Immediately one of the boys she had played with yesterday called her name. "Hey Jeans! Youse wanna play dat Mau game again?"
"Sure Poker, but if you cheat again you're getting kicked out." Jeans responded with a grin.
Poker grinned back and answered, "Youse has me pahmission to kick me out if I cheat and youse catch me in da act."
Jeans looked at the table of people that wanted to play and laughed. With the addition of Poker and another girl newsie called Sharp, the people were the same, and in the same positions, as the group in the restaurant earlier that day.
Vade and Bully were sitting next to each other, and opposite them were Alto, with Dash next to him, and Spot next to Dash. Poker went to sit next to Sharp, and Jeans, a little gingerly, took the seat next to Spot.
He smirked and passed her the playing cards. "So tell Dash and I how to play this heah game."
Jeans grinned evilly and everyone who had played before groaned. "Well, the first rule is; don't say the name of the game or you get dealt seven cards. The next rule is; don't ask any questions or you'll get dealt as many cards as I can give you before you say thank you."
Sharp leaned forward and said dryly to Dash, "Don't ya'll worry none, de next fifty rules are much easier to remember."
Ignoring the moans that followed this heartening statement, Jeans outlined the rest of the rules and then graciously said, "Now since some of us have never played before, this will be a practice round. That does not mean there will be any cheating." - with a severe look at Poker and Sharp, who instantly assumed cherubic expressions.
Jeans dealt everyone seven cards to start the game. The first hand went smoothly, only interrupted once for a brief tussle when it was discovered Poker had been stuffing cards up his sleeve, but after that had been pleasantly settled the game progressed normally.
Bully won, and Jeans announced happily, "Now, since he won, he gets to make up a new rule!"
Spot tapped his cane on the table as he asked mildly, "So's that how all these rules came about? 'Cause at the end of every game there's new ones added?"
"Oh, no." Jeans said, then explained, "At the end of every game session, all the rules made are erased. The rules I explained at the beginning were just the basic rules. So Bully, what's your rule?"
The tall boy thought for a minute, then replied, "When anyone plays a foive, everyone has to pass a cahd from their hand to the guy or doll on their left."
The rule was approved and a new round started.
In the middle of it Jeans sensed someone was looking at her and she casually glanced over her shoulder. It was Bullseye, and he was glaring not only at her, but indiscriminately at everyone at the table. Seeing Jeans look at him, he glared more fiercly and got up.
Sauntering over to the merry group, he said to Alto, with barely concealed hatred, "Youse got room foah me dere, or do I need to make it?"
Alto did not look up from his cards, but his facial muscles tightened as he replied evenly, "There is no room for you at this table, you will have to find another."
Bullseye shifted one more step forward and opened his mouth to make another snide comment, but before he could, Spot said in a deceptively pleasant voice, "Bullseye, Fiah started a pokah game you could join. I believe it's your turn now, Jeans."
Bullseye hesitated, and Jeans could see everyone at the table tense, waiting to see if he would disobey this implicit dismissal, but then with another glare at Alto, he went to the other table.
Jeans played her card and then said, "I don't suppose anyone would tell me what on earth that was about?"
Dash looked around, but as no one seemed about to, she put down her cards and explained, "Da long and short of it is, Bullseye didn't take too kindly to Spot lettin' goils in, and Alto wanted us to come. Dere were lotsa foights and den when us goils did come and Alto and I started goin' together, it made him even madder. He seen it as Alto was tryin' to get in good wid Spot through me. And sometimes," she finished, "I wondah if it ain't true." And she nudged Alto hard in the ribs.
He gasped dramatically and clutched at them, which nudged Poker and made him spill his drink, which resulted in a quick scuffle that dispelled any remaining traces of a tense situation.
They had gotten the game back together through the joint effort of Jeans saying things like, "could we please start the game again, 'cause I'm about to win" and "any time this year, guys" but mostly from Spot standing up and saying, "You all have five seconds to get back in your seats." Which happened in two seconds.
Vade had just played her last card and won when a boy ran in, panting and out of breath.
"Where's Spot?" He cried, looking wildly around the room.
Spot rose quickly and strode over to him. "What?" He demanded sharply, taking the boy by the shoulder and giving him a quick shake.
Some of the wild look left the boy's eyes and he gasped out, "Big fire-next door to circulation building, wind's blowing hard, need-"
Spot didn't wait for the rest of the sentence, he whirled around and barked out, "Alto, get the boys and get them down to the docks. Take buckets and make a water line. Tumbler -" he turned to the boy who had brought the news. "Are the firemen there?"
Tumbler shook his head.
Spot looked around at the people left in the lodging house, but everyone had obeyed his order too promptly. The only ones left were Jeans and Tumbler.
Jeans stood up. "Where is the fire station?" She asked quietly.
"Two blocks away from the town square, turn left and you'll see it. Hurry, Jeans." Spot followed her out the door and turned in the opposite direction.
"Where are you going?" Jeans asked.
Spot looked back at her, his smirk for once not present. "I'm going to Irving Hall to get Jack's boys. I'm going to claim the favors they owe me."
Jeans nodded grimly and began to run.
She ran past the newsies passing empty and full buckets back and forth from the water and the flames.
She ran past the town hall and turned.
She saw the red brick building ahead and dredged up enough energy for a last spurt of speed that took her to the door.
She leant against the door for a second, panting and gasping, before knocking on the door. It opened almost immediately and a rather bleary looking man irritably asked, "What?"
"Please, there's a big fire next to the World distribution center."
The man's face became alert and he yelled back into the room, "Fire in district 209, squad two, get out there." He turned back to Jeans. "I suppose you're a newsie?" At Jeans nod he asked, "Is anyone doing anything about it?"
"Yes sir, all the Brooklyn newsies are working on putting it out, and so's Manhattan's newsies."
The man raised his eyebrows. "What's Manhattan doing over here?"
"Um, well,"
"No, let me guess," the man chuckled, "Spot Conlon worked it. That kid's incredible. Thanks for the message, kid, I gotta go," He jumped on the fire truck as it careened by.
Jeans began walking. She didn't feel up to running back. Besides, she reasoned, it wasn't like there was anything she could do at the fire, not when there were all the Brooklyn and Manhattan newsies there, as well as the firemen.
She wasn't even halfway back when the Unsavory Characters accosted her again. "Say, Squirt! Why ain't youse at da fiah?" The bigger boy asked.
"I was getting the firemen." Jeans replied.
The boy put his nose in the air. "Oh, la di da, she's been getting the firemen." Then he took his nose out of the air and stuck his face close to Jeans. "You weren't getting the fiahmen. Youse too new, Conlon wouldn't send you. What have youse really been doing?"
"Look." Jeans began firmly, "I don't think it's any of your business anyway, but I was getting the firemen, and if you don't believe me you can ask Spot himself, if you dare. At any rate, why are you following me around? I haven't done anything to you; or not anything that I know of." She saw the boys exchange looks. "All right, what did I do? Can we please get this resolved so I don't keep running into you?"
The shorter one looked at his friend. "String, might as well tell her."
String looked Jeans up and down, then began, "Well, actually, you met Bullseye, right? He told us too. See, he'd been duped by girls like you before, and he wasn't taking any chances. He told us to follow you and make sure you were on the level, you know."
Jeans still stood quietly, still waiting.
"So, that's all. I guess it was kinda stupid, actually. I mean, if Spot and Dash let you in, seems you should have been fine, but Bullseye was sore. Getting dumped by a girl as pretty as that last one was, when she was just using him to get to Spot..."
Tubber, the other boy, finished his sentence. "Was hard. Bullseye ain't had much luck wid da goils, foist Dash and den that Mary Suesela - whatevah da rest of her name was."
"Did Spot know about you following me?"
"Nah. I mean, he probly did, but he didn't tell Bullseye to tell us too, if that's what you mean." String answered.
Jeans nodded thoughtfully. "All right. Let's go." And she started running.
