Juliet poked a hole into the side of the wooden box with her crowbar and breathed in the cool air. It felt wonderful to breathe in the tiniest bit of fresh air after being cooped up in this box for two straight days. It was boiling hot, and she was hungry. She had brought a canteen of water, but it didn’t do much help. ‘Hope I get to New York soon.’ She thought.

Juliet leaned back a little bit, for she had almost no room to move. She closed her eyes and the events of three days ago swept before her eyes. When she was eleven, her parents had died and she was left to the custody of her uncle. Her uncle was not rich, always grumbled about not having enough money, and was horrified that he had another mouth to feed.

For six years, Juliet had do endure her uncle’s complaints about her being “a thorn in his side since she came here,” until last week when she had been noticed by a wealthy young man named Quentin Peck, and he had expressed his desire to marry her. Her uncle was overjoyed, for he would not only be rid of his niece, but have money as well.

But Juliet was not at all thrilled by Quentin’s proposal. Though he besieged her with many gifts of flowers, chocolates and many other things, she did not love him; and she knew that she could never marry a man she didn’t love. She knew very well that he didn’t really love her; he loved what she looked like.

There was only one way out, and that was to run away. And that was what she did. Two days ago, she locked herself in a box and had it boarded onto a train for New York. She knew that neither her uncle nor Quentin could find her there.

Juliet finally closed her eyes and fell asleep to the slow rumble of the train’s wheels. Hours later, she awoke with a start when the train’s wheels screeched and came to a halt. The whistle blew, and Juliet knew that she was there. Holding her crowbar tightly, she felt someone pick up the box and carry it from the train. When it was set down, Juliet used the crowbar to open the box. It opened, and she stood up on weak and shaky legs and inhaled the air.

Oh, how wonderful it felt to be out of that tiny prison! Juliet jumped out of the box, dropped the crowbar and picked up her small bag of clothes and possessions. Then she ran. She ran like she had been cooped up for a thousand years and was finally free. All she needed to do now was find a place where she could stay and make money.

“Sheesh, it’s hot!” Dutchy complained.

“Oh, fer heaven’s sake, Dutchy!” Bumlets exclaimed. “Dat’s da fifteenth time ya’ve said dat in da last half hour!”

“What else cin I say? It’s hot!”

“Der ya go again.” Bumlets whapped Dutchy upside the head. “Ya say dat one more time an’ I’ll hafta hoit ya.”

“Maybe I’ll jus’ go swimmin’ latah.”

“Sounds good if it’s gonna get ya ta shut up.”

At that very moment, a woman in the building the two newsies stood by threw a pail of cold water out of her window. The water landed on Dutchy and only splashed Bumlets a little bit. When Bumlets saw that Dutchy was drenched, he began to laugh out loud.

“Aw, c’mon, it wasn’t dat funny!” Dutchy whined.

“Ah, yer right. It was hilarious!”

Bumlets laughed even harder and Dutchy scowled at his friend. Finally, Bumlets stopped laughing and Dutchy’s disapproving look faded.

“’Bout time ya stopped laughin’.”

“’Bout time ya stopped complainin’ ‘bout bein’ hot!”

Both newsies started laughing, and then they spit-shook and headed for the lodging house. They had just turned the corner of Tibby’s when Bumlets suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

Dutchy didn’t notice right off, but when he did, he saw a look on Bumlets’ face that he had never seen before. He walked over to his friend and waved his hand before his face.

“Bumlets.”

Bumlets didn’t respond. Whatever had possessed him certainly had his attention somewhere else.

“Bumlets!” Dutchy said, his voice loud and annoyed.

Bumlets still didn’t answer, and a faint smile appeared on his face. Dutchy frowned and looked in the direction Bumlets was looking. He too began to stare. Not too far away was a beautiful young woman with brown hair with blonde streaks littering it. Her hazel eyes shone brightly when the sunlight caught them, and she moved with a natural willowy grace.

“Tell me I’m not seein’ things.” Bumlets said dreamily. “I think I’se seein’ an angel.”

“Me too.” Dutchy said.

Bumlets looked at Dutchy and shook his head. “Oh, no you don’t. I saw ‘er first!”

With that Bumlets took off running to catch the beautiful girl he had seen from afar. He finally reached her and slowed down to make it look like he wasn’t a threat.

“Buenos dies, señorita.” He said as he removed his hat for the girl.

The girl turned around and looked at Bumlets. When she smiled, he felt like he was going to melt. He had never seen a girl smile like that before. But she was a little different now that he was closer to her. She was smaller than he had expected, and she was much paler and leaner.

“Hi.” Juliet said.

Bumlets took her hand and planted a gentle kiss on her knuckles. “Hello.” He said. “Name’s Bumlets, an’ I jus’ saw ya an’ ya looked like ya needed some ‘elp.”

Juliet giggled a little, taken aback by this young man’s charm. “Actually, I did need some help. I’ve been traveling from two days, just arrived here in Manhattan and I need a place to stay. I don’t have much money, but-“

“’Ey, no problem! You could get a job as a newsie wit me an’ my friends. ‘Course it don’t make a whole lot ‘a money, but it’s ‘nough ta live off of, an’ ya make a lot ‘a friends an’ ya meet a whole lot ‘a neat people. Sound good?”

Juliet nodded. “Yeah, sounds good. My name’s Juliet Ryan. And you are, again?”

“Bumlets.”

“Bumlets? What kind of a name is that?”

“It’s a nickname. All newsies got nicknames. If yer wonderin’, me real name’s Michael Lopez, but I’d prefer ya call me Bumlets.”

“Alright. Why the nickname?”

“It’s kinda ‘a way ‘a fergettin’ da past.”

“Oh. So if I become a newsie, I get a nickname too?”

“Yeah. Everyone does.”

“I see. Well, I’ve never really had a nickname before, so I don’t know what I could start with.”

“No problem! I know plenty.”

“Okay, you can give me a nickname.”

Bumlets studied Juliet’s face and wondered what nickname would fit her perfectly. ‘Too bad ‘Angel’s’ taken. It’d be perfect for her.’ He thought. As he thought, he was reminded of an older newsgirl friend of his, who had “adopted” him as a little brother when he first became a newsie at eight. Her name was Seven of Nine, and he thought that it would fit Juliet perfectly.

“I got one fer ya.” Bumlets said. “Seven of Nine.”

“Seven of Nine.” Juliet repeated. “Sounds good. Is it the name of an old girlfriend of yours?”

“Naw, jus’ a goil who adopted me as a liddle brudder, dat’s all.”

“I like it. Seven of Nine. I think I’d like to be called Seven for short.”

“Sounds good. C’mon, let’s go to da lodgin’ house. Ya gotta meet da guys…an’ goils.”

Bumlets began walking down the street and Seven followed him. Dutchy finally met up with them and looked a little jealous of Bumlets.

“Seven,” Bumlets said, “dis is me friend, Dutchy. Dutchy, dis is Seven of Nine, but call ‘er Seven.”

“Nice ta meetcha.” Dutchy said.

“You too.” Seven said.

Together, the three made their way through the crowded streets and finally made it to the lodging house. Bumlets held the door open for Seven as she walked inside with Dutchy sulking in behind her.

“’Ey, Kloppman!” Bumlets cried. “Get out ‘ere!”

“Hang on, be there in a second.” An old voice called from a door behind the front desk.

“YEOUCH! Cheese it, Kloppman, dat hoits!” someone screeched.

Seven pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. Whatever this Kloppman was doing to that newsboy sounded awful funny. Finally, a minute later, a newsboy wearing a round derby came walking out of the room, holding his hand tightly as if a knife had gone clean through his hand.

“Dat needle almost went t’rough my hand!” the boy cried.

“I told you, be more careful on that rail.” Kloppman said calmly. “You avoid getting deep splinters that way.” The newsboy then disappeared and the old man shook his head. “At the rate that boy’s going, he’ll never learn.”

“Jake got anudder splinter?” Dutchy asked.

“Yep.”

“Kloppman,” Bumlets said, “we’s got a new newsie fer ya.” He gently shoved Seven forward. “Dis ‘ere’s Seven of Nine.”

“Nice to meet you, Seven of Nine.”

“Call me Seven.” Seven said.

Bumlets dropped some coins onto the desk. “’Ere’s ‘er first month’s pay.”

Kloppman nodded and scooped the coins into his hand. “Alright. You stay with the girls in their bunkroom and the boys are above you. I wake you up around six forty-five and lights go out around eight thirty at night. Supper’s supplied here and you get your breakfast from the nuns. Lunch is on your own.”

“Okay.”

“Well,” Bumlets cut in, “ya’d bedder meet Jack now. ‘E’s in charge, an’ ‘e doesn’t like it when we bring in new newsies an’ don’ tell ‘im. Ya comin’?”

“Yeah, I’m comin’.”

Dutchy walked ahead of them since he had nothing else to do and was faster. Seven trailed behind the two boys and fumbled around in her pockets for the right amount of money to repay Bumlets. When she finally had the right amount, she tried to give it to him, but he wouldn’t accept it.

“Why not?” Seven asked. “I mean, you paid for me, and I could’ve paid for myself.”

“Ah, don’ worry. It’s kinda ‘a tradition ‘ere.”

“Tradition?”

“Yeah. Older newsies always paid da first month’s rent for the new recruits.”

“Yeah, a tradition YOU just started.” Dutchy muttered under his breath.

Bumlets elbowed Dutchy, hoping that Seven hadn’t heard what he had said. It didn’t look like she had, so he let out a sigh of relief. When they reached the bunkroom, Bumlets called another newsie over to meet Seven. This boy was dressed up like a cowboy and wore a dusty red bandana around his neck.

“Jack, I brung in a new newsie.” Bumlets said. “Dis ‘ere’s Seven of Nine, but call ‘er Seven, okay?”

Jack spit into his hand and extended it to Seven. “Hey kid. So yer knew ‘ere?”

Seven nodded, disgusted at Jack’s action. “Uh, yeah. Just arrived.”

Jack, realizing that this girl must be from farther away from Manhattan, wiped his hand off before he held it back out to her again. This time Seven shook his hand and smiled a little.

“Welcome to Manhattan.” Jack said. “If yer wonderin’ about dat spittin’ thing, it’s kinda somethin’ we newsies do. Anyways, ya gotta know da newsies. Most ‘a dem are ‘ere, an’ de udders ain’t ‘ere yet. Right now, we got Jake-“

“Yes, I know Jake.” Seven said. “If I’m not mistaken, he had a pretty bad splinter.”

“Jake! How many times do I hafta tell ya not ta fool around on da stairway?”

“Aw, shut up!” Jake snapped.

“Don’ mind ‘im. ’E’s normally grumpy afta ‘e’s ‘ad a splinter taken out. Ova der we got Race, Swifty, Kid Blink, Mush, Itey, Skittery, Specs, Snipeshooter, Pie Eater an’ Boots, an’ der’s a few more but dey ain’t ‘ere yet. Da goils are downstairs in der bunkroom, so ya’d bedder head down der if ya wanna meet ‘em.”

“Okay.” Seven said. “Nice to meet you all.” She called to the rest of the newsies.

A few newsies replied to her call with “nice to meet ya too,” and Seven went down the stairs as Bumlets led her to the bunkroom on the lower level.

“Dis ‘ere’s where you’s cin stay.” Bumlets said. Da goils is nice, so ya don’ hafta worry.”

Bumlets then turned and knocked on the door. They both waited a few seconds and then a girl answered the door. The girl was a little taller than Seven, and she had dark brown hair and eyes.

“’Ey Angel.” Bumlets said. “Guess what? We got a new newsgoil. Dis ‘ere’s Seven of Nine.”

“Hi.” Seven said shyly.

“Hi.” Angel said. “Come on in.”

“Well, I guess I’ll be seein’ ya.” Bumlets said. “If’n ya need anythin’, I’ll be upstairs, ‘kay?”

“Alright. See ya around.”

Bumlets flashed Seven a quick smile and then left. Seven entered into the girls bunkroom and was pretty happy to see that it was cleaner that the boys’ bunkroom.

“So,” Angel said, “are you Bumlets’ girl?”

Seven shook her head. “No. I just got into town a little over two hours ago.”

“Okay. These are a few of the other girls, Dusk, Irish, Luca, Charcoal, Dancer, Sketch and Panda. Hey girls, this is Seven of Nine.”

“Hi.” Seven said.

The girls acknowledged her with a few “heys,” and Seven found an empty bunk and dumped her bag onto it. She then plopped down on the mattress and emptied her bag. First, she pulled out her few clothes, neatly folded them up and stuck them beneath her bunk. Then she picked up her bags and dumped the rest of her possessions out.

The first thing she picked up was a picture of her family. It was taken a month before her parents died, and she missed them terribly. She stuck the faded picture under her pillow and then went to put away her other possessions. She had a long, silver locket that her mother had given her, and she had put a picture of her parents in each heart. She too hid that under her pillow.

Next, she picked up a small, red book and held it close to her heart. This book was one of the things she treasured the most. Her mother had written in this diary every day of her life until she was seven. She had read the entries every day of her life and tried to remember the fun days her mother had written about. She also stuck the diary under her pillow.

Seven then gathered up the rest of the things on her mattress. She had four books she had stolen from her uncle, one of which contained some songs jammed between the pages that her father had written for her mother before they were married. She also had her father’s pocket watch and a few articles of jewelry that were heirlooms to her. She stuck them back into the bag and shoved it under her bunk.

She then untied her boots and dropped them on the floor. Exhaling deeply, she laid down and set her head on her pillow. She was exhausted after sleeping in the same crouched position for two nights, and it felt wonderful to stretch her legs out on a mattress again. Overcome by the sleepiness that was now attacking her with full force, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Bumlets whistled a little as he walked down the stairs to the girls’ bunkroom. He had the feeling that he needed to check on Seven. When he reached the door, he pulled his hands out of his pocket and knocked on the door. Dusk answered it.

“What brings ya down ‘ere?” she asked.

“Jus’ checkin’ on Seven. She okay?”

“Wouldn’t wanna see ‘er right now.”

“Why not?”

“Cuz she sleepin’, that’s why!”

“Oh. Well, it’s almost suppertime, so ya’d bedder wake ‘er up soon.”

“’R maybe you should jus’ let the kid sleep. From the looks of it, she’s had a long journey.”

“Okay, okay, I give! I’m gettin’ outa here!”

Bumlets then turned around and walked back up to the boys’ bunkroom. When he walked to his bunk, he pulled out a book and began to read. This wasn’t uncommon, for he loved to read. He was mainly into adventure and stories about knights, pirates and old myths and legends; preferably Greek and Roman.

His most favorite book to read though was The Odyssey. He loved the plot, the adventure, and all the mythical creatures Odysseus encountered. He read it at least once every month and often finished it within a few days. One of his problems with reading was the fact that he couldn’t seem to put the books down.

He read for about an hour before Kloppman’s voice rang out from the lobby, telling everyone to head downstairs for supper. Bumlets stuck a bookmark in his book and set it on his pillow before following his friends down the stairs. When they reached the dining room, he was met with the strong smell of Kloppman’s beef stew. Though Kloppman wasn’t really known for his good cooking, he made good beef stew.

Bumlets pulled a chair out and sat down. He tapped his fingers on the tabletop as he waited for the food to come when he heard a loud yawn and someone sit down in the chair next to him. He turned his head to see Seven sitting down next to him.

“Hi.” She said.

“Hey there. Have a nice nap?”

Seven nodded. “Yeah. I haven’t gotten a descent night of sleep in a while, an’ I was really tired.”

“I’ll bet. You hungry?”

“Starved. Haven’t eaten anything in almost two days.”

“Why din’t ya tell us before? We coulda taken ya to Tibby’s.”

“It jus’ slipped my mind, that’s all.”

Kloppman then entered the dining room with a steaming pot in his hands. He set it on the table and then the newsies began passing the pot around to get their share of the stew. Kloppman then returned with a basket filled with biscuits and passed it around to the other side of the table.

When the stew found its way to Seven, she took a large spoonful and put it in her bowl. Though the spoonful she took was big, it didn’t fill her bowl all the way. But she didn’t mind, and passed the stew on to Bumlets. He noticed how much she had taken and was confused.

“Why din’t ya take more?” he asked.

“Cuz I wanna make sure everyone gets theirs before I take more.”

“Ya don’ need ta worry, Kloppman always makes extra. Ya sure ya don’ want any more?”

“I’m sure.”

“Okay.”

Bumlets took his share and passed the stew on. When the biscuits came around, Seven took a tiny biscuit and placed it next to her bowl. Bumlets noticed once again but didn’t say a word. Seven then picked up her spoon and began to eat. She was famished, but she ate her food quietly and slowly.

She did happen to notice that some of the newsboys didn’t care about their manners and were eating like pigs. She frowned a little but didn’t say a word. She only looked at her food and tried not to look at the others. When she was finished, she picked up her biscuit and began to nibble on it. Though she took tiny bites, she finished it within two minutes.

When she finished her biscuit, she discovered that she was still hungry. ‘Just another biscuit.’ She thought. She reached out to the biscuit basket in front of her and attempted to grab a biscuit. She did get a hold on one, but at the same time, someone tried to take the same one. She looked at Bumlets and saw him looking at her with his hand on hers. He immediately jerked his hand back and blushed a little.

“You can have it.” he said quietly.

Seven smiled a little. “Thanks.”

She took the biscuit and took a small bite out of it. She looked down at the ground as she nibbled on her biscuit and began to reminisce about the past days. Had it only been two days since she had left? It seemed like a long time ago instead of two days. ‘I hope Quentin doesn’t find me here.’ She thought.

She finished her biscuit and was about to head back up to the bunkroom when Jack stopped her. He had a wide smile on his face and Seven returned him with a small smile.

“Glad yer done.” He said. “I’se jus’ askin’ if ya wanna come wit me an’ Davey an’ a few udder guys ta Irving Hall? I’se got a friend der, an’ I’m sure she’d like ta meet ya.”

Seven thought for a minute, then nodded. “I guess so.”

“Okay. Jus’ lemme get de udder guys an’ we’ll get goin’.”

Jack gathered up a few boys and a girl and then returned to Seven. “’Ey Seven, in case yer wonderin’, dese guys dat ya haven’t met yet. Dis ‘ere’s Davey, me walkin’ mouth, an’ we also got Crutchy, Snoddy an’ da goil is Hercules. Actually, she’s my goil.”

“Pleased ta meetcha.” Snoddy said, smiling brightly.

“You too.” Seven said.

Also in the group was Race and Pie Eater, but neither Bumlets nor Dutchy was with them. Since Seven knew them better than any of the other newsies, she was a little shy and wished that one of those two were with her.

The group walked down the street, talking about many different things, and Seven said nothing and kept to herself. Race was talking about this ‘hot tip’ he had at the tracks and how much he was going to bet. Snoddy was telling him not to bet too much, and Jack was talking about some kid named Les and his getting better at selling newspapers.

Since Seven wasn’t in any of these conversations, she began to hum a little bit to herself. She soon became bored and began to quietly sing a few lines from a song she knew.

“Cuz I’m dreamin’ of you tonight,” she sang, almost silently, “till tomorrow, I’ll be holding you tight. And there’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be, than here in my room, dreamin’ about you and me. Wonder if you ever see me and I wonder if you know I’m there. If you looked in my eyes, would you see what’s inside, would you even care?”

“Hey,” Pie Eater interrupted, “is dat you singin’?”

Seven nodded a little. “Yeah.”

“Couldja sing a liddle louder? You’s pretty good.”

“Well, okay.” She inhaled deeply. “I just wanna hold you close, but so far, all I have are dreams of you. So I wait for the day, and the courage to say how much I love you. Yes I do. I’ll be dreaming of you tonight, till tomorrow, I’ll be holding you tight. And there’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be, than here in my room, dreamin’ about you and me.”

“Wow.” Pie Eater said. “Dat is good.”

Seven blushed a little. “Thanks.”

They finally arrived in front of a large building and Jack led them inside. There was faint music coming from all around, and Seven saw a woman wearing a frilly, bright maroon dress coming down a stairway to greet them.

“Kelly!” she cried. “Where’ve you been, kid? Haven’t seen you around lately.”

“Ah, been busy.” Jack said, beckoning for Seven to come. “We’s got a new newsgoil. Dis ‘ere’s Seven of Nine. Seven, dis is Medda, da Swedish Meadowlark.”

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