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Expectations...
The Infamous Spot Conlon...
The Fighter...
The Smart Mouth...
The Newsie...
The King of Brooklyn...
The scrawny 90 pound kid who can beat up men four times his weight
Sure, people like to talk and the stories get bigger and more amazing with every telling
In the eyes of young newsies he is a super hero
He is Peter, they are the Lost Boys
His image and shadow are huge and intimating
His shadow covers me
Did it ever occur to him that his childhood was not ideal?
That not every newsie lives like a king ?
That most people fear Brooklyn instead of ruling it?
That just because he is proud to not have a real name , his daughter would feel the same?
That Speckle is an absurd name for a girl?
That no one can live up to his expectations?
He would never understand that I don't want to rule Brooklyn
That I don't like to fight
That I'm not a rebel
That I don't care if people think im too girly
My dreams are not of power or money
That I'm not insulted by newsies treating me nicer than the guys
But I don't expect it either
That I love my mother and I don't think she's too soft
That I don't want to be tough like him
I want to love
I don't want to close off my heart and become cold to the world, a stranger to emotion
He will never know...
I don't want his reputation
That I don't want to be just like he was at my age
That I don't want to soak the scabs every chance I get
That I will never live up to his expectations
It would kill me to be like him
and it would kill him to know