The Only Girl Newsie

Kicked to Da curb

"DAD!!! I'm not a child anymore you can't treat me like this." I shout at him.

"Denise! You can't just sit around waiting for life to happen. You need to grow up." he shouts at his face in a scowl.

"But setting me up with a man is no way to 'grow up'" I'm as mad as I have ever been at him before. "Mom would have never wanted this."

"You're mother was as dumbfounded as you!!" He said waving his hand into the air like a chimp.

"That's it!!! I'm leaving!!!" I say running out the door slamming it behind me. My dad didn't even bother to follow me. I guess he really doesn't care. I just down to the street when I realized that all I hade were the clothes on my back and 3 pennies in my pocket. What good will 3pennies do? Maybe I'll buy a newspaper? Or an apple? Probably an apple?

I made three blocks down all the way to Newsie Square. I sit on a bench by a Pharmacy. I have nothing. I can't go back to him. My dad will rip my a new one. He has degraded me to the point where I feel like nothin. Never I'm I going back to that hell hole.

"EXTRA!! Extra!!!" The sound of newsies filled the streets. I have bought papers from them before, but I never pay attention to them. I see one walk towards me with a crutch. Is he okay?

"Excuse me miss, would you like a pape?" He stutters out.

"I would love one, but I'm broke." I tilt my head to the side apologetically.

He walks off but doesn't get far until another newsie in a blue shirt with a vest coming walking up. "Aye Crutchie! Da lady looks a fret! What's wrong goil?"

"Uh... well I just ran away from home and have 3pennies to my name. And I'm spilling out my feeling to a stranger." I mumble out clearly enough for people to understand.

"Well this is Crutchie and I'm Jack. Now we ain't strangers na more." Jack says putting out his hand for me to shake it. I return the hand and he sits be side me. "So you ran away. But where you gonna stay?" He says.

"I haven't thought that though." I say looking into his eyes.

"Hey Jack maybe she can stay at the lounging house with us? Please?" Cructhie says. These people don't know my name and are asking me to stay with them. "Sounds fine to me." I spit out. I was never known for wise decisions.

"First of all. What's da name?" Jack stands and trims to hear my answer.

"Denise Sinc-"

"Nah not no fancy crap." Jack interrupted. "you need a Newsie name. Sometin that show who you are."

"I don't know." I say facing the two guys.

Crutchie adjusts his crutch "Well I found you on da street so you a stray."

"That's it you're Stray." Jack says pulling me up off the bench flings about 15 papers in my arms. "Hey sell these papes my treat." I felt bad for taking the papers, but he did give it to me. "The headline sucks, but headlines don't sell papes newsies sell papes." he smirks a 100 kilowatt smile. "come on follow me and I'll show you the ropes!"

Crutchie goes his way and Me and Jack head down to sell some papers. Family friends of my father keep giving glares. Unsure why I'm selling The New York World. Jack waves his papers in the air and I do the same. I sold 4 papers by doing that and by yellin extra extra. Jack turns back around at me. He only has 7 papers left. How did he sell em that fast? "Break in at the Blair Estate! You heard it here! Read all about it!"

"What?!? Which page is that?" I ask.

"23." I turn to the page to see. 'Bird flies in though window at the Blair Estate' I give a hard glare to Jack. "You just lied!"

"No I didn't, I said you heard it here and ya did." Jack walks toward me. "Stray you need to know how to stretch the truth a lil." I'm not sure how I feel about the name Stray. Its kinda cute, but makes me feel like a dog. I like having a different name, now nothing is holding me back to the past. The way Jack says it sends chills down my spine. The way Crutchie said it made me feel like a little sister. Which I am younger than the guys but not by much.

I see a group of men walking home from the railroads. Nows my chance to show Jack that I have a chance to be a Newsie. I walk up to them with 11 newspapers under my arm. "Did ya hear everyones talking about it?"

"What?" One of the men says. "Its in the paper!" I responded I sold seven papers to the men. When I walked back to Jack he had no more papers in his hand. he was clapping slowly. "Not bad for a Newbie." He said even though I still had 4 papers. "Listen we should be heading to da Newboys House. We can sell dem papes on da way back." he said patting my back and he put his arm around me to lead the way.

New life now.

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A/N: This is my first fanfic so please go easy on me.

But what do you think so far. I know I'm mixing the book and the movie but it's the same characters so hopefully it's not going to be a train wreck.