For @-draxler 

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Ever since I stepped off the boat, I've been nothing but nervous but excited.

When I was little, my parents have always wanted to come to New York. They heard about it in the paper and from different books. They thought of New York as some kind of heaven.

When I finally turned 16, we have gathered enough money to actually move to New York. The boat ride was long and dangerous but we didn't care, because we knew there was light at the end of this deep, deep tunnel.

"We're here," was the first thing my father said as we stepped off the crowded boat. He had this shimmer in his eye, a shimmer I've never before. He was finally where he wanted to be.

A few days after we arrived, I started school. Of course, I was nervous because I didn't speak a lot of English.

"You new here?" A voice asked me. I turned around and saw a girl. She looked very different from the girls in Italy.

"Um... yes?" I answered in a thick Italian accent. Her hair was a light brown and short. I haven't really seen a girl with shorter hair.

"I can tell. I'm Sage," She said extending her hand out to me. I smiled and gladly shook it.

"Here, I'll walk you to class," She offered. I nodded my head and followed her to class. The school was so huge compared to schools back home.

During the whole school day, Sage was there to help me. She helped me with the school work since most of it was in English and showed me the rest of the school. Like I said before, it was massive.

"So Abigal, I have someone I want you to meet," Sage told me as we walked out of school. I simply nodded and followed her down the streets of New York. We ran through the jungle that was New York when we final reached a building. It read 'Newsboy Lodge' and had a few boys sitting out in the front, playing a game of cards.

"His name is Race. He's Italian like you so I think you two will get along," She told me. I felt scared but excited at the same time.

We made our way inside. Various numbers of boys sat inside, some playing cards and some just talking. Sage lead me through the crowd to a random group of boys. The group consisted of a boy wearing a red bandana, a boy with a plaid blue button shirt, and a boy Sage was telling me about. He was smoking a cigar and playing cards with the other boys.

"Guys?" Sage said, getting the groups attention. The cigar boy looked at me in awe. They tipped their hats and looked at us. I blushed slightly, but Sage seemed used to it.

"Hey Sage," The bandana boy greeted. His hair looked so silky, so much so that you could probably run your hair through it without getting your hand stuck.

"Hey, guys. This is Sage. Sage meet Jack, Davey, and Race," She told me as I extended my hand out to all of them. The last boy smiled and kissed my hand like a gentleman.

His hair was a scruffy brown color, and when he spoke he had a strong Brooklyn accent, with a hint of Italian. He smelt of cigars and fresh ink.

"The names Higgins. Racetrack Higgins," He smiled. I could feel my heart start to race and a blush creep up to my face. 

I was so excited to get to know Race more.

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:)