The Only Girl Newsie

Chapter 3: It's David, Not Davey

After working all day, I head toward some of the other boys. I see them all messing around and heading towards Jack and the others inside Jacobi's. It's one of the only places we can all hang out without getting in trouble. The boys all go in, and I follow behind, slipping inside unnoticed.

I go over to the corner and watch all the boys mess around. The owner goes around handing out free water to the boys who just walked in. They all joke around and just act like themselves, which is crazy. I look around and see that new kid; what's his name? Little, no, that was my nickname for him. What was his actual name? Les? Maybe, oh, I'll just stick with my nickname.

I make eye contact with him and see his eyes light up in recognition. He gets up out of his seat and starts to come over to me. His brother doesn't see me and starts freaking out about why Smalls isn't listening to him to stay put. Smalls runs over to me, and I bend down to his level.

"Hey, Smalls," I say, smiling.

"It's Les, not Smalls," he says quietly, looking up at me.

"Well, hello, Les."

"Hello, Madie," he says happily.

I smile as David comes over and sees me speaking with Les. "Oh, he saw you. That makes more sense why he came over here. Come on, Les, leave Madie alone," David says, trying to pull his brother away from me.

"He's fine, Davey," I say as I see a look of annoyance on his face.

"It's David," he tells me, a little mad.

Jack comes over and puts a hand on David's shoulder, scaring him. "Hey Davey, what's going on?"

I look at David with a look of 'I told you so' and walk away.

"Hey, where yous going, Madie?" Romeo asks me.

"Out, don't wait up for me at da lodge tonight," I say, starting to walk out.

As I open the door, I hear David speaking again. "Whoa, you should not be out there alone at night. The streets are even more dangerous at night. Shouldn't someone go with her too, you know, protect her?"

Hearing that, I stop walking and turn around to face him. He is quite a ways away from me, but that doesn't change what I'm about to say. "What did you just say?" I ask him, clearly upset.

"You need to be protected. It's a guy's job to protect young girls like you," he says, trying to sound smart and brave, but he sounds stupid and dumb to me.

"Say that again, I dare you," I say, stepping forward, making some of the others step back.

"You're a girl that needs to be protected," David says again, which sets me off the edge.

I run forward, ready to hit him, till Race grabs me by wrapping his arms around me, stopping me from going forward. "Race, let me go!" I say, struggling.

"Nope, not till you calm down," he says.

"Let me go!" I say.

"No, now calm down," he says. I feel something grab my legs, and I look down to see Les squeezing my legs.

"Les, what are you doing?" David asks, scared that I'll lash out at his brother.

"Don't be mad at David. He didn't mean any of it. He says stupid things sometimes," Les says, looking up at me with wide eyes.

"I'm not mad at Davey, Les. I'm just frustrated," I say calmly, and both Les and Race let go of me. I turn around, not looking at anyone, and say, "see you later." I walk out onto the streets, trying to get away from the boys as fast as possible.