Spark looked around. This strike idea was making her very nervous. Who did that new kid think he was, anyways? Barging in here? She had to eat! And support her friends. And finding the right things to eat wasn't easy. She didn't eat meat, and when she did, it had to be kosher meat. But it didn't matter, because she didn't eat meat. Oh great, now the guys were singing and dancing, and when they started with that, well, nothing you did could get them off of it. Spark sighed, and jumped in at an opportune moment. She would find another way to get by. After they were done, she walked up to Jack.
"Hey Jack. So, this strike business. How are we gonna eat?" Jack looked confused. Obviously, this hadn't occurred to him.
"What do you mean, Spark?" He brushed his hands through his hair. "Someone will give us food, like always." Disgusted, Spark backed away.
"Maybe they always give it to YOU, Jack Kelly, but some of us have to work a lot harder for only half as much!" She pushed past him, slamming into David on her way. "And don't you even start, Talky, because I saw you eating that pork earlier!" David stared after her, open mouthed. How had she known?
After she had calmed down a bit, Spark sat down on some milk crates. She looked up, and saw Snoddy standing in the entrance of the alley.
"Hey."
"Hi. You worried?" Snoddy, for some reason, always looked out for her. Although he mostly just stated the obvious, and didn't have any real influence or anything, he still danced really well, and was nice to look at.
"Yeah. I don't know if I can get through this strike thing." Spark sighed, leaning against the wall. She reached down towards her coin purse, feeling the lightness of it and grimacing. "I mean, Jack has Medda, David has a family, Race can gamble for food, and, well, Blink and Mush just eat each other, but what are we supposed to do?"
Snoddy nodded. He looked around for a moment, trying to find an answer in the chipped bricks of the buildings.
"I don't know, I guess. We can figure something out." Although this was hardly an answer, Spark found it comforting. She took the hand Snoddy offered, and they began to make their way back to the square.