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Post by Roisin Dubh on Jan 13, 2011 10:08:49 GMT -5
Roisin gave Prince a grateful smile. "If ya don't mind, I could do wit' a hat an' some mittens," she allowed with a small nod. "An' as for sellin', aye, I've done it before back in Dublin. I imagine it's much the same." She hesitated for a moment before continuing. But I could use some help learnin' my way around Queens, if ya got time...." She trailed off with a shrug.
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Post by Prince on Jan 14, 2011 20:29:07 GMT -5
"Sure, they're down here," Prince said heading back to the bunk room door and racing down the stairs in double time.
When she mentioned that she had sold before that was completely fine with Prince. She was in no hurry to teach new ones, but never minded should the occasion arise.
"Show ya around, eh?" she said heading towards the dinning room and indicating a box in the corner. "You should be able to find some that fitcha in there," she said motioning to the box. "Yeah I think i could do that," she said with a small shrug. "Queens is a pretty big place, but the more time ya spend here the better ya get ta know it, jus like anywheres else," she said with a smile. "Anythin' in particular you wanna see around here, or jus a general tour?" she asked with a smile as she folded her arms and leaned against the wall.
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Post by Roisin Dubh on Jan 16, 2011 5:59:08 GMT -5
Roisin dug through the box and grabbed the first hat and pair of mittens she saw that looked like they fit. She knew Prince was in a hurry to get going, and she didn't want to slow the leader down. Quickly shoving the hat on her head and pulling on the mittens, she turned towards Prince, ready to go.
"Mostly sellin' spots, ya know? An' things t' look for so I don't get lost when I'm on my own.... I don't wanna slow anyone down any more than I have t'," she explained with a shrug. She readjusted the hat on her head while waiting to follow Prince out.
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Post by Prince on Jan 17, 2011 16:49:42 GMT -5
Prince nodded with a small smile. "No problem, I'd be happy ta show ya anywhere ya like," she said. "Might as well get started eh?" she said with a smile.
As Prince headed towards the door she double checked her hair and made sure it was safely under her hat before opening the door. Once the door was open something about her changed. It wasn't the way she walked, for she always walked like a boy, and it wasn't just her voice or her disposition, but for some reason, stepping out into the cold sunshine, something about her changed so that you'd never know that she was a girl. Difficult to put your finger on it, but it was definitely there.
"So tell me," she said leaping down the stairs and then offering a hand to help Roisin down them, "didn't you mention somethin' about sellin' elsewhere?" Her voice was lower and masculine, an art that took time to refine, but was now second nature. "Where was it ya said?"
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Post by Roisin Dubh on Jan 18, 2011 21:09:46 GMT -5
Roisin returned Prince’s smile gratefully. “Aye,” she agreed, not wanting to waste anymore of the day. She was glad Prince didn’t seem to mind showing her around a bit, as that would make settling in just a little easier. She followed Prince out the door and into the bright winter sun, noticing that while it was hard to think of her as a girl inside, it was next to impossible to make the distinction once the Queens leader crossed the threshold of her lodging house.
When Prince held out her hand to help her down the stairs, Roisin barely hesitated before taking it. Still trying to grasp the amazing transformation that had come over her, Roisin nodded a little. “I sold in Dublin… Ringsend, if ya wanna get specific…”
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Post by Prince on Jan 23, 2011 23:27:34 GMT -5
"Oh!" Prince nodded. "Right..." she chuckled. "Sorry, Geography was never quite my best subject... outside of New York that is," she said as she headed down the street. "But speakin' of Geography up there is the Distribution Office. Uhhhh... down that way is the Steinway factory. A lotta the kids who we have at the Lodgin' house will work at the factory if they don't sell, or somethin'. There's actually all sorts of other jobs, just in case ya don't wanna sell papers. Anyway," she said as she realized she was going on and on again.
"Good places to sell are places like in front of restaurants because people will grab a paper on their way to work after breakfast. Uhhh, busy streets and street markets are great places if ya can yell loud enough. There's a street market down over there," she said pointing away from the factory. Really there's no bad place to sell, so long as you can get people's attention.
"So," she said, "Where is uh... Dub-lyn?" she said trying to say it correctly. Her accent wasn't helping her much either.
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Post by Roisin Dubh on Jan 25, 2011 14:42:25 GMT -5
Roisin followed the Queens leader towards the distribution office and listened carefully as she rattled off suggestions and pointed out directions. She let her gaze wander over the crowded streets as a wave of homesickness hit her. Shaking her head, she told herself that when it came down to it, these streets weren’t so different from the ones that she’d left in Ringsend. Realizing she had lagged just a bit behind, she hurried to catch up before she lost Prince in the crowd.
She grinned a little at Prince’s slightly hesitant pronunciation of Dublin. She was taken slightly by surprise that the girl hadn’t heard of the city before, but then again, prior to her leaving Ireland, she’d not paid New York much mind either. “It’s in Ireland,” she answered, more than a little pride and longing in her tone as she thought of the city and the country that were never far from her mind.
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Post by Prince on Jan 25, 2011 23:00:43 GMT -5
"Oh!" Prince smiled and nodded. "yeah yeah! Uhhh... Éirinn go Brách!*" Prince chuckled and smiled. "I'm not Irish or anything but my..." she caught herself she almost forgot what she was saying, "my friend was. She taught me a lot of Gaelic! So I... can kinda speak it sometimes... sorta," she chuckled.
"It's real cool you're from there though! Ya know, I know a lotta people who come ta New York come from other places... I think it sounda kinda amazin' myself. Can ya tell me a little about Ireland?" she asked apparently all ears and ready to listen like some little kid.
((Éirinn go Brách: (Gaelic) Ireland forever))
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Post by Roisin Dubh on Jan 26, 2011 21:14:12 GMT -5
Roisin grinned a little at the heavily accented Gaelic. “I’m Dublin born an’ bred, so t’ tell ya the truth, I don’t know much Gaelic myself, but for a word or phrase here an’ there… It’s no’ spoken much in the city,” she explained with a little shrug. She considered Prince’s question for a moment, unsure just how to answer it. “Well,” she began slowly. “It’s no’ so different from here, really…. Dublin is a big city, no’ unlike New York. The streets are different, an’ the faces, but the energy is the same….” she trailed off a bit as her gaze became a little distant. She shook her head slightly as she returned her attention to Prince. “So, where else do ya know people from, then?” she asked brightly, hoping to distract the leader into going off on another one of her rambles and giving herself a chance to recompose her emotions.
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Post by Prince on Jan 26, 2011 21:43:20 GMT -5
"Oh yeesh," Prince said thinking about it. She glanced at the girl and hoped she hadn't triggered any sad memories. "What other countries...?" She was pretending not to notice, but in the mean time was trying to really think what other countries she knew of.
She thought about it for a second and said, "Well I know there are lotsa kids here from England, that just hopped on a boat, whether the people at the docks said they could or not, and rode it all the way here," she said thinking some more. "Man, Ireland, Scotland, Spain...land," she blinked a little, "Spain," she said chuckling. "Pretty much all of that Europe area over there," she said with a smile. "I think I even know a kid who came from Russia," she said thinking about it some more. "Wull and then there are kids who come from the other way too, like from maybe Mexico," she said nodding, "even Texas, or Illinois! I mean... not everyone came from... over an ocean." she shrugged. "I didn't. I came from... Manhattan," she said with a sincere smile.
"So," she said as she looked around a little, "what you think of Queens so far?" They started making their way up the ramp of the distribution.
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Post by Roisin Dubh on Jan 27, 2011 19:45:12 GMT -5
Roisin let out a little sigh of relief as Prince did in fact begin another rambling talk. She didn’t miss the look in Prince’s eyes as she glance at her, and she had a feeling that the Queens leader had seen through her ploy, though thankfully, she didn’t press her further. Not that Roisin had anything to hide, per say, she just didn’t like to talk about her past too much. Ireland held bittersweet memories for her, and although she longed to go back, a part of her hoped that maybe a fresh start in New York might work in her favor.
Listening to the countries Prince listed off, she nodded. “Ran int’ plenty other Irish on the voyage… Quite a few English too. Made friends wit’ some o’ them, though I don’t know where any o’ them are now…” She shrugged. “Maybe I’ll see them around sometime,” she mused. She smiled back at Prince, her sadness fading. “Manhattan, huh? I stayed my first night there…. Decent lot, though a bit crowded. “Might go back that way t’ look around more, once I’m sorted out an’ all.”
Roisin grinned as she followed Prince up the ramp. “Well, I’ve no’ seen much of it, yet, but I’m lookin’ forward t’ explorin’ it!”
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Post by Prince on Jan 27, 2011 21:00:30 GMT -5
Prince nodded eagerly. "Yeah! There are lots of folks who come off the boats and become newsies, or start workin' in factories. You remember them, and they remember you, ya never know, you might run inta those folks again!" she smiled encouragingly. "If ya lookin for Irish folks, lots of them end up in Brooklyn I know, not all, just some. But if ya start runnin around the city sure, ya never know!" she kept smiling at her.
"So! would you like to sell with me today, or do you think you'll be okay on your own? Or if ya want we could still sell separately, and just a block apart." Prince lead her up to the window. "Also... do you have american money?" she asked. "It's about half a penny for one paper, and then they sell best if when you sell 'em you charge 1 penny per paper. You have any place in mind you wanna sell, or what?" she asked. She'd never worked with a new newsie who wasn't new before... she wasn't sure what to do with it, so she was just trying to be as open minded and helpful as possible.
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Post by Roisin Dubh on Jan 28, 2011 0:32:30 GMT -5
Roisin’s ears perked up at the mention of Irish in Brooklyn. “Might have t’ head that way sometime, though I’ve heard it can be a bit rough…” Actually, a bit rough was an understatement, as all she’d heard when looking for a place to stay was tales of how harsh Brooklyn was and that she should steer clear.
“I think I’ll be alright on my own, thanks, though I wouldn’t mind stickin’ close till I get sorted out a bit better. As for money, aye. Was able t’ get that changed on Ellis Island.” Roisin laughed at Prince’s many questions and was glad she seemed so eager to help. Roisin had no doubt that she could have managed on her own, but she wasn’t foolish enough to turn down any friendly help that was freely offered, and Prince was definitely making her relocation to a new country easier.
“I’ve nowhere specific in mind, no… I tended t’ drift around a bit back home, dependin’ on my moods. Different spots had different feels t’ them, ya know? Sometimes one might seem right one day, then completely off the next…” she trailed off with a shrug.
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Post by Prince on Jan 28, 2011 0:52:57 GMT -5
Prince chuckled and nodded at her plans to sell. "I get that, yeah, we work like that around here too. She put down 50 cents for 100 papers and then picked them up and slung them over her shoulder. Tell ya what, when ya done sellin' if you wanna meet me back here that way we can getcha back to the lodging house or somethin' would that work?" She figured if nothing else the girl could remember where she was now, and make a mental note on how to get back as she sold.
"Then afterword we can get food, or go home, or... maybe tour around the borough a little more, what do ya say huh?" she asked as she jumped down the stairs and started to thumb through the major headlines and more of the minor ones.
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Post by Roisin Dubh on Jan 28, 2011 16:43:32 GMT -5
Roisin paid for her own 60 papers. She was used to selling closer to a hundred, but was in no hurry to waste money until she got a feel for the layout and the rhythm. She nodded easily at Prince’s question. “Aye… Should have no problem findin’ my way back here,” she confirmed with a grin as she followed her down the steps. Roisin browsed through her papers, glad to be getting back to doing something familiar.
“Any one o’ those things could be good,” she allowed with an easy smile. “How ‘bout we see how the day goes an’ choose then?” She started down the sidewalk, then turned back with a laugh. “Though food, well, I’m always ready t’ eat…”
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(c)Red