Mairead had been born into a well-off Vermont family. Her parents were a strange match; her mother was Celtic and her father was Greek. She had one younger sister, Cassia, who was 14 - two years younger than Mairead. The two had always been very close growing up, and when Mairead left home it had hurt Cassia very deeply.
Mairead had always felt cold toward her family's way of life: parties, socializing, and the like. Her personality tended to repel the young men and ladies of the society, and she often found herself sitting alone, sipping tea and pretending to enjoy herself. She wasn't the most attractive young lady, but she wasn't homely, either; she had long, curly black hair, fair skin, and brooding, dark brown eyes. Mairead was intelligent in the way of books, but she had grown up under the impression that booksmarts were useless to a woman. Her parents never mistreated her, but Mairead had always, in the back of her mind, felt completely and utterly useless. It was for this reason that she ultimately made the decision to run.
Aboard the late train to New York City, Mairead thought she had everything in the world going for her. She had packed lightly, insisting to herself that, once in New York, she would be able to find new clothes and a place to live. The thought of attaining a job had never once crossed her mind, and by the time she realized exactly how much money she would have to posess to survive, she was nearly penniless.
Mairead's search for an occupation had so far proved fruitless, and now she was sleeping in a doorway, lowered to the station that she had always been taught to despise and ignore.
Rubbing her eyes, she pulled herself up into a sitting position against the wall. A bell was clanging in the distance; Mairead knew that it wasn't the church bell, since it was Tuesday and not Sunday. She distantly wondered if it was the circulation bell that rang every morning, beckoning the newsboys to the circulation offices to buy their morning editions. Her answer came after a moment when the door to the lodging house suddenly swung open. Out poured a large group of boys, several talking amongst themselves.
Mairead recognized the three boys who had been in the lobby of the house the evening before. The Italian and the boy with the bandanna had already spotted her and were whispering back and forth, laughing. She hung her head in shame. The young man with the eyepatch, two, was among them, and as he walked, he turned his head to look at her. His visible eye was cold, and as soon as he had made eye contact with the girl he turned his head away again and continued on down the street.
As soon as the group of boys had disappeared around the corner, Mairead gathered her belongings and crossed the street to the lodging house. She entered through the front door.
Kloppman was sweeping the hard wooden floor of the lobby. He looked up at Mairead and frowned. "Can I help ye?"
"I apologize, sir, but may I use a basin of water in your washroom? You see, I'm trying to find a job, and - "
"Yeah, yeah, go ahead. Be outta here in an hour, or I'll call th' police on ye," the old man answered, shaking his head and muttering as he went back to sweeping.
Shakily, Mairead made her way up the seemingly endless staircase. Her weakness and hunger were getting the better of her, and several times she had to stop on the stairs, clutching the rail, praying to remain concious. Finally, she found the deserted washroom, and managed to drag an empty washtub to the water pump. Slowly, she pumped the basin full of freezing water, and, gritting her teeth, got into the bath. She used a bar of soap she found on a sink to wash the grime from her skin, and rinsed her hair out as best as she could. Not having a towel to dry with when she got out, Mairead searched the room with her eyes until she spotted a towel hanging on a lavatory door. She used it to dry off with, and then changed back into her tattered dress. The men's clothes were still stuffed into her small bag, as well as a few items of little or no worth to Mairead on the streets.
Standing in front of a grimy mirror, Mairead managed to pull her wet hair back into a braid and secure it with a piece of string from her tattered traveling coat. She pinched her cheeks a bit and rubbed at her eyes, which were still red from sleep and tears. Feeling eyes on her, Mairead slowly turned around to look toward the washroom door.
There stood the young man with the eyepatch. He looked nearly as surprised as she.
"I beg your pardon!" she exclaimed, raising a hand to her heart. "How long have you been standing there?"
"I just got here," he answered, sticking his hands in his pockets. "May I ask whatcha doin'?"
"Kloppman said I could take a bath if I was gone in an hour," she replied, hastily gathering her things.
"What, goin' out lookin' for a job?" he asked indifferently, checking his reflection in the mirror.
"I suppose, if there are any jobs to be had," Mairead answered, sitting down on the floor to lace up her boots.
"Oh, there's plently jobs," the young man said, "but most of 'em are dishonest. I guess ya gotta know where ta look."
Mairead paused for a moment, watching him. "Do you know where to look?"
The young man shrugged. "I dunno. Do I?"
Sighing, Mairead stood and picked up her bundle. "Well, I suppose you'll be no help to me. I must be going."
"Y'gonna tote that bag witcha all day?" he asked as she began out the door.
Mairead stopped in her tracks. "I suppose. I've nowhere to leave it."
"I'll keep it here with me," he answered, advancing toward her as if to take her bundle.
She shrank back. "I - Don't be silly. I don't even know your name."
"It's Kid Blink, for starters. And you're Mairead," he answered, leaning against the doorframe.
"What kind of a name is Kid Blink?" she asked warily, backing up another step.
"Y'see this patch? Well th' boys decided to call me Kid Blink on account of I wear this patch over me eye."
"I can see that...What happened to your eye?" Mairead ventured, not sure whether she really wanted to know.
"Y'can't see anything wrong with it," Blink answered, lifting up the patch. Another blue eye sparkled from underneath it. "Somethin' happened when I was a kid, made me go blind in that eye. When Cowboy an' the fellas found out I couldn't see out of it, they thought it'd be funny to give me a patch for my birthday, just t' be mean. I ended up likin' the thing and wearin' it all the time. It's good for business."
Mairead studied him. "Why is it good for business?"
"People pay more to a kid who's got somethin' visibly wrong with 'im. Like, Cowboy may get a penny for each pape he sells, but I might end up with two," he replied.
An brief, uncomfortable silence rested over the two.
"Y'gonna go get a job or what?" Blink asked, chewing on the inside of his lip.
"I already tried several factories...they wouldn't take me." Mairead stared past Blink and out the window at the blue sky.
"Well, I'll tell ya one thing, y'don't wanna work for no fact'ry," he said. "Ain't nothin' but trouble."
"Can a girl sell newspapers?" Mairead asked.
Blink shrugged. "Yeah. They don't do it much, though. Ya look like you're more suited to a quiet job without a lot a' runnin' around."
"At this moment I will take any job that I can get," Mairead answered.
"Look," Blink began, "you don't wanna be a newsy. It ain't gonna get a lady like you scrap in this city. Go work in a flower shop, or with a seamstress. Don't be a newsy."
"None of you seem to have such a hard life, compared to where I have been living," Mairead answered defiantly.
"Maybe it ain't so hard as it could be, but d'you see any one of us that's gonna amount ta anything, ever?" Blink stopped suddenly, surprised at his outburst.
Mairead was silent for a moment. "I just need a place to stay. I'm willing to - "
"I know, I know," Blink interrupted. "It's gonna hurt t'see somebody like you workin' a job like a newsy."
"Then you'll help me get a job?" she asked hopefully.
"Ain't nothin' to it but havin' a couple bits on hand to buy papes at the distribution office," Blink answered, trying to force a smile. "This evenin', when the circulation bell rings, be down at Newspaper Row. I'll meetcha there and show ya how it works."
Mairead smiled. "Thank you, Blink."
Before she turned to leave, Mairead stopped. "Are there any lodging houses for girls here?"
"Down th'road. They won't take ya 'till y'can prove ya got a job," Blink answered, taking off his cap and using it as a fan.
"Will they take me tonight, after I sell my papers?" Mairead asked hopefully.
Blink shrugged indifferently. "They should."
Mairead thought for a moment. "Earlier you said that you would keep my things here for me. Could you - "
"Yeah, sure, hand 'em here," Blink said, taking Mairead's bundle from her. "Follow me."
She followed Blink down the hall and into the bunkroom. He sauntered over to a bunk and slung her bag down onto it. "Your stuff'll stay on my bunk all day. Don't worry 'bout it none."
Mairead smiled. "Thank you, Blink." Her stomach rumbled with hunger and she suddenly felt weak.
Blink didn't answer for a moment. "You best get out of here. Kloppman sees ya he'll call th' bulls. He already thinks yer a troublemaker."
Mairead nodded weakly. Before leaving, she dug into her bag and produced the small amount of money she had left - just enough to buy a stack of newspapers that night. Then, she turned and left the room. As she descended the stairs, beads of sweat broke out across her forehead. She stopped, gripping the railing. Everything became a blur, and suddenly she knew no more.