Disclaimer-I do not own the character Racetrack. Disney owns him. I also do not own the song. Maroon 5 does.
Racetrack used to sit at the corner across from Tibby's everyday and watch the girls walk home from school. There was one girl in particular that interested him though. A tiny one with chocolate brown hair that fell in waves to her waist. She seemed confused all the time and she could usually be found on the arm of a boy. Race thought she was beautiful. He was always willing to help a friend in need, and though he didn't know her personally he approached when he realized she looked sad.
Beauty queen of only eighteen.
She had some trouble with herself.
He was always there to help her.
She always belonged to someone else.
He had followed her home that day. Walking for a good 3 miles before they reached her house. She lived on the outskirts of the city in a little house. He had seen her pass everyday but as he followed her home, he realized he'd never get enough of her.
"What's ya name?" He asked when he finally caught up.
She jumped at his voice and said something he didn't understand. Then she composed herself. "Keiki."
"What? Where ya from?"
"Not New York. Why do you ask me so much? Wait...you're that boy on the corner! The one with all the friends...?"
Race laughed. "Yeah dat's me. I'm Racetrack."
"Well, I'm actually from a little island very far away called Hawaii."
"Oh...ya a long way from home, Keiki."
"My father got a better job working here."
"Yeah? Well, I see ya everyday an' I can't get ovah how pretty ya are."
She blushed. "Thank you...Racetrack."
"Ya see, I couldn't take it anymore. I had ta talk ta ya."
She smiled and then a woman opened the door to the house. "Keiki! Get in here before your father gets home!" Keiki turned to face Racetrack.
"Maybe I'll stop to talk to you and those friends of yours someday. I have to go. Goodbye." She tossed her hair over her shoulder and ran inside.
"I drove for miles and miles
And wound up at your door.
I've had you so many times but somehow
I want more."
From that day on Race stood on the corner everyday, rain or shine to see Keiki. She always looked so miserable coming back from school but he didn't mind. Seeing her face was enough. At least once a week, he would follow her home and they would talk about things. Then her mother would call her and she'd smile...a broken smile...a smile that had seen to much pain to be truly happy, and leave. He wanted so much to tell her how much he liked her...but that was not an option to him.
"I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain.
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved.
She will be loved."
Race had never really talked to a girl like Keiki before. He got nervous around her. She would have noticed had she known him before hand. He had showed her where the Lodging House was one day but it surprised the hell out of him when she showed up tapping on his window one night.
"Race! Open up!" The boy closest to the window was Jack. He pulled her inside.
"Who are ya?" He asked quietly.
"I need to see Racetrack...please?" She sounded upset...scared.
"I'll get him. Stay heah an' don't wake any boys up!" Jack disappeared into the blackness of the room and emerged sometime later with Racetrack.
"Keiki? What da hell are ya doin heah?"
"I need to stay somewhere for awhile. I'm in a lot of trouble!" She had tear streaks on her face and a black eye.
"Who hit ya?!" Race asked, examining the shiner.
"My dad. That's why I need somewhere to stay. He threatened to kill me..."
Race glanced at Jack. "Dat's up ta Jacky-boy. His lodgin' house. Ask him."
Keiki turned to face Jack. "Can I? I'll work, I promise."
Jack looked around at the boys. "Awright. But ya gotta sleep on a bottom bunk undah me or Race. I don't trust all dese guys."
Keiki smiled. "Thank you...Jacky-boy?"
He laughed. "Jack's okay. Race just calls me Jacky-boy cause Spot does."
Race led Keiki back to his bunk. "Ya know ya shoulda told me what was goin on."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"What do ya think about me Keiki? Am I just a friend or am I...somethin' else?"
Keiki looked up and then hugged him. "You're something else."
"Why does ya dad do it?"
"He hates me...thinks I'm some sort of evil, ugly, witch."
"I don't. I'll make ya feel beautiful..."
"I'd like that..." Her lips met his and Race finally got what he wanted. The girl of his dreams.
"Tap on my window knock on my door.
I want to make you feel beautiful.
I know I tend to get so insecure.
It doesn't matter anymore."
Race woke up two weeks later to Keiki's pretty face. "Good morning Anthony Higgens. It's time to wake up!" She kissed him softly and then jumped as Mush snapped her suspenders. "MUSH!" She tore after him down the steps.
Race rolled out of bed, got dressed, and put his cigar in his mouth. That's when he heard the scream. "Keiki!" He ran down the stairs, pushed past Jack, and looked at the scene. A man stood, towering over Keiki. She sat on the floor, a hand on her cheek where a welt was now forming. The man raised his fist to strike her again but Race stepped in front of her. "Who da hell do ya think ya are?!" He snapped.
The man growled. "Out of the way! That's my daughter behind you!"
"Yeah an' it's my goil. Ya ain't touchin' her without comin through me foist!"
The man pushed Race out of the way and grabbed Keiki. Jack came up behind him and struggled until they both fell to the ground. Race joined the fight and after him, half the lodging house. They all eventually got the man unconscious. Keiki sat crying against a wall the entire time.
Race approached her after the fight. "Keiki? Ya okay?"
She shook her head. "I worry about him coming back and taking me away from you all the time. I just want one day where I don't worry about it. A content day."
Race put an arm around her. "Life ain't always rainbows an' butterflies. We gotta give a 'lil ta get a 'lil. But even if he does take ya away, ya come here. My heart is full of ya an' my door's always open.
"It's not always rainbows and butterflies.
It's compromise that moves us along.
My heart is full and my door's always open,
You can come anytime you want."
Keiki smiled. "Maybe I should go back for my mother. She loved me for real."
"So do I." He kissed her.
"I know..."
So Keiki went home and Race went back to his usual ritual of watching her come home from school. She always stopped now, to kiss him or say hello. He'd ask her to stay awhile and she'd turn him down saying she had to go to her mother. "If ya evah come back, ya know ya loved heah Keiki," He whispered. "I love ya."
"I love you too."
"I don't mind spending everyday.
Out on your corner in the pouring rain.
Look for the girl with the broken smile,
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved.
She will be loved."
After Keiki stopped coming to school, she stopped passing Racetrack everyday. She would stop in sometimes, but it got few and far between. It hurt Race, but he knew all of her secrets, knew where'd she come if she needed help. When she finally said she wasn't coming back, he knew she would. She came back every time she said that. And she did. She came back...and when Race left the newsies, they got married. It was something Race could have never predicted. The forlorn girl walking home had been loved by one boy without a family and that puppy love changed both their lives.
Racetrack used to sit at the corner across from Tibby's everyday and watch the girls walk home from school. There was one girl in particular that interested him though. A tiny one with chocolate brown hair that fell in waves to her waist. She seemed confused all the time and she could usually be found on the arm of a boy. Race thought she was beautiful. He was always willing to help a friend in need, and though he didn't know her personally he approached when he realized she looked sad.
Beauty queen of only eighteen.
She had some trouble with herself.
He was always there to help her.
She always belonged to someone else.
He had followed her home that day. Walking for a good 3 miles before they reached her house. She lived on the outskirts of the city in a little house. He had seen her pass everyday but as he followed her home, he realized he'd never get enough of her.
"What's ya name?" He asked when he finally caught up.
She jumped at his voice and said something he didn't understand. Then she composed herself. "Keiki."
"What? Where ya from?"
"Not New York. Why do you ask me so much? Wait...you're that boy on the corner! The one with all the friends...?"
Race laughed. "Yeah dat's me. I'm Racetrack."
"Well, I'm actually from a little island very far away called Hawaii."
"Oh...ya a long way from home, Keiki."
"My father got a better job working here."
"Yeah? Well, I see ya everyday an' I can't get ovah how pretty ya are."
She blushed. "Thank you...Racetrack."
"Ya see, I couldn't take it anymore. I had ta talk ta ya."
She smiled and then a woman opened the door to the house. "Keiki! Get in here before your father gets home!" Keiki turned to face Racetrack.
"Maybe I'll stop to talk to you and those friends of yours someday. I have to go. Goodbye." She tossed her hair over her shoulder and ran inside.
"I drove for miles and miles
And wound up at your door.
I've had you so many times but somehow
I want more."
From that day on Race stood on the corner everyday, rain or shine to see Keiki. She always looked so miserable coming back from school but he didn't mind. Seeing her face was enough. At least once a week, he would follow her home and they would talk about things. Then her mother would call her and she'd smile...a broken smile...a smile that had seen to much pain to be truly happy, and leave. He wanted so much to tell her how much he liked her...but that was not an option to him.
"I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain.
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved.
She will be loved."
Race had never really talked to a girl like Keiki before. He got nervous around her. She would have noticed had she known him before hand. He had showed her where the Lodging House was one day but it surprised the hell out of him when she showed up tapping on his window one night.
"Race! Open up!" The boy closest to the window was Jack. He pulled her inside.
"Who are ya?" He asked quietly.
"I need to see Racetrack...please?" She sounded upset...scared.
"I'll get him. Stay heah an' don't wake any boys up!" Jack disappeared into the blackness of the room and emerged sometime later with Racetrack.
"Keiki? What da hell are ya doin heah?"
"I need to stay somewhere for awhile. I'm in a lot of trouble!" She had tear streaks on her face and a black eye.
"Who hit ya?!" Race asked, examining the shiner.
"My dad. That's why I need somewhere to stay. He threatened to kill me..."
Race glanced at Jack. "Dat's up ta Jacky-boy. His lodgin' house. Ask him."
Keiki turned to face Jack. "Can I? I'll work, I promise."
Jack looked around at the boys. "Awright. But ya gotta sleep on a bottom bunk undah me or Race. I don't trust all dese guys."
Keiki smiled. "Thank you...Jacky-boy?"
He laughed. "Jack's okay. Race just calls me Jacky-boy cause Spot does."
Race led Keiki back to his bunk. "Ya know ya shoulda told me what was goin on."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"What do ya think about me Keiki? Am I just a friend or am I...somethin' else?"
Keiki looked up and then hugged him. "You're something else."
"Why does ya dad do it?"
"He hates me...thinks I'm some sort of evil, ugly, witch."
"I don't. I'll make ya feel beautiful..."
"I'd like that..." Her lips met his and Race finally got what he wanted. The girl of his dreams.
"Tap on my window knock on my door.
I want to make you feel beautiful.
I know I tend to get so insecure.
It doesn't matter anymore."
Race woke up two weeks later to Keiki's pretty face. "Good morning Anthony Higgens. It's time to wake up!" She kissed him softly and then jumped as Mush snapped her suspenders. "MUSH!" She tore after him down the steps.
Race rolled out of bed, got dressed, and put his cigar in his mouth. That's when he heard the scream. "Keiki!" He ran down the stairs, pushed past Jack, and looked at the scene. A man stood, towering over Keiki. She sat on the floor, a hand on her cheek where a welt was now forming. The man raised his fist to strike her again but Race stepped in front of her. "Who da hell do ya think ya are?!" He snapped.
The man growled. "Out of the way! That's my daughter behind you!"
"Yeah an' it's my goil. Ya ain't touchin' her without comin through me foist!"
The man pushed Race out of the way and grabbed Keiki. Jack came up behind him and struggled until they both fell to the ground. Race joined the fight and after him, half the lodging house. They all eventually got the man unconscious. Keiki sat crying against a wall the entire time.
Race approached her after the fight. "Keiki? Ya okay?"
She shook her head. "I worry about him coming back and taking me away from you all the time. I just want one day where I don't worry about it. A content day."
Race put an arm around her. "Life ain't always rainbows an' butterflies. We gotta give a 'lil ta get a 'lil. But even if he does take ya away, ya come here. My heart is full of ya an' my door's always open.
"It's not always rainbows and butterflies.
It's compromise that moves us along.
My heart is full and my door's always open,
You can come anytime you want."
Keiki smiled. "Maybe I should go back for my mother. She loved me for real."
"So do I." He kissed her.
"I know..."
So Keiki went home and Race went back to his usual ritual of watching her come home from school. She always stopped now, to kiss him or say hello. He'd ask her to stay awhile and she'd turn him down saying she had to go to her mother. "If ya evah come back, ya know ya loved heah Keiki," He whispered. "I love ya."
"I love you too."
"I don't mind spending everyday.
Out on your corner in the pouring rain.
Look for the girl with the broken smile,
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved.
She will be loved."
After Keiki stopped coming to school, she stopped passing Racetrack everyday. She would stop in sometimes, but it got few and far between. It hurt Race, but he knew all of her secrets, knew where'd she come if she needed help. When she finally said she wasn't coming back, he knew she would. She came back every time she said that. And she did. She came back...and when Race left the newsies, they got married. It was something Race could have never predicted. The forlorn girl walking home had been loved by one boy without a family and that puppy love changed both their lives.