<em>LS, also known as Chelsea, walks the streets of NYC with a cigarette in her hand and a man on her mind. Not the kind of man that most would dream of, but a legend - one that will live in infamy. Just another day in paradise, right? Well...not quite as it was 20 years ago.</em>

I grew up on these streets. I'm not exactly the proudest member of my family, but I'm one of the only few of us left.  I remember the good times back when kids didn't carry guns and deals were made in private, where mama's home cookin' put restaurants out of business, and children could play on the tireswing in the backyard without having to worry about getting shot, mugged, or lured by an old geezer that had something attractive and said "psst, over here, kid...I've got somethin' for ya..." That statement always lead to trouble. Mama taught us better. Despite being a lady, daddy taught all us kids how to use a shotgun, and later taught us to deal, which is what got my family where they were at the time. We were rich, and we didn't have to win the lottery to get there.

In the year 1910, I had 2 siblings, a brother and sister, both older than myself, and much wiser, according to daddy. Mama, on the other hand, being mama, had faith in all of us. We still went to church and acted like civilized beings of the city. Everyone who was anyone, however, knew there was more to us than sundays at church and big dinners - we had money, and that was more important to us as a family than anything else. Daddy, especially...he didn't care who he had to hurt to get the money...I'm not proud to admit, he's killed quite a few folks because of the little things that went on between him and other familes. Daddy was a competitor - always had to win. Mama loved him anyway, regardless of what he did. Us kids, however, weren't the proudest of him, however we couldn't complain - we always got what we needed. My brother, Louis, always took daddy's side, while us girls learned to love and accept daddy for who he was, although not proud of what he did. He would always tell us to save our money, but we never did. We always spent it at the local candy shop, where, at the time, we could walk by ourselves, and not have to worry about anyone like those geezers that I was talking about, or old ladies with purses full of lead.

This building that I'm standing in front of, now up for lease, was the old candy shop. My brother and sister, and myself, of course, loved this place - the candy man (his name was Dave) had everything from old fashioned (new to that time) wally-wally chocolate bars to lollies to gumballs and m&m's galore (back then, they only had one color, but we didn't care - they tasted the same). Everything was a penny, so we could bring a dollar and a bag, and get a whole load of candy. The bad thing was that we couldn't hide it from mama - she'd always hide it from us. We would get one piece per snack, after meals, of course. Those were the good ol' days.

Now the year is 1933, and I'm standing thinking of those moments, and wonder if anyone in my family is left, as we all split apart in the 20's to try to make it on our own...I guess this family didn't make it, and it just goes to show, money only buys happiness for a short time, but in the long run, everyone gets screwed. Now I am with the family of the shooting stars, and they are more supportive than my original family, that's for sure. Thanks. :)

<em>LS then walks away from the building, taking her last drag. She thinks of how things could have been different, and if she will ever see her biological family again.</em>

After hearing LS story Santo catches up to her as she walks away. He throws an arm around her shoulder.

 Hey kid, you've had it pretty rough. You've done well for yourself. The Stars are lucky to have you. Keep your chin up, your family may not have made it, but you're going to.

Santo then dashes across the street and into a darkened alley.

-Lana- crosses the street to meet LS and smiles as she offers her a cigarette.

You know, LS, I really enjoyed listening to that. I'm happy to have you in our family.

<em>LS takes the cigarette, and looks to Lana briefly. In mid-statement, she turns back to the old candy shop building.</em>

Thanks, Lana. I wonder what they're going to turn this old building into now, though - it's been owned and resold more times than any other building in the city.

Starshine smiles as she catches up to LS.  She appreciated this bit of insight into the life of one of her own.  She hands her a bag of penny candy from Ginger's candy shop and invites her to coffee at the HQ cafe.

neck cutter sees LS speaking about her past and goes up to her and throws his arm over her shoulder and says,

"these days just keep getting worse, and i see you have lived a hard life, but keep ya head up, youll make it, and any family would be thankful to have you"

Al stands by quietly listening. He grins as Santo Prio runs up to the young lady. Santo has a way with the ladies, kinda runs in his family. As usual he says just the right thing at just the right time and runs off, presumably to save some other Damsel. Al's grin disappears as neck_cutter runs up to the girl and recites Santo's line damn near verbatim.

"Son of a.." Al whispers.

Big Al walks up to neck cutter and throws his arm over his shoulders and brings him to the side of the street. Al turns to face the kid, he straightens the kids tie and brushes off his lapel. He looks the kid over critically and then reaches out to square up the kids shoulders.

"You know kid, they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But for crying out loud make sure the guy who's line you lift is out of earshot. And whatever you do, don't use his line on the SAME GIRL."

Al pats the kids cheek a couple times, sighs, and walks off shaking his head.

<em>Flattered, LS looks at neck_cutter, then at Al. She lights up another cigarette, then speaks up in her brooklyn accent:</em>

"Leave the kid alone, Al. He's probably new at this whole street-talkin' thing. I appreciate both of you."

<em>She then walks off, looking for a place to eat.</em>

Astray stops a minute to listen to LoSiNg_SaNiTy talk about the building with the for sale sign on it and the memories it brought back. She smiles a bittersweet smile and continues on her way