Never Let a Friend Fool You Twice

[Bella Harris]

Warm tears stung in Bella's eyes. She didn't know it was possible to reach rock bottom twice in a lifetime. She just figured that she already reached rock bottom once, and that was enough for her life. Everything else would be just fine. Obviously, it wasn't that way.

She sat down underneath a tree in the park, and wiped away a tear. How could this happen? She was no longer wanted, the friends she did have she rarely saw. Her family obviously didn't care, its been six months since she ran away from home, and nothing. Her parents didn't care that their only child was out in the cold all alone. She closed her eyes, maybe she was a mistake. If she never existed, her parents would still be in Italy having the times of their lives.

The one person who she thought was on her side, Mike, didn't need her anymore. He was the one who rescued her from her uncle, he was the one who helped her stand back up on her feet when everything was crashing around her. Maybe this is her punishment for helping in his evil plan. She didn't care so much about the evil plan, she did her part for the acceptance that it brought her.

Bella pulled her raggedy, holey sweater tighter around her. She did have someone else on her side, Kid Blink. But the last time she spoke to him was...too long ago. She sighed, maybe she was meant to be a loner. She should pack up what little she had and go far away, across the country. Who would miss her? No one would, that's who.

[Kid Blink]

Kid Blink finished selling the morning edition early and decided to wait for either Mush or Jack to finish selling so they could decide whether to head back to the lodging house or to grab a bite to eat at Tibby's. He wandered over to Market Street in the hopes that he might encounter something interesting there. And so, for a while, he amused himself by simply observing people as they went about their shopping, shouting and pushing their way through the crowded street. However, he soon became bored and opted to return to the lodging house for a bit. Maybe he'd take a nap... or maybe he would set a prank.... 

He hopped off his perch on an overturned, wooden apple crate and made his was down Market Street in the direction of the Duane Street lodging house (home to the Manhattan newsies), deciding that he was in the mood for mischief more so than a nap. His only problem was that he was out of prank ideas. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at his feet. He needed something new, something fresh. But what sort of prank could he pull that was new and fresh, and could earn a laugh out of Mush, Race, and maybe even Jack? What kind of prank could he pull that might actually lighten the Manhattan newsies spirits rather than increase the tension?

He rounded the corner onto Madison Avenue and was struck with what he considered one of his most impressive ideas for a prank in a long while. The idea came in the form of a polished wood door carried by an employee of 
'Avery's Carpentry! est. 1895,'
(as was advertised on a flimsy sign that leaned against a cart stationed along the curb, filled with wood boards of various lengths and two wood doors that were tied down with rope.) As Blink turned the corner, head down, deep in thought, he collided with the polished, wood door (carried by the aforementioned employee of 'Avery's Carpentry!'). Blink grunted in surprise and pain as his head connected with the door. He staggered backward, clutching a hand to his injured head. The heel of his shoe hit a section of uneven pavement, causing him to lose his balance and forcing him to drop his hands from his head and throw his weight forward in an attempt to regain his balance. He succeeded, and sank to one knee, breathing heavily.

The force of the collision between Kid Blink and the wood door had been felt by the door-carrying employee as well; the startled man had somehow managed to retain his grip on the sides of the door. The man peered around his burden to determine with whom or what he had collided. Upon seeing Blink kneeling dazedly on the cement, the man chuckled. Blink looked up at the sound and spotted the amused expression on the face of the door-carrying employee. Blink stared at him, wondering what could possibly be funny about the situation. 

The man stared back at Blink, taking in the sight of the leather eye-patch across his left eye and the bump above his left brow where Blink's head had connected with the door. The man coughed and said, "Better be careful, boy. Looks like yer gonna have a nasty bump on yer forehead. Any lower and you might actually have use of that eye-patch!" Blink glared at man, "I wear the patch for a reason." he retorted as he stood up and walked around the man to continue on his way. "Yah? Well, y'ought t'find somewhere else to play 'pirate' then laddie!" the door-carrying man called after him. Blink scowled at the comment but chose to continue walking rather than waste his time trading words with, "A door-carrying muttonhead," Blink muttered under his breath.

He reached the lodging house, but decided that he'd rather not wait there after all. Instead, he turned and made his way to Central Park. It was as he was walking along one of the more secluded paths that something, or someone caught his eye. "Isabella?![/i] he whispered, disbelief, sadness, elation, and pain warring for dominance across his face.