ONE;
Specs, Bumlets and Skittery ; lunch date. (prompt given by newsiessquare at tumblr)
Jack had stood up in front of everyone, David at his side, and declared strike on The World. The boys all had to be ambastards, which was exactly how it was that Specs, Bumlets and Skittery had ended up in Queens.
The trip wasn't one that any of the three of them had made often. Getting out of Manhattan was difficult enough because it was only practical to go by ferry, which was expensive. Bumlets had been unlucky enough to have bought his papers before all the excitement had erupted, which meant that on top of the ten cents it took to ride the ferry to Hunter's Point and back, he also was out of a day's wage.
Despite that, though, it was not Bumlets who was in a lousy mood. He had led the search for the Queens Newsboys successfully, and along with Specs had been the one to spread the word. The two young men were enjoying the change in scenery in spite of the fact that Queens hadn't been particularly enthusiastic about joining right away. (Everyone wanted to wait and see what Brooklyn would do.)
Skittery slunk behind them, arms crossed and a sour expression on his face. The more that either Specs or Bumlets had tried to get him to enjoy himself, the more the expression soured, so the two had given up and left him alone. They kept busy by chatting together and tipping their hats respectfully whenever any nice-looking young ladies happened to pass them by.
"I ain't movin' another step!"
Specs and Bumlets were surprised when they heard the loud, demanding voice and turned around to see Skittery there, feet planted firmly on the ground.
"I'm hungry and I ain't goin' nowhere until I get somethin' to eat."
Specs stepped in and held his hands out non-threateningly. "Cool it. Wait a minute." Next to him, Bumlets patted at his pockets before turning them out to reveal his last nickle. Specs put his hand into his vest, reaching into his breast pocket. His face lit up. "You're in luck!"
Skittery squinted to try and see what it was that Specs was holding in his fingers. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Specs draw out his hand to reveal… nothing. He scrunched his nose.
"Here!" Specs said, holding out an open palm, "take some!"
"Take some of what? You ain't got nothin' in your hand!" Skittery protested.
"What do you mean?" It was Specs' turn to be indignant. "'Course I do. Can't you see it?"
Bumlets, who had by now put his pockets back in, piped up. "Hey, swell!" Reaching out to grab at something invisible, he grinned. "Peanuts!" He pretended to shuck one and pop it into his mouth.
Specs took something from his own hand and sighed happily, "A nice warm pretzel. With salt."
For a moment Skittery stood there, watching both of his friends and not moving. When they both looked back at him eagerly, he blew a breath out of his nose, finally taking a step forward. He too reached out to Specs' empty hand.
"Chocolate," he said, and played like he ate some.
"Hit the spot?" Specs asked hopefully.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Skittery let out a smal laugh. "Yeah, sure."
"C'mon, let's get home. We'd better hurry if we want to make it back by dinner time."
The three of them walked together, Skittery forgetting his glum-and-dumb bad attitude, and headed back to the Hunter's Point Ferry.