Christina

"Okay, kid. Try this." Jack held out a cigarette to me, smirk on his lips.

"What?" I was really confused. Why was he asking me to smoke?

"C'mon, Chris. If you really want to convince the people that you're a boy, then you gotta smoke like a boy." His eyebrows furrowed together as he urged the cigarette towards me.

I let my eyes fall down to it for a couple seconds before speaking. "Since when am I convincing people that I'm a boy?" I protested, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Well, you are wearing my clothes, aren't ya?" Jack pointed out.

"Dammit." I hated that he was right.

I grabbed the cigarette from his pinched fingers and stuck it in my mouth. "Give me a light." Jack lit a match and let the fire hover around the tip of the cigarette. I breathed in and almost immediately choked.

"Yeah, it tastes bad at first, but you get used to it." He playfully clapped me on the back.

I winced at the revolting taste, but kept it in my mouth. Hoping that Jack was right when he said that this would 'convince the people', I sucked in again.

"Okay. You go over there, and I'll go over here," He pointed down the street. "Don't go too far, kid, these streets can get dangerous for a newsie."

***

I was selling papers pretty well! I happily strutted down the street with change clinging in my pocket.

I guess I was starting to wander kind of far away from Manhattan, because I was in a place I didn't recognize. But, I was making more money here then I was in the city, so it was alright with me.

I was just finishing giving a man a newspaper when I saw a two boys approaching me. They both didn't look too happy to see me.

"Hiya, boys. Care for a pape?" I tried to be polite, despite them being strangers, and despite that they seemed mad.

"What the hell are ya doing here?" one boy spat. I noticed that he had a cane at his side. They seemed about my age, maybe a little older.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm selling." I tried not to let my voice level expose how I was feeling--annoyed.

"This is my selling spot." The boy with the cane slapped the newspapers out of my hands and onto the dusty ground beneath me.

"What was that for?" I yelled trying to pick up the fallen papers.

Suddenly, I was picked up by the neck of my shirt.

"You shouldn't be here. Brooklyn is my territory!" the boy had a strong grip even though he wasn't much taller than me.

"I didn't know that! I'm sorry." I was scared then. This jerk had a real problem with me.

"Oh, you didn't know that? This must be one big misunderstanding." the kid spoke, sarcasm flooding his voice.

I nodded, which was a mistake. The boy started dragging me. I screamed for help, but nobody heard me. He was taking me into an alleyway.

He then released my shirt and threw me forward. I could hardly managed to catch myself before I fell down. My palms felt like they were on fire from hard pavement.

"You made a big mistake coming into my territory." The boy threatened, stepping nearer to me.

He suddenly punched me right in the gut. I doubled over in pain, holding my stomach as I tried to regain my breath.

He kicked me in the face before I could recover.

"Get 'em Spot!" his friend cheered.

I tried to fight back. I successfully punched him in the stomach. He groaned slightly before giving me a look like 'you shouldn't have done that'.

He punched me in the mouth. I could taste the coppery blood then. I also smelled it, which must of meant my nose was bleeding too.

I'm dead meat.

"Stop!" I yelled, extending my hand out in surrender. I panted, still on my hands and knees.

The boy hesitated all the sudden, fist still hung high in the air. He then glanced back at his friend.

"You think I'm done with this punk?" he questioned, clearly already knowing the answer.

His friend nodded no, and I was about to get another kick to the gut, when I heard somebody screaming. They sounded familiar.

The boy that was beating me up was suddenly tackled by screaming body.

I tried to make out who the kid was, when I realized it was Jack!

"Jack!" I coughed up blood.

Jack punched the bully in the nose.

"Woah, Jack! Are you crazy? It's me, Spot Conlon!" the boy named Spot held one hand up, shielding his face, and the other holding his already bleeding nose.

Jack's fists were balled up, about to throw another punch when he took a better look at who he was dealing with. "Spot? What are ya doing soaking my friend here?" Jack seemed angry and confused.

"This little shit is your friend?" Spot wiped the blood from his nose and pointed at me with his red hand. "Why didn't ya tell 'em dat Brooklyn is my territory?" he stood up from the ground.

"Give me a break, Spot. I can't remember everything. And besides, my pal here is new," Jack explained, helping me up from the ground.

I was annoyed that Jack didn't tell me that Brooklyn was off-limits. This so-called 'Spot' could of really beat the shit out of me!

I gave Jack a harsh glare, and he exchanged it for an I-did-nothing-wrong face. I dusted myself off and scoffed. I noticed that my hat was on the ground, and I picked it up and started to walk away from the scene.

"Oh, and by the way, she's a girl." Jack came over to me, grabbed the back of my neck, and led me away from Spot.

All the commentary I could make out from Spot were muttered curses.

The picture above is of Spot Conlon and his cane :)

Thanks for reading!!