"Extry! Extry!" It was August in the year of 1899. The streets of New York echoed once again with the voices of newsies. Sixteen-year-old Lexi Higgins wiped the sweat off of her forehead after a hard day's work of selling papes. She walked down to the other end of the docks, waiting for her friend to finish selling the last of his newspapers to his usual customers- the fishermen. Mush Meyers, also sixteen years old, was Lexi's best friend. They did almost everything together. They sold papes together, hung out together, shared the same bunks in the lodging house, you name it.

"You done sellin'?" she asked Mush as she approached him.

"Yep. Dere were real good headlines today." As a matter of fact, there was. It turns out that there had been a brutal murder in Harlem the previous night and a man in Queens just recently celebrated his 99th birthday. Not too many people live to be that age these days.

"Alrighty then, let's head back." The two headed back to the lodging house. The sun was close to setting. Lexi, Mush, and the other newsies were going to Medda's at night. At Medda's, they all eat, sing, dance, and have lots of fun.

"Lexi, do ya know if them newsies from the Bronx is comin'?" Of course, Lexi knew why Mush was asking. He was sweet on a girl newsie from the Bronx. Her name was Cassidy, or Cassie for short.

"Most likely, they'll come. They ain't too fah from Manhattan." Mush smiled inwardly at this. He was happy, excited, and hopeful.

They reached the newsboy's lodging house. A small building nestled and snug between two other ones. The statue stood tall in the center of the square. Lexi saw Bumlets, Snoddy, Jake, Pieater, Swifty, Specs and Skittery all standing around or sitting on the statue, either talking or laughing. The seven of them were probably the eldest of the newsies, plus Jack Kelly and David Jacobs, and were all really close as friends. Skittery, who was a year older than Lexi, was examining his hands, trying his hardest not to look over at Lexi. Lexi took a quick glance at the seven newsboys (more at Skittery than any of the others) and looked away. She had liked Skittery for three years, yet she still hasn't done anything about it. Mush knew this, of course, because he was her close friend, and so did Racetrack Higgins, her brother, and Crutchy and Kid Blink. They promised not to tell anybody or to drop hints to Skittery. Skittery thought that Lexi was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. The day he walked into that lodging house and asked Kloppman for a bunk, he noticed Lexi. She was different. Not just because she was the only girl in there, but because she was unique. Her dark brown hair, almost black, was straight and just reached her shoulders. Her eyes reminded him of his favorite candy- chocolate. She was tall for her age, unlike her brother, and her skin was tanned; almost golden as if rays of sunlight were shining off of it. The first month or so when he first became a newsie, Skittery felt good when he was around Lexi, but sort of shy. Jack Kelly, the leader of the Manhattan newsies, noticed this and hence, he got his name. He, too, did not do anything about his crush. The only people who knew that he really fell for Lexi Higgins were Bumlets, Swifty and Specs. Maybe Jack thought he liked her all those years back, too.

"Hiya, Lex! How was sellin'?" Race jumped up from his chair and patted his sister on the back. He had a cigar sticking out of the corner of his mouth. Racetrack Higgins was a short fellow. By just looking at him you could mistake him for a fifteen-year-old, but all his buds at Sheepshead Bay, where he sells his papes, know different. Race was seventeen and a baby-face. He shared some similar features as his sister, such as the dark hair and the chocolate-colored eyes, and the strong Italian accent, but that was about it, physically. Intellectually, they were both friendly, happy-go-lucky, and always cracking jokes. Race was a compulsive gambler, though, but he was good at it.

"Not bad, Race. Not bad at all," Lexi replied. She headed over towards Crutchy and Kid Blink, who were talking about their day. Mush was holding up a conversation with Race about Medda. Like all the newsies, he thought she was gorgeous.

Night-time quickly came and the newsies headed out on the streets for Medda's. Jack, or Cowboy as some call him, David and his sister, Sarah, were up ahead of the group followed by Racetrack, Mush, Crutchy, Kid Blink and Lexi, who were all excited. Bumlets, Snoddy, Jake, Pieater, Swifty, Specs and Skittery were walking behind them, with Les Jacobs, Boots, Snipeshooter, Ten Pen, and some of the little ones trailing behind. Not too many of the little newsies came, but several of them, like these few, came to have some fun.

The hall was already filled with newsies from all over New York. Up on the mezzanine were boys from Harlem, the Battery and Queens. Down below were the boys from Brooklyn, the Bronx, and now Manhattan. There was always a good air around here, so the roaring crowd didn't bother anybody. Everyone was carefree and enjoying their time here. They always did.

To Mush's pleasant surprise, Cassie was sitting at a table by herself. He put a smile on his face and pulled up a chair next to her and the two of them started talking.

Lexi took a table with Spot Conlon, the leader of the Brooklyn newsies and the toughest of them all. He was like a king to them all. Everyone respected Spot, even Jack. The two were good friends.

"How's it goin' Lexi?" he asked her as he took a sip from his glass.

"It's goin' good, Spot. You?"

Spot shook his head. "Eh, not too good, I'm guessin' meself."

"What's the matta'? It's your goil, ain't it?"

Spot had a girl, Macy. They were on and off all the time. He had a key dangling around his neck. He didn't know where it really lead to, only telling Macy that it was the key to his heart. Lexi noticed it was back on his neck. "Yeah. We broke it off again. And this time, it's for good."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Her old lady wants her to get married to this chum who works at a factory in upstate. She didn't think it was too bad an idea, so she gave his back," he said, fingering the key on his chain. He sighed. "She's only sixteen, like you'se are. She can't get married. That's wrong."

"Whoa. But don't she still love ya, Spot? If she did, she would have kept it."

"Guess she doesn't." He poured some water in Lexi's cup and took his own, which was filled with alcohol. Lexi didn't mind this; it wasn't her problem if got pig drunk or not. "Cheers," Spot said as he tipped his glass up to Lexi's.

"Cheers to us, who will never be able to find love." The two smirked and drank their glasses.

Skittery was sitting at a table behind Spot's and Lexi's, watching them and wondering what they were drinking to.