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Post by Zippy on Aug 17, 2011 20:07:30 GMT -5
"It's kinda peaceful down here," Zippy observed, beginning to walk through the bookshelves, "It kinda reminds me of a graveyard."
She curiously pick a book off a different shelf and flipped through it. "A handprinted copy of the Bible, I think."
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Post by Skittery on Aug 17, 2011 20:26:58 GMT -5
"Amazing," he remarked, but the truth was that not much surprised him about what was found down here - at least, not on the bookshelves, anyway. "Before I became a newsie - when my folks died and I didn't know where I'd live..." He glanced around the dingy basement fondly. "I slept here." It bore all the sadness that accompanied an orphan's tale, and yet he spoke with such warmth about the place.
He reclined against one of the endcaps, slumping down to a seated position. "Nobody else knows that." He patted a vacant spot next to him, taking off his hat for a brief moment to get some of the dust off the floor.
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Post by Zippy on Aug 17, 2011 21:31:06 GMT -5
"It's an awfully cold and scary place for a little boy," Zippy remarked, looking at him with sympathy in her eyes and imagining him sleeping there. "Thanks for sharing that with me." She added softly, going over to sit next to him.
"So how'd you end up in our trusty lodging house anyway?" She asked, attempting to lighten the mood.
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Post by Skittery on Aug 17, 2011 22:25:30 GMT -5
"How does anyone end up at the lodging house?" he asked, shrugging a little. "One day, when it was getting too cold for even the library basement, I was walking around the block and saw a kid about my age yelling and waving newspapers."
He found himself shift next to her slightly, his hand propping himself up, yet gingerly brushing hers. "It was kinda nice to see a kid getting an honest day's living without risking getting ground up in a factory someplace. And I like to read, so... Rest is history." He smiled at her. "Where'd you come from?" It always boggled his mind to see a girl, especially one as enigmatically pretty and engaging as Zippy, reduce herself to selling papes.
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Post by Zippy on Aug 18, 2011 0:35:29 GMT -5
"When my mom died, there was no one to take care of me and my brothers, so we ended up in the orphanage for awhile. My oldest brother disappeared, and my brother Eli and I were separated and lived with different families. It was just hard because I lived with an Irish family that didn't speak any Yiddish, which was the only language I was comfortably speaking at the time," Zippy recalled, her eyebrows furrowing together at the memory.
She cleared her throat and continued. "Anyway, they sent me to school and I stuck around for a while because I liked it. A couple kids in school used to sell newspapers after, so I began as well because I wanted my own money. When living with the family became unbearable, I left."
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Post by Skittery on Aug 18, 2011 19:37:32 GMT -5
"No one ever comes to being a newsie under pretty conditions," he allowed. Something in him compelled him to squeeze her shoulder. His eyes studied hers, wondering if he'd get slapped or yelled at. Girls tended to be funny about this kind of stuff, after all.
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Post by Zippy on Aug 18, 2011 22:05:54 GMT -5
Zippy blushed, and looked away, kinda embarrassed. Skittery was a lot smarter of a guy than most people she came across, and it kind of intimidated her.
"You make me pretty nervous," She confessed, looking down at her hands.
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Post by Skittery on Aug 19, 2011 13:10:02 GMT -5
"I do?" It kind of felt like a slap in the face anyway. He instantly recoiled his arm, putting a little distance between them. "Look, if you think I'm going to pull some kinda Jack the Ripper --" He caught himself. "If you want me to give you space, I can give you space."
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Post by Zippy on Aug 21, 2011 16:42:52 GMT -5
"No! I, uh, didn't mean it like that!" Zippy responded quickly, embarrassed. "I meant, in terms of...you know...." She felt weird saying it, and wasn't sure how she would explain if he didn't get it.
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Post by Skittery on Aug 21, 2011 17:39:33 GMT -5
His brow furrowed. Of course he wanted to remain closer to her, but he sure didn't want to make any fuss if she wasn't going to be a fan of any advances.
"No, I'm not sure I do know," he finally said, letting out a sigh. What was he doing wrong? He probably didn't do her any favors by taking her down a sketchy staircase and leading her into the seedy underbelly of the New York City Library. That might have been a little creepy.
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Post by Zippy on Aug 21, 2011 22:08:58 GMT -5
Zippy looked at him, and realized she had made a mistake by telling him that. "Well, you are, um....you're really attractive, and smart, and funny, and nice...." She wondered if listing those things would help.
"Just forget I said it." She quickly added, standing up and brushing herself off. She wanted to get out of there before she said something else horribly wrong and stupid. "I should get back to selling."
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Post by Skittery on Aug 22, 2011 12:11:14 GMT -5
He couldn't forget the compliment, of course, and this was only made more confusing to him. He's a decent guy, even good-looking in this girl's pretty eyes? "Wait, don't go." He reflexively reached out a hand to stop her. "You've gotta explain to me why I make you nervous. So I don't do it again." He grinned handsomely, eyes focused on her.
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Post by Zippy on Aug 23, 2011 0:12:49 GMT -5
Zippy smiled, blushing a bit. "I don't think you can do anything different, Skitts." She chuckled, and placed a hand on her bag. "And, obviously, I wouldn't want you to." She just needed to get back to work. Her telling him that he made her nervous was her way of telling him that she liked him. Unfortunately he didn't quite get it.
"I really gotta get back in time to sell the evening edition. You coming?"
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Post by Skittery on Aug 23, 2011 16:00:21 GMT -5
"I'm taking the night off," he said with a lazy stretch of his long legs. "Somehow I ended up having a decent morning." He gave her a glance, smiling with an air of pure hospitality. "How's about you walk with me on the way back?" Maybe he made her nervous, but that didn't mean he wouldn't stop finding ways to make this kid feel special - because, well, she was.
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Post by Zippy on Aug 23, 2011 21:00:15 GMT -5
Smiling, Zippy nodded. "Of course. Want me to steal any books for you before you go?" She grinned at him, and reached in the stacks for a random book.
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