Hey guys, so in Social Studies, we are currently learning about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. I got this idea for a romance involving a girl and Jack Kelly! So I figured I'd post it here. I'm sorry but Katherine and Jack never met in this story, it's after the strike and a man wrote the article, not Katherine (For the sake of my plot) Well, I hope you like it.
"Paper! Paper! Train crashed on way in ta Brooklyn! 3 killed!" Jack shouted headlines all day. The headlines in the paper were boring; nothing even the great Jack Kelly could sell. When papers were this bad, he did what he always did, made up the headline. "Paper! Paper!" Jack shouted as he paced in his typical selling spot. It was a slow day. Finally, a customer approached. "Hello, I'll take a paper." A girl, who looked around the age of 17 approached. She had black hair, black as a raven, she had green eyes that made Jack's stomach flip upside down, and she was very slender and average height. She wore a white long sleeve blouse, a brown belt and a purple skirt that trailed behind her.
"How much?" She asked as she reached him. Jack had to gather himself to answer her question. "5 cents." Jack said as he shifted his hat on his head. The girl pulled open her bag, which was basically a bunch of old rags sewn together, and dug through it for a nickel. She pulled one out and was about to hand it to Jack when she pulled her hand back. "Hey, ya gonna buy or not?"Jack said, getting annoyed. The girl played a smirk on her face. She was trying to annoy him. "I'm Emma, what's your name?" she asked, not answering his question. "Jack. Jack Kelly." Jack said, seeming proud of his name.
"Jack Kelly? The boy who lead the Newsie strike?" Emma asked. Jack nodded, laughing at her excitement. She handed the nickel to him, taking the paper. "Well, have a good day selling." She turned to walk away, when Jack caught her wrist. "Hey, where do ya work?" he asked, wanting to get to know her more. "Look, see that tall building?" Emma said, directing Jack to the building. "That's the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. I'm a seamstress." Emma stuffed her paper in her bag. "Oh, a workin' girl." Emma laughed at his statement. She took the time to notice his amazing features. His blue eyes shone brightly in the daylight. His mess of brown hair was tucked into a newsboy cap. He had a thin yet muscular frame. "Well, I should go. I have to get home." Emma said, looking at s clock on the outside of the building. "Well I hope ta see ya again." Jack said, tipping his hat to her. "You too, you seem very nice. Bye, see you soon" Emma said, as she turned and left.
Jack rushed down the street. He was selling late and he had to get to the lodging house before the doors locked. Jack ran up to the door and swung it open. "Hey Jackie-boy. Why so late?" Race asked, looking up from a game of poker he, Mush, Albert and JoJo were playing. "I just wanted ta sell a couple more papes taday." Jack said as he made his way to his cot.
He pulled his sketchpad out and began to sketch the details to a girl whose face was etched in his mind all night. He added her black hair. He sketched the beautiful sparkle he saw in her eyes. He added the beautiful freckles he noticed. He finished and looked at his work. It was Emma. A girl he just met, he was now sketching? Was it love at first sight? No, he was Jack Kelly, and love at first sight was for suckers. He had to get over this. He tore the sketch out of his book but couldn't bring himself to crumble it and throw it away. He neatly folded it, and tucked it in the back of his sketchpad.
"Hey, Jack. Whatcha' doin'?" Crutchie said as he slowly made his way over. Jack pulled off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. He had to think about how to respond to that. If he said he met a girl, the boys would not stop the mockery. "Nothin', just sketchin'." Jack said, handing Crutchie his sketch book. Crutchie flipped through the book, amazement showing on his face. He flipped until he saw a stray paper shoved in the back. He pulled it out and saw a sketch of a beautiful girl with dark hair and light eyes. "Hey Jackie, who's this?" Crutchie asked in a mocking tone. Jack's eyes widened at the realization that Crutchie found his sketch. "Ah, gimme dat!" Jack shouted, jumping from his cot.
Crutchie limped off quickly, rushing into the room with the other newsies. He showed all the boys the sketch and said it was some girl Jack was crazy about. Race fell over laughing, excited to get to deride Jack. Jack rushed into the room to find all the boys gathered around Crutchie and his sketch of Emma. He saw Race rolling on the floor laughing. "Hey, give in back!" Jack said, holding out his hand. Crutchie limped over and gave his back the sketch. Jack folded it up and put it in his back pocket.
"So Jack, who's that girl?" Davey asked, sitting back in his chair. All the boys chimed in with Yeahs and Ohhhs. Jack smacked his hand on his face. He knew this would happen if they saw the sketch. "Nobody." Jack said, taking a seat near Davey. "Sure, it's not that girl I saw you talking with this morning?" Albert said. "Cause it sure looks like her." Jack was going insane in his head. He loved his newsies, but they could be the most annoying people ever. "So what if it is?" Jack said, his annoyance showing in her voice. "Nothing, it's just we've never seen our Jackie-boy in love." Mush said, as he got back to his poker game.
"Ugh, I'll see ya boys in da mornin'." Jack said, unbuttoning his vest and walking back to his cot. He took off his hat, his vest and his blue shirt. He walked over to his cot with only his striped tank top, brown suspenders, and his old pants. Jack lay in his cot, trying to get sleep. He couldn't. The last time he couldn't sleep like this, was the strike when everything was unexpected. But now, he and the boys were fine. So what could possibly be keeping him up? Emma.
Hey guys, so what do you think? Sorry Katherine's not in this story, but I just love the character of Jack Kelly and really wanted to experiment with him and an original character. But don't worry; there will be more Jack and Katherine stories. I'm updating Rock of Newsies and More Than Just a Talent soon, so Yay! Please review! Reviews are confidence boosters. -Aly