The Corner Booth

[Administrator]

Cozy..

[jewelkent]

Jewel was happy to be in Manhattan...somewhere she can be free for a while. She had found a diner called Tibby's. She sat in the Corner Booth. She had had a hell of a day. The fights, the snapping Newsies...getting banned from Brooklyn...her hometown. It was so strange. When she first ran away from Brooklyn 2 years ago to go to Philadelphia, she worked as a newsie out there, and she had a lot of friends.

But she comes back home as of a few months...ends up with the Brooklyn newsies, gets slightly involved with a guy, and now she's in the Bronx...hoping she could adjust after the rude welcome she had gotten from one of the girls. What an ordeal she has had over the last few weeks.

She sighed into the bowl of soup and coffee she had ordered. *Goo dammit! If I'm not safe here! Then I won't be safe anywhere.* she thought to herself.

She then suddenly moved her food aside, unable to maintain her appetite. She then put her head down on the table, and began to cry.

"Why me? She whispered to herself "What have I done wrong?" She muttered.

[Devan Harper]

Devan walked into Tibby's glancing around and grimacing slightly at how full it was. Full of a lot of boys, too many boys. She was used to boys but those boys would be her family and friends. After a quick scan of the room, she noticed a girl at a table by herself. She made her way over to the booth and gently tapped the girl on the shoulder. "Excuse me, would you mind if I sat here?"

She'd been walking again today and was starving, but she didn't want to sit with a bunch of boys she didn't know. She figured she would at least be safe from being hit on with this girl. "If not, it's alright I don't want to bother you." Devan hadn't met any females yet, but she hoped the girl was as nice as the few other guys she'd met since making her to the city.

[jewelkent]

Jewel looked up at the girl in front of her, and wiped her tears away from her eyes. Her vision adjusted just long enough to see the girl. She had never seen anyone so perfect looking. She then tapped the other side of the table across from her.

"Oh Hello there... I'm fine. Just a little upset. Rough day, ya know? You can sit down if you want. I don't mind. I could always use the company." She said.

Jewel wiped her eyes with the napkin. She then smiled at the girl as sweetly as she could. The girl looked nicer than all the others she had been running into lately.

She then stuck her hand out to the girl.

"By the way, My name's Julianne. But all the newsies who know me from Philadelphia to New York call me 'Jewel'. So, who might you be?" She asked the girl.

[Devan Harper]

She nodded sympathetically, she could understand a rough day. She'd been having those a lot lately since she was feeling so homesick. "I'm sorry, maybe it will get better though." She said with a bright smile as she sat down. She looked around, taking in all of the people surrounding them. "Devan," She said taking the Jewel's hand. "Devan Harper."

"So you prefer Jewel to Julianne?" She questioned, just to make sure she didn't call the girl by the wrong name. When the waitress came over she ordered a sandwich and a water.

[jewelkent]

Jewel watched as the girl sat down from across her in the booth. She shook her hand, and smiled at the girl.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Devan. So, I'm guessing your not a Newsie. So what do you do for a living?" She asked.

Jewel looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds, blew out a frustrated breath

"Let's see.. What name do I prefer? Well, you can call me Julianne. Lately, I haven't been feeling very comfortable with my nickname. I'm a newsie from Philadelphia, who moved to Brooklyn, and then just transferred to The Bronx a couple of days ago to work for those newsies there." She told the girl.

"But it's been rough for me. But I will only tell you what happened if you want to hear it." She told Devan in a low voice.

She surveyed the diner really quick to see all the boys in the diner. Her head was spinning. She then turned back to Devan, and sighed

"Boy, I'm glad I came here. I am sure that I will be safe here from the people who wanna kill me." She said.

[Devan Harper]

Devan chuckled, wondering how Jewel could even guess that. "How'd you know?" She wondered if that was as obvious to other newsies as it was obvious to Doyle that she was new to the city. She wondered how it was exactly that they could tell these things about her. "Oh, well..right now I don't have a job. I just left it before coming to the city, I'm a circus performer."

She said it quietly, she didn't want everyone around them to hear. She knew some people thought circus performers were freaks and she didn't exactly have her strongman of a cousin here to protect her. Devan nodded to what the girl said, she'd heard of all of those places but had only been to Philadelphia with the circus and only briefly. She'd never set foot in either the Bronx or Brooklyn. "Julianne it is then," She said with a smile hoping the girl would snap out of her maudlin mood.

She was about to tell Jewel that she would listen if that's what Jewel needed when the girl said she'd be safe here from people looking to kill her. She gasped and couldn't help but dart her eyes around. What had she gotten herself into sitting with someone that people wanted to kill? The girl looked younger then her, what could she possibly have done? "Why would anyone want to kill you?" The last bit of her question was a bit high pitched since her nerves were going crazy right now. She saw a few people around them glance her way and she couldn't help but blush.

[jewelkent]

Jewel looked impressed when Devan said what her profession was. She'd never met anyone who wasn't a newsie. It was refreshing to meet someone who had another job.

"Oh wow.. A circus performer?! That's incredible. I love that." She said quietly, but excitedly.

Jewel then smiled widely at Devan "Thank you... Julianne seems a little more appropriate now-a-days. It is my given name after all." She said.

"I came back here to the city a few months back in search of my sister Lydia. She's about 19 years old. She's been missing for 5 years. I get the feeling she is in New York, but I'm not sure where." She said.

Jewel chuckled a bit when she saw Devan's horrified expression when she said she had people trying to kill her. She then reached over the table to put her hands on Devan's in a comforting manner.

"Oh no, Devan. Don't worry about it. The people in question are a girl in the Bronx, a girl from Brooklyn..and that's about it. I will be completely safe here. Have no fear. They don't even know I'm here. So, have you ever met any of the Newsies from here in Manhattan?" She asked.

[Devan Harper]

Devan smiles widely, "Yes a circus performer. I worked with the aerial silk." She wasn't sure if Jewel would know what she meant by that, but she didn't want to assume she didn't and explain it so she'd wait to see if Jewel asked her about it. Devan nodded her head when she said she'd rather go by her given name. "It's a beautiful name," She offered quietly.

"I'm sorry, that must be terrible." She thought she was bad off as it was coming to the city alone. She couldn't imagine trying to search for someone in a city of this size. Especially if it was her family, but she knew where her family was. They'd sent her to the city so she could see what it was like to stay in one place for awhile.

She nodded her head when Jewel explained although she didn't quite understand why a newsie would want to kill another but it wasn't her business and she certainly wasn't going to involve herself in it. She was alone in this city and she suddenly wished she wasn't very, very badly. She wanted Ki to be here with her or her father or uncle. With them around she was never afraid of anything. Devan shook her head, "No I don't really know anyone here. I met a couple of boys, but that's it."

[jewelkent]

Jewel tilted her head sideways in confusion. She loved that Devan had such a great job. She only wished that she had gone and pursued her dream of being a singer/entertainer.

"What exactly is The Aerial Silk?" She asked Devan.

Then she smiled when Devan complimented her on her name. "Thank you so much. The only real reason why I was given the nickname Jewel by the newsies was for 2 reasons really. One because it is a short version of my name, and because I always wear this ring. See?" She said, displaying her sapphire/diamond ring that sat on her pinkie finger. secretly to Devan.

When she saw how bad Devan felt for her about Lydia, she sighed.

"Oh yes, it is awful. I really wish I could find her. I wish to God I knew where the hell to start looking. The only thing is...she wouldn't be very happy with me if she found me. To her, girls being newsies is a damn sin. She was always so High-Society and lady-like. She lived by my parents rules before they died. But it would be great to see her again." She explained to Devan.

"Oh, I've never met anyone from here either yet. But I'm sure I will soon." She said.

[Devan Harper]

Devan gives her a wide smile when she asks what aerial silk is. This was really the first opportunity Devan had had to think about what she had left behind. It was nice to talk about it though, just reminded her of being there. "Basically it's performing different tricks with fabric that is suspended from the ceiling." That was as broken down as she could make it, but she didn't want to use the terms she was used to because most people weren't familiar with them.

"That's a beautiful ring," Devan said quietly as she gave Jewel another smile. She hadn't been able to bring anything of value with her, her mother had been afraid it would be stolen. Devan had thought she'd been being silly at first, but then she realized just how vulnerable she was not only in New York but on the trip here. She was glad her mother hadn't permitted her to bring anything.

Devan frowned as Jewel spoke about her sister, "I'm sure if she loves you she'll accept what you've had to do to make money. It isn't easy being on your own." Besides she thought it would be rather pompous of the girl to judge her younger sister when she was the one who'd left her on her own. Devan nodded her head towards Jewel's comment of meeting people, "Everyone I've met so far in the city has been lovely."

[jewelkent]

Jewel nodded as she listened explain to Devan explain to her what Aerial Silk was.

"Wow, that sounds a bit dangerous, but it also must be lovely to watch." She said, smiling.

Jewel had never been to the circus before, but she would love to go one day.

"The circus must be such a terrific place. I've never been there, but I've always wanted to go." She told Devan.

When Devan complimented her ring, Jewel smiled, and looked down at it for a brief moment, before staring back up at Devan with a sad smile.

"This ring was given to me by my mother when I was 8...and she told me to always take care of this. But it was almost robbed from me twice in Philadelphia. Luckily for me, I never take this thing off. Its the only memory I have left of my mother." She sighed.

Just then Jewel shook her head slowly as her smile faded a bit "My sister would be happier than anything if she were to see me again, but there would be some rivalry there." She said simply.

"So? Devan? Do you have any siblings as well?" Jewel asked her, forcing a small smile.

[Devan Harper]

"I was a trapeze artist before I stumbled on the aerial silk, so it isn't that dangerous to me. I've been trained to do stunts since I was a little girl." It was normal for her growing up, since that was the only life she knew. She didn't go and spend time with friends outside of the circus because she didn't have any. They usually only stayed in town for a few weeks to a month which is why she and Ki were as close as they were. "I've always been told it's rather beautiful." Devan wasn't bragging, it wasn't her thing but that was a regular compliment she'd hear from customers.

"I love it," She said quietly as she brushed her hair back over her shoulder. Just then the waitress brought her food and her water over to the table so Devan focused her attention on her to thank her profusely. "I didn't want to leave, but my mother convinced my father that it would be good for me. They felt like I was getting restless with my routine." She shrugged and although she was still a little upset with her parents she loved them and she knew they were just looking out for what they felt were her best interests.

Taking a bite of her sandwich, Devan nods at the appropriate points as Jewel tells her both about her ring and about her sister. She couldn't understand where the rivalry would come from, but then again she hadn't been raised around many females. At least not females close to her age. She couldn't imagine being worried about a silly little rivalry if she hadn't seen Ki in five years. "No," Devan shook her head as she swallowed. "No siblings, but my cousin is as good as my brother," She smiled as she spoke of him the adoration obvious in her voice. He was only a year older then her but she still looked up to him and she missed him.

[jewelkent]

Jewel smiled at Devan. She was fascinated by this girl. She was a circus performer...and Jewel loved that about her.

"Wow! I'm amazed. That sounds so exciting. I love it." She said cheerfully.

Jewel's lips formed an 'O' when Devan told her that her parents took her out of the circus.

"Oh my God, really? I would never want to leave either if I got to do all of the amazing stuff you got to do there. I would love it way too much." she said.

"Good god, I'm STILL trying to adjust to my life. From Brooklyn, to Philadelphia,then back to Brooklyn again, and now the Bronx? I feel like I'm being bounced around. It's just plain crazy, ya know?" Jewel explained to Devan.

"No siblings, huh? But you have a cousin who's like a brother to you? Wow, I would love to meet him. That would be fantastic. I could always use a few more nice people in my life." She said.

[Devan Harper]

Devan raised her glass of water to her lips, taking a few swallows before answering Jewel. "Oh, I love it alright. We're all like one big family." It helped that her father was a lion tamer, his brother used to be the strong man, her cousin was now the strong man, and her mother was a trapeze artist. They'd all been in her life as long as she could remember which is why she was having trouble adjusting to being in New York alone. "Well, we moved a lot. It always made it hard to make friends and I guess my parents just wanted me to see what life was like outside the circus."

Devan shrugged and took another bite of her sandwich. She already knew that she would take the first chance she got to go back to her family, but she didn't mind meeting the few people she had. They'd been pretty interesting. Devan nodded sympathetically when Jewel said she'd been feeling bounced around lately. "Well, I'm sure you'll love the Bronx." Although Devan couldn't really say one thing about it one way or the other considering she'd never step foot there.

A small frown played at her face and she averted her gaze from Jewel, playing with the bread of her sandwich. "He didn't come, they should be in New Orleans right now." She sounded wistful, she really wouldn't mind being there. She'd actually wanted to leave after New Orleans but her family had insisted she make her way to New York before. This would be their third trip there that Devan could remember and it was one of her favorite places to go. It didn't help that she missed Ki very much and would have loved it if he had come with her.