Every single boy in the Lodging House knew that Brenna was a girl, but they had decided to keep it a secret from Mr. Kloppman. While they admired him and looked up to him, they had no idea how he would react if he found out a girl was staying in the Lodging House with them.

Brenna was starving. Living on the streets was bad, but she’d rather die there than go back to the workhouse. Sometimes, she had to steal to get her food and pray she didn’t get caught and sent to jail. The sun was still shining high in the sky, blazing down on her, making her even weaker.

Brenna gasped at his words. Her mouth was open in shock. She felt like she had just been punched in the stomach several times over. She slowly backed away from him, unable to stand in front of him any longer. Her eyes filled with tears as she walked through the crowd of newsies, numb to everything else around her, even all the angry shouts that echoed behind her. She slowly walked further and further away from them. She then found herself in alley. That’s where she broke down into violent sobs on the ground.