Disclaimer: I don't own any of the newsies except for Haze.
Okay, so I had this one on here for a while, but it had an error or something, so I decided to repost it. This time I'm putting it into chapters so it's not unbelievably long. Hope you like it :)
I don't know what was going through my mind. I was upset and angry about everything that had happened in the last few months. I guess I just felt like all of it was extremely hard to deal with. Everyone was gone now and I was tired of fending for myself.
I didn't know what I was trying to do, but it was obvious that I wasn't thinking clearly. I inched even closer towards the end of the wooden dock. No one was around. It was dead silent, and the only thing I could hear was my ragged breathing.
The setting sun made it possible for me to see my own reflection in the water. As I stared at it, the small ripples by the pier distorted the image. Honestly, it scared me. Before I knew what I was doing, I kicked my feet off from the dock.
My heart skipped a beat before I even hit the water.
I could easily lie to people without flinching. Once in a while, if it was completely necessary, I could pick-pocket someone without them even noticing. But swimming. Swimming was not one of my strong points. Not at all. I was terrified of the water.
I was submerged under the water within seconds and I heard the splash I had made at the surface. However, it was muffled as my ears filled up with water.
Then I really began to panic. I opened my eyes under water. Although the salt in the water stung my eyes, I forced myself to keep them open. A murky navy blue color surrounded me.
I thrashed to get up to the surface. My head bobbed above water twice. I tried to stay above long enough to get air, but I just kept inhaling mouthfuls of water.
I could feel myself starting to sink again. My heart felt like it was about to beat out of my chest as I panicked. The water got darker and darker the lower I got, and I didn't feel like I had enough strength to hold my eyes open any longer.
I heard another muffled splash, but my mind was too foggy to process it. I stopped thrashing and relaxed, letting my arms and legs drift freely. My surroundings starting going black around me. The last thing I remembered was feeling an arm around my waist, pulling me upward.
My eyes were forced open by a hard push to my stomach. The light burned my eyes and everything spun for a few seconds. I began coughing and I rolled over onto my side, spitting up water.
When all of the salt water had been emptied from my body, I let my head drop down again. I tried to catch my breath.
I looked up and saw a silhouette against the yellow light from the sun. It took a second for my eyes to adjust. A boy about 15 was hovering over me. He was sopping wet and trying to catch his breath, also. The first thing I noticed about him was his brown eyes. Even though he was a teenager, his eyes had a childish gleam to them.
"You'se... Alright... there..?" He asked, in between gasps for air. He had a heavy New York accent. But then again, so did everyone else who wasn't high class around here. Before I answered, I tilted my head to the side to see where I was.
I was lying on the wooden dock on my back. I was in a puddle of water that had drained off from my body and clothes.
"Yeah, I'm fine..." I said, sitting up. He moved away from me and sat down with his back against one of the wooden dock pillars. He took off his dark-colored cap and wrung it out, squeezing all the water out.
I
was starting to get a huge headache, probably from lack of oxygen. I
rested my head against my knee. I was still really dizzy, and I felt
kind of drowsy.
"I dunno 'bout that..." he said. "You
was thrashin' around pretty bad in that wata'." He motioned
towards the water with his head, before putting his hat back on.
"That's because I can't swim." I replied, as if it was obvious. "Then what were you doin' in there?" he asked, eyeing me closely. I had to admit, I was surprised. I didn't think he would interrogate me like that.
"I..." I paused for a second, but quickly regained my confidence. "I tripped and fell in." I replied, shrugging as if it weren't a big deal. I thought I had him convinced, but he asked me another question "What we're you doin' 'round here anyways?"
"What is this, an interrogation?!" I said, raising my voice. He looked surprised at my sudden outburst. He put his hands up as if defending himself. "All right, all right... Don't get offended or nuttin'," he said, standing up and starting to walk off the dock. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Ya welcome..." he called over his shoulder.
I shook my head and sighed. As I watched him leave, I found myself smiling a little.
The last remaining rays of sun for the day warmed my body. A combination of the summer warmth and all the thrashing I had done to trying to stay above water had made me exhausted.
I really didn't want to get up from the dock. I was comfortable enough lying there resting my head in my arms. Besides... I had nowhere to go anyway so I was in no rush.
When the sun had completely disappeared behind the buildings in the distance, the temperature began to drop. I started to shiver because my clothes were still damp.
Sitting up, I pulled my clinging wet hair away from my face. I tried my best to tie it into a knot, but it was no use. It just kept falling out. Sighing, I used all my strength to bring myself to my feet. Hopefully I could find a warmer place to rest for the night.
I walked along the pier looking for nothing in particular. Eventually, I walked past a dock where loud laughing and splashes could be heard from the water. It sounded like a large group of guys. I didn't bother looking up from my feet, though.
I stopped short when something was placed in front of me to block my path. It was a black walking stick or a straight cane. I took a quick glance at the person who had put it there.
He looked about 15 or 16. He was small for a boy his age, but he was still a few inches taller than me. "Uh... excuse me." I said, taking a step to the right of him. As I tried to walk around him, he blocked my path again. This time with his body.
"Who are you?" he asked quickly. "None of your business." I stated, moving to the left. Again, he blocked me. I sighed and cross my arms. Bringing my gaze up to him again, I took a closer look at him. He had grayish blue eyes and wore red suspenders over a beige shirt.
"A'tually, it is me business. See, this here's my territory. And judgin' by the fact that you'se soakin' wet wanderin' Brooklyn as it's getting' dark, I would assume you've got nowheres to go." He said.
"Yeah, well I can take care of myself..." I mumbled, getting impatient. I tried to move around him again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him stare at me as if I had insulted him. "Do ya know who I am?" He demanded. I shrugged and shook my head. "No, I don't. I really don't wanna, neither. So if you'll let me leave now..." I replied. "I'm Spot Conlon." He said, interrupting me.
I turned my head immediately and looked at him again. I had obviously heard of him before. Everyone in Brooklyn had. Hell, almost everyone in all of New York City had. That's Spot Conlon? I thought. He's so small... Then again, he's being really intimidating...
I immediately tried to act like I wasn't surprised. "Yeah, what's your point?" I spat out. He chuckled to himself. "If you'se never hoid of me, then you'se never met a newsie before."
I raised my eyebrow. "Of course I've met a newsie before. I've even sold a few papes myself. Not anymore, though." I said. "Oh yeah? Why aren't ya still sellin', then? Doesn't look like you've got much room to be picky about jobs." He said, motioning at my worn out clothes.
I rolled my eyes. "Maybe it wasn't gettin' me where I needed to go." I replied, starting to walk away. "Maybe..." he said, stepping in front of me. "you'se wasn't sellin' right. However, I can teach ya. I happen to know a lot about bein' a newsie."
Man,
people were right... there really is no end to this guy's ego. "No.
thanks." I replied, stepping away again. This time he didn't try
to stop me. "Fine. Just tryin' to help ya." He said from
behind me. "But hey, if ya don't think you'se can do it... then
whatever." I stopped short and turned around.
"Of
course I think I can do it!" I yelled. This kid was a huge pain
in my ass. "Oh yeah?" he smirked. "Then prove it.
Gimme a week. If you'se don't think you like sellin' papes then,
fine. Then you'se can leave and do whatever you want."
Why is he so stubborn with this?! What does he care if I sell papes or not. "I would love to prove you wrong, Spot Conlon. But see, I can't. I don't gots no place to live. So I wander around a bit. I can't guarantee when I'll be around." I said.
"Yeah, well looks like you're in luck." He said, smirking again. "The lodgin' house gots an empty bunk wit your name on it... whatever ya name might be."
I
sighed. I sold a few newspapers before, and I didn't particular like
it. I really didn't want to do this, but there was no way I was
letting this guy get the satisfaction of thinking I couldn't do it.
"Fine." I replied.
"Good. Stick around heah for a
few more minutes. We'll be goin' back to the lodging house soon."
He said, beginning to walk away. "My name's Jude, by the way..."
I called after him.
Spot paused for a second. He didn't say anything to me but he nodded. Then he turned around and resumed his spot on the crates overlooking the water.
Please review if you can. Thanks for reading.
