Daughter of the Refuge

Chapter Seven

Jojo let out a groan as he rolled out of bed, landing on the floor with a thud. 

"Uh, you okay down dere?" Albert asked, glancing down at his friend.

"Can Is just stay 'ere forever?" He whined. 

"No can do, Jo," Race said stomping into the room. "We got papes ta sell."

"The day papes start selling demselves is the day Is'll be a free man," Jojo stated, pulling himself into a sitting position. 

"What does dat even mean?" Albert asked, glancing at Race. The boy shoved a cigar in his mouth before shrugging. 

"I don't even know," Jojo sighed, flopping his face into a pillow. 

"What's wrong with Jojo?" Tommy Boy asked, peeking in the doorway. 

"He's in a mood," Henry stated. 

"You're in a mood," Jojo said, hurling his pillow at the boy who ducked, narrowly missing being hit in the face. "Can I 'ave dat back?"

"Nope," Henry laughed. Jojo groaned once more before dragging himself off the floor and making his way to the bathroom. 

"Well dat was... interesting," he heard his best friend say behind him. 

"Dude, it's like a regular occurrence," Race said with a laugh. "He's one of dem weird morning people."

"Yous da weird morning person!" Jojo yelled to the boy, shaking his head. When he reached the bathroom, he grabbed a face cloth and ran it over his face, wiping away all evidence of his sleepless night. 

A few moments later, he emerged, and let out a laugh when he was greeted by Elmer jumping on Specs' back as he shrieked. The older boy shoved Elmer off him before toppling over in laughter. 

"It's just a spider Elm," Mike said. The boy coughed dramatically, leaping up onto the table. 

"Yeah, but- It's really big." 

"It's the size of a thimble," Ike stated. 

"Yeah but-"

"Elmer, get off the table," Jack said stepping into the room. "Finch gimme a shoe." 

When the boy had tossed him one of Spec's shoes, Jack located the spider and made sure it was dead before turning back to the black-haired boy.

"Better?" He asked, a grin tugging at his lips. 

"Much," Elmer replied, letting out his pent up breath. Jojo walked forward, throwing his arm around the younger boy's shoulders. 

"Enough excitement for one day. Let's get sellin'." 

"Mush!" A voice screamed, followed by the very boy tearing through the Lodging House like he was being chased by the plague. 

"What's he done now?" Romeo commented. 

"Run Mush!" Kid Blink's voice slipped into the room as he came through the door after his friend. 

"Blink, what's goin' on?" Crutchie asked.

"Just wait," he answered. Not even a minute later, Caz ran through the door. 

"Ugh," the girl groaned. "I hope he's prepared his death speech."

"You do know that-"

"Stuff it Henry," she snapped. Albert and Race both walked in, sharing a look.

"Do we wanna know?"

"No," she muttered. "Are we selling or what?"

Everyone, desperate to get away from the steaming girl, quickly exited the room. Jojo couldn't help but smile when he saw Albert approach the girl and whisper something in her ear. Ever since the two of them had become his friends, he had always known they would end up together. Albert had liked Caz since he could remember, and Jojo had been the first he had confessed it to. Of course it had taken almost two years after that for him to actually do anything about it, but seeing them together made him smile. They were the perfect couple.