"And stay out!" Oscar Delancey shouts as I am shoved outside and to the ground. His brother, Morris, is right behind him, "You ain't nothing but a worthless girl who won't amount to nothing." And with that, I was fired from the Delancey household.
I wrap my arms around me, trying to keep warm. It was late August, but the nighttime showed signs of fall. I sit on the Delancey's front steps, thinking of places where I could at least spend the night.
Well there ain't no use staying here, I think. Might as well start walkin'. I make my way along the dark streets and alleys of Manhattan. I have no money and none of my possessions. Guess I'll have to sneak back later.
I walk towards a two-story brick building where eruptions of cheers and yells are coming through the windows. The door opens and I can see two boys wrestling within a larger crowd of boys. Ignoring them- and hoping they would ignore me- I pull my sweater closer around my shoulders and hurry past. Just as I am passing, one of the boys- the loser- went tumbling down the steps and ultimately knocks me over.
"Oi! Watch where yer-" says the boy as he lifts himself off of me, but stopping mid-sentence when he sees me. He removes his hat, as do many of the other boys in the doorway. "Dear me, miss. Sorry 'bout dat. Me friend and me was just-"
"It's fine," I stop him and stand up. "Better luck to you next time." I start walking away, only to have my arm caught. I turn and see it was the boy.
"What youse doin' all alone at this time of night?" I glance over him. He has a tall and lean stature, with muscular arms. Shaggy, dirty blond hair fell over an attractive face with blue-gray eyes and an unlit cigar is hanging from his mouth. His brow knits in worry and I can tell he's genuinely concerned. But then I remember the last time I thought someone was genuinely concerned.
"Just walkin'." I jerk my arm away, "Look buddy, I ain't interested in anything you or your buddies want. I've had quite the rough night and I just need to find someplace to sleep. Excuse me." I turn on my heel and briskly walk away. Looking once over my shoulder, I se the boy has returned to his friends and now discusses something with another boy, both watching me.
Halfway down the block, I hear the pounding of running feet. I know without a doubt that it was the boy again. I turn to face him so quickly that he doesn't have time to stop, causing him to run into me once again.
"We can't keep meeting like this," I tell him after allowing him to help me off the ground.
He ignores my comment and simply states, "Ya need a place to sleep."
I raise an eyebrow, "Why do you care?"
"Look, miss, yer a very pretty goil, excuse me forwardness, and I ain't gonna let a pretty goil walk away when she and I both know dat she ain't got no place ta sleep tonight. So either ya come back wit me, or I throw ya over my shoulder and ya come back wit me. Da choice is yers." He smirks and holds his arms out to the sides, as if to put the choices in perspective.
I cross my arms, not giving in, "You swear there won't be any funny business? From you or your buddies?"
He draws an X over his chest, "Cross my heart and hope to die. I'll even let you sleep in my bunk."
I raise an eyebrow, "And where will you be?"
He waves my question off like a fly, "On da floor. Or I'll kick one of the younger boys outta his bunk."
After a moment's consideration, I give in. You'll be gone in the morning and won't ever see him again. "One more question."
"And then you come inside?"
"And then I come inside. What's your name?"
He grins, "Dey call me Racetrack. Or Race. Whicheva one suits ya."
"Well Race," I hold out my hand, "Addie Bunker."
He shakes my hand and turns us in the direction of the building, where several of the boys from before are watching us. I observe the boys; most of them looked to be young, with only a handful that seemed to be my age- seventeen- and they're all covered in dirt, "Is this an orphanage or something?"
"Nah. But most of us is orphans. We da newsies of Manhattan," he states proudly.
"Newsies? Like the ones who ran that strike earlier this summer?" I ask as we walked up the steps.
Another boy interjects, answering my question, "You bet we is, ma'am. Every morning- rain, sun, or snow- we carry the banner." He takes off the cowboy hat on his head as he introduces himself, "Da name's Jack Kelly."
I shake his hand, "Jack Kelly. I've heard of you."
He raises an eyebrow, "Is dat so? And who might have you hoid my name from?"
"Just during the strike. I'd read the articles 'bout you guys in The Sun. That is, until my boss would take 'em from me."
Jack looks smug, "Who's your boss?"
"The Delancey's. You know 'em?"
Jack, along with many other boys, tenses, "Yeah, I know 'em. What was you doin wit da Delancey's?"
I put my hands on my hips, "Like I said, they were my bosses. Got fired from 'em this evening. The reason ain't none of your business."
Jack considers this for a second, finally nodding, "I'll take it." He looks at Race, "You up for anudda round?"
Race rubs the back of his head, "Afta that pounding you gave me? I think I'm good for a while."
Jack shrugs and turns to the other boys, "Alright, boys. Who's money am I stealing tonight?" They all whoop and cheer as they head back inside, leaving Race and I in the back.
"What happened before?" I ask as we follow the pack into what looked like a recreation room.
"What, me and Jack? Oh nothing, just playin' some poker. I won, he accused me of cheatin' and you know da rest."
I look around the room; a dartboard hung against a wall that clearly had its fair share of darts, a makeshift pool table was in the middle of room, and a table covered in cards was set in one corner. The boys all crowd around the card table, with Jack at the head and two others in the chairs next to him, leaving one seat open.
"Okay, now which one of youse is I gonna hafta force to play?" Jack makes eye contact with each individual. "No one's volunteering?"
Before I can stop myself, I blurt out, "I'll play." They all looks at me, mouths open in surprise.
Jack raises an eyebrow, "You knows how?"
I take a seat, grinning slyly, "I've seen Oscar and Morris play it enough, I think I've picked it up."
"Well let's hope for youse sake you play better than da Delancey's. What ya got to bet?"
I pull the barrette that had been holding my hair up, letting my wavy blonde locks to fall down my back. "How's this?"
Jack examines the barrette. It featured five pearls set in silver. "Is dis real?"
"As real as the Delancey's stink."
Jack smiles and puts the barrette down, "Yer in. And keep da Delancey insults comin'."
A half hour later, once Jack and the other two boys put all of their earnings in the pot, we're ready to reveal our hands.
"Mush, you first." Jack tells one of the boys.
Mush sets down his cards. Jack observes the hand, "Straight. Well done, Mush. Kid Blink?"
Kid Blink does the same as Mush and Jack continues, "Full house. Not bad, not bad at all."
Jack looks at me, "Since youse our lovely guest, I'll go first." The boys standing around lean forward as he sets his cards down and smiles victoriously, "Straight flush."
I feign disappointment and put my cards on the table, "Royal flush." Jack's eyes bulged out of his head and I hear boys laughing and gasping at this unexpected turn.
Race pats my shoulder, "I knew you was a good one." I blush at his words, hoping no one would notice.
Jack's shaking his head and Race bends down to whisper in my ear, "Looks like youse is gonna fit right in, Ace."
A/N: Hello! I hope you like the first chapter of my first Newsie fic. I'm not sure where I want to go with it for now, but I'll take whatever opinions you guys give me in your reviews. There are links to what Addie and Race look like in my profile. I'm basing Race off of the actor Ryan Breslin, who plays him in the Broadway musical, Newsies. Anyways, I really hope you like what I have so far. I haven't written anything in a really long time, so I hope I can brush off the dust and pick it back up again! Just an FYI, it may take me forever to update here and then. There's a long explanation about it in my profile. But if you liked it, please, please review- I accept anonymous reviews, too!
Also, the title may change. I'm not sure if I like it. So if you want to continue reading this, I suggest you put it under an alert or a favorite instead of just searching for the title, only to find nothing. Thanks!
