So Is You One of Us?

Walkin' With Last Week's Trash

"So, when did you start smoking?" I asked.

"When I was fourteen, fifteen- these make me lucky once I started having this thing I've sold twice my normal amount." He added.

"You know you'd probably sell more if you played to your physical strengths." I said.

"What's that?" He asked.

"You know... how you look." I said meekly.

"You like how I look sweetheart." He nudged me suggestively.

"I didn't say that." I replied.

"Didn't have to...yous no match for these looks." He said smiling.

"No, well now I need to explain," I laughed, "I just-"

"No, no, no, you said what ya said and you can't take it back." He teased.

I just laughed and kept walking.

"So how did you become a newsie?" I asked.

"I spent some time in the refuge where I met Jacky-boy, he told me about the lodge after I got released and I'se been sellin' papes since." He answered, "Ya know, when Albert brought ya to Jacobi's I thought I'se seen ya before. Did ya eva buy offa me?" He asked.

"No, but you have probably seen me, I would run into the square if Snider sent goons after me. Usually when I ran in there they wouldn't bother looking." I answered and he nodded.

"Good, a pretty girl like you don't belong in a place like the refuge." He flirted.

"You can drop the act Race, we're not in the lodge and you're not trying to sell me a pape." I said with a lazy smile.

"Who says I was actin'." He smirked back and thank the heavens we reached the doors of the library before I had to reply.

Upon walking in I got straight to work I first found The Mysterious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I thought it would be a good place to start and it would interest them being that they were boys and would find the whole concept intriguing. I also found a school book on elementary grammar and spelling. To be frank, with the grammar they have... I needed to start with the basics. Race watched me the entire time as I pulled book after book off the shelves. I didn't know why he didn't say a single thing. Eventually I could only focus on him staring at me.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Yeah." he responded simply.

"Why do you keep looking at me?" I asked.

"Because I can, I ain't hurtin nobody." He said placing the cigar in his mouth.

"Ok first lesson... the correct way to say that would be 'I'm not hurting anyone'" I corrected and he just rolled his eyes.

"How much longer?" He whined.

"I don't know; if you're bored go find a book." I said and he just sat there looking at me nervously.

"Race I'm being serious." I said and he blushed.

"...I can't read books like you." He trailed off.

"Race, I didn't know I just assumed that you- because headlines and articles-" I began.

"It's fine." He said fiddling with his cigar. I pushed my book off to the side and got up.

"Come on...you're going to pick a book and I am going to help you with it." I said taking his hand and making him stand up.

"Books you don't have to right now." He said.

"Don't be silly come on, it'll be fun." I said taking him to one of the cases.

"This is the fiction section. Pick something, anything." I said and he looked at the shelves. I remember when I was little my mother would make me pick a book to read so I would see it as fun and not just a school assignment. Watching him scour the shelves made me smile, even though he was the one choosing the book it still made me giddy inside knowing he could pick anything he saw. He looked for a few minutes until he ended up choosing Alice in Wonderland.

"Good pick." I smiled flipping through the pages. I went back to the desk and grabbed the other two books I had and led him to the front desk where I signed the books out and we made our way back to the lodging house. While we walked I opened the book.

"I'll start reading it and maybe you can read a few pages when we get back...if you get stuck I'll help you." I smiled and he nodded. I began to read:

ALICE was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it...

"Oh my would you look here Morris, we got our girl walkin' with last week's trash." Oscar chuckled.