"Extra, extra! Loch Ness monster seen in East River! Read all the exciting details!"

I took several pennies at once from the crowd around me and in turn handed out several papers. "Thank you kindly."

When the people walked away, I grinned to myself. Monkey's advice was priceless; I had been selling well all morning thanks to her. Now, I had ten papes left from my fifty, so I scanned through the headlines to make sure I didn't miss any good ones that could possibly sell a few papes.

"Ah!" I exclaimed to myself, finding a new headline. "This could work."

Raising the paper high, I yelled, "Bodies found in old tenement building! Landlord to blame!"

"Dat's really good. Is it a real headline?"

I turned to see Coaldust standing behind me. "Yes, it is," I answered as I sold several papers at once. "What do you mean, 'Is it real,' anyway? You know they're all real," I said jokingly.

"Oh, yeah. Every woid," he laughed. "Lissen, when you's done sellin'... wouldja like ta get lunch wid' me? I mean, not at Tibby's. Dere's dis otha place down the road called Eddie's. T'ought ya might like ta eat dere. Da food's betta dan Tibby's, too." All the while, he had been watching his shoes scuff back and forth, back and forth across the sidewalk.

"Yes, I'd like to," I accepted. He looked up and grinned. "I have to finish selling now, though," I told him.

"'Kay," he said. "I'll sit ovah heah an' wait on ya, if dat's okay."

I nodded. "All right."

Quickly, I finished selling my papers and accompanied Coaldust to Eddie's. Upon entering, a delicious smell hit me. "What's that?" I asked Coal.

"Pasta. Spaghetti, lasagna, you name it."

"What kind of a food is that?" I asked him.

His eyes widened. "You ain't neva had pasta?"

"No."

"Okay, dat settles it, den. Waiter!"

A plump, dark-skinned man came over to our table. "Yep."

"Two plates of spaghetti and two waters," Coal ordered.

The man wrote it down on a piece of paper and left our table. "Ya gonna taste real food today, Hannah!" Coal exclaimed.

I smiled, unsure of this...spaghetti. "What's in it?"

"Long noodles, meatballs, and dis red sauce dat tastes real good. Don't know what dey call it," he muttered to himself.

"Ah. What country does it come from?"

"Mexico or Italy or somet'in', I t'ink..." he trailed off as the waiter returned and set our plates down in front of us. Coal paid him and he left.

We ate our lunch in silence. The spaghetti was surprisingly good. I knew I just had to take Skittery there when he got home. Skittery. My face flushed when I thought of him.

"What's wrong?" Coal asked, noticing this.

"N-nothing. I'm fine," I answered, still puzzled as to why that had happened . I just thought about him for a second. Shrugging it off, I finished my dinner and stood to leave. "Thank you, Coal. The food was delicious."

"Ya leavin'?" he asked, a bit surprised.

"I suppose..." I trailed off. "I'm sorry I seem rude, Coal. Do you want me to stay?"

He nodded. "I wish ya would, Hannah, but you can leave if ya want to."

Feeling bad, I sat back down. "I'll stay."

Looking up at me, Coaldust smiled a stunning smile. "T'anks."

He finished his lunch quickly and the two of us got up to leave. Coaldust offered me his arm, and I linked my arm with his as we headed down the sidewalk toward the distribution center to get our afternoon editions.

"T'anks fer comin' ta lunch wid' me," Coal said, blushing a bit.

"We should do it again one day," I smiled.

"Yeah. Well, see ya," he said, walking away with his stack of papers.

Monkey approached me. "I saw that, Hannah! Ya sweet on Coaldust, eh?"

I shook my head. "He's very nice, Monkey, but no."

"Ah, I think ya are," she teased.

I shook my head again. "No. I just went to lunch with him, that's all."

"Uh-huh, an' next it'll be dinner, an' after that, long walks in Central Park. I know tha routine," she grinned.

"Well..." I trailed off, having nothing else to say.

Laughing, Monkey said, "Yeah, I thought so. Want me ta go tell 'im?"

"Come here, Monkey," I said through gritted teeth, dragging her by the sleeve as far away from the other newsies as possible. There was no telling what they had already heard and were assuming now.

"Listen, I don't like him like that. Please don't grin on me like that because I don't fell like it's a joking matter," I told her.

"Ah, I'm sorry. 'Twas only a bit o' fun. I thought ya liked 'im."

"No, I don't like him like that, but I fear he likes me. What should I do?"

"Give 'im a chance, Hannah. Ya may grow ta like 'im like that, who knows?"

"I'll give him a chance. I just don't think I'll ever feel that way about him," I sighed. Someone else is in my heart, I thought to myself. Wait, what am I thinking? I don't like him, either! Why did I think that? Stop it, Hannah, stop. You're nothing but a dreamer.