Long time no see, eh? No, I posted the last chapter less then 10 minutes ago. I guess by the time you read this it could be a few hours...Emily stop rambling and get on with it.
Ha, sorry about that. Now, don't expect this quick of an update all the time;) I want to get this story started off and I already knew where this chapter was going to go. I kid, I kid,
Dang it I'm out of tea.
Review and Read On!
- Emily
Whisk walked downstairs followed by High-Brow and Scrunch.
"Hey, where are you guys going?" asked Fly, a newsie Whisk's age. Like Scrunch, Fly was another one of the boys who Whisk would talk to.
"I'm going to be in Manhattan with Kelly's boys for awhile. I get to play spy." Whisk explained, forcing a small laugh. She was trying to hide her nervousness, but was failing at doing so. She felt as if the butterflies in her stomach were going to eat her insides up.
Fly's eye's got wide.
"What! High-Brow! You can't do that! You can;t send Whisk over to Jack! You give her to Jack you give her to Spot! I don't trust the guy..." Fly said. Whisk was shocked. Every newsie knew to not talk down to your leader. High-Brow didn't seem to care, though. He slung his arm around Whisk's shoulder.
"I promise I won't let anything happen to her, She is our best bet, though, You know it yourself, the girl is like a ghost!" He said. Whisk smiled. She liked that reputation.
"I won't let her get hurt, okay? If I hear about one move I'm pulling her right back to Queens, even if it might cost us our land. YOu trust me, right Fly?" He asked. Fly smirked.
"Your my leader, High-Brow. If I didn't trust you I would have tried to overthrow you a long time ago." High-Brow laughed and clapped him on the back. Fly stepped forward and pulled Whisk into a hug, her head only reaching his shoulder.
"You be careful, okay?"
"I know." She whispered. Fly was like a big brother to her. She clutched the back of his shirt for a tighter hug then pulled back.
"See you soon." She said. Fly nodded at them as the made their way to the door and stepped out into the light rain that was still falling.
"Well, nothing like a walk in the rain to raise our spirits!" Scrunch said, earning him a slap on the back of the head from High-Brow.
"Shut up. Now, here is what we will do. Whisk, your back story is that your an orphan, your family burned in a fire when you were five. You lived on the streets until you were seven, then just as you were about to be caught by the bulls we brought you into Queens. You lived with us until now but but smart with me and we threw you out."
"Um, shouldn't I not say anything about Queens?" Whisk asked, shivering from the rain that had turned cold. Scrunch wrapped an arm around her.
"No, I want them to think we are the bad guys. They will think you want revenge. You may be able to get more information out of them this way. Also, you can go ahead and use your real name. They will probably give you a new nick name, Remember who you are thought don't forget." High-Brow explained. Whisk nodded. They stepped onto the Brooklyn Bridge and started to walk across. Whisk grew more and more nervous, her heart now racing and her breathing becoming more rapidly. Scrunch stopped her.
"High-Brow, go on ahead. I want to talk to her real quick."
"Okay, but hurry up. The newsies need to be out selling still in order for this to work." He glanced at the sky, which was getting darker. Scrunch waited until High-Brow was out of earshot before he began.
"Whisk, are you sure your okay with this?" He asked, looking her in the eye. She nodded.
"I'm nervous, that's it." She said. He nodded, understanding.
"Look, I'm always at the lodging house if you need to talk. You know where my selling spots are. You come find me if you have any trouble." She nodded.
"Thanks, Scrunch. Come on, let's get this over with." They started walking.
In about five minutes, they were at the end of the bridge. A Manhattan newsie was at the corner, close enough to see their figure but not able to see their faces.
"Okay, Scrunch pull your cap down lower just to make sure no one recognizes us." Scrunch lowers his cap close to his eyes.
"Whisk, I'm sorry about this. Remember who the real enemy is, not us. This has to be done for the plan to work." High-Brow began to explain. " Whisk gave a puzzled look.
"Play along, please, We love you, Whisk." Scrunch said.
"What are you-" she started, but was interrupted by a fist to her cheek. She let out a small yelp and instinctively kicked High-Brow in the shin. He grunted and scowled at her.
"Sorry!" She whispered. Scrunch shoved her to the ground and she screamed. High-Brow kicked her side.
"Please! Stop! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" She sobbed, real tears spewing from her eyes for effect. They didn't really hurt her, but from the newsies point of view it looked like they were.
"Hey! Stop it!" He yelled,throwing the rest of his papers on the ground.
"You rotten little rat! It's no wonder no one likes you! I bet your parents are glad to be dead!" High-Brow barked at her, stomping on her stomach. It made contact, but didn't hurt her. For effect, she rolled over and coughed, gasping for air.
"N-no! Please, stop!" Her voice became a whisper. Scrunch pulled her up my her hair and pulled her close to his face, looking mean.
"I'm sorry about this. We aren't going to far, are we?" He whispered so no one else could hear. His face remained rock hard.
"No." She whispered. Then, hearing the Newsie get closer, she yelled,
"Please! I'm sorry! I won't do it again! Please!" Scrunch laughed and dropped her. High-Brow tapped his arm and the pair took off running back down the bridge, leaving Whisk crumpled on the ground. The heard the newsie kneel down beside her and she started to tremble. She wasn't acting, she was truly afraid now. This was happening, she wasn't in Queens anymore.
"Hey, are you okay?" The boy asked. She didn't respond.
"Here," the boy grabbed her arm and helped her up. He was taller than she was, and Italian.
"My name is Racetrack. Race for short. Are you okay? Who were those guys? Why are you dressed as a newsie?" He asked. The sky durned dark.
Does this kid every shut up? Whisk thought. She felt her knees shake and let them give out. He caught her and lead her over to a fountain. They sat down on the edge.
"Your okay. You can trust me. I am a Manhattan newsie. You know, Jack Kelly's territory? So, what happened, sweetheart?" Race asked, his voice soft to comfort her.
Remember who you are. High-Brow's words hung in her head. She made up mind. She wasn't going by Whisk. She was on a mission for Queens, it was time to start acting the part.
"M-my name is Emma. My parents d-died in a fire accident when I was 5. I had no where to go, so I lived on the streets until I was 7. I hadn't eaten in a week, I was starving. The baker was throwing out old bread so I took it. The bulls saw me, but I was saved just before I could get caught. Queens took me in. I sold papes with them-"
"You are from Queens!' Race exploded, shooting up. She made tears fill her eyes and she looked down and her lap. Race got the feeling she wasn't done and sat back down.
"Sorry, go ahead." He said. Emma nodded. (I will be calling her Emma for the rest of the chapter.)
"I sold papes in Queens for seven years. I'm 14, by the way. This morning...I don't know what happened. One minute I was selling, then High-Brow comes running up to me. He started talking about something, I can't remember what. It set me off, though. I exploded, started talking back to him. Every newsie knows not to talk back to your leader. So he and his second-in-command dragged here and I'm spilling my guts out to you." She said, twirling her fingers.
"Wow...I'm sorry. Queens has been a little rowdy lately. Of course, I'm sure you know about the turf war. They will be gone in less then a month, with Spot and Jack planning... sorry I said too much. Come on. You can come back to our lodging house with me." He stood up, dusted off his hands, and stuck it out to help her up. She accepted, and the pair walked away to the lodging house.
"You know what, Jack is gonna flip when he realizes I was out past curfew." He laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
Chapter 2! Ugh, I am in such a writing mood tonight. The next chapter should be very soon!
Thanks for reading! Review and let me know what you think!
- Emily
