Disclaimer: I don't own any of the newsies except for Haze. They all belong to Disney.
Haze's Point of View
"Dese
guys are some of my best friends. They'll take good care of ya."
Spot said, giving me a comforting grin. I tried to smile back at him.
I walked next to him and looked over the ledge of the bridge.
Dark
blue water surrounded us from almost every angle. It was a really hot
summer day, but the breeze from the height and water kept us cool as
we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. I was feeling a lot better than
I did the day before. Seeing that house again still haunted my
memory, but I was going to try to forget everything.
Spot told me
he was going to leave me at a different lodging house in another part
of New York City. According to him, it "wasn't healthy for me to
stay in Brooklyn." He didn't know the whole story, but he was
right about one thing. I had to get out of there. At least for the
time being.
That morning I woke up at the crack of dawn with
everyone else, prepared to sell papes. Spot told me I should stay in,
though. He said I should get some extra sleep and he would be back to
get me in a few hours.
Spot sold his papers until about 11:00.
When he was done, he came back to the lodging house and we left
together. I didn't bother asking where we were going. I didn't really
care, so long as I left Brooklyn.
I was surprised. For someone
who spent practically all his time in Brooklyn, Spot Conlon knew his
way around New York City pretty well. I, on the other hand, had no
idea where we were going.
The sun had just set by the time we got
there. I followed him down one of the blocks where the stores and
apartments were connected. Without warning, he turned and walked up
the steps of a two story building. A sign .over the door read
"Newsboys Lodging House." The building was made out of dark
red bricks and looked a lot different than the one in Brooklyn.
I
could hear loud laughing and yelling coming from inside. Spot knocked
on the door. When no one answered, he knocked harder. This time, the
door opened.
A boy about 17 years old stood in the doorway. He
had dirty blonde hair that he had tried to slick back, but since it
was the end of the day it just hung in his eyes. He wore mostly dark
clothing, except for a bright red bandana around his neck.
"Hey,
Jackie Boy." Spot said, smirking. "Spot! How's it goin'?
Long time no see, huh?" the boy said, spitting in his hand and
holding it out. Spot did the same and shook hands with him. "Yeah,
Yeah, Jackie Boy. Been a while. Listen, I'se got somethin' to talk to
you bout." Spot said, motioning to me. "Yeah, sure Spot.
C'mon in." He said, moving aside. He smiled to me as I walked
past him.
The
lobby of the lodging house was filled with boys. Mostly all of them
were in their teens, but their ages ranged from about 12 to 19. All
of them were talking or laughing. Some were playing cards, too. I
couldn't help but notice it was a lot different than Brooklyn. They
seemed more friendly than they did tough, and more laid-back than
they did serious.
"Jackie Boy" walked us over to an
empty corner of the room. None of the others really seemed to notice
we were there. They were too involved with whatever they were doing
at the time.
"So what's a'matta, Spot?" He asked.
"Jack, this here's Haze. She's one of me newsies, but she had to
get outta Brooklyn for a while. Don't ask any questions, A'right?."
Jack nodded and Spot continued. "We was hopin' she could stay
heah for a while. That is, if you'se got room for her."
"Yeah,
I think that'd be okay. Just gotta run it by Kloppman foist. Dunno
how he feels about goils in da lodging house." Jack said,
pointing over his shoulder. I looked behind him and noticed an old
man. He was sitting behind a large wooden desk writing something, and
he was wearing a grey bowler hat.
"Can she sell?" Jack
asked. "Course she can sell. Like I said, she's a Brooklyn
newsie." Spot replied, smirking. The two of them continued to
talk, but soon their words started going in one ear and out the other
for me. I watched the other newsies from where I was. One by one,
they began to notice mine and Spot's presence.
I guess they
figured I was there looking for a place to stay, because they all
shot me friendly looks. Still, they kept talking to one another.
"Beat'cha again, boys!" I heard one of them yell. I looked
over to a small circle of boys playing cards. They all groaned and
threw in their cards. The one who had just yelled had a huge grin on
his face. Putting his hands behind his head, he leaned back in his
chair.
I took a closer look at him. He looked familiar... Before I
could place where I had seen him, he looked up and caught me staring
at him. He watched me for a second, before switching his gaze over to
Spot who was still talking with Jack. He rolled his eyes and shot me
a dirty look, unlike the rest of the newsies who had noticed me.
What's
his
problem?
I
thought. My attention was brought back when Spot tapped me on the
shoulder. "You'se alright, Haze? You look a little noivous."
He said. I noticed Jack was no longer next to him. "Yeah, I'm
fine..." I said. Spot sighed "I ain't gonna leave ya heah
if you don't like it..." he said.
I shook my head. "No.
Spot, it's fine. Honestly." I smiled at him. For the first time
since I met him, he didn't smirk. He actually smiled back at me. Jack
came over from Kloppman's desk. "It's alright wit him, Spot. She
can stay."
The smile disappeared from Spot's face. "Alright
then. You don't think any of ya boys would try anythin' wit her,
would dey?" he asked. Jack shook his head. "Nah, but I'll
keep an eye out for her." He said.
"Thanks, Jackie
Boy." Spot replied, spitting in his hand and shaking Jack's.
When they let go of the handshake, Jack turned to me. "So Haze,
right? As ya prob'ly already gathered, me names Jack Kelly. You may
hear some of da guys callin' me Cowboy. That's just me nickname."
He said, leading me and Spot over to where the rest of the newsies
were sitting.
Hey
guys..." Jack said, trying to get their attention. When they
finally quieted down, he continued. "Looks like we'se got a new
newsie joinin' us. This here's Haze. She's from Conlon's side of
town. She's gonna be livin' heah and sellin' wit us for a while."
They all smiled and mumbled their hellos, except for the one who
had given me a dirty look. He just crossed his arms and muttered to
the newsie sitting next to him, "Look's like Spot's tryin' to
get rid of his goil of da month. Must have gotten sick of her
already." The entire room heard him, but I think that's what he
was aiming for.
"What?" Spot growled. The whole room
had gotten uneasily quiet. "Nuttin." The boy said,
shrugging. "Say dat again to my face, Higgins..." Spot
said, his hands balling into fists.
"What'cha gonna do about
it, huh, Conlon? You'se gonna soak me here?!" he answered,
standing up. I realized that he was small for his age. Even a little
smaller than Spot. But he still kept his confidence.
"Ya
never know. You're askin' for it." Spot threatened. The other
boy snorted at him. "Ya wouldn't dare. Not so high an' mighty
when you're outta Brooklyn, are ya?!" he yelled.
"Ya
filthy bum! I'll..." Spot shouted, lunging towards him. A few of
the Manhattan newsies jumped in front of the boy, ready to defend and
restrain him. Jack and I jumped in front of Spot to hold him back,
too. Both of them were trying to fight their way to each other, ready
to soak the other.
The room became filled with yelling and
screaming. "Alright, Alright! Break it up! Move'adda da way!"
Kloppman yelled, pushing past all of us. "Racetrack, settle
down! Spot, you too! Now drop dis, will ya?!" He yelled.
Eventually the room calmed down again. Spot and the boy called
"Racetrack" were left out of breath and glaring at one
another.
"Next person to start anythin' gets kicked outta
here, you understand?!" Kloppman said. Reluctantly, the boys
nodded. Racetrack slid to the ground again and picked up his cards,
and Spot pulled me by my arm to the door.
I kept my eyes down and
wouldn't look at him. "Haze..." he said. I know I acted
tough, but I wasn't a huge fan of fights. Actually, I hated them. It
didn't solve nothing and it made everything uneasy. "Look, I'm
sorry, okay? I know you ain't a supporta' of fightin' or nuttin', but
that guy's got somethin' shoved up his ass. Got somethin' against me,
ya know?"
"Yeah, alright..." I said, meeting his
eyes. He sighed. "I'm gonna get goin' now." Spot said. "If
I wanna get back to Brooklyn before midnight." He added,
smiling.
"We'se gonna miss ya, Haze. If ya decide ya don't
like it heah, I'll come'n get'cha in a heartbeat, alright?" he
said. I nodded. "Okay. How long's it gonna be until I see ya
again?" I asked.
Spot shrugged. "Not long. I come around
here a lot, ya know?" He replied. Then he pulled me into hug me.
That seriously wasn't what I expected at all. I figured I would be
lucky to get a wave out of him.
He's Spot Conlon. Last time I
checked, He didn't show emotion. Unless it proves that he's
dangerous, of course. He pulled away from me and turned to leave.
"Hey Spot..." I said. He turned around. "Uh
huh?"
"Thanks. For lettin' me stay wit ya in Brooklyn...
and for all your help and everythin'." I said. Spot nodded and
moved towards the door again. "It was nuttin'."
Thanks to everyone who's been reading. Please review if you can, and I'll have another chapter out soon.
