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[mush]

"Really? wondering around for days?" he folded his arms once again. Manhattan wasn't that big. True, it was tall, and the center of things constantly going on. But even if she'd been wandering around for days, would she have been selling? If so, he should have seen her, and he was about 95% sure that she hadn't been selling. So, this girl was wandering around for days, hardly sleeping, eating off of whatever she'd been making before coming to Manhattan just walking the streets? It didn't make any sense honestly. By now she'd probably seen the entire island, and as busy as Manhattan was there really wasn't THAT much to see, really. The girl must be real easily amused.

"uh-huh," he said nodding. "Yeah, bad weather," time to find some common ground. At least that didn't seem totally hopeless at this moment. "A newsie huh," he said. "That's interestin'. How's come you're a newsie?" While Mush had heard of female newsies, some more prominent and more well known than others he wasn't quite sure he liked girls being newsies. It wasn't exactly a woman's job in his mind. You needed strong legs, and be able tot think quickly on your feet, and at times defend yourself. While the girls in Brooklyn may be able to handle things like that, most of the girls in other boroughs may not have the same sort of abilities. He was never really convinced female newsies were a good thing. "Why not work in a factory, or at a diner like this one or something?" He figured there at least their small hands and woman abilities like sewing and such, could come in handy.

He was glad though that he could brighten her day a little. After all, if the sun wasn't out, might as well be a ray of sunshine for this girl, if he could.

[jewelkent]

Jewel sighed and shook her head and turned her head slightly away from Mush *Wow, did I sound like a complete wacko to this guy or what.* she thought.

She then turned back to Mush, and smiled "Maybe that came out wrong. What I meant to say was that I go to the Bronx to sell my papes, and then just come back here to wander. Then head back home to the Bronx house, and then just repeat the day. There are days when I have been up all night here, but not the whole time. Sorry... I probably sounded like a total crazy person just now. Please forgive me. My mind has been a mess." She said.

When she heard Mush ask her why she's a newsie, she took a deep breath, and then spoke up "Well, after my parents died when I was 10, and my older sister abandoned me, I was in an orphanage for 2 years. I then moved to Philadelphia, and became a newsie there. I had friends there, and they convinced me to join their ranks as a newsie...so I did. I stayed there for 3 long years. Even had a relationship with the leader there. But then I came back almost a year ago to try and find my sister. I worker for the Brooklyn newsies for 2 months, and then got transferred to the Bronx." She explained, hoping that was enough information.

She really hated telling that story to a lot of people. Every person she had met so far knew that story, and she wasn't proud of it either.

Jewel shook her head "A factory worker isn't my kind of job. I always dreamed of becoming an entertainer of sorts. Ya know, like a dancer or a singer." She said.

"What about you? Why are you a newsie?" She asked Mush, as she looked up at him once more, her green eyes locked with his brown ones.

[lydia]

~New Day (OPEN)~

[/size]

"Ey miss can you refill my drink?"
"Yeah can you get me water too?"
"Miss my hotdog's undercooked..."

Lydia was rushing back and forth between tables, her heels clicking along as she went, the change in her apron pocket clinging around as she refilled drinks and refreshed misdone orders. She looked up in relief when her boss bellowed from the back,"MISS KENT LET THE OTHER WAITRESS TAKE CARE OF THE REST," She smiled as she hung up her apron and emptied the change into the pocket of her pants that clung to her hips before she filled a cup with some scotch and took a seat in the back booth away from all the hub bub going on around her.

She pulled out a paper from the small rack beside the booth and she scanned through it absently. Tibby's always bought a stack of papes from the newsies to keep inside for their customers. Eyeing through the paper a small scowl crossed her pretty face, Jewel was a newsie and she despised the fact her little sister would stoop so low instead of getting a real job like herself. She tossed the paper into the seat across from her, swirled her glass abit in her hand and took a long much needed drink of her scotch to ease her thoughts away.[/center]

[jewelkent]

Jewel entered Tibby's with a small smile on her face, and her new outfit she had brought with some of her earnings. She had purchased a new long beige skirt and a new white blouse, her red hair done up in a bun. She was so happy lately. Having a guy around her like Shadow made up for the fact that she had been so down lately.

She then walked towards the booth where she had remembered meeting Mush on a random day. She saw a girl sitting there, and smiled to herself as she approached her.

Jewel smiled at the girl, and leaned down to look her in the face.

"Pardon me, Miss. But can I join you at this table?" She asked.

There was something familiar about this girl, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was exactly.

[lydia]

Lydia looked up at the voice and found herself looking at her little sister, she tilted her head and sighed it was obvious to her that her sister didn't recognize her, she never did whenever she ventured in here and it was a mystery to Lydia as to how she wouldn't recognize her own sibling. Lydia thought for a long moment as she crossed her legs and took another sip of her drink and figured being a smart ass would be the right way to respond.

"I dunno can you?" she asked her voice dripping off her tongue like honey as she looked Jewel in the eyes before looking infront of her again and pushing her hair out of her face. She would be decent to her sister but only to an extent, she wasn't capable of pure kindness it just wasn't in her nature....especially for newsies unless they had something to offer. She gestured to the seat across from her where the paper sat and then she waved over the waitress so that she would be able to order something when the waitress had the time.

[jewelkent]

Jewel glared at the girl, and then smiled at her as she sat across from her. *Good fucking God, my sister actually DOES work here?* she said.

Jewel smiled and rested her chin on the back of her hand. She laughed at her sister's sarcasm. *Always the bitch* she thought to herself.

"I knew it was you, you sneaky MINX! Care to tell me where the fuck you've been for the last 5 years while I was struggling to make ends meet. Lydia...why did you leave me that night? I looked all over for you in the cold night air. All I wanted was my sister." she said.

Jewel's smile faltered suddenly. "Lydia Anne Kent...What the FUCK were you thinking abandoning me the way you did?" she asked, her green eyes filling with tears.

[lydia]

Her eyes flashed up to her little sister, a look of appaulment crossing her features as she crossed her arms and asked the waitress for another scotch and a sandwich before she glared her sister down again. "Where the fuck was I? Jewel I was 15 years old and didn't know what the bloody hell to do, how the hell could you honestly have expected me to look after you ontop of myself? You would have done the same damn thing and I know it anyone with a right mind would have," she defended herself before picking up her scotch glass the waitress had brought her and bringing it to her lips taking a long drink.

Her eyes never left her sister once as she drank and then opened her mouth again,"I scrounged for myself, offerred to do work for the wealthy and a few offerred me temporary stay and payment to clean for them and when I got hired here I kept it and saved enough money for a place of my own... its not easy living up to my level Jewel and you of all people should know you can't get a dime without hard work... you should try it some time, anyone can holler headlines on a corner and make a few measely bucks a day you should consider getting a real job...something that will pay for you to live on yer own," she lectured as her parents had once lectured when they were alive, her parents had always taught her to live up to the highest expectations you could give yourself and that was exactly what Lydia was doing. "You'll learn some day that it was for your own good and you'll be thanking me," she added before taking another drink, half expecting her sister to leave soon enough.

[jewelkent]

Jewel got up from the table and looked straight at her sister. Her green eyes flashing wtih disgust. She was angry at Lydia. All those years of abandonment from her, and now she was giving her shit.

FUCK YOU! What the hell is wrong with you? Oh, so you were 15...I was fucking 10 years old. I went to Philadelphia just to find people I can count on. I even had a man out there. He was nice, then I came back here 3 years later to look for your stupid ass." she snapped angrily.

Jewel then reeled her arm back and back slapped Lydia in the face. She was not about to take this shit from her after all these years.

"You are a decietful, lying, manipulative little BITCH! You've probably slept with half the city by now, and if you haven't...you will." With those words, Jewel sat back down.

"If mom and dad were still alive...hey'd have a trauma about you leaving me behind the way you did." she said.