Disclaimer: Don't own Newsies. E-ma-gin that. I do own Fantasy and other people that are throw randomly in, but Clips, Air, Mayfly, Trolley, Jazz, Mousetrap, Aki, and Myya own themselves. They're just cool people and let me use their characters.
No shout-outs this time, sorry kids. But I love you all for reading this.
It was true, then. They were in a cursed city. Medda had just finished explaining the story. It made no sense; none of those things could possibly happen. They were so out of the ordinary, but just looking around the old theater and thinking about the people they had seen on the streets, they knew it was true.
"I can't believe it. So you've been asleep since 1899?" Fantasy asked incredulously.
"It's hard to believe, but it's true." Medda nodded.
"This is so weird. I mean, here you are, in 2004, and you don't know what happened in the last one hundred and five years!" Clips exclaimed.
"And a lot has happened, let me tell you." Air said.
"Yes, a lot does happen in a hundred and five years." Medda agreed. "I'm sure the Mayor would like to hear about everything. Any idea as to what has happened since we were awake would be helpful. Why don't I bring you over there now?"
Clips glanced at her friends. "You want us to talk to the Mayor?"
"Well... I guess, if we can help in any way." Fantasy shrugged, standing up. "Why don't we?"
Clips stood up beside her. "I'd love to, it'd be cool to see more of the city."
Myya raised her eyebrow. "'Cool'?"
Air laughed. "Wow. That's just so weird that you don't know... We use 'cool' to say something would be fun to do."
Fantasy grinned. "There's probably a lot of words like that... if you don't understand anything, just let us know."
Myya grinned back. "I will, then."
Medda stood up, and Air followed suite.
"We should get going. We only have today." Medda said wryly.
"Medda, do ya think I could go and see da newsies for a while? They'd like ta know about this."
Medda nodded to Myya. "That's actually a good idea. I'll bring the girls over to the Lodging House after they talk to the Mayor. Then they'll be with people their own age."
Myya laughed. "Yes, but they're all boys."
Clips grinned, already thinking of a romance that could happen. "Oh, that'd be fine!"
Everyone looked over at her, and she blushed slightly, but continued to smile. Fantasy and Air looked over at each other and rolled their eyes. They knew Clips well enough to know exactly what she was thinking.
"Hey, Medda. How far is it to the Mayor's house?" Fantasy asked.
"Oh, a few blocks." Medda said.
"How far is a few blocks?" Air asked. She really didn't feel like walking at the moment.
"Maybe ten." Medda answered. "Why?"
Fantasy grinned and looked at her friends. "Well, I was just thinking... we could show you a really fast way to get around."
Air and Clips broke into grins.
"Everybody uses them nowadays." Air agreed.
"And we could drop you off at the Lodging House, Myya." Clips added.
Myya looked to Medda to decide. "We might as well."
The three girls nodded, satisfied.
"We're parked right outside your theater." Air led the way out into the street.
"Do you use carriages still?" Myya asked amiably.
Air laughed. "Something like it..." She pointed to their silver car which was parked behind the old-fashioned lamp post. It looked so out of place compared to everything around it, and Myya and Medda knew what she was talking about without needing her to point at it.
"That's how you get around? But how does it work?" Myya asked.
"It's complicated." Clips said. "Just get on in... You'll have to give us directions to the Lodging House."
Clips opened the door and slipped behind the wheel. Air hopped into the passenger's seat, and Fantasy opened the door for Medda and Myya, grinning. "Don't worry, Clips' a good driver."
Medda stared at her as those she doubted it, but she got inside the car, anyway, and Myya followed. Fantasy slipped in next to them and closed the door behind her.
"It feels so cramped in here." Myya observed. She was used to carriages with the wind blowing in your face.
"We can open the windows once I start the car. But first, you need to put your seat belts on." Clips said. She had already fastened hers, as had Air and Fantasy. It had not been long since any of them had taken Diver's Ed, and the pictures of the car crashes were not lost on them.
Fantasy showed them how to buckle them in, and once they were all ready, Clips turned the key to start the engine. Myya and Medda's eyes widened in shock, and the few people who were out on the streets looked over in surprise at the car. Again, the three girls laughed. Clips carefully pulled out onto the street. "It's not usually this bumpy, it's these cobblestones..." She explained.
As promised, they rolled the windows down, and by the time they reached the Lodging House, everyone was smiling and enjoying the ride.
"I think I like the future." Myya said as she got out of the car.
"Wait 'til we show you cd players." Fantasy promised.
Myya laughed. "If it's as good as this, I can't wait!" She turned to go into the building, but stopped when she saw a few of the newsies coming out. "Heya!"
The three boys nodded to her, but were more interested in the car behind her.
"What is dat?" one of the boys asked. He pushed his dark blonde hair out of his deep brown eyes to get a better look.
The boy beside him glared at it as if it was an enemy he wished to pound. His gray cap was covering his black hair, but the sun was shining directly at his blue-gray eyes as he fingered the cane at his waist. "Did that thing jus' bring ya all the way here?"
Myya grinned. "Yeah, it's called a car."
The last boy frowned. "Is it from da future, then?"
Fantasy had undone her seat belt and reached to open the door, stepping out of the car. "Yeah, and so are me and my friends."
"Ya mean, you're from twenty-oh-four?!" the boy demanded, his brown eyes widening as if he couldn't believe it.
Fantasy laughed. "We're from two thousand four, yes."
He blinked at her, a little bit of color rushing to his cheeks. Once he had recovered, he smirked at her, pushing the top of his hat further up over his black hair. "Tha's what I meant."
She grinned at him, finding herself attracted to him. "That's what I figured."
The blonde-haired boy rolled his eyes at him. "Right... but you're really from now?"
"We didn't lie." Air said from the car.
Clips opened her door and got out to join them. "We're really from the future. Well... from now..."
Myya smiled. "They are. This is Fantasy, and that's Clips. Air's the one in the car."
Air rolled her eyes and got out of the car. "That'd be me."
"I'm Jack Kelly." The blonde-haired boy said, sticking out his hand (void of spit) to each girl in turn. "It's nice ta meet ya."
"You, too." Air said, smiling at him. Now that she was out of the car, she noticed that he was quite cute.
"Spot Conlon." The second boy said. He seemed a little distant as he shook their hands, and Clips couldn't help but wonder why.
"Racetrack Higgins." The last boy said. He smirked again as he spit into his hand and held it out.
"That's gross!" Air exclaimed.
Clips raised her eyebrows when he offered his hand to her. "Don't even think about it."
He turned to Fantasy and offered his spit-laden hand to her, raising his eyebrow, as if challenging her. She looked down at it and then back up at his face before matching his smirk and spitting into her own hand. She reached out and shook his hand before anyone could say anything. When she pulled her hand back, she wiped off on her sweatshirt, trying not to get too disgusted from it. Racetrack smiled at her as he wiped the spit off his hand.
Jack looked at them curiously, but continued. "Are you stayin' here?"
"No, we're going to talk to the Mayor. Medda thinks he'll want to know what's been happening since 1899, and we know, so we figured we'd help." Air explained.
"Come back afta, we'd like to know what's been goin' on, too." Jack said.
"We'll be back later, then." Clips said, smiling at the boys. "And you're staying, Myya?"
"Yeah."
"See you later, then. Bye!" Clips said. She walked back to the driver's side of the car and got in. Air and Fantasy slid into their seats, too, and buckled in for the drive to the Mayor's.
"A lot has happened indeed." Mr. Bennet said, troubled. The girls had just finished their summary of the last hundred and five years, and both he and Medda were saddened to hear of all the wars that had gone on. "We've missed much."
The three girls nodded, not sure what to say now. The Mayor looked down at his watch and started; it was almost 10 o'clock. "Are you girls hungry? You probably haven't eaten anything."
Air nodded, just now noticing the grumbling of her stomach. They had planned on eating breakfast once they had reached the city... but obviously, that hadn't happened.
"Come with me, then. My daughters are probably just eating now, you can join them."
"You have daughters?" Clips asked curiously. "How many?"
"Five of them, two being twins. One is your age." He said. "That would be Rissa. I'll bring you down to meet them and get you something to eat."
"Thank you." Fantasy said.
"Oh, it's no problem. They'll be happy to meet you, I'm sure." Mr. Bennet said, smiling at them.
He was right; it was apparent that all five girls were happy to see them the moment they walked into the room. At the head of the table sat an older women, who they assumed to be Mrs. Bennet. She had brown hair that curled to her shoulders, and she smiled warmly at them.
The oldest daughter was next to her. Her wavy dark brown hair was pulled back by a ribbon and reached down to the middle of her back. She smiled cheerfully at them, her emerald green dress bringing out the warmness in her brown eyes.
Sitting next to her was the sixteen year old, her short brown hair left down. She smiled brightly at them. Beside her was a younger girl sporting even shorter brown hair. It came up to her cheek, and she grinned at them.
Across the table from them were the other two girls. One had big, bouncy brown curls that fell a little past her shoulders. The freckles on her face seemed prominent in the light in the room. She, too, grinned happily at them. Next to her sat the only girl with red hair. Her blue eyes sparkled in the light as she smiled sweetly at them.
Mr. Bennet smiled at his family. "I'd like you all to meet Fantasy, Air, and Clips. They accidentally found our little city when they were... driving?"
Clips grinned, nodding. "Yeah, driving."
"This is my wife, Mrs. Bennet. Girls, why don't you introduce yourselves?"
The first girl nodded. "I'm Ashleigh, but please, call me Mayfly."
"And you're age." Mr. Bennet told her, smiling.
Mayfly rolled her eyes. "Yes, well, I'm seventeen."
"I'm Rissa, but I'd rather be called Aki." She glanced at her parents and winked. "Some people keep forgetting that. And I'm sixteen."
"Marisa." The next girl announced. "But I got the nickname Mousetrap. That's what most people call me, so feel free to do so!! I'm fifteen."
"I'm Trolley, and I'm fourteen." The red-haired girl said.
"Now, dear, that's not your real name." Mrs. Bennet said, urging her.
"It's the one I like." She grinned. "But my real name is Anabelle."
"And I'm Jazz." She rolled her eyes at the next bit. "But my parents like to call me Jacquelyn. If you don't like Jazz, at least call me Jackie." She grinned at them. "I'm fourteen, too. Trolley and I are twins."
The friends exchanged glances; out of all the girls, the least likely to be twins were Trolley and Jazz.
"Really?" Air asked.
"Yeah. We don't look like it, though." Jazz explained.
"Yes, not 'yeah'." Mrs. Bennet corrected.
Jazz rolled her eyes again.
"Why don't we get you girls some chairs and something to eat?" Mr. Bennet asked.
"That sounds like a good idea." Fantasy agreed.
YES! Another chapter. I wonder if any of you remember this... haha, I had to keep checking back at the last chapter. But it won't take me this long to update EVER AGAIN. This I promise you. Ha, a little boy-bandness for you there.
NOW REVIEW! I commandeth thee.
