"Stop it Morris!" I pushed him off a young boy. "You have no right to do that!"
"He was bothering me!" Morris yelled back. He grabbed me by the arms and put me back in "my corner".
"He is just a little boy. I am sure what he did is not a cause for such punishment." I pushed him out of the way and grabbed the little boy's hand. He grabbed my skirt and hid behind me.
"Lace, don't make me hurt you." Morris held out a fist.
"Like you would hurt your own sister." I scoffed and turned to the little boy. "Where do you live, sweetie?" He silently pointed toward the Manhattan newsboy's lodging house.
"If you leave I will soak ya!" Morris growled. I swiftly turned, holding the boy's hand and ran as fast as I could to the lodging house. "Wait till you get home!" He yelled at my retreating back.
We hurried inside and stares awaited me. I ignored them and turned my attention to the boy. He had a black eye and his knuckles were bloody. "You okay now?"
"Yes. Thank ya miss. I really appreciate it." He mumbled in his New York accent. "I'm sorry about making your dress dirty." He pointed to where his inky hands hand been clinging to my navy blue dress.
"It's fine. I hated it anyway. Too many frills." I smiled and ruffled his hair. He took my hand and kissed it lightly.
"Hey Smalls, never do that to a lady." A boy with a cowboy hat around his neck put a hand on the little boy's shoulder.
"Sorry miss." Smalls mumbled and then hurried off to the other young boys.
"Hi, my name's Jack." The young man held out a hand. I took it and shook.
"Hi, I'm Lace." He was all smiles.
"What is a pretty lady like youse doing here wit Smalls?" A boy with a cigar asked. He seemed nicely dressed out of all of them.
"My stupid brother seems to like to hurt the younger children." I said coldly.
"That explains the black eye." Jack laughed.
"Ugh I don't like him." I shook my head in anger and stamped my foot.
The boys found this amusing and started to laugh. Jack silenced them with a look.
"He probably did not like you messing with that." The boy with the cigar said again. "Racetrack, by the way."
"Lace. No, he did not." I shook my head again in disgust.
"Do you need a place to stay? We don't want you to be hurt." Wow, these boys were caring. "It's the least we could do after you saved Smalls here."
"I probably do, now that I think about it. Morris has some anger issues." I said thoughtfully.
"Wait, Morris as in Morris Delancy?" I nodded my head to Racetrack's question. "Yeah, we have found that out." He laughed, but a look of suspicion stopped it. "Are you spying on us?" He looked wary.
"Hey, don't say that about her!" Smalls rushed up to Race and hit his thigh. "She is pure and sweet. She would never do that!" Most of the newsboys, excluding Race, and I tried hard to hide a laugh.
"Why you little." Racetrack stood up to his full height (which was not that taller than me) and looked down at the kid. Smalls practically squeaked and hid behind my horrific and poofy dress.
"What are you doing?" I sent daggers at Race. "Were you about to harm him?"
"No, no" He cowered under my glare.
"My brother does enough of that. We do not need to add more violence." I took a step toward him.
"No, I wasn't! Please don't hurt me." I tried to keep my glare, but what he said made me start laughing. I clutched my sides I was laughing so hard. Race looked at me apprehensively, until he noticed that I was in a laughing fit and relaxed a little.
"What's so funny?" Jack asked me.
"He is actually scared of me! No one has ever been scared of me!" I doubled over laughing.
"I wasn't scared." Racetrack tried to inform his friends, but they just scoffed and said "Sure".
"So, Lace. Where was Oscar this fine evening?" Jack asked.
"Oh, Oscar does not like hurting kids. He likes the challenge." I rolled my eyes. Fighting as a sport?
"Wow, I didn't think Oscar had a brain." Racetrack looked thoughtful.
"He does, Morris doesn't." I shrugged. "Well I am tired. Anyway could I go to bed now?" I looked at the stairs longingly.
"Yeah, we were just about to go to bed. We'll see you up there in a few minutes. Skittery, go show her where her bed is." A tall boy with curly hair and a pink shirt stood up and walked towards me. He seemed a little moody, but laughter shined through his eyes.
"Come on." He grumbled. He took my hand and led me to the bedroom. There were bunk beds everywhere, some made up, some had sheets on the floor next to them in a big heap.
"That one in the corner is normally Spot's. He never comes here, so I bet you can use it." He pointed to one that was right by a window.
"Thank you." I patted his shoulder and went immediately to it.
"You might want something to sleep in right?" He asked me with a hint of "I know too much".
"I guess so. This dress is definitely not the right attire." I looked at my frilly and ruffly dress with hate.
"I have an extra shirt you can borrow. It will probably go down to your knees!" He laughed and went to a bed by mine. I knew he wasn't all that moody.
He tossed a light blue shirt at me that would indeed, go to my knees. I thanked him once again and headed to the wash room to change. I slipped out of my dress and left my slip and stockings on and slid the shirt over. I looked at my tousled hair and pulled it back with a ribbon. I went back into the bunk room to see that it was already crowded with young men ranging from five to nineteen going to sleep. I climbed under the sheets of my bed and said goodnight to everybody. I soon drifted off to bed.
Before I knew it, I felt someone shaking me awake. But it was still dark outside. Very dark.
"Hmm?" I had my eyes closed.
"Get out of my bed." An angry whisper replied.
"You must be Spot. I'm sorry." I got up and smoothed out Skittery's shirt.
"Why don't you go sleep with you beau?" He asked me.
"I don't have one." I stumbled over to Racetrack and whispered in his ear.
"Race, Medda's waiting for you outside." He immediately shot up and got out of bed, still slightly sleepy. He headed out the door. I followed him quietly to see him pass out on the couch. I silently giggled and headed over to his bed. I pulled the sheet over me. The last thing I heard before passing out was a boy's laughter.
"Lace Delancy!" I heard someone yell my name angrily.
"Yes, Race dear?" I looked at his angry eyes and barely contained my laughter.
"You are such a snake! Medda was never there last night! Why couldn't you just sleep in your bed?" He pulled me out of bed and shook me slightly.
"Well I was rudely woken up by a young man that goes by the name of Spot." I looked over at Spot, seeing him looking at me, shocked.
"Youse a Delancy?" He asked, baffled.
"Yes I am." I felt highly insulted by how he spoke.
"Why youse lettin' a Delancy in our place?" Spot asked Jack.
"She helped us." Jack mumbled, still asleep.
"That doesn't excuse who she is." Spot was still angry.
"Okay, then I will just be on my way." I got out of bed and headed to the washroom. I changed back into my terrible dress and tried to leave through the front door, but Skittery was blocking it.
"Hey, why are youse leavin'?" He lightly grabbed my shoulders and spoke softly.
"It is obvious I am not wanted here." I lifted my chin up and stared into his soft eyes.
"Oh, that's just Spot. He's rude." He smiled and I returned it.
"Well, I really don't want to bother you all." I looked away from him finally.
"Youse are no bother." Skittery said firmly. "At least let me walk you around so your bruddas don't give you any trouble."
"Okay. I smiled at the thought of Skittery walking me around all day. I felt safe.
"Let me just get ready. Youse can wait on this couch." He led me over to the couch and lightly pushed me onto it. I laughed.
I saw the boys bustling around the halls and yelling inside the rooms. Sooner than I thought, Skittery was grabbing my hand and helping me up.
"So, how do you sell papers?" I asked him.
"Well the foist thing ta know is Headlines don't sell papes, Newsies sell papes." I barely heard the last line because I felt a boy glaring at me. I turned slightly to see none other than, Spot Conlon. Skittery followed my gazed and glared back. Spot just smirked and turned the other way.
Skittery mumbled something about "being rude" and grabbed my hand, pulling me to the distribution center. Once in the iron gates, we heard excited talking.
"What's all this about?" Skittery asked Snitch.
"Medda's havin' a show for us newsies tonight." Snitch was very excited for this event.
"Why she doin' that?" Skittery asked again.
"We'se are not allowed to know, but it's Jack's boithday. Don't tell anyone got it?" Snitch whispered and scurried off.
I saw that Skittery was not to excited for Medda, but he got kind of nervous when Snitch left.
The day passed on without much talk. I tried to convince myself it was because of the job, but Skittery's nervous glances at me told me otherwise.
"Okay, Skitt. What's the matter?" I was fed up with this.
"Well Lace, I was wonderin' if you wanted to go wit me ta Medda's." He looked away, as if afraid of a no.
"I would love to." I took his hand and we started to head back to the lodging house to get ready.
"Oh, Skitt?" I asked him.
"Yeah Lace?"
"I need to head home for a little while to get ready. Will you meet me there in a half hour? It is just the Distribution center."
"Sure. Just be careful. I'se don't want no one hurting ya." He took my hand and kissed it, bidding me farewell.
I headed off to my home, being careful not to run into my brothers. I slipped inside and headed toward my basement room. The lights were dim, but I could see just fine. I headed over to my closet to pick out a dress. I decided on a light yellow one with three quarter length sleeves and a slightly poofed bottom. The neckline was square and cream lace was barely poking out. The same lace was around to end of the sleeves. Yes, it was a little girly, but I liked it.
I went over to my mirror and brushed out my hair. As soon as I got all the tangles out, I pushed one side back and pinned it there. My natural waves made it perfect. Finally, I slipped on my boots and headed toward the door. But I did not make it that far.
"I told you I would soak ya!" I heard someone say behind me. I tried to run, but he caught my shoulder and turned me to face him.
"No you won't!" I was about to punch his nose, but a picture filled my head.
"Come on Lacey! You can't catch me!" Young Morris was running away from his five year old sister.
Soon Lace caught up with him and tagged him. She started to run away and soon they were sprawled on the floor, laughing.
"Hey Morris?" Lace looked over at him.
"Yeah Lace?" He looked back, humor in his eyes.
"We should swear to each other, always be friends. Best friends."
"It's a deal." The two spat into their hands and shook.
"Oh, Morris what happened to us?" I whispered to myself. He didn't seem to hear me.
"You should never have done that Lacey." He called me by his nickname. I felt tears well up in my eyes.
Before he could hit me, Skittery barged into the room. He pushed Morris' arm and pulled me away. Before Skittery could hit Morris, I pulled his arm away.
"Don't hurt him." I screamed, tears now streaming down my pale cheeks.
"He was about to hurt you!" He yelled back.
"I promised." I whispered. Morris heard, face turning from shock to care to hate all in one second.
"I have no clue what you're talking about." He crossed his arms and pulled his chin up.
"I know you do." I whispered again.
"No, I don't!" Morris yelled. "You are talking nonsense."
"Well, I'm going to keep it. I'll see you." With that, I took Skittery's hand and left the building.
"What was that about?" He still seemed angry.
Even though my mind was screaming don't say anything, I started to tell him anyway.
"Well this may come as a shock to you, but Morris and I were best friends. We did everything together. Well one day, we were playing tag, I had just tagged him and we fell over laughing. We made a deal that we would always be best friends. I seem to be the one that is keeping the deal." I remarked quickly and fell into silence again.
"Well why would you keep it if he doesn't?"
"I still hope he will come to his senses soon."
Skittery put an arm around my shoulders. "Well let's not let this damper our night. Let's go have some fun."
We started to walk to Medda's in a comfortable silence. The silence outside contrasted with the huge noise inside the building. All the newsies from all around were singing, joking and most of all, gambling. I spotted Racetrack collecting his winnings and decided to go over there. Skittery sat in a chair and brought one right next to his. I gracefully sat down and looked at all the people at the table. I saw Crutchy with a lovely girl with soft brown hair and pretty blue eyes. Next to them were Jack and Sarah. To my other side was Spot and a laughing girl with reddish hair and piercing green eyes. Lastly, there was Racetrack with a girl with flaming red hair and amazingly bright blue eyes. She had freckles sprinkled across her nose and up her milky arms.
"So, Race. Are you still mad at me for this morning?" I batted my eyelashes at him.
"No, not since I met Delia this morning." He put an arm on the back of the orange haired girl's chair.
"You stole an apple from me!" Her eyes were slits and she looked evilly at him. "You still have to pay for that!"
"Oh, doll, I think I already have. And that's not all I have stolen." Race's comeback made her blush scarlet."
"Well who are all of these people?" I gestured to the crowd before me.
"Well that is Crutchy with his goil, Moira. That is Jack and Sarah. Spot and Rose. And that is Skittery. And I'm me, and this is Delia." He pointed to everyone and their dates. "Everyone, this is Lace. I think all the guys have met her. Well I guess Spot hasn't." He gestured to the glaring Spot. "Spot, this is Lace Delancy. Yes, I did just say Delancy. She saved Smalls from getting beat to a bloody pulp by her brother. She stands up to him and physically despises him." Spot's look went from glaring, to curious, to suspicion.
"I don't feel right around her." He eyed me.
"Spot, you are acting like an idiot." Rose glared. "She obviously does not have the same views as her brothers. Lighten up." She pushed his shoulder.
Spot grumbled something that sounded like "blah blah blah women". Rose glared at him and walked away, Spot following her like a puppy. I laughed at this. I soon quieted because Medda started to talk.
"I'm going to let you come and dance now. The next few songs are perfect for dancing." She started to sing an upbeat song and Skittery reached out his hand. "Care to dance?" I took it and he lead me to the dance floor. We danced the next songs and took a break when Medda announced that anyone could come up and sing because she was taking a break.
"Hey, I'm going to go sing a number. Will you wait for me?" I asked Skittery.
"I'll be cheering you on." He smiled and pushed me slightly toward the stage. I went up the steps and waited up there for everyone to be quiet.
"Hey, everyone, shut up! Lace is about to sing." I heard Skittery yell from his seat. I smiled and informed the pianist of my number.
"Okay, this is just a song that I feel like has some meaning. Hope you like it." I started to sing a song that had a slow, but not slow, slow rhythm to it.
"I go out walking after midnight. Out in the moonlight, just like we used to do. I'm always walking, after midnight, searching for you. I walk for miles along the highway. Well that's just my way of saying I love you. I'm always walking after midnight, searching for you. I stop to see a weeping willow crying on his pillow. Maybe he's crying for me. And as the skies turn gloomy..." I sang through a few more verses, ending strong. Everyone clapped loudly and screamed encore. I smiled and obeyed. I told the band another song and started to sing again. This one was more upbeat and strong.
"Heartaches, heartaches. My loving you and only heartaches. Your kiss was such a sacred thing to me. I can't believe it's just a burning memory. Heartaches, heartaches. What does it matter how my heart breaks. I should be happy with someone new, but my heart aches for you. Heartaches, heartaches. My only loving you and only heartaches..." I continued on until the end. "I should be happy with someone new, but my heart aches and my breaks, and my heart aches for youuuuuuu." The round of applause was just as loud as the first. I hurried off stage and ran into Skittery's arms.
"You were great! How did you learn to sing so well?" He held me at arms length.
"Church." I answered simply.
"Well they taught you well." The newsies were heading out now. "Well I guess it's time to leave." But instead of heading to the door, he took me to the middle of the dance floor and we started to slowly dance. The piano started up and it seemed we were the only ones.
"Lace, I really like you. Will you be my goil?" He looked down at me.
"As long as your my guy." I reached up and kissed him. Life is good.