Authors’ Note: About the last chapter with Estha eating a cheeseburger and fries... I’m not too sure that those foods existed in 1899 but for arguments sake; if hot dogs existed… get my drift. lol (remember the little surprise Sarah found rolled up in Les’ handkerchief when she was going to wash?)

^o^ Natz

Chapter 5: Meet Christi

Back at the Lodging House, excitement was running high. Jack helped Estha gently up the stairs. But they could hear laughing and talking coming from the top and upon entering the room were immediately presented with a room full of lively boys.

"What's going on, fellas?" Jack asked Mush, who was standing closest to the door.

"That gal, she woke up, she sure is funny," Mush answered back, shaking his head, smiling.

"Funny? What'cha mean?" asked Jack.

"Just listen to her talk," piped up Skittery from the corner, who had his arms crossed and a sullen expression on his face. It was typical Skittery, always in a bad mood. Jack shrugged his shoulders and walked into the room, Estha trailing behind him.

"Well, and then I says to 'em- 'Back off ya'll, or I'm gonna just hafta show ya how we handle things down yonder in Texas!' So they start a’ swinging at me, and of course, I'm winning the fight until one of them big 'ol guys gets in one lucky punch, and down I go. So when I woke up, here I was!" Estha was surprised at how much energy this girl seemed to have. Estha and Jack saw the girl sitting up on her bed with her strange, dark, brownish green eyes sparkling at the crowd of boys gathered around her bed, laughing hysterically. Jack and Estha both noticed this girl's strange accent. Jack recognized it as Southern, but Estha hadn't heard anything like it before.

"Well who's this?" asked the girl turning to Jack and Estha. Now that she was looking at them, Estha could see that she was really quite pretty, despite the huge bruise on her cheek, glaring like a lighthouse. Her long curly hair hung down past her shoulders, and she had bright pink cheeks and sparkling eyes. Estha again found herself wondering why this girl had been alone in a dark alley.

"Oh, this is Jack, and um, Estha here, she's the one who found ya out there in the alley," Kid Blink spoke up from next to her.

"Oh, well hiya there Estha and Jack! Estha! Thank you SO much for not just leavin' me out there in that alley! You just don't know how much I wanna thank ya for that! Oh, by the way, my name's Christi, but you can call me Chris, 'cause just everyone else does!" the girl drawled on. Skittery sighed from the corner. He wondered if this girls' way too bubbly personality was bothering anyone else. Was he the only one who saw how fake this girl was?

"Um, you're welcome," Estha answered, managing a smile.

"Oh boy! You know what? I think I could just get up and.... go take a walk or something! I can't stand laying in a bed, ya'll!" Christi said swinging her legs out from underneath the sheet that was draped around her. She quickly stood up, and just as abruptly sat back down.

"Um. I don't think that I'm ready for that just yet! Whew! Maybe I'll... lay back down now," Christi said clutching her head. Kid Blink sprang up on his feet.

"You want me to get Kloppman again?" he asked, almost hopping on one foot.

"Oh, no, it's okay Blink... I'll.. be fine if I just lay here," she said feebly smiling. The boys and Estha noticed that the enthusiasm had completely dropped from her voice. 

"Hey fellas, let's leave Chris alone here so she can get some sleep or somethin," said Kid Blink, gently running the back of his hand along the bruised side of her face. 

"I'm fine," Chris barely whispered, her eyes fluttering shut. 

"Sure you are," Kid Blink whispered back, smiling at her. Snickers broke out from somewhere across the room. Blink heard someone whisper 'Hey, Blink's gone soft for Chris!’ and then more snickering.

"Shaddup!" he hissed, craning his neck to see who he was gonna smack after he made sure Christi was comfortable. He turned back around, and saw that Christi was already asleep.

"Well, you know it's true, buddy," said Mush shaking his head, coming up behind his friend.

"Don't announce it to the world, man," Blink whispered to Mush. The two laughed, then noticed that almost every boy in the lodging house was still staring towards the bunk Christi was lying on.

"Well? What's all this gawking?" Everyone jumped and saw Kloppman standing in the doorway. "You boys, you're gonna hafta be quiet, now, you hear? Either go to bed now, or you go downstairs, leave, go to Medda's, ya got it?" Kloppman said looking around at all the boys.

"Who wants to hang around the Lodging House? It's only 8, let's get out of here and go see Medda's Show," spoke up Swifty. The boys nodded their agreement. The began to troop outside.

"Uh, you wanna go Estha? Medda's place is really fun, it's a theatre, ya know?" Jack asked turning to Estha.

"You comin, too Blink, or you wanna stay and make goo-goo eyes at the girl?" Skittery asked still standing in the corner.

"I'm coming!" Blink said offensively, pulling on his cap.

Estha turned to Jack, her eyes suddenly dimmed. Then, with a small sigh escaping from her lips, she collapsed to the floor.

“NOOOOO, Estha, what’s wrong?” Jack scrambled to her side as all the young boys crowded around her in a protective circle. In the short space of time she had been staying with her they had all begun to like her and right now she was one of their own, and they were bound to protect their own. Jack cradled her limp from in his arms. He stroked her forehead gently and continued to softly call her name, to wake her out of her faint. As if to answer his mutterings, her almond shaped eyes fluttered open and after a few seconds came to focus on his face. Each of the boys noted the expressions on their faces and the older boys knew what it meant. They stayed silent but exchanged looks with on another.

Estha then realised that she was on the ground. “ How did I get here?” she asked Jack, realising also that he was holding her.

Jack responded quietly, “ You just fainted.” He removed his arms from around her quickly, realising how it must look to the others. He looked worriedly into the young woman’s face. “ I think that you really need some rest. You should not be going anywhere right now.”

She looked at him pleadingly, but realised that she could not win the argument from the stubborn look on his face. “ Maybe your right” she finally admitted quietly. She looked up at the boys surrounding her. “But you guys should still go to that Medda’s place you were talking about. I’ll just stay here and rest.”

They all exchanged looks with one another, trying to make up their minds. Then Skittery, who seemed the most anxious to leave the house spoke up, “yeah I really think we should go guys, there’s not much else we can do here but disturb the girls.” he said the last words with a little touch of disdain.

Estha’s mouth twitched as she picked up the note in his voice, as if daring her to frown menacingly at the young man. But no frown emerged on her face, only a look of pure tiredness. She sighed and tried to raise herself from the floor and was besotted with a dozen pairs of hands, which wished to help her up. She smiled and grabbed onto the nearest pair and used them to leverage her body in an upright position. Then she felt another pair melding to the small of her back and holding her and guiding her to a bed. She looked back and realised that they were Jack’s hands. He still looked worried about her sudden faint and she was filled with a felling of utmost shyness as she thought about his caring actions. She apprehensively lifted her chin to catch his eyes and she said, “ Maybe you should go too, you don’t have to stay here with me you know. I’ll be fine.”

Jack studied her face carefully and nodded in agreement. “ You sure you will be fine here? You don’t need anything else, do ya? Kloppman will still be here if you need anything.” With his statement he had laid her down in the bed and covered her body with a large, old patchwork quilt.

She snuggled under the warm quilt and responding firmly, “Go Jack, go have some fun. I just need to sleep.” As if to affirm what she just said she noticeably had to stifle a larger yawn.

Jack retreated from her bedside and turned to face the others who also had slightly confused and also bemused expressions on their faces. Jack’ immediate scowl kept all smart comments at bay. He did not want to have to explain himself to them at the moment. He could not even explain what he was feeling to himself. The crowd of boys parted and let him through the middle, their eyes following him, fascination obvious on their faces. He turned back around and asked sharply, “Well are you coming or not?” They all shrugged and noisily followed him down the stairs. Estha sighed deeply and snuggled under the quilt for a well-deserved rest.

~~*~~

4 / Bulma’s Hideout / 6