Long strands of her white blonde hair hung down around her face, and her green eyes watched the penny on her palm in disinterest. With a flick of her wrist, the bronze coin would appear in her other hand, her first closed tightly around it. Letting out a sigh of boredom, Hex leaned back against the park bench on which she sat, juggling the penny from palm to palm as if by magic. Pie Eater, standing a few yards away selling the last of his papers, watched the coin, and the girl, in wonder. A sudden of rush of passengers flooding off the streetcar brought his attention away from the occupant of the bench and he doled out papers as the coins clattered into his grasp. As the last of his papers left his possession, he made his way down the crowded sidewalk to where Hex sat cross legged upon the bench.

"Just how ya' doin' that?" Pie Eater asked bluntly, still mesmerized by the coin jumping from hand to hand, "Is it magic 'er somethin'?"

Hex laughed at his inference. "The hand...," she began, lowering her voice to imitate an overzealous magician, "Is quicker than the eye." With that, she brushed her hands together and the coin disappeared completely. Pie Eater laughed at her impression and stuck out his hand in greeting.

"Da names Pie Eater." Looking at him quizzically, she took his hand.

"Hex, or at least dats what they call me," she answered.

"'S pretty name," he mused, staring at the smile on her face, without realizing he still had a firm grasp on her hand.

"Thank you," Hex replied, blushing at his compliment and slipping her hand from his.

"Sorry 'bout dat."

"'S'okay, don't worry about it," she shuffled her feet nervously and shifted her eyes unsure of where to look, "I've gots ta' get going." She turned and began to walk down the street, her cheeks flushed a deep red.

"Wait a sec," Pie Eater called out, "Just where'd dat penny go?"

Grinning widely, she called back, "Check your pocket!"
Confused, Pie Eater unbuttoned his front shirt pocket to find the penny nestled in the cloth.

"How the...?" He looked through the crowd for her, but she'd already gone.

Shaking his head in disbelief, he started off towards the Lodging House, mumbling under his breath,"'S magic."

For two weeks, Pie Eater returned to that selling spot in the hopes of catching sight of her again. When business began to slow and Hex didn't show, he moved on, disappointed. A new selling spot near Central Park proved to be more profitable and it was there that he saw here again. Making handkerchiefs disappear behind people・s ears for coins, she had a small crowd gathered around. Standing on the outskirts of the group, he waited for it to disperse before approaching her.

"Magic?" he asked jokingly.

"Slight of hand, not magic at all," she replied, looking up from her spot on the ground where she was gathering up her earnings.

"Aw, you're ruinin' it for me you know, takin' all the fun out of it," he feigned disappointment.

"Pie Eater, at your age, you're telling me you still believe in magic?" she teased.

"I donna know, some magic's real," he started to ramble off, both of them caught up in their own thoughts.

"Magic ain't real," she sighed and a sorrowful look filled her eyes,"That's somethin' I learned a long time ago, but it's a long story..." She shook her head as if to shake the thoughts away.

"Yeah," Pie Eater replied, remembering his own 'long story,' "Wanna compare? Bet my life story's better 'dan yours." He hoped to bring a bit of light to the conversation with this mock contest and was content to see the smile crack across her face.

"Oh yeah," she challenged, "Bet mine's funnier."

"We'll see..."

"So tell yours."

"Alright," Pie Eater began, "I'll keep it short and sweet, its your basic 'got left on the streets' story."

"Mine'll beat the pants offa yours, but tell."

"Me dad was some high an' mighty guy from Englan' an' he came ovah here on business. Me mum was a laundry lady from da Bronx, an' ya' know, dey met, fell in love. Dats where I come in, but me dad's family wouldn・t accept me muddah or me and 'ventually, he went back ta Englan' leaving us 'ere. 'E's a no good rotten - well yeah, you get da picture. Me mum, well, I'm not sure where me muddah is, all I rememba' is her gettin' me dressed and leavin' me on a street corner when I was 'bout five I think. So, yeah, I grew up on da streets and da vendors around 'ere are real nice, gave me scraps from whatevah dey had leftover an' dats how I've survived. Bein' a newsie bring in a little money, it ain't much, but I don't have ta beg for scraps no more."

"So ya' don't know where either of your parents are?"

"Nah, don't really care 'bout it either, but anyways, 's your turn, lets hear dis story of yours."

"My muddah died when I was real little, I nevah knew her so I don' really miss 'er. My faddah was a magician, you know, one of them fancy "hocus-pocus" people, and he was really awful at it. His idea of makin' somethin' disappear was shovin' it up his sleeve real fast and hopin' da audience didn' see. So growin' up, I traveled around wit' 'im and a group of other odd performers. Dey were all kinda like family ta me. I was da only kid so dey'd play games wit' me and tell me stories, it was great for awhile dere. But things started ta' get real tough, nobody was interested in magic anymore, an' our traveling group disbanded while we were 'ere in New Yawk. Me dad left me on a street corner 'round 'ere wit' a nickel and a promise dat he'd come back. Dat was six years ago though, and I've stopped waitin' around. Now, I do some of da tricks I learned back when I was little and make a little money at it."

"Ya' mean ya' grew up wit' a bunch of circus freaks?" Pie Eater laughed.

"Well, yeah, kinda', ya know dat freaky mime down on fifth avenue? And dat drunken clown on 23rd? I grew up wit' dem, and a couple of other vagrants 'round da' city."

"Gees, your story does beat da' pants offa mine," Pie Eater admitted his defeat,"But one question..."

"What?"

"Was dat clown always so drunk?"

"Charlie? Nah, after his tambourine-playin' monkey died, he started drinkin'."

"Ya' know," began Pie Eater, "Da funny thing is, you're completely serious."

"You tellin' me you don't know someone in this city dats completely wacky?" Hex countered. As she spoke, a large herd of newsies raced by, their leader screaming,"Cheese!" at the top of her lungs.

"Well..." he watched them in embarrassment and shook his head.

"Cheese?" she asked him curiously, eyeing the crowd until they disappeared from sight.

"Ok, so I know some...interesting people," he admitted, and they both began to laugh,"But no drunken clowns or odd men that think they're stuck in boxes."

"Point taken."

"'Dis was fun," he sighed, leaning back on the bench where they'd taken a seat.

"Yeah, but I gotta get goin'," Hex rose from her seat, stretching her arms over her head,"I'll see ya' 'ere tomorrow, k? Ya' owe me an explanation."

"For what?"

"Da' cheese people," Hex replied with a smile and hurried down the sidewalk.

The next day and the following week, Pie Eater returned to his Central Park selling spot. Hex would wait patiently until his papers were sold, even helping him sell a few. When the last newspaper had been handed out, they would spend their time on the park bench, talking and laughing at each other's stories. On a particularly slow business day, 6:00 rolled around to find Pie Eater with 20 papers left to sell. With a sudden spurt of inspiration, Hex snatched up the newspapers and took off down the street.

Pie Eater stood stunned, watching her braids swing about as she ran, and she'd gone from sight by the time he thought to chase after her. Not ten minutes later, she returned with a wide grin spread across her face, holding a handful of change which she deposited in Pie Eater・s open palm.

"Ya' sold 'em all?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yep, dats da' proof," she gestured towards the coins he held.

"How the...?"

"It's da' face I tell ya', I'm just so cute."

"Sure, cute," he mocked her, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, you're gonna pay for dat one Pie Eater," and with that she pounced on him, seizing his hat and ruffling his hair.

"You are so dead!" he yelled and as she darted off into the park, he followed. After a good run around several fountains and along many paths, Pie Eater called out to where she stood, several yards ahead,

"Got a question for ya'!" Cautiously advancing towards him, he held up his hands in innocence.

"What?" she asked inquisitively, brushing some of the dirt off his vest as she spoke.

"Have ya' had enough?" He began tickling her until she collapsed on the ground in defeat. Looking up at him from where she sat cross-legged on the park lawn, she mockingly scolded him,

"Dat was unfair, but I've got a question for you now."

"Dat would be?"

"Didja want your money back?" Innocently, she produced his money bag from behind her back, "Ya know da magic business ain't dat profitable, I did learn a couple of news skills 'ere in dis fine city."
Laughing, he took the bag from her hand and pulled her to her feet. Walking over to a bench, they sunk down onto it, their legs sore from running.

"Ya' know Hex," he sighed leaning back on the bench,"Bein' a newsie ain't so bad, little more profitable den magic and certainly more legal den pickin' pockets. I could teach ya' da ropes, bein' an expert an' all."

"Yeah, Pie Eater, some expert, I could do dis jist as well as you." Flipping open the paper he kept for himself, she read 'Two Men Die of Flu'. "See dis one," she gestured towards it,"Plague sweepin' da city."

"Aw, Hex, you know what I mean, you could come stay in da lodgin' house an' make more money den' standin' 'ere pulling god-knows-what from behin' people's ears."

She couldn・t help but laugh at his interpretation of her 'occupation'.

"I don' know, Pie Eater," she said, taking a serious tone.

"We're all real close, 's like having 30 brudders and sisters, you'd love it."

"How do you know what I'd love?"

"I know you, or atleas' I t'ink I do, but I wanna know more. If ya' were a newsie, you'd be close by an' we could talk whenever, and it, it would be so great..., so ya' gotta be a newsie, 'cause, well ya gotta."

"I don't gotta do anythin' Pie Eater," Hex scowled,"And you don't know what I'd love."

"Hex, please, don't be mad, I just want ya' ta' come be a newsie wit' me. I've tol' ya' so much 'bout myself, I feel like I've known ya' forever, if I can't be wit' ya' more, I'm gonna go nuts."

"Don't guilt me into this Pie Eater, don't even start, you don't know me, you don't know what I'd love. Just because we've spent a week 'round each other, doesn't mean it meant anythin'."

Her outburst caught Pie Eater off guard as well as herself. Her hand flew up to her mouth as if to take back the words she'd said. Tears began to form in her eyes and she fled before they could fall.

How could ya' say dat to 'im? How could ya' say it didn't mean anythin'? Dats da' problem, it meant everything. Great goin' Hex, ya' screwed it all up.

Pie Eater's mind reeled as he watched her runoff, thoughts raced through his head at a million miles per hour. She couldn't of meant it, she didn't mean it, she was only angry. Why'd ya' have ta' pressure her? 'S all your fault. Discouraged and depressed, he trudged home to the lodging house, dragging his feet and staring at the ground.

Tears streaming freely, flying off her cheeks as she ran, she sobbed into the night. Huddling underneath a tall tree deep in the park, she cried herself to sleep. The last thoughts on her mind haunting her dreams. What'd you say dat for? What if 'e hates ya' now? I can't stand him hating me.

Similar thoughts were running through Pie Eater's mind as he lay on his bunk, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep.

Morning found them in no better a position, both still depressed and blaming themselves. Hex rose to the sound of footsteps echoing down the path. Raising her head slightly, she watched as a group of newsgirls streamed by, taking a shortcut through the park. Laughing and joking, smiles lined their faces, and Hex envied their happiness. Newsies, she thought, like Pie Eater.

All 'e wanted was for me ta' be a newsie, 'e was jist lookin' out for me. 'E tol' me it'd be bettah, maybe he was right... She glanced at the hands of the passing newsgirls, the stains on them told the tales of the fun they'd had.

As she looked down at her hands, she saw nothing but the dirt and grit that'd gathered there when she collected her money from the ground. Ok, so I'm gonna be a newsie, I can do it, I'll just find one of dose lodging houses. With that decided, she walked out of the park, and stood for a moment on the sidewalk in deep thought. She knew that to her left, she'd find Pie Eater's lodging house somewhere along those streets. Not ready to face him, she turned to her right and began her search.

Pie Eater couldn't bring himself to walk near Central Park, he knew she wouldn't be there and he didn・t want to face an empty park bench. Get a hold of yourself Pie Eater, its not like she was your girl, what the matter with you? The day went rather quickly, the papers sold well with a little 'improvement,' but he missed Hex's company. Snoddy and Specs noticed his low spirits.

"What's da' mattah wit' dat guy?" Snoddy asked.

"Beats me," Specs shrugged, "Somethin's buggin' 'im. Probly a girl."

"A girl?" Snoddy repeated in disbelief. Both Specs and he broke up laughing. Yeah right, they thought, Pie Eater wit' a girl.

The sun had started to go down, nightfall came quickly in the winter, and Hex was still roaming the streets. Dere's gotta be a lodging house 'round 'ere somewhere. She knew that if she turned back, it wouldn't be hard to find Pie Eater, but she couldn't stand the thought of seeing him and having him mad at her. Glancing up, she read the sign above the doorstep she'd come across 'Carnegie Hill Lodging House.' This is it, just walk through the door and ask for a bunk, dats all ya' gotta do, den you'll be a newsie. Just do it. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door open, closing it softly behind her. A brown haired girl behind the desk looked up at the noise.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yeah, I was lookin' for a bunk," Hex replied.

"Well, I think we've got one open," she began to flip through the ledger,"Yeah, there is an open bunk, just sign your name right here."

Setting the book down on the counter, Hex walked up and carefully printed her name on the page.

"Just a minute, I'll get someone to show you upstairs." Turning towards the stairs, she yelled out,"Blaze! Blaze, get down here!" A few minutes and several large thuds later, a long blonde haired girl emerged from the staircase.

"I'm here, I'm here, happy?"

"You want to show...," Jade looked into the ledger, "Hex here upstairs?"

"Of course I will," Blaze consented, "All this while I was thinkin' ya' were made at me for somethin'."

"Actually...," Jade began, "There is a problem with..." Sensing a reprimand coming on, Blaze grabbed Hex's arm and lead her up the stairs as fast she as she could. It wasn't until they reached the third floor the she slowed down.

"Ya' gotta watch out for her, or she'll correct your grammar!" Blaze joked, "But anyways, welcome to Carnegie Hill. Dis here's the boys' bunkroom, which we're gonna skip the tour of because, dangerous things lurk inside."

"Hey! We all heard dat in 'ere!" came a voice from behind the door.

"Ok, then," Blaze continued quickly, gesturing up the stairs, "On with the tour." At the next floor she began again,"Dis is the da' goil's bunkroom, less dangerous den the one below us." As if to emphasis her point, several large thumps sounded from the floor below. "But anyways, come on in and meet da' goils."

Cheerful chatter filled the room as girls were scattered all about, on bunks, on the floor, by the window. Attention turned from their discussions and card games to the new face standing at the door.

"Dis," Blaze began, "Is Hex. Hex, dese are da' newgoils." A few faces in the room were familiar, ones that Hex had seen on the streets but none that she'd ever talked to.

"Hiya! I'm Damsel!" a curly red head, jumped up from her bunk and shook Hex's hand.

"Cheese is good!" came a voice from the other side of the bunkroom.

"And dat was Shimmer," Blaze explained. Hex smiled, she knew about Shimmer, one of 'da cheese people' that Pie Eater had explained about. A sudden sadness came over her as she thought of Pie Eater and she tried to put him out of her mind before she started to cry.

"And I'll introduce ya' to da' boys tomorrow, but as you can tell from the noises we can hear from up here, dey're up ta' somethin' tonight."

"Dats all fine wit' me," Hex replied, beginning to take in the atmosphere of the lodging house.

"Oh, and your bunks ovah dere, sorta in da' middle, ya see it?"

"Yeah, I see it, looks a lot more comfortable den the floor." A couple of the other girls who shared her feelings, laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Well, go ahead and join into a poker game if ya' want ta' or somethin' like that, there's still some time left til lights out."

"Alright," Hex nodded in understanding and looked around the room for something to do,"I'll manage."

Before lights out rolled around, Hex had joined into a cards game with Damsel, Pixie, and Dicky. Though she wore a smile on her face, Hex was preoccupied with her thoughts of Pie Eater and what would happen next. The other girls were nice enough not to inquire about it which she was thankful for.

Lying awake on her bunk, she was nervous about the next day, knowing she'd be heading to the same Distribution Center as Pie Eater and hoping she wouldn't run into him yet secretly wishing she would.

Pie Eater was starting to worry the other boys at his lodging house. At Tibby's he'd simply picked at his food and hadn't spoken much.

"Hey Pie," called Snoddy, walking over to his bunk,"Somethin' eatin' ya'?"

"Yeah, guess ya' could say dat."

"Whats da' mattah?"

"Dere's dis girl, and I'm 'fraid I screwed things up between us," Pie Eater explained.

Specs was right, Snoddy thought, there was a girl, and whoever she is Pie must sure like 'er a lot.

"Look, I'm sure everythin'll work out. We're newsies, remember? We got the finest lives in da' woild, all our dreams come true," Snoddy joked, trying to lighten the mood. Pie Eater smiled to acknowledge that he'd heard but continued to stare at the floorboards.

Tomorrow, he promised himself, tomorrow'll be better.

The next day started off with Blaze shaking Hex awake, and Hex rolling off onto the floor.

"Ugh," she called out from the ground, "Just remembered why I like beds bettah." Dressing quickly, she followed the other girls down the stairs. Staying near the back of the group as they greeted the newsboys, Hex had to make her way through the crowd when Blaze called her up to introduce them. Each boy greeted her enthusiastically, as Pie Eater had told her, just like brothers.

They hit the streets, the whole herd of them together, racing towards the distribution center. Hex tried her best to stay behind some of the taller newsies, just in case. Dublina noticed an back-paced to talk to her.

"Hidin' from someone?" she asked.

"Not really, well, kinda."

"Wanna talk 'bout it."

"Well, ya see, dere's dis guy, call 'im Stark," Hex began, picking a random name off a street sign.

"Ok, so what about dis Stark?"

"I was never like, goin' wit' him or anythin' but we got real close and den we had dis fight which was my fault. And when we fought, I ran off and I'm scared ta' see him but I really miss him. I guess I jist don't know what ta do."

"I say you go find dis Stark fella' and tell him how ya' feel. A fight ain't worth losin' a friend."

"I know I should, but..." As she spoke, the Carnegie Hill newsies intercepted a group of Manhattan Lodging House newsies, Pie Eater among them. "Oh no."

"Oh, so its one of dem," Dublina caught on, "Good luck."

"Yeah, t'anks." Gathering up her nerve, Hex separated herself from the Carnegie Hill group and headed towards where Pie Eater stood, hanging near the back of the group, looking down at the ground. Walking in step with him, her voice caught his attention, "Heya."

His head snapped up and he turned to face her,"Hex? What are ya' doin' 'ere?"

Snapping her suspenders, she smiled, "Can't cha' tell? I'm a newsie."

"For real?"

"For real, and for good."

"God, Hex, don't ever leave again, I miss ya' so much."

"Ya' big baby, I was only gone for a day 'er two," she teased.

"Just don't do it again, ok?"

"I promise I won't, I missed you too." Turning to face the straggling newsies, Blaze looked back to see Hex walking with Pie Eater, chattering away.

"I t'ought she was new," Blaze asked Jade.

"New to da' lodging house, apparently not da' city," Jade replied, and continued her conversation with Jack. Blaze smiled at the pair and turned back to Bumlets.

As the gates swung open at the World building, a long line formed and Jack, as was usual, rang the bell way more than necessary. Slowly, the line moved forward and the newsies began to scatter about the city. Hex and Pie Eater both purposely bought a small number of papers, wanting to have time to talk.

"Central Park, shall we?" Pie Eater suggested, putting on his best gentlemen fa?de.
"Real nice Pie Eater, real cute."

"If I remember right, you're the cute one." Hex couldn't help but laugh.

"'Dis is what I missed."

"Yeah," Pie Eater answered solemnly, "Me too."

They walked the rest of the way to the their selling spot in silence. Around noon, their papers had been sold, and they flopped down on the park bench.

"So where ya' stayin'?"

"Carnegie Hill, 's real nice."

"Maybe I'll join ya' dere, I don't know if I can stand one more of Kloppman's wake-up calls."

"Yeah, dat'd be nice."

"Look..." Pie Eater began but the raindrops interrupted him. Grabbing her hand, he led her under the cover of the trees and they settled down on the ground.

"Ya' were sayin'?"

"Hex, I like ya' 'lot, an' well, I really like ya' an', an', well, would ya' be my girl?"

Smiling, a slight blush stained her cheeks, and all she could do was nod. Letting out his breath in relief, he pulled her in close to kiss her. Hex felt his arms wrap around her and she leaned in for her first, and sweetest kiss. For the next couple of the hours, they sat on the soft moss, talking and kissing occasionally.

"We should get goin' ya know," Pie Eater admitted though he hated to break the moment.

"Gonna come home with me?" Hex asked.
"I gotta tell da' guys dat I'm leavin' but yeah, I'm comin' back wit' you."

"Good," she said, kissing him lightly and rising to her feet,"Let's get goin'." Picking bits of moss from her hair, he took her hand and led her out from under the trees.

At the Manhattan Lodging House, Pie Eater with a girl was a most astonishing sight. Only Snoddy knew the story behind it and smiled, content with the fact that he knew something the others didn't. After saying his brief good-byes, Hex and Pie Eater headed off to Carnegie Hill.

Looking up as the doors opened, Jade smiled to see her with Pie Eater in tow.

"He's signin' in," Hex explained and Jade passed over the ledger.

"Boy bunkroom's on the THIRD floor," Jade said sternly, "Not to be confused with the FOURTH floor, where the girls sleep."

The pair smiled at her lecture and hurried up the stairs. Dublina sat on the landing and glanced up to see Hex holding onto Pie Eater's hand.

"'S dat your Stark?"

Hex nodded,"Yeah, dis is 'im." With that, she led him into the girl's bunkroom.

The newsboys were scattered about the bunkroom as well as the girls and they smiled to see the couple enter. A few of the newsies who used to bunk at the Manhattan Lodging House recognized Pie Eater, while the others just congratulated or teased the two. Hex began to blush at all the attention and noticed that Pie's cheeks were equally red.

"All right, all right," called out Damsel, "Just let da' two alone."

Gratefully, Hex and Pie Eater collapsed on her bunk and watched the activity of the bunkroom. Leaning in, he gave Hex another kiss and smiled down at her.

"'S magic."

"Nah, it's just love."