And they all get them out
For the boys in the band
And they twist and they shout
For the boys in the band
-The Libertines
A/N: The Newsies as a band called…The Newsies.
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Jack Kelly sat outside at a casting call. Some band was looking for a guitarist. Jack had always dreamed of playing in a band, but he was always too busy to try out. He had work and school and soccer and his social life. In fact, he had missed practice just to come today. Normally, he just dreamed about becoming a singer. He'd write songs alone in his room and sing in the shower. He knew that someday he'd go out and hit it big. He even had a name for his band, Santa Fe. On the way to school that morning, he'd seen the audition notice posted on a message board outside his favorite CD store. All day, he'd been debating whether or not to go. When the bell finally rang at the end of the school day, he'd headed down to the soccer field. Just before he reached the gym, he impulsively turned around and ran all the way home to get his guitar, than he ran to the studio and signed in.
He is now sitting outside, still a little sweaty, and waiting with a group of auditioners. There are about twenty people, including a girl with pink hair, some old guy with a long ponytail, a kid with really bad acne and a boy who Jack recognizes from school.
Jack's nervous, so he feels like talking. "Aren't you in my French class?" He asks the boy. The boy is sitting in a chair with his feet up on another chair (even though a few people are standing) and plucks his guitar looking bored. He has cool blue eyes and lazy blonde hair covered by a newsboy cap.
He looks at Jack and shrugs. "I don't know, maybe."
"Miss Goudot, third period?" Jack asks.
The boy shrugs again like he can't be bothered to remember what class he's in. Jack has actually heard of him outside of class. His name is Spot Conlon and he is famous for getting into trouble, getting girls and getting into trouble with girls. He always sat in the back during French class with a bored expression and gave the teacher attitude if she asked him to do anything. Jack was pretty much the opposite. He had big dreams, so he worked hard. He wasn't above exaggerating or manipulating, but he didn't act like a tough guy.
Jack doesn't really care if Spot doesn't want to talk, because he does. "So, do you know what type of band this is?" He asks Spot.
Spot shrugs again. "No."
The old guy with the long hair turns to them. "It's a folk pop trio," he says.
Jack and Spot look at one another in horror.
"Let's get out of here," Jack says.
"Fast," Spot finishes.
They walk away from the studio together. Jack pauses to light a cigarette.
"You smoke?" Spot asks, surprised.
"No, never, it's bad for you," Jack replies, smoke streaming from his lips.
Spot laughs. "I just thought you were, you know," Spot says.
"I hate how everyone thinks that. I mean, just because I have this sweet and innocent look," Jack jokes.
"Are you kidding me?" Spot says, motioning to his baby face. "It's good though, helps me get away with things," he smiles like he's remembering something funny.
"Yeah," Jack nods, agreeing.
"Hey, Jack!" A voice yells from across the street. It's Jack's friend Dave. He has brillo pad hair and blue eyes and his soccer cleats are slung over his shoulder. Dave jogs over. Jack notices Spot roll his eyes. "Where were you today?" Dave asks, noticing the guitars.
"I went to this audition thing," Jack replies.
"Oh, how did it go?"
"Well, actually, it turned out to be something I wasn't really interested in."
"Oh, so do you want to, like, play in a band?" Dave asks.
"Hey, Jack, can I get a cigarette?" Spot interrupts. Jack hands him one and his stub to light it.
"I don't know," Jack says in response to Dave.
"Really? 'Cause I think that'd be so cool. Hey, if you do have a band, I could manage you. I could set up gigs and make flyers and t-shirts and"-
"Jeez!" Spot exclaims. "What are you? Some kind of walking mouth?"
"I'm just saying," Dave continues. "If you have a band, you can get people to listen to you, you can make a difference, you can incite change"-
"Hold up," Spot says, stopping. "Go back to that part about people listening to me."
"Well, everybody knows musicians have a huge global influence. I mean, with politics, charity, even fashion. And then of course there's the groupies…"
"Hmm…I say yes to that," Jack says. "What do you say Spot?"
"I say that what you say, is what I say."
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"So, whadda we gotta do now, Dave?" Jack asks. They are sitting in the food court at the mall, talking about band plans and checking out girls.
"Well," Dave says. "You two both play guitar. Who sings?"
"I do," they both say in unison.
"Okay," Dave says, "two lead singers. So we need a drummer and a base guitarist. Maybe keyboards, too, depending on what we want our sound to be. Do you guys know anyone?" Spot and Jack shrug. "Then we're going to have to hold our own auditions. We can post up notices, do you know anyone with a printer?"
Jack nods. "I know somebody."
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"Ouch!" Spot hits his head on a low shelf.
"Shh!" demands Jack. "Right up stairs," he points above them. The nighttime security box is on the second floor.
"I hope the principal doesn't mind us using the school computers," Dave says nervously.
"I just hope I get the chance to thank him for it…maybe on our first CD cover," Jack jokes.
They are quiet as Dave creates the notice on the computer. "I should have got Denton to help me with this," he mumbles to himself. "We should have just waited until normal school hours," he says to Jack and Spot.
"Aww, c'mon Davey, seize the day," Spot replies.
"Send out the call and join the fray!" Jack adds.
"Oh, that's good," comments Dave. "Write that down, we need to start working on some lyrics. And, we're going to need a name."
"I kind of like city names…" Jack suggests.
"Like Brooklyn?" Spot asks.
Jack shakes his head. "I was thinking more along the lines of Santa Fe."
"It has to mean something," Dave says, "to all of us, it needs to deliver a message."
"Deliver, hmm…" Jack thinks for a second. He notices Spot's newsboy cap. "What about something like The News?"
"Already been done," Spot comments.
"Yeah," Dave says, "but I like where we're going. You know, at the turn of the century, all the newsboys in New York held a strike against the publishers, who were the most powerful men on earth at that time. These dirty rejects living on the streets beat out the most influential men of the time."
"That's pretty cool," Spot comments.
"Yeah," Jack agrees.
"They called them "The Newsies"," Dave finishes.
"Hmm…The Newsies, I kind of like it," Jack says.
"Yeah," Spot agrees. "Me too."
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Yeah! They have a name, next up auditions! Try to guess who will play what. Also, review because it makes me happy.