A/N: A lot of the Newsie New York accents are implied. So, for instance, if Jack says "Then we bust their heads, like the trolley workers!" it would sound like "Den we bust de'a heads, like da trolley woikahs!" Since I find reading like that hard and somewhat annoying to read, I'm going to spare you the agony. And that doesn't just go for Jack; it goes for anyone with an accent like that.
Weird stuff. I wrote half of it this summer, and the other half last night. It ends in kind of a funky place, but that's 'cause I wanted to save all the paper sellin' goodness for chapter two. AND, if you are not a fan of lighthearted Sarah bashing, or implied wink, wink Javid, turn around right now and don't come back! So…read, review, and I hope you like it!
Your Bud,
little spark
P.S. If you believe that I own Newsies, then I've got a ranch out in Santa Fe to sell ya.
Sarah smiled as she scooped the mashed potatoes from her bowl to Jack's plate. She was very excited to have her family and her new boyfriend all gather to eat the first full meal she had cooked all by herself.
Les and David both cringed when Sarah dumped a drippy blob of stuffing on each of their plates. They never looked forward to any of Sarah's cooking ventures and they were not thrilled at the thought of eating an entire meal that she had cooked.
"Oh, this looks delicious, Sarah!" Esther Jacobs sang the praises of Sarah's home cooked meal.
"Thank you, Mama," Sarah smiled as she quickly scraped the remaining green beans onto her father's plate, "Now everyone, start eating!"
Esther, Mayer, Les, David, and Jack lifted their forks and dug into their food. Almost instantly their faces all began to show a collective expression of disgust. They began to chew slower, and once they had chewed enough, they swallowed as fast as they could.
This was a time where Les wished he owned a dog, so he could feed it the dinners he didn't like.
Sarah smiled excitedly, "So, how'd you like it?"
Everyone tried to find the words that wouldn't offend Sarah.
Jack, an expert at improving the truth, came up with a great solution.
"Well, Sarah, I can honestly say I've never had a meal quite like that. It was very in'erestin'."
The rest of the group at the table nodded in agreement.
"Well, thank you," Sarah curtsied, causing David to break into a fit of laughter. His sister was possibly the most ridiculous girl in Manhattan. "I'm glad you're all here, because I have an announcement to make."
Everyone stared.
Sarah giggled nervously, "My little brothers and my boyfriend have inspired me so much, that I have decided to become a newsie."
T he jaws of everyone else suddenly dropped.
"No!" David called out. He loved his sister, but he could only handle her in small doses. Not only that, but he and Jack were selling partners. Sure, Les came with them, but David liked to think of selling papers as his special time with Jack. They always had to hide their relationship around Esther, Mayer, Sarah, and all the newsies. Now, if Sarah came with them to sell papers, they would never get to be alone.
"Sarah, are you sure you want to do this?" Mayer questioned his daughter.
"Of course I do," Sarah didn't understand the negative reactions to her deepest desire.
"But, Sarah," Esther, a concerned mother began, "You're almost an adult. You wouldn't be able to be a newsie for very long. And a lot of newsgirls begin to sell their bodies when they can't sell papers."
David spit out his water in disgust.
"Aw, don't worry, Mrs. Jacobs. Sarah ain't pretty enough to be a hooker," Jack chuckled to himself.
Everyone turned to face Jack. No one knew what shocked them more. That Jack had said Sarah wasn't pretty, or that he had said "hooker" at the dinner table.
Sarah burst into tears, "But I wanna sell papers! This isn't fair. Jack, tell them this isn't fair."
"Um…this isn't fair?"
To tell the god honest truth, Jack was siding with David on this one. The idea of Sarah selling papes with him and the Jacobs boys made him feel queasy.
"Well….I'll show you!" Sarah heaved a sigh and stormed off to her room.
"Try Bottle Alley or the harbor." Mush suggested to Racetrack.
"Try Central Park, it's guaranteed." Racetrack offered back, combing his hair.
"Try any banker, bum, or barber." Jack flung his shaving cream at the boys.
"They almost all know how to bead!" Sarah smiled and gave her best spirit fingers.
"What the hell was that?" Kid Blink flung open the bathroom door.
"I don't know." Skittery wiped his face off with a towel, which he was considering having Racetrack buy off of him, "But it was definitely my line." He stepped closer to Sarah, glaring at her.
"Oh, sorry Bumlets!" Sarah apologized.
"Sarah, that's Skittery, that was his line, you didn't even sing the right words, and why the hell are you here?" Jack was embarrassed that he was hooking up with this girl.
"I told you, Jack. I'm fulfilling my week long ambition to be a newsie!"
"Well not here, you ain't. This is the Lodging House for Newsboys. Not for Wannabe Newsgirls."
"Yeah, tell her, Jack!" Kid Blink cheered his friend on.
"Cowboy, get your girlfriend out of here!" Dutchy called.
"Yeah, she's messin' up our morning routine!" Boots shouted.
"I don't mind." said Snipeshooter.
"SHUT UP, SNIPESHOOTER!" The newsboys yelled in unison, throwing things at him, and confusing Sarah, who thought his name was Pie Eater.
The boys were feeling pretty glum and dumb standing in line to get their papes that morning. Without their morning song and dance (with the occasional pelvic thrust), they didn't know if they had it in them the hawk the headlines that day. Sarah, on the other hand was positively giddy. She giggled as she batted her eyes at a very confused Snoddy.
"Hey, Cowboy!" Les called, as he and David approached the group.
"Hiya, Les." Jack waved, "Hey Davey, what's your sister doing here?" Jack was pretty annoyed with Ms. Jacobs that morning.
"What do you mean?" David furrowed his brow, "She didn't…Sarah!" David expressed his annoyance.
"I'm going to sell papers with you boys today!" Sarah grinned.
"Next up!" Weasel called, after Jack bought his hundred papes.
Sarah stepped up to the counter, eager to make her purchase.
"Hey, not so fast, toots," Racetrack walked up next to her, "You wait your turn. I'm second."
Sarah immediately followed Racetrack.
"A thousand papes please!" She smiled.
"A thousand?" Weasel asked, "Listen, lady, I gotta sell these to the men. I don't got enough to give you a thousand. And besides….Morris can only count to nineteen."
"Hmmm…" Sarah thought, "How about three hundred?"
"Three hundred papes for the lady!" Weasel shouted to the Delanceys.
"Three hundred?!" Jack cried, "Damn, we's gonna be sellin' these papes 'til next week!"
Jack and Sarah waited for David and Les to buy their papers before heading off into the bright morning sun to start carrying the banner.
R and R please. I'm going to try and update this soon :)