Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies, sadly, they belong to Disney. Mac, however, is my own creation. Please read and review!
The first thing I smell when I wake up is Snitch's feet. Again. He somehow manages to stick them in my face every morning. As usual, I feign mild annoyance and push his feet away, to which he protests, but neither of us mean it meanly. It's more like our morning ritual; our way of saying Good Morning to each other.
Smelly feet..
To be honest, I don't mind the smell that much. When you have as many siblings as I have, all squashed into one tiny room, you get used to unpleasant aromas. Besides, the general smell here at the Lodging House isn't much better, especially in the summer, what with 20-odd hot, sweaty boys sharing a room.
Smelly feet...
Unlike most of my friends, I still have a family, but when my Papa got ill and lost his job, we lost nearly all of the little we had, and so I and my two older brothers, Alberto and Benito, went looking for jobs of our own. That's how I became a Newsie. But even what we earned between us didn't buy us much, even after we'd sold nearly everything we had, and we ended up more or less living in a single room. And with four boys – Alberto, Benito, me (Christian) and Dante – and two girls – Annetta and little Loretta – it became a very smelly affair!
Smelly feet...
It wasn't a conscious decision on my part to leave home; I just began to spend less and less time there, and more and more time with my fellow Newsies. The advantage of this is that the money that my brothers earn has to stretch to one less person, and I am able to support myself (most of the time).
I rarely see my family these days, but now I have a new family, though admittedly a much rowdier (and smellier!) family than the one I left behind. Of course I miss my real family, but I belong here now and I love almost every minute!
I have a new name – Itey – I have a new life as a Newsie, and a lot of new friends, especially my best friend, Snitch, who has been my closest companion for 5 years now.
Smelly feet...
Sometimes, if I've had a bad day, I find myself longing for the warm arms of my Mama, for the games I used to play with little Dante, for the feel of baby Loretta's hand in mine, even the smell of my siblings after a hard day's work, but I am never down for long. Snitch knows just how to cheer me up, and we laugh and play and generally forget the cruel world we live in, if only for a little while, until we have to move on again.
Smelly feet...
The first thing I smell when I wake up is Snitch's feet. Again. He somehow manages to stick them in my face every morning. But I don't really mind the smell. In fact, I don't mind at all. Because when I smell Snitch's smelly feet, I am transported – just for a moment – back to that place I left so long ago.
And so, never underestimate the power of smelly feet, because they may just take you home.