"Alright line up!" An old man yelled as a whole bunch of boys ran up to his classroom as the bell rang. "Your ticket to a good class today is turning in your papers."
"Mornin' Weasel." Jack smirked, being the first to walk in the room, slamming his paper down on the teacher's desk.
"I told ya a hundred times," the man groaned. "It's Wiesel." He rolled his eyes as the student laughed.
"Ain't that what I said?" The boy smiled as his boys laughed behind him. If there was anything about this orphan school for boys he liked, it was being with his brothers everyday.
"Take a seat." Wiesel sighed.
"Hey Weasel." Race greeted, strolling into the classroom after hiding his unlit cigar in his pocket.
"At least call me mister." The man asked, hating his nickname among the boys.
"I'll call ya sweetheart if ya give me an extension on the paper." That's when all the boys knew. Race was an excellent actor and could fool anyone who didn't know him well. He had walls that seemed impossible to break down, but showing up to school with a black eye and asking Weasel for an extension instead of flat out telling him he didn't feel like doing it? That was something that Race only did when he had a bad night. And everyone could guess why. Well anyone who'd known Race for what felt like forever and had every class everyday with him.
"You know the rules Racer. No extensions. Not my rules, I just enforce 'em." Wiesel said, not even looking up at the boy. Unlike most of the staff at this school, he knew all the nicknames of the boys in his class. He wasn't one that really cared about them though.
"Well what eva' happened ta romance?" Race joked.
"Move along." He said. Race sighed but practically collapsed in the seat next to Jack.
"Mornin' Mister Wiesel." Crutchie tried his hardest not to be rude to adults. He figured that it was better to be nice to them than be beaten by them, so he did the one thing that made him unique among all the others. He was polite.
"Have a seat Crutchie." And the boy took his seat in front of Jack. Finally, the teacher looked up from his desk, finding a face he'd never seen before. "Hey look at this! A new kid!"
Jack looked up at the tall boy. He had dark brown hair that almost looked black. His smile was nervous but genuine and he stuck his hands in his pockets, afraid of making a wrong move.
"Take a seat." Weasel gestured to the desks and the boy just nodded.
"Hey pal." Jack said, as the tall boy took a seat beside him, the opposite of Racetrack. "What's your name?"
"My names David Jacobs." The boy answered, clearly a bit uncomfortable.
"Nice ta meet ya, Davey." Jack nodded, hearing Albert walking up to the teacher, holding up a finger as a sign to Davey to put the conversation on pause, wanting to hear the kid's joke of the day.
"You have a very interesting face." Albert commented as he put his paper down. "Eva' think of getting into the movin' pictures?" He asked, looking off into the distance like he was daydreaming.
"You really think I could?" Wiesel asked, thinking the boy might actually be giving him a compliment.
"Sure buy a ticket. They let anyone in." Albert shrugged, like it was obvious, making all the boys laugh. The jokester smacked Race's outstretched hand as he walked passed him and slid into the seat behind him.
"How's about I show ya the ropes of the school later? Whaddya say?" Jack offered, returning to his conversation with the new kid.
"I'm no ones charity case." The boy said, defensively. "I don't even know you."
"This here's the famous Jack Kelly!" Crutchie butted in. He lowered his voice as he spoke again. "He once escaped jail in the back of the mayor's own car." He stated, and Jack smiled as he realized the kid was still amazed he'd done such a thing.
"Cmon, just let me show ya how ya stay outta trouble for a day?" He asked. Ever since he'd been a victim of the streets of New York, he'd promised himself he'd never let anyone else have to suffer through the pain of going at something scary and new alone. He genuinely just wanted to help, though he came off as cocky and arrogant.
"Fine. But just for today." The new boy responded.
Jack smiled and spit into his hand, holding it out to the other boy to shake. The new kid simply glanced at it and looked back up, before saying in an even tone, "that's disgusting." Jack laughed along with all the other boys.
"Well that's just the price of doin' business." David sighed before spitting in his own hand and shaking the other boys. And before they new it, the line at the door was gone and Weasel was telling them to open their text books to page 47.
Hey guys! I'm super excited that I'm actually getting some reviews! Thank you guys so much! And for everyone else, don't be afraid to tell me what you think! I love constructive criticism. Anyways, I'll probably update later today at some point. Thanks for reading!
