The Princess and The Pauper

"Would ya like ta buy a papa miss?" Spot said to the beautiful girl walking out of school.

"Yeah." She replied to the gorgeous newsie in front of her. He was about six inches taller than her and had the most wonderful gray eyes, and dark blond hair.

"Thanks, miss."

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

It had been a week since she had bought the paper from that gorgeous Newsie, and she hadn't seen him since. She looked for him every day, before and after school, but never saw him.

"Emily, c'mon, we're going to be late. If you don't hurry up I'm gonna tell mom!" Ugh, the whiny voice. She hated the whiny voice. It was the one her sister always used to get her way.

"Yeah, I'm coming."

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

"Spot, whatcha thinkin' 'bout?" Tootsie, Spot's kid sister, asked. She was glad her brother was back from Manhattan, but he'd been acting weird ever since he'd gotten back.

"If I tell ya, ya promise ya won't laugh?"

"Shoa, like I'd laugh at ya, ya might soak me!" She said, giving him a playful nudge.

"Nah, I'd neva soak ya Toots. Well when I was in Manhattan I saw dis goyl. Gosh, she was beautiful! I couldn't even believe I was able ta talk wid 'er! And I always looked fer 'er, but I neva saw 'er again." Spot was still staring into space, envisioning her.

"Well, I cain manage da boys hea, and you'se cain go ta Manhattan and look fer 'er."

"Awright. Thanks Toots."

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

"Spot! Whad are ya doin' hea?" Blink asked Spot.

"Well, I'se lookin' fer sumbuddy. How's things goin'?" Spot had just appointed Blink Manhattan's Leader and wanted to make sure there wasn't any trouble.

"Things are fine, nutin' new. David has ta go back ta school, since his mom thinks he cain't watch Les. He was mad." Blink said, checking out the gorgeous girl across the street.

"Dat's too bad. Well I gotta go. And go catch dat goyl!" Spot said, laughing a the way Blink was practically drooling over the girl across the street. He glanced t her, but she was nothing like the girl he was after.

Blink didn't say anything, he just casually walked across the street and asked the girl if she wanted to buy a paper.

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

Spot walked over to the school in front of the door he had seen her come out of before. And he waited for the bell, when tons of kids came rushing out of the doors. It was Friday, and they were all excited to get away for the weekend.

"Spot! What are you doing here?" It was David.

"Davey! Hey, I hoid ya had ta go back hea. Well actually I'se lookin' fer sumbuddy and, I found 'er. Bye!"

"Bye Spot." But before he could finish his sentence Spot was half way across the school yard.

"Hey, miss. Ya wanna papa?" Emily darted around. It was him. She couldn't believe it. "I'm Spot, what's your name?"

"I'm Emily. Nice to meet you. Sure, I'll take a newspaper."

"Aw, you don't hafta buy one, I just needed an excuse to talk to ya. Cain I walk ya home?"

"Sure, but I also have to walk my little sister home. She's annoying."

"Yeah, I got one too, but she ain't annoying, well only sometimes." Spot said, grinning, thinking of Tootsie back in Brooklyn, playing leader for the day.

"Emileeee! Let's go!" Her little sister came up, grabbed her hand and drug her down the sidewalk.

"Spot, I'd like you to meet my lovely, little sister, Sarah. Sarah, this is Spot."

"Pleasha ta meet ya." Spot said, putting out his hand. Sarah refused it.

"A newsie! Why are you talking to one of them?" Sarah replied, crinkling her nose.

"Saraaah!" Emily said, immediately putting her hand over Sarah's mouth. Sarah spit on it.

"Spot, this might not be too great if you walked me home. Can I meet you somewhere?" Emily asked sadly.

"Shoa, you know where Tibby's is?"

"Um, yes, I think so. I'll meet you there at 6:30. Bye!"

"Bye!" Spot said, grabbing her hand and kissing it.

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

"I'm gonna tell mamma you have a date with a newsie! Boy will you be in trouble!" Her sister said, giving her famous smirk.

"No you won't, and like I'm really going to meet a newsie. I'll just let him wait forever." Emily lied.

"Good plan!"

"You wicked little..." She thought to herself.

That afternoon she finished her homework and told her mom she was going out with her friend. Emily came from a very upper-class family and they thought that anyone with a penny less money than them were poor street trash. She never thought that, one of the other ways she was different from her family. Not only did they have different opinions she looked different. She was tall and slender, with curly red hair, and hazel eyes. The rest of her family was short, with blond hair and blue eyes. And if they found out she was going out with a newsie she would probably be grounded for the rest of her high school life.

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

"Hi Spot." Spot turned around and stopped dead in his tracks. She was beautiful before, now she was breath taking.

"Hi, you look wonderful!"

"Thanks." She said, blushing.

They went inside and she saw a lot of other newsies.

"Boys, dis is Emily, da goyl I was tellin' you about. Emily dis is Kid Blink, Mush, Racetrack, Dutchy, Snoddy, Snipeshooter, Bumlets, Crutchy, Jake, Itey, Skittery, Boots, Pie Eater, Snitch, Specs, and Swifty. Oh, and dat's our friend Denton."

"Hi, nice to meet you." Then the boys all said hi to her and went back to their previous conversations.

"We got a table ova hea." He lead her to a secluded table near the back.

They both ordered there dinner and talked. Spot was a really nice guy, and she wished her family wasn't so close minded, so she could at least introduce him to them. But she knew they'd flip. But she didn't want to keep Spot a secret. She didn't know what to do.

"Well, cain I walk ya home?" Spot said, interrupting her from her thoughts.

"Sure." She smiled, trying to pretended everything was all right, but Spot could tell something was wrong. She seemed like a really nice and caring person, but boy did she have a snotty sister!

Spot grabbed her hand and she lead the way to her house. It was a long walk, and when they got to her house Spot just stared. It was the biggest thing he'd ever seen.

"Um, nice house." Spot said, still gawking.

"Yeah, thanks." She replied sarcastically.

"I had a great time tonight," Spot said, stroking her red curls, "and I'm really glad you came. I think you are a really great goyl, and I'd love ta see ya again."

"I had a great time too, but I can't see you again. I'm sorry." She replied, a tear rolling down her cheek.

Spot brushed it away with the side of his hand. "Why not?"

"I...um..I just can't." She ran inside, slamming the door. Spot was dumbfounded, he had no idea what happened. But he couldn't let her get away that easy. He went up to her door and rang the bell.

"Hel-um, what do you want?" A short woman asked, answering the door.

"I'se lookin' fer Emily, ma'am." Spot said in his most polite voice.

"Yes, well she doesn't associate with people like you. So you'd better go."

"Awright, sorry to-" He stopped as the door was slammed in his face. Now he knew, her family was too good for him, and she was to embarrassed to even introduce him. Well good riddance to her.

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

"Emily Kathleen Hess! Get down here this minute!" Her mother screamed from the bottom of the stairs. But Emily didn't answer. She saw what her mother had done to Spot through the window. She knew people shouldn't be treated like that, and she knew she had to leave.

"All right young lady, don't come down. Well you're grounded. I don't want to see you out of that room until Monday morning. The servants will bring you meals." Her mother shouted.

She snuck into her parents room and stole some money. Then when everyone was sleeping she went out the window and ran. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew she had to get somewhere before morning. There was a bench outside of that restaurant and she thought Spot might go by there the next morning, so she slept there.

But that's not where she woke up. She was in the middle of an alley, and couldn't move. She saw her head was bleeding, and felt lightheaded. What had she done? She had a family that loved her, and she left because of some boy. Now she might die and she would never see them again.

PART 2
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

"Spot, ya know dat goyl ya was wid last night?" Race asked Spot, who had slept over since it had been so late.

"Yeah." Spot said, remembering his conversation with her mother.

"Well, ain't dat 'er?" Race saked holding up a "Missing Child" Poster with the girls picture on it.

"Oh my God? She's gone. I gotta find 'er." Forgetting his "good riddance to her" he jumped out of bed, threw on his clothes, and bolted out of the door.

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

He saw the posters all over the city. Geez, they really were rich. He checked all over Manhattan, every inch, but he couldn't find her. He remembered that he left Tootsie incharge of Brooklyn, and he'd better go tell her what was going on. It was already starting to get dark, so he thought it would be another night in Manhattan. As he was walking past one of the many alleys on the way to Brooklyn he thought he saw a lump in the alley. As he walked over he was shocked at what he saw.

"Emily?" He said, gently shaking her. She was badly beaten, and he wasn't sure if she was consious or not. When he didn't get a response he knew he had to get her somewhere, and fast.

He walked to the Brooklyn Lodging House. When he got there he saw a bunch of his boys playing poker on the front porch.

"Heya Spot! Who's dat?" Buff, one of his favorite newsies, asked.

"It's da goyl I went ta Manhattan lookin' fer. Where's me sista?"

"She's inside." Red said.

"Thanks" he said, picking up the pace, but not moving her too much.

"Toots?" He shouted into the Lodging House.

"Spot? Is dat you?" She replied, coming out of the room they shared, "Woah, who's dat?"

"It's da goyl dat I left ta go git."

"Well, at least ya found 'er." She laughed, not sure what to say.

"It ain't funny, Toots. She could die. And it's all me fault."

"WHY?" Tootsie asked, incredously.

Spot told her the story of how he met her, and about her little sister. Then the date and when he walked her home. And then about her mother at the door. And how he thought if he never would have met her, she wouldn't be in this mess right now. He thought she might have left to find him, maybe to explain. He saw her in the window that night, but he couldn't tell if she looked sad or not. But he wished he never would have caused the trouble for her. As he told this to Tootsie he carefull laid her in his bed, trying to fix her cuts. He didn't think any doctors offices would be open now, so she'd have to hold out till tomorrow.

"Spot, it ain't yer fault. Ya couldn't a known she'd come out lookin' fer ya. And anyways-" She was interrupted as a bunch of angry bulls barged through the door.

"Spot Conlon- you're under arrest for kidnapping and attempted murder."

"WHAT?" Spot stammered out. How did he get himself into this mess? He tried to save her and gets under arrest, this couldn't be happening. As he was thinking how to get out of this he was handcuffed and drug to the sherrif station. "Toots! Get da Manhattan Boys. Hurry!" He screamed his final plea to his sister and then he was thrown in the back of the carraige.

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

The boys awoke to a frantic pounding on the window near the bunk room.

"Whad da..." Blink stopped as he looked out the window and saw Spot's kid sister, Tootsie, crying.

"Hey, whad's da mattah?" Specs asked, opening the window.

"Sppott....police..hheellp!" She stammered.

"Whad? Whad do ya mean da police and Spot?" Mush asked, just waking up.

Dutchy was comforting her, and in a couple of minutes she had calmed down and told them the whole story.

"We's gotta do sumpin! Dey'll put 'im in da real jail if dey think 'e's a murderer!" Snoddy exclaimed.

"But he was here last night. Dey'll have a trial right? We's could be um, ya know, da people dat tell 'em dat 'e's innocent, whad's da woyd?" Blink asked.

"A wittness?" Tootsie offered.

"Yeah, dat's it. We's could tell 'em! And you'se know dat 'e was tryin' ta help 'er. We's can save 'em!" Blink said, very excited about his idea.

"But dey's think we's street trash." Tootsie sighed. "We lie fer a livin', dey'll think we's just really good liars."

"Wasn't Denton at Tibby's dat night? We's could all say dat 'e's innocent. And Denton could say dat he was on a date wid 'er!" Blink suggested.

"Well den, let's find Denton!" Race piped in.

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

"Do you, Brian Denton, swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I do." Denton answered, nodding.

It was the day of Spot's trial, and the newsies had found Denton. Blink, Tootsie, and Race had already given their testimony. They weren't sure if the jury believed them or not, but they had to believe Denton, right?

He told the jury how Spot had introduced Emily to him that night at Tibby's and saw them eat their dinner, and Spot walked her home. He even saw Spot come back past Tibby's and go to the Lodging House. The lawyer had finished his questions, and Judge Monahan asked if their were anymore witnesses. As he said this a very weak, beaten Emily walked through the doors. And Spot's attorney said they had just one more.

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" Judge Monahan asked.

"We have, your honor." One of the jurors answered. As he said this Totosie grabbed Dutchy's hand and he squeezed her hand back. And Emily put her hand on Spot's shoulder, who was sitting nervously in front of her, fidgeting with his fingers.

"On the charge of kidnapping how do you find the defendant?"

"Not guilty."

The newsies breathed a sigh of relief. One down, one to go.

"One the charge of attemted murder how do you find the defendant?"

"Not guilty." A cheer went through the crowd, as the newsies were hooting and hollering. Emily walked over to Spot and he kissed her like she had never been kissed before.

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

They had decided to celebrate at Tibby's. And everyone was relieved to see that Spot was innocent. Especially Tootsie, she didn't know what she would have done if she would have "lost" her brother.

"Where'd ya come from? Ya obviously didn't tell nobuddy you was comin'." Spot asked Emily.

"Well the bulls took me to the hospital and my family all came and were crying. 'Oh Emily we were SO worried. Your sister told us you went out with that, that street rat. We knew he must have been the one to do this to you. Now do you know why we told you to stay away from them?' My mom said. And then I told her it wasn't you who did that to me, and that you weren't a street rat, and that she was a snotty, rude woman. She told me I must be dilerious and I told them all to get out of my room, and out of my life, and I was not delirious. So as soon as I was well enough to walk I left the hospital and went to the Lodging House, and a little boy, Snipeshooter I think, told me where you were. When I got there I heard the judge asked for more witnesses and I felt that was the appropriate time to go in."

"Well I shoa am glad you did." Spot said, giving her a hug.

"I am so sorry I put you through that, and that my mom treated you like that. I wanted to introduce you, but who knows what they would have done." Emily said sadly.

"Hey, it's awright. So, you'se leavin' fer good from yer house?" Spot asked, hopeful.

"Yeah, but I don't got a place ta stay."

"Well, you'se could stay wid dis real nice lady, Medda. And dat way you could still go ta school. And den you'd only need money fer food, and I'se could see dat somebuddy picks ya up some papes and you'se could sell 'em aftah school." Spot suggested.

"That'd be great!"

EPILOGUE
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~

Emily did just as Spot suggested until she had finished high school. She and Spot had stayed together, and then she moved to Brooklyn and got a real job, and an apartment. And Emily and Spot eventually got married and lived happily ever after.

THE END