Natalia Wardle
Tamara McGhie
Period 2
Jersey City Vs. Manhattan
Two girls quietly crept towards the open window. The one in the front wore a faded dark green, button down shirt, and long black pants. Snap! Blade spun around to face the girl behind her, Scy.
"Shhh!! Keep it quiet back there Scy!" she whispered hastily. "We got a job to do here, we gotta get it done, and the more quiet, the better. I don't want them to know we're here." Scy looked at Blade as if to say sorry and smoothed her long dirty blonde hair. Blade sighed and turned around quickly, her own shoulder length black hair hitting her in the face. She brushed it off. Blade silently motioned Scy towards the open window and the two slowly crept to it.
"I-I don't get it Bat, what...what we gonna do?" A whiny voice stuttered. The girls faces appeared at the window, but no one saw them. In the room five boys were scattered about. Some sitting, another standing, all but one looking confidently down at a piece of paper on a small makeshift table. The smallest boy nervously wrung his hands together while asking the tallest boy questions.
"S-so Bat, w-what are we plannin' ta do?" The tallest boy, Bat, scowled at the other.
"I told ya once, I told ya a million times, Sparky! We'se plannin' on takin' over Manhattan. Those newsies over there are pushovers, so I've been told. We can take their territory no problem. With the Jersey City newsies selling all throughout Jersey and New York now, 'cept Brooklyn, we'll become the most powerful and richest bunch of newsies in the world! It won't be so crowded here that way. No more 'Extra! Extra! Read all about it!' in each others ears. We can spread out all over, hawking the headlines. So," he said, turning towards the table, "when we go ta Manhattan, we'll go from here." Bat pointed to a spot on the piece of paper.
Back at the window Blade turned to a very nervous Scy and whispered, "Lets get outta here Scy, we've heard enough." The two girls silently climbed down from the window and ran into the darkness, back to Brooklyn, New York.
~*~*~*~
"I'm telling you Scy, this whole thing will bring no good." Blade shook her head as the two girls kept running. Scy nodded silently in response.
"We should slow down, or we're going to miss the place Spot told us to meet him at." The girls slowed down and looked around, listening to the silence. Both girls jumped at the sound of a whistle. They turned towards the sound. Up in the fire escape of a nearby building stood Spot Conlon, leader of the Brooklyn newsies. He smirked at the girls, showing his power. He jumped down and landed in front of the girls.
"So Scy, Blade," he said looking at each in turn, "What news do you bring me?" he asked, crossing his arms and raising his head, waiting for an answer. The girls glanced at each other and then looked at Spot. Blade took half a step forward and reported.
"Well Spot, its just like you thought. Bat and his gang are plannin' to take over Manhattan." Spot slowly nodded, thinking.
"So Spot, what we gonna do?" Spot looked over at Blade.
"Right now girls, I've got to see Jack." The girls looked at each other, confused.
"But Spot, it's the middle of the night, well kinda. I would actually say more around sunrise. But, isn't it kinda late, or early, to be bursting in on Jacky-boy?" Scy looked over at Blade in shock. She knew, along with everyone else in New York, that nobody talks to Spot Conlon that way. Nervously she waited to see what Spot would do. Surprisingly, he sighed and slightly lowered his head.
"Your probably right Blade. I guess I'll wait till sunrise at least." Blade nodded.
"Yeah, go back to the lodging house and get some sleep. I don't want you yelling at me later cuz your cranky!" Blade yelled at Spot raising and eyebrow and crossing her arms in front of her.
Spot chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, sure. I'll see you two girls later." Spot walked off towards the Brooklyn Lodging house as the two girls went their separate ways.
~*~*~*~
"Get up! Get up! The ink is wet, the presses are rolling! Come on, sell those papers!" The Manhattan newsboys groaned at the sound of the caretaker of the Newsboys Lodging House. A groggy voice came from the far side of the room.
"Kloppman, it's too early to get up." It yelled.
"Mush! Come on, get outta bed!" Kloppman, the old, gentle caretaker nudged the curly haired boy playfully. Slowly Mush crawled out of his bed by the window and shuffled towards the washroom, where he found Jack. Jack Kelly was the leader of the Manhattan Newsboys. Just about anyone could recognize him with his trademark cowboy hat and red bandana around his neck.
"Mornin' Cowboy." Mush called, using the nickname given to Jack by the hanging cowboy hat and bandana. "Ready to sell papes?" Mush asked Jack, looking up slightly. Jack smirked and ran his hand through his light brown hair.
"Yeah, yeah, lets get outta here." Both boys walked out of the lodging house with all the other boys towards the sound of the circulation bell.
~*~*~*~
The sun was directly overhead and Jack only had a few papers left to sell. He walked down an alley way that connected to the next busy street. An old beer bottle laid in his path and he casually kicked it aside. As he started to walk on, he suddenly heard something whiz past his year. The whiz was followed by the sound of breaking glass. Jack spun around and saw the bottle, shattered into many, many pieces. He walked back to it and stooped down, examining it. Among the remains of the bottle lied a small blue marble. Jack smiled.
"Where are ya Spot?" Jack said looking around. All Brooklyn newsies were well known for their good aim with slingshots. Their leader was no exception. A whistle was heard from above and Jack looked up. Spot was on the roof of a nearby building looking down on his friend and fellow newsie. He climbed down the fire-escape quickly and with ease. Finally, he jumped down next to Jack.
"What brings you to Manhattan, Spot?" Jack asked with a big smile. When he saw that Spot wasn't smiling back his face changed to a frowned.
"A little bird told me something Jack. Told me Bat and the other Jersey City newsies were planning to take over the Manhattan territory." At this news Jack grew angry and upset. He wasn't happy that someone would dare take over his territory, his life.
"Oh yeah? Did the bird tell ya' when?"
"No." Spot was very serious. He was known as the toughest newsie in all of New York and he didn't like to but in on other people's business.
"Well, we'll have ta get prepared. But it's too late now. The rest of the boys 'll be heading towards the lodging house. I'll tell 'em about it and we'll start getting ready tomorrow." Satisfied, the two boys left the alley. But,as they would soon find out, tomorrow would be too late.
~*~*~*~
The next morning the boys were both excited and angry. No one wanted their territory taken over. They wanted to be ready when the Jersey City newsies hit. The plan was to meet at 10:00, after a morning of selling their papers. Each newsie got their stacks of papers and went their separate ways. Everything looked normal. Little did they know that danger awaited at every corner.
~*~*~*~
Blink walked towards Tibby's, the newsboys favorite diner. He had planned to meet with Mush to get a bite to eat before the meeting began. He was a blonde boy known for his great smile and his one blue eye. He always wore a patch over his left eye which earned him the nickname Blink.
"Heya' Blink!" He heard his friend Mush call from behind. He turned and saw his most frequent selling partner. Mush usually wore his favorite pair of shorts. He had curly brown hair and brown puppy dog eyes. He was one of the strongest newsies, but still had a baby face, even at 16.
"Hey Mush! Let's eat!" Blink yelled as they walked together to their favorite diner. On their way they saw a crouched figure. They went closer to it and saw that the figure was a fellow newsie. It was Bumlets. Bumlets was a newsie usually fawned over by the girls. He had a to-die for smile and soft, dark brown eyes. But now he would not be considered so attractive. His hair was ratted and hanging in his face. It looked damp and was askew.
"Hey Bumlets, you OK?" Blink asked as the figure lifted his head. Bumlets had obviously been beaten up. His face was a jumble of red and purple bruises and cuts, and his clothes were matted and dirty. His sleeve was red with the blood he had tried to soak up from the cut above his right eye. Blink and Mush gasped.
"Bumlets!? What happened to you?" Mush asked. Blink looked at Bumlets, then at Mush.
"Mush, you help me. We gotta get him back to the Lodging House, he can talk to us there." The two boys gently picked up their friend and helped him to the Duane St. Newsboys Lodging House.
~*~*~*~
Jack burst out of the washroom yelling.
"Those dirty rotten scabbers! Those Jersey boys are gonna get it!" He punched the wall. Several boys jumped back. Jack was furious.
"So it was the Jerseys then?" Race asked, lighting a cigar. Jack nodded. "How many Jack?"
"15 so far," Jack said looking down. Just then another group of boys ran in with Crutchy. Crutchy was the "gimp." He had hurt his leg a long time ago and had a crutch ever since. He was beat up just as bad, if not worse than the rest of the boys. Jack sighed. " Never mind Race, 16." A young boy named Snipeshooter ran up the stairs from the lobby.
"Jack, someone's here to see you." Jack looked surprised, but followed Snipeshooter down the stairs. At the bottom was Bat.
"Why you-"
"Tsk Tsk Jack, I really don't think your in a place to be threatening me. Most of your boys are down, so I hear."
"No kidding Bat, yer dirty rotten gang soaked a bunch of me boys. What do you think yer doin'?" Some other boys gathered at the stairs when they heard the commotion.
"It don't matter, but if I were you, I'd stay outta our way. Let us do our thing. You and your girly bunch of boys can just go somewhere else. Why don't ya just go to Brooklyn? Ha ha! Oh, no wait, you guys are all scared of those tough Brooklyn newsies aren't you? Boo Hoo, poor babies! HAHAHA!!" Bat laughed as he walked out, slamming the door behind him. The boys stood silent. Specs, an older newsie that wore glasses, spoke first.
"They don't know we're with Brooklyn. They think we're scared of them." Just then the door opened again. All the boys glared at the intruder. A boy about Jack's height with curly brown hair and a blue vest walked in the door.
"Hey, is everyone OK?" David looked around at the familiar faces with concern. " Whoa, why is everyone staring at me?" The boys relaxed. Jack walked up to David.
"Glad your here Davy. We need some help. The Jersey City newsies are taking over. They soaked more than half of us just today. I don't know what we should do." This was typical of the two boys. This was not the first time Jack asked David for help. Most of the boys went to David for advice and the reason was clear. David came from a good family, he was not an orphan like most of the boys. He had gone to school and knew a lot compared to the rest of them. "Bat was even saying we should go to Brooklyn, other than the fact that he thinks we are scared of them. So David, what we gonna do?"
David thought for a moment. "We're gonna do exactly what they told you to do."
"Huh?"
"Go to Brooklyn. Its obvious that he doesn't know you and Spot are friends, so he wont expect them to help you fight. I mean, the Brooklyn newsies are the toughest newsies in New York, everyone knows that." David smiled at Jack. Jack grinned back, nodding his head in agreement.
~*~*~*~
"So Spot, what do you think? You gonna help us?" Jack and David pleaded. They had both gone to see Spot and were now at the docks. Spot sat on a tower of crates like a king ruling over his kingdom. Most of his newsies had left when they saw that Spot wanted to talk to Jack, but a few of them stayed behind to see what was going on. Spot looked over at a certain group of his newsies which Jack recognized as his most trusted group. It was made up of three boys and four girls. The boys of the group were the sub leaders of the Brooklyn newsies, including Fox, a tall red haired boy, who was second in command of the Brooklyn newsboys. Hawk, a dark haired muscular guy, was the leader of Spot's little birds, or spies. The last one was Slick, a brown haired boy with a ring attached to a string necklace, was third in command. Most of the girls were the little birds. Jack recognized Ice and Rose from their visits to Manhattan. The other two Jack didn't know at all. One had dirty blonde hair that came nearly down to her waist, hazels eyes, and pale skin. The other had black shoulder length hair, freckles, and a black choker.
"So, what do you guys, think?" Spot asked, turning once again to his group. "Anyone? Anything ta say? What about you Scy?" At this comment, the girls chuckled, knowing that Scy was given the name Silence because of how little she spoke to others.
"I-I think that we should help the Manhattan newsies out." She whispered shakily. Spot's eyes widened, along with everyone else's. There was a long silence. Blade spoke first.
"Well, if Scy actually talked for this, I think that we should help out!" Everyone looked at Spot, waiting for approval. Spot shrugged.
"Well, if Scy was willin' to talk fer it, I say what have we got ta loose?" Spot said chuckling. The other's agreed.
~*~*~*~
The following days were busy. After Spot agreed to help, they got organized. They started getting some sling-shots and other things that would be helpful in the big fight against the Jersey City newsies. Race, Blink, Mush, Jack and Davy were learning to shoot the sling-shots and the other boys were practicing their boxing. With the excitement of the coming fight the wounded boys were healing fast. They all wanted to help and needed to get better before they could do that. Everyone was excited and ready to soak some scabs.
~*~*~*~
The day had come. The Jersey boys had heard of the plans to fight, so they decided to take on the Manhattan boys. The Manhattan boys all agreed to keep the younger newsies out of the fight, so they made sure they were all in the Lodging House and let Scy watch over them. They complained about wanting to help, but Jack held his ground. Soon the older boys left and headed for 22nd Street. There was a large alley there, hidden from the public eye. There they could have their quarrel without the cops showing up. The boys marched on, their numbers still small from the injured, but anyone that could come, came. Finally, they reached the alley. Bat and his boys were waiting.
"So, the Cowboy shows up. I didn't think you'd make it," he said, laughing an evil laugh. Suddenly, he stopped and looked straight at Jack. "Get 'um." The Jersey boys ran towards the Manhattan boys, who in return did the same. The fight was on. Punches were thrown and slingshots were fired. After a while Bat found Jack. In all the commotion he shouted. "Your loosing Jack Kelly! You need more men, or maybe girls, cuz that's what your boys hit like! Hahaha!" Jacks blood boiled as he ran at Bat, planning to soak him, but he never had the chance. Someone came up behind Bat, tapping him on the shoulder. As he turned, a fist collided with his face, knocking him down. Blade stood now in front of him, smirking.
"Maybe girls is the way to go, if your weak enough to be hit down by one!" she said, her eyes looking down at Bat. She smirked, put her fingers to her mouth and whistled. Suddenly, from the rooftops and edges of the alley, came the Brooklyn newsies, along with Ice, Rouge, Fox, Hawk, Slick, and of course, the Leader of Brooklyn, Spot Conlon. All aiming slingshots at the Jersey City boys.
"Never fear! Brooklyn's here!" Spot announced. At the sight of Spot and his gang, Bat panicked. He got up and started to run.
"Hey boys!" Blade laughed. "If you wanna catch up, Bat's already outta here." Knowing that they were basically powerless without their leader, the Jersey boys fled. Blade laughed at them as they ran.
"Next time, before you try to take over somewhere, look up the allies! Ha!"
~*~*~*~
The newsies were all at Tibby's, celebrating their victory. At a table near the center of the room, conversation lit up.
"Come on Jack," Blade started, "you can't say ya weren't happy ta see me!"
"Yeah, actually I was starting to get worried cuz you guys weren't showing up."
"Aw, come on, Jack. Ya know I would never leave you hangin'!" Spot said with a smirk. "Even though, if it wasn't for me, you'd still be under the thumb of that scabber, Bat, and all his goons." Blade smacked the back of Spots head.
"What do you mean you?! All of us helped, Spot! Not just you, you bonehead!"She yelled, jumping up onto a chair. Jack nodded, laughing.
"Yeah, yeah, its true. We needed all of you! But hey, we don't have to worry about Bat anymore!" Jack raised his glass of water. "So then, here's to freedom!"
"Freedom!" Everyone echoed, cheering. They had fought for it, won it, and would never lose it to anyone again.