Here goes nothing

[Nate]

Nate walked up the steps of the lodging house, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to figure out what he was going to say. Hi... I was wondering if you were in need of a handyman he thought to himself before quickly shaking his head. No, that wouldn't do.

He stopped just outside the lodging house door and looked up at the sign above the door. "Well, here goes nothing," he said to himself before walking inside.

"Hello?" he asked, his forehead wrinkling as he approached the desk. "Is anybody here?"

[Ershey]

((HI! ;D))

"Who you talkin' to?" asked Ershey from behind as she entered the lodging house. She had just gotten back from selling and was craving a break. More specifically, her bed. Or maybe a nap could work too.

[Nate]

((Hello, Hello! ))

"Who me?" Nate asked as he turned around to see who was talking to him. He saw a shorter girl and he felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips. "Well, actually, I was hoping to find the guy in charge... Do you know where I could find him?"

[Ershey]

"You mean Kloppman?" said Ershey, glancing over at the empty room behind the desk. "He's hardly ever here... I don't even think he really lives here."

She frowned, a bit confused, before shrugging it off and turning back to the newcomer. "All you gotta do is just sign your name -- or, whatever you go by -- and grab an empty bunkbed on the boys' floor. Oh, and pay. That's important too."

[Nate]

"Oh... Damn," he nodded, a slight hint of disappointment on his face. "Well, thanks for your help." He paused, his forehead wrinkling a bit. "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name... I'm Nate."

[Ershey]

"Adri," she smiled. "I go by Ershey though. Don't worry about pay so much, as long as you pay back Kloppman, he won't get mad."

She walked over towards the couch, hoping to relax a bit. "So, where you from? Are you a newsie?"

[Nate]

"Well, hopefully I'll be able to speak to him myself fairly soon," Nate replied as he followed her over to the sitting area. He sat down in an armchair across from her and shrugged. "I'm from the area, born and raised. I was away for a little while, hopin' to find a job now. To tell you the truth, I came in here today, hoping to speak to this Kloppman guy about maybe being a handyman of sorts. If that doesn't work out, I might see about getting a job back down at the docks."

[Ershey]

"I'm sure he'll turn up," said Ershey reassuringly. "Handyman? You like to build things? Well... things are almost always breaking around here. I don't know how often you'd be working... but that sounds like fun."

[Nate]

"Fun is one way to describe it," he replied with a soft chuckle. "That's the way I see it though, these places are always in need of repair. I stayed in a couple when I was younger, and thinks that were broken then are probably still broken to this day."

He paused and laughed, his head slowly shaking, "Let me tell you, if you think waking up at the crack of dawn is bad enough, try waking up with the bed above yours practically collapsed in!"

He looked up at the girl, crossing his hands loosely over his chest. "So, have you been here long?"

[Ershey]

"If that's the case, I'm sure Kloppman will need someone like you around here," she grinned. "Half the boys don't know what they're doing most of the time, anyway."

She paused when she heard Nate's question. "Hmm, about a couple months?" answered Ershey thoughtfully. "It's been one hell of a ride."

[Nate]

"Well, then it sounds like I'm in," he said with a grin. "Maybe I can teach them a thing or two along the way."

"A ride, huh?" he asked, an amused look on his face. "Nice to see that things haven't changed too much since I've been away from a lodging house."

[Ershey]

"I'm sure you can teach them a lot," she replied, chuckling.

"Yeah, well, it's never boring when you're living with about twenty other people in one roof. Wait, you lived in a lodging house before?" said Ershey, confused.

[Nate]

"Not for too long," Nate explained with a shrug. "Maybe a few months, about two years back. Not this lodging house, but one a little closer to Midtown." He paused, chuckling a little to himself. "I know, I make it seem like ages ago, don't I? It seems like it was sometimes, but it really wasn't."

[Ershey]

"I know what you mean," she smiled, nodding. "I feel like I've been living here for years. Have you met anyone else around here yet?"

[Nate]

"Can't say I have, no," he said with a shake of his head. "You caught me as I was literally walking through the door for the first time. Are there a lot of lodgers here, or is it still pretty empty?"