October 1898

It was a crisp fall day as Feister walked the streets of Lower Manhattan with her hands stuffed in her pockets. She had finished selling her papers not too long ago and told Mush to meet her at the Lodge since she had to do something. This has been happening for a couple of months now.

The boys have asked about it, but she changes the subject, or makes up some excuse to not talk about where she has been going. Mush is the one who asks the most because apparently he can see right through her little lies. While Feister loves the boys and thinks it's very sweet that they care so much, she just wished they weren't so nosey about everything she does.

Luckily she was able to get away from Mush with no questions asked. Well, actually she ran away before anything could be asked. But she had her reasons. After a little bit of walking she approached a small, quiet and cozy park. She walked through the gate and made her way to the tall tree in the back.

Bright red and orange leaves covered the ground. Along with little nuts or dried berries for any squirrel or rabbit that might come by. A breeze blew past that sent the leaves dancing in the air along with Feister's cap, which revealed her long dark braid.

Being careful where she stepped Feister caught her cap just as the breeze stopped. When she went to tuck in her hair she noticed that a bright red leaf with a hint of orange had gotten stuck in her hair. She carefully took it out and looked it over. It didn't have any holes, or was crumpled up. Smiling to herself Feister put her cap back on and carried the leaf in her hand as she made her way to the tree once again.

When she got there she kneeled down and wiped away all the leaves, twigs, and anything that was covering the grey stone. When she finished she carefully placed the leaf she had in front of it before sitting back on her heels, took off her cap and held it in her hands.

She stayed there in silence as the wind blew and the sounds of the city disappeared. In front of her there was a headstone that read "Here lies Charlotte Johnson, 1860-1889. A loving wife and mother. May she rest in peace."

Feister felt a single tear slip down her cheek. Every Friday or Saturday after she finished selling the evening papers she'd go visit her mother's grave. Something she hasn't done since her father left her when she was six. When she became a newsie, life got busy, and there was much time. Plus she could never really bring herself to this place, until after Will came and messed everything up. Yes, it's been about a month since that had happened. But it still hurt time to time.

After wiping away her tear and sniffing because it was cold Feister took a small breath in and said, "Bonjour mama." though she knew there would be no answer she still did it. Instead of seeing a gravestone Feister imagined her mother was sitting in front of her while sewing something with a warm smile as she listened to her talked.

Feister thought for a moment before saying, "La nuit dernière était comme une zone de guerre. Race poursuivait Albert pour avoir volé son cigare...encore une fois. Elmer avait pris les lunettes de Specs. Ike et Mike se disputaient pour savoir qui savait quoi. Sniper a trouvé la fronde de Finch et tirait sur tout le monde avec de petits morceaux de journaux. Romeo parlait d'une fille et Boutons avait l'air de vouloir lui arracher les oreilles. Tommy boy a pensé que Jojo avait triché au jeu de cartes et qu'ils ont fini par se battre, tandis que Kid Blink et Crutchie tentaient de les calmer. Jack hurlait à tout le monde de s'arrêter au moment où Mush et moi entrions.

Feister let out a small laugh before talking about that week, and anything crazy the boys did. By the time Feister finished her visit it was already getting dark. So, as soon as she left the little park she made a run for the Lodge.

By the time she got there it was pitch dark. After signing her name in the ledger and paying her fee for the night she made her way up the stairs. When Feister got to the top she saw it was the same old same old. She smiled to herself and thought it would be best if she just went to her room and call it a night.

Before she could however, she saw that Mush was sitting up in his bunk while shuffling a deck of cards. She then remembered about their nightly game of war, and thought one round couldn't hurt. So making her way to the bunk room she climbed up the bunk and plopped down at the end of the bed and said, "So, who's dealing?"

That's when Mush looked up and had a very stupid look on his face. She giggled at the sight of her best friend, who had a rather dumb look on his face. "Bout time ya got back," he teased with a smirk.

"We's playin' or not?" 

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Another week had come and gone, which meant it was time for Feister's weekly visit. She had gone to the Lodge to do something quickly. When she was finished what needed to be done she then slipped out of the bunk room. Or at least tried too.

"Where do ya think yer goin'?" she herd Jack ask from behind. Feister groaned. If there was one thing she knew it was that it was almost impossible to slip past Jack.

"Ta find the rabbit hole an' go ta Wonderland," she replied sarcastically as she turned to face the older boy. When Jack kept a straight face she then said, "I's just goin' out ta do somethin'. I'll be back in a few hours." When she tried to slip out the small girl bumped into someone.

"That didn't go as planned," she heard Finch say.

"At least we's stopped 'er," Albert added as if it was nothing. Both boys shrugged and then proceed to pick Feister up from the ground.

"Listen Feisty, we's need ta have a little tawk," Jack said as he stood in front of her."

"Can we's tawk tomorrow or somethin', I's gotta be somewhere," Feister replied. When she tried to make a run for the stairs she noticed that Albert and Finch were still blocking the path.

"That's what we's need ta tawk about," Specs added in a soft and calm voice. "You'se been running off ever since...ya know an'-"

"Do ya wanna know what I's find funny?" she cut off as she turned back around. When none of the boys answered she said, "When Romeo is out late you'se never think bout askin' where he's been."

"That's cause Romeo is probably sweet tawkin' some goil," Race said. The other boys agreed, which made Feister roll her eyes.

"What'd bout you Smokey. Yer always comin' back late."

"He's probably at the track wastin' his money on those horses," Jojo said.

"Feisty, you'se been comin' back late every week now. That's more than what we's all do, so of course we's gonna get worried," Mush said. He didn't know why Feister was going out every week and came back late. But he did have a small feeling on why she was. He just hoped that feeling was wrong.

"You'se used ta come back at like midnight when you'se was out with some goil," Feister spat while glaring at Mush.

"You'se can trust us Feisty, we's family," Crutchie said breaking the silence. It went quiet (again) as the boys all waited for Feister to answer. Feister then pushed past both Albert and Finch since she was just done with the boys sticking their noses in her business. When she didn't hear anyone try to stop her she felt a little at ease.

However she did feel all eyes on her as she went to the staircase. Before she took a step down she looked back at her brothers. She sighed and asked, "You'se comin' or not?" she knew she would probably regret this, but something inside her said to do it. The boys all looked at each other in confusion. This had to be a trick, right?

"I's ain't gonna wait forever," Feister said. "You'se can either come, or not. This is a one time offer." as she headed down the stairs she heard the boys scrambling to get their jackets, mittens, scarfs and anything else to keep them warm in the harsh October chill.

Soon enough the boys got what they needed. They scurried down the stairs and out the door into the cold New York air. No one talked or made a sound as they followed Feister to wherever it was that she was going, they were just glad she was finally coming clean.

After awhile they came to a little park with a bunch of bright red and orange leaves on the ground. Nuts and dried berries sprinkled the ground for any squirrel or rabbit that may come by. It was a cozy little park that was far away enough from the hustle and bustle of the city that it was quiet, and the only sound that was heard was the wind rustling the leaves. There was a large tree in the back with bright red and orange leaves. But the thing that was the most noticeable were the headstones.

While the boys wondered if this was some kind of joke they didn't say anything. When they got to the tree they watched in silence as Feister kneeled down and cleared away some leaves, twigs and other things around one of the headstones. She sat back on her heels and took off her cap.

Mush was the one who kneeled down next to Feister as he looked over the head stone and read out loud, "Here lies Charlotte Johnson, 1860-1889. A loving wife an' mudda. May she rest in peace." He looked over at Feister and saw a small tear slid down her cheek. It then hit him and the other boys what Feister has been doing lately.

They took off their caps and either held it in their hands or stuffed it in their pockets as they gathered around Feister and just sat in silence. Feister felt Mush gently place his hand on her shoulder and Jack pat her on the back. She smiled at both of them and then felt some pats from the other boys and smiled at them as well.

She then turned back to the headstone, took a deep breath and said, "Hello mama." she dropped her New York accent so that the lightest hint of her French accent could come through. "These are the boys I've been telling you about." she looked at all of them to see them smiling. She was very glad that they didn't think it was weird for her to be talking to her mother's grave, or that she dropped her New York accent.

"This is Jack, Race, Specs, Albert, Finch, Henry, Jojo, Crutchie, Kid Blink, Mush, Elmer, Tommy boy, Buttons, Sniper, Ike, Mike, an' Romeo. They've all became kinda like my new family. After what happened with Will, you leaving, and papa, I was on my own for a little bit until Jack, Race an' Specs found an' brought me to the Lodge where I learned everything about making it out on the streets. So, I'd guess you'd say they're kinda like my second family."

The boys all smiled as they listened to Feister talk to her mother. They didn't find it weird at all, it was understandable why she was doing this. It also explained where and why she was going every week without telling them.

When it was starting to get dark they all knew it was time to go back to the Lodge. So they all got up, dusted off their pants and put their caps back on. Feister did the same, and tucked her hair back in her cap, as always. Before she left the park she said, "Je t'aime Mama."

"You'se can speak French?" All the boys (but Mush) asked in shock as Feister turned to face them.

"Only a little bit," Feister replied shyly. Which wasn't the truth at all. She doesn't know a little bit, she's actually very fluent in the language. But that was something that was going to remain a secret. None of the boys questioned i before walking out of the park. As they were walking out Feister noticed that Mush was smirking at her. Her eyes widened because she had forgotten that he knew about her little secret.

Mush slung his arm around Feister. He then made sure none of the boys were paying attention as he quietly said "J'aie." Which made Feister laugh since she knew what he was trying to say, and if she's being honest with herself it was kinda cute.

"What?" Mush asked with a very confused look.

"You'se was a nickel away from gettin' it." Feister replied with her thick New York accent through her laughter. "But it was a nice try." Mush only smiled and then quickly kissed Feister's cheek, which made her turn bright red. But she'd just blame it on the cold.