Pretty As A Rosebud. (Newsies Story)

“Thorn...Thorn…Rose…get up!” Jack Kelly called, shaking the girl that lay sleepily in the top bunk of her bed. Her long black hair fell in front of her face as she rolled over. Her dark brown eyes opened slowly to look at her friend with dirty blonde hair and green eyes. His hair was already slicked back, he was shaking her awake.

“Jack, what did I say about waking me up?” Rose mumbled as she threw a pillow in his face.

“Thorn, it’s time to sell the papers!” Jack laughed.

Thorn was the teenage girl’s newsie name; she had been with the newsies for two years, since she was thirteen. Rose was her birth name, and Jack was the only one allowed to call her that. Jack was her best friend and the one who introduced her to the newsies.

Thorn slid off her bed and lightly landed on the floor with a light padding sound. Her t-shirt went down to her thighs, her sweat pants went past her knees.

“Thadda girl” Jack patted her back. She walked into her spate changing room.

Rose was the only girl at the newsie lodging home, for one main reason: she was hiding, hiding from her past.

Kloppman, the owner of the lodging home, said she could live there and share the room with the guys but she had to get dressed separately. She didn’t mind that, she was glad. Not because she didn’t want to be naked around guys, she knew they were her friends, like brothers and they protected her. But she did want to hide the scars.

She pulled the red t-shirt over her head and looked at herself in the mirror, she was tan. It was weird seeing herself like that. She had always been pale. Rose was the daughter of a rich man, so she was always pale. But she guessed selling papes in the hot sun all day, everyday did that.

Since she was so tan, you couldn’t see the bruises and scars all over her body. On her stomach, she could make out the words: You Are Mine. They had been carved into her stomach with a kitchen knife. She shook her head and pulled on her clothes. She put her hair in a ponytail; on top of that, she put on her hat. She was just one of the guys.

As Thorn walked out she passed Racetrack, he was looking everywhere for something, his cigar, which Snipeshooter, one of the younger newseis, was smoking.

RACETRACK:

That's my cigar!

SNIPESHOOTER:

You'll steal anudder!

KID BLINK:

Hey bummers, we got work tah do!

KID:

Since when did you become me mudder?

CRUTCHY:

Aww, stop your bawling!

NEWSIES:

Hey, who asked you?

She heard Mush ask Jack how he slept

“On me back, Mush” Jack replied.

Mush laughed, his muscled, tan chest was not covered. He reminded Rose of a teddy bear. He was sweet with chocolate brown eyes and brown hair.

Rose walked over and watched as the rest of the guys got ready, shaving, brushing their teeth. She smiled contently as they all laughed.

Her other best friend, Blink walked over. They called him Blink because he wore an eye patch.

His blonde hair looked greasy and his one blue eye sparkled with happiness. “Is it wrong that I think you’re hot even with your dude clothes on”