My mirror
I don't own Newsies in any way.
I wish I had a mirror like the one in Sleeping Beauty.
The one that would tell you, you were the fairest of them all.
I never thought I was very pretty. I was plain. My hair was a deep chestnut brown and my eyes were hazel. Boring. My parents hated me and my father was abusive, especially when drunk.
I opened my locker and put my books in it. I heard laughter coming from down the hall. I looked and saw Jack Kelley and his friends.
He looked at me and smiled.
I tuned my eyes back to my locker.
He walked up to me. "Hey gorgeous", he said.
"Hey Jack", I said not looking at him.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing", I said tuning my head away.
He brushed back my hair and saw the bruise on my cheekbone. "Does it hurt?" he asked.
"Not really", I said.
"You need to tell someone", he said.
"I'm fine Jack. Leave it alone", I said shutting my locker and walking away.
That night, my father came home in a drunken rage.
He beat me to the point of unconsciousness.
The last thing I remember is riding in the ambulance.
I woke in the hospital a week later. "Lily?" I heard that silky voice ask. I opened my eyes and saw the chocolate brown ones of Jack Kelley.
"Hey gorgeous", he said smiling, "You had me worried".
"What happened?" I asked him softly.
"Well, your dad was arrested and your mother…is dead", Jack said.
I didn't cry. "Story of my life", I muttered.
"The Jacobs offered to take you in. You know, David's family", Jack said, "Life will get better".
A week later, I was back in school. I still looked beat up, but Jack threatened to soak anyone who teased me.
We walked into the cafeteria and it went silent.
Jack led me over to his friends. He helped me to sit down. "Babe, what do you want?" Jack asked me.
"Chicken strips", I said softly.
He kissed my head and left to go get my lunch.
"How're you feeling?" David asked.
"Okay. I guess…" I said softly.
"Hey, I'm Tony", an Italian said. He pulled out some cards and started doing card tricks.
I laughed.
Jack returned with our food. He set it down.
I grabbed my milk carton and tried opening it. I got fed up and threw it across the table.
Jack picked it up and opened it for me. He set it in front of me. "There you go gorgeous", he said.
"Thanks Jack", I said. I then realized I had my mirror.
His name was Jack Kelley.