Jack had been on the edge all week. No one wanted to be around him, not even his best friends. All of them were afraid to go near him in fear that he would explode at them. He was holding something from all of them something that he couldn't bring himself to share with the rest of the newsies.
Jack paced the room hours on end; he would stop every once and a while looking like he had found the answers he had been looking for. He ran his hand through his hair, then place his old raggedy cowboy hat on his head and begin pacing again. Jack would mumble incoherently to himself as he did this.
Every one tried to adjust to Jack's fowl mood. Three nights ago Race had decided to play poker with Jack thinking it would take his mind off of what ever he had been thinking about. Race had let Jack win a bunch of the hands. Jack found out and ended up throwing the cards across the table and storming off. For the rest of the week no one played any card games.
The week was drawing to an end. Kid Blink, Race, Spot, Mush and Spit Fire sat across the room talking quietly. Spot had come to Manhattan to watch over things at the lodging house and to make sure Jack didn't try to kill any one. He had left Chance in charge of Brooklyn and hoped it wouldn't fall apart.
"You go." Mush said to Spot as he glanced over at Jack who stopped pacing and took his hat off.
"He's your leadah." Spot retorted he glanced across at Blink. Spit Fire sat there quietly watching Jack pace with her eyes.
"But yer Spot Conlon." Blink said to him, "Yer his bes' frien'."
"Don' look at me!" Race said holding his hands up, "I ain't feelin' lucky tahday." Then the four of them looked over at Spit Fire who hadn't said anything.
"Me?! No!" She said looking back at the four of them. She stood up ready to leave the group when Blink grabbed her arm.
"C'mon you'se soaked dah Bronx leadah, you'se can't be afraid of Jack." Blink laughed a little.
"Plus you'se a goil." Spot said smirking, not that her being a girl had anything to do with it, but he thought it might work, "This kind of job calls fer a women's touch."
"Spot, tell me why that sounds so dirty when you say that?" She said turning to look at him with his cocky smirk, "Any one else can say that and it wouldn't sound anything like the way it sounds coming from you." Spit Fire brushed a few red curls out of her face looking at the four of them.
"C'mon, Fire." Mush begged her with the you can't resists my sad puppy dog eyes face.
"Fine." She sighed and then took a deep breath, "Fearless leader of Brooklyn, my ass…" She laughed, "And the three wuss-keteers."
"We hoid d'at." Spot called to her.
"Good I meant for you to hear it." Spit Fire looked back at them and Spot started to the death march as she walked, "So supportive." She said rather sarcastically.
Fire turned around and faced towards where she was going. She looked at Jack and swallowed hard, "Hey Jack." She said to him quietly and waited to see his reaction.
"What?!" He asked in a low growl.
"We're just concerned about you. What's bothering you?" She asked him quietly looking at him with a soft look.
"Nothin'! Nothin's botherin' me!" He shouted at her throwing his hands in the air, "I don' need you'se botherin' me about it." Jack said pushing her back into a bunk.
Spit Fire looked at Jack he had never acted this way. She stood up again, "Jack…" She whispered. He spun around his face full of anger.
"Whad do you'se wan' from me Fire?" He asked. Fire recoiled when Jack shouted at her. Jack noticed that she had backed away from him when he shouted, "Sorry Fire." He climbed out to the fire escape. Fire followed him out onto the fire escape.
"Jack, please talk to me we are all worried." She said to him quietly as she placed a hand on his arm and gently rubbed it.
Jack looked out over the city, "Me fadda's gettin' out of jail few days." Jack took his hat off and ran his hand through his hair again; he didn't even look over to Spit Fire.