This one is for Thepopcornpup, to thank her for her help and lovely reviews.
Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies, sadly, they belong to Disney. Mac, however, is my own creation. I also own Smiler and Snaps, and Romeo is 'borrowed' (to me, he is the kid who is last to receive bread from the nuns in the movie). Please read and review!
All of us Newsies have our own particular techniques to help us sell our papes each day. Jack uses his 'improved' headlines and his loud, authoritative and confident voice to compel people to purchase a paper. David's naturally naïve, honest face and refined speech tend to make people believe whatever rubbish he is spouting and buy a pape without a second thought. Mac, being medically minded, uses words and phrases such as 'epidemic', 'contagious disease' and – rarely – 'death from such-and-such an illness' as often as possible, which prompts people to buy a pape to see if their own health is in danger. Little Tumbler, who usually sells with Mac, generally needs to do nothing more than stay close to her and look either timid or sweet, which actually benefits them both.
I have a very different technique; one which doesn't involve hollering from street corners. It doesn't involve me waving a pile of heavy papes above my head, and it doesn't involve me waiting for someone to come to me. In fact, it is a technique so simple, I can describe it in three words.
A little charm.
You see, I'm not very good at making up headlines. I come from a rather sheltered, upper-class background, so I lack the imagination and experience to make my headlines convincing. But my family was (and probably still is) very cultured, and I was taught good manners and courtesy from a young age. This of course included how to correctly address a lady, and I, being quite a good-looking child (if I may say so myself), have always been able to attract the attention of the women.
But none of this would have done me any good if I hadn't known how to seek out and engage with my target. I needed something else.
A little charm.
So how does my technique work? Well, first I pick out a likely looking lady (or, occasionally, a young gentleman) from the general morning bustle. Then I approach her (or him) and ask her (or him) if she'd (he'd) like to buy a pape, using compliments wherever possible and/or appropriate, while silently laying on the charm (or, in the case of young gentlemen, simply being incredibly polite). Usually, my customers think I'm so adorable/courteous, they buy a pape just to see my smile widen! It's as simple as that.
A little charm.
Its amazing what a little bit of charm can do for you. I mean, all I did was tell a young lady how pretty she was and now I have a small group of regular customers – mostly female – who look for me every morning, most of whom I know well enough to be able to flirt a little with them. This, Race says, is why he gave me the name 'Romeo', but that isn't entirely true; he gave me the name simply because I was an instant hit with the ladies. Of course, I do sell papes to other people too – sadly, I can't live off the kindness of pretty girls for long – but that just makes my life so much more eventful.
A little charm.
Oh, I've gotta go. It's nearly time to sell the afternoon edition, and I can see one of my regulars heading towards my usual selling spot. See you!
It doesn't always take a lot to get what you want. You may have a good education, fine clothes and beautiful speech, but for me, all it takes is a little charm.