Nobody had any ideas. �So think back to the day you disappeared. What happened?� Kyra asked.
�Well� we was awl on our way ta Brooklyn for da pokah game�� Race started, musing.
�And it was thundastormin- I remembah tinkin dat we�d prolly have ta hold the game inside da lodgin house instead a outside like I had planned,� Spot said.
�So den da game was cawled off, cause Snyda- uh, dis guy had stahted ta chase us,� Kid Blink continued. �Every newsie at dat game had started to run away in da opposite direction.�
�And I was goin� ta Brooklyn, cause I ain�t hoid about Snyda yet, when awl me friends told me dat Snydah was comin. So we-� Crutchy indicated the four newsies in the room- �ran da oddah way togaddah.�
�Den I slipped an� fell, and Snydah was right on top of us, an� he looked like he was gonna hit us hard,� Race said.
�And den a flash a lightenin� came� and da next ting we know we�s standin in fron a you,� Spot summed up.
�So it musta had sumtin� ta do wit the thundastorm, alldough I aint eva seen a thundastorm do sumtin� like dat before,� Crutchy put in, a thoughtful expression on his face.
�Or with Snydah.� Racetrack added.
�I don�t know�but maybe we have to wait for a thunderstorm to get you back,� Mara put in.
�And waiting for a thunderstorm these days definitely won�t be the hard part. I mean come on�it�s North Carolina in the summertime,� Tessa said.
As if on cue, thunder rolled in the distance.
Kyra sighed. �It would suck if you had to go home today.�
The newsies nodded.
�We ain�t even had a chance ta look at awl da stuff dat�s changed since 1899� like dis ting for example,� Spot said, pointing to the computer. �What does it do?�
The girls giggled. �Everything,� Sam said. She and the other girls watched with amused interest as Spot, Blink, Racetrack, and Crutchy poked at the keyboard, clicked the mouse and, consequently, opened files. They were pretty surprised as a real player file opened and Matchbox 20�s new single came pouring out of Kyra�s speakers.
�Agh!� Blink jumped back in surprise and the others leaned forward in awe.
Crutchy, moving on from the speaker phenomenon, started to look at the CPU. He pushed another button, and suddenly the song stopped playing and the screen went dark. Crutchy�s eyes widened. �I broke it!!!�
�No, don�t worry, you just shut it off� it can be turned back on, I promise! See?� Sam pushed the button again and the screen filled with a strange message- �Windows 98�- and miraculously came back to life. Crutchy breathed a sigh of relief.
A thunderclap suddenly rocked the house. Kyra turned on her TV and changed the channel to the news.
A much too perky weatherman came on the TV pointing to a map with green specs mainly over the central region of NC. �Well, the storm is moving over central North Carolina right now, but after tonight, it�ll be sunshine and blue skies for the next week or so, so put away that umbrella -� Kyra shut it off.
�So this is probably your last chance to get home. You guys can�t stay here for another week- Kyra�s parents are coming home tomorrow evening, and I don�t even know about what you�ll do during the day while we�re at school,� Sam said, looking at the somber newsies, who had finally turned away from the computer. The other girls frowned and nodded.
�As much as that sucks, it�s true,� Mara said.
Another clap of thunder louder and much closer this time echoed through the house.
�So are we gonna do this?� Sam asked.
Everybody seemed to let out a sigh at once.
�Yeah, le�s go,� Spot mumbled.
The group of nine trudged outside to Kyra�s porch and stood there for a minute, thinking the same thing- that this brief meeting of one day was not enough. The newsies frowned, having grown strangely attached to these girls whom they just met. Kid Blink took one look at Kyra, catching her eye again. This time, instead of blushing, she smiled. Crutchy cast a sideways glance at Sam and immediately dropped it, admonishing himself. Sam looked back at him and smiled out of the corner of her mouth. Spot and Brooke caught eyes for a minute, being the around the same height. Spot smirked and Brooke promptly returned it. And Racetrack was caught in the middle of Tessa and Mara, looking back and forth to the both of them, confused. Tessa and Mara giggled.
The nine made their way out in the middle of the yard waiting for the next flash of lightening to take the newsies back to 1899. And suddenly, it came.
At the same time, a red sports car drove up Kyra�s driveway. Aidan stepped out and let the rain that was starting to fall drip down his face. He ran up the front steps and knocked several times. He heard no noises. �Sam? Kyra? Guys? Where are you?� Aidan had been to each of the girls� houses- and every parent told him that they were all at Kyra�s house. He saw a light on upstairs, but no movement. He glanced down and saw a movie cover lying on the ground. He squatted down to see what it was. His eyes widened as he read the title: Newsies. �Sam!!!!� he shouted, his voice echoing into the night.

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