"Jack!" Katherine yelped. The branch I was in was about three yards from the floor (it was a joint effort getting hold of the cloth; I almost had to swing from the tree, only holding on by my legs. I would have fallen without Jack's tug. Both Elmer and Jack had to jump.) Elmer's eyes widened in panic. He reached out to try and catch me as best he could. We both ended up in the floor. 

"Are you okay?" Jack demanded anxiously. I nodded and glanced at Elmer.

"All good." He agreed. Katherine shoved Jack shoulder lightly and whispered in his ear.

"I'm sorry." Jack cleared his throat awkwardly. (Why does the word "awkwardly" have to be so awkward to write?) 

"It's alright." I accepted.

"Wait, does this mean we've won?" Elmer looked around.

"No." Jack's green eyes widened and he ripped the cloth from Elmer's hand. We both shot up from where we were sitting and I took off in pursuit. 

"You can't win that easily!" I yelled, thundering after him. 

"I beg to differ!" He shouted as we neared their base. He climbed up onto a big boulder and hung the cloth on a nearby tree branch. He stood up on the rock, awaiting my arrival. I stood at the base of the boulder and contemplated my options.

"You just gonna stand there all day?" He raised a brow.

"No." I shook my head. I then decided that he wouldn't push me off and began to scrape my way up. When I had run out of ways to heave myself up, I held my hand out for Jack to see what he would do. He hesitantly took it and started to pull me up. I pushed off from the floor and yanked him with me. On the way down, I made sure that he didn't get hurt on impact with the ground. While he was in a momentary daze, I scrambled up the boulder and retrieved the cloth.

"That ain't fair!" Jack protested, staring up at me. 

"It is so fair!" I grinned. I then launched myself from the rock and took off running towards mine and Elmer's base. I could hear Jack thundering close behind me. I quickly scraped my way up the tree and Elmer swiftly hung the blue cloth beside my red bandana. 

"Yes!" He yelled triumphantly. I beamed and we both climbed down the tree.

"That was..." Darcy trailed off. "Interesting. But I need to go back home now."

"Well, thanks for coming!" Katherine gave him a quick hug. He bid his farewells to the rest of us and left.

"Wow, Jack." Elmer grinned, hanging on the boy's shoulder. "I never thought you, the glorious lead Newsie, would accept such a fast defeat."

"Shut it." Jack replied, lightly punching Elmer in the stomach. Elmer grinned mischievously and snatched Jack's hat from atop his head and tossed it to Katherine.

"Wha-- Me? I--" She stammered before throwing it at me in a panic. Jack ran into me (nearly bowling me over in the process) in an effort to retrieve his hat and win whatever game this is. I threw it back to Elmer. Jack ran back to him and wrestled his hat back. 

"Jack, I think I have to go home now." Katherine sighed. "It was nice meeting you, Maize."

"You too." I nodded. She and Jack left, so Elmer and I went back to the Lodging House. By the time we got back, the sun was going down. The rest of the night dragged on and we finally both went upstairs to go to sleep. 

"I'd say today went well." I decided as I unclipped my suspenders. 

"I think so too." Elmer agreed. I went up to the top bunk. After another short minute, Elmer turned the light off and went into the bottom bunk. Then, after another while, he spoke up again. "Maize?"

"Yeah?" I was tired but not sleepy. 

"You awake?" He asked.

"Unfortunately, yes." I replied. 

"Me too. I can't sleep." Elmer sighed.

"Obviously." I said quietly. There was another stretch of silence before I broke it. "What three words would you use to describe yourself?"

"That's random." He commented. "I would say Polish, jokes, and math."

"Math?" I echoed in shock.

"What can I say?" He laughed. "I'm really good at math. What would you say?"

"For me? I would say corn, adaptive, and books." I said slowly.

"Corn."  Elmer laughed. I leaned over and looked at him quizzically. He scooted over and patted the space beside him just like he had done the previous night. I climbed down and joined him. This time I had my own blanket just in case I fell asleep before I went back up to my own bed. 

"When did you become a Newsie?" I asked, glancing at him. 

"You know Racetrack?" Elmer asked. I nodded. "He found me after the fire and brought me back here. I was about nine at the time."

"So Racetrack isn't a total bum." I grinned.

"No, he is." Elmer laughed. "But he's a good bum."

"There are good bums?" I raised a brow.

"Race." Elmer grinned. He then yawned and rubbed his face to wake himself back up.

"I thought you couldn't sleep." I turned to him. 

"It comes and goes." He replied, voice a bit slurred. After another couple minutes of silence, he was pretty much asleep. I followed suit soon after. 

I woke up a few hours before the Morning Bell, eyelids heavy with sleep. Elmer was still fast asleep beside me.

(Something like this.)

Ephesians 4:2, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."