"I wonder when she's going to wake up." I was awakened by the sound of whispers and the weight of people sitting on my cot. Not opening my eyes, I regulated my breathing and listened. They sounded fairly young, so it was hard to tell if they were little boys or girls. I figured, with Spot's opinion of females as newsies that it was highly unlikely that they were little girls.
"Maybe if you stick your peppermint stick up her nose that'll wake her up. I mean, we've tried everything ya know."
"Feh, why waste a good peppermint stick on her nose? I'll just try this;" with that my eyelids were promptly pried open and I sat up quickly, crying out in dismay. Three small boys sat on my bed, two were the twins Hide and Seek from last night, and the third was a scrawny little boy of about four with fiery red hair and the same turquoise eyes that Cinder had. They were all dressed in clothes that were either too big or too small and patched up in many places.
Blinking innocently at me, they offered up angelic smiles, the youngest boy's being the most endearing for he was missing a front tooth. I couldn't help but smile back, reminded instantly of little imps. Both twins had straw colored hair in dire need of a trim and wide, brown eyes, freckled noses and bruises and scratches galore on their thin, pale legs showing from the knee below the ends of their knickers. I noticed that they wore matching brown knickers but that their shirts were different colors, one blue the other red.
The third little boy wore a plain white shirt and short pants. He had a little cross on a fraying piece of string around his neck and I studied it intently for a moment having never seen a child that young wearing such a thing. Just then a tiny charcoal colored kitten streaked into the room and all three boys immediately leapt from my bed and gave chase.
A girl charged into the room, which was apparently the girl's bunkroom and began hollering at the boys to leave the kitten alone, that they were frightening it to death. She had beautifully long, albeit messy auburn hair that swirled around her shoulders and down her back and when she moved a musical tinkling noise came from a little bell strung about her neck on a bit of ribbon. A faded green shirt was tucked in at the front but hanging down in the back and she wore gray suspenders that looked like they had once been black that held up a pair of trousers that pretty much told the same story as the suspenders.
"Rory McShea if you touch that kitten I'll stuff your feet into your ears!" The four year old paused briefly as he bent over to grab at the kitten who had decided to seek refuge next to my bed, slightly underneath it. Flashing a wicked grin at the girl, he continued trying to snatch it up, but his hesitation proved to be his undoing for I swooped in and picked it up by the scruff of its tiny neck and cradled it to my chest. Rory growled in frustration and motioning towards Hide and Seek would have tackled me if it weren't for a sudden piercing whistle.
"What the HELL is goin' on in here?" Five pairs of guilty eyes swung towards the door to where Spot stood, arms braced against the doorjamb, face clouded with anger. His green and white checkered shirt hung open to reveal a leanly muscular chest. His dirty blonde hair was tousled and a smoldering cigarette hung out of a corner of his frowning mouth, ash drifting away as he talked. Well, to say he was 'talking' was a little bit of an understatement.
"Rory, Hide and Seek! What have I told you about bothering the new kids? And this don't look like the boy's bunkroom to me, does it? Get outta here and finish getting ready it's almost time to leave for work. And you;" here he paused to swing a finger towards Rory, "You are going to Mrs. Hanlon's while we're gone." All three boys moaned in agitation but after a fierce noise made deep in Spot's throat, they scuttled out the door and vanished. Conlon then turned his temper onto me and the girl, who stood nearby glowering at Spot.
"Damnit Bells what the hell did I say? What did I say about bringing animals back here? Ya can't keep it."
"Oh yeah?" Spot's chin lifted and his jaw tightened. I stroked the kitten's head with a finger nervously watching the two of them argue back and forth. The kitten chirped and rubbed its nose against my hand, kneading its tiny claws and arching its back in pleasure. I was won over right then and there, let me tell you.
"I ain't getting' rid of it Spot and ya can't make me! Old Man Mahoney was going to throw it off the Bridge, so I told him to just give it to me instead." I thought I saw a flash of amusement light Spot's blue eyes before it was gone instantly. Crossing his arms, he tilted his head looking at her.
"You're lyin'," he said smugly. Bells bristled; flinging a handful of her riot of thick, wavy hair over one of her shoulders she put her hands on her hips and spread her feet apart slightly. It was a fighting stance and I was sort of entertained at the thought of this slight girl taking on the leader of Brooklyn.
"I am not lyin' this time, honest." Spot arched an eyebrow and walked into the room, peering into Bells' face carefully. Rubbing a hand over his chin, he took a drag off of his cigarette and with a twitch of his lips shrugged and sighed.
"Keep the damn thing then, O'Malley won't let ya so ya better hide it good."
"Humph, O'Malley wouldn't know what day it was if it wasn't written on top of the ledger in the lobby." Spot grinned and lightly punched Bells' shoulder. Turning to look at me, he tilted his head back so that he was looking down his nose at me. I squirmed and wished that I could just burrow underneath the blanket but he crooked his finger and gave me an impatient glance.
"Let's go dollface it's your first day in Brooklyn, we have to discuss the rules." Exiting the room, smoke trailing along behind him, fingers fastening his shirt buttons I could tell he clearly expected me to follow him. Leaping out of bed, I combed my fingers through my hair and tucked it up underneath my borrowed cap. I still wore Misery's pants, shirt, and suspenders.
Bells was nuzzling the cat, making little cooing noises. Our eyes met and she smiled briefly at me, I'd have to meet her later. Dashing out into the hallway, I almost ran into Spot from behind, for he had stopped suddenly. Rory, Hide and Seek were teasing a skinny girl with straw colored hair and large pale green eyes. Tears were running down her cheeks, and I noticed that when she walked it was with a pronounced limp. She couldn't have been more than twelve, and her thin shoulders shook with sobs.
"Get...away...from...her...right...NOW!" Spot's voice was deadly calm until the last word. All three little boys spun around and then shot down the stairs. The little girl turned to run in the opposite direction, but Spot stopped her with a hand on her arm.
"Betty, don't let them get to ya. It ain't your fault what happened to your leg, you know that." The girl's anguish was plain in her eyes and it hurt to see. Spot chucked her under the chin and promised that he'd take her to feed the ducks in the park later when he got home. The girl's eyes brightened and with a plainly obvious adoring look, she disappeared into a room, her head held just a little bit higher.
Spot turned to catch me staring at him a little confused. This was the abrasive ghost that I had met in my time and the fearless, hard as nails leader of Brooklyn? His jaw tightened and he arched an eyebrow at me with a grimace on his lean face.
"Is there a problem with somethin'?" I shook my head mutely, and followed him down the hallway. We walked through a large room full of bunk beds, none of them made, all of them different in some ways with the possessions scattered around them on small bedside tables and on shelves. The room was empty, I could hear voices rising up from outside through an open window. Spot waited outside the washroom while I scrubbed my face and relieved myself.
Clattering down the stairs after him, I was struck dumb by the curious, guarded stares of all the Brooklyn newsies as we exited the lodging house. Spot abandoned me for the time being to saunter up to Cinder, a smile playing around his lips. With a wave of his cane, everyone started walking down the street after the pair. I hung back, letting a slight distance gather between me and the main group of kids, not wanting to attract any aggression and strangely shy. That wasn't like me at all, but I was finding it slightly hard to connect with these verge of the twentieth century teenagers and children.
"Hey there Lily!" I was jolted out of my musings by the arrival of Duck, Sprite, and Bookworm, all smiling at me amicably. I felt the corners of my mouth curl up and I felt a hopeful wave course through me. Sprite sniffed at my shoulder again, winking at me as she fell in alongside me. I had the feeling that I would get used to that eventually. Bookworm was singing and half-tugging, half-rubbing one of her ears as she intently listened to Duck describe a fight scene in the book she was reading.
Further ahead, Maple and Emotions were walking with Action. Maple kept glancing back at me, a derisive look on her thin face. Emotions lit a cigarette and I caught myself sniffing the air after the smell, almost licking my lips. Maple noticed and jabbed Emotions with a bony elbow, causing the other girl to look over her shoulder at me. Stopping in her tracks, leaving behind an annoyed looking Maple, who was hauled along by Action, Emotions thrust a rolled cigarette out at me as we caught up to her. I took it with a grin, letting her strike a match on her shoe and lighting it.
"Ahhh thanks so much. I needed this bad, you don't even know."
"Nobody NEEDS those things, they're filthy!" Duck wrinkled up her nose and Bookworm nodded, her face solemn but her blue eyes laughing. Emotions waved a hand in the air, as if to ward off the other girls' opinions. The sleeve of her blue shirt flapped down and I saw the tattoo on her wrist once more. That HAD to be unusual for a girl to have a tattoo in this day and age. She caught me looking and explained that the overlapping 'Y' and 'N'stood for the York Newsies in Canada. I gave her a confused look and the said that they were based out of Toronto.
"That's where I'm from, Toronto. Long way for little old me to end up here eh? Two other friends of mine are in New York who come from Canada too. Maybe you'll meet some time soon, they're Midtown newsies. Dodger and Irish, my family." Suddenly looking uncomfortable, as if she felt she had said too much too soon, she shut up for a little while, silently puffing on her cigarette, casting unreadable glances at me from time to time. Again I was struck by how secretive most of these kids were with their pasts, and emotions. This was going to be tough work getting myself in good with them, especially Cinder and Spot.
We reached the Distribution center and went through the whole process of buying papers and perusing the headlines. I chatted with Duck, Bookworm, Emotions and Sprite freely until the kids began pairing off and heading out. Cinder and Spot walked up, Cinder looking rather put out about something, giving me a look that I almost would have described as jealous before collecting Sprite after telling her that they were going to sell together. Emotions disappeared with Maple, and Duck and Bookworm left together as well.
"Let's go;" Spot waited impatiently for me to sling my pile of papers onto my shoulder, his eyes following Cinder and Sprite as they left the D.C. Yard. I couldn't help but feel a little unwanted as we trudged along, Spot yelling headlines, and me trying to echo him. People weren't buying from me, they were buying from him. A trio of men dressed in ratty clothing, faces covered with soot strolled by and while two of them leered and whistled at me, the third bought a paper which I almost flung in his face when he offered to take me into an alley and get to know me better.
Fuming, my face heating up I wanted to break out into helpless tears as the three men laughed and jeered at my discomfort. I started to walk away when the most forward man grabbed my upper arm and squeezed tightly.
"That offer weren't up for negotiation," he informed me, dragging me towards the alleyway. I cast my eyes about frantically but didn't see Spot anywhere. I dug in my heels and started yelling for help but people just hurried past, eyes downcast not wanting to risk their own necks. Suddenly the man holding me went down, legs turning limp and folding in on him. I staggered in the opposite direction only to be grabbed again. Fighting, I was just crushed up against this other male form even harder, while Spot's voice hissed in my ear to be still.
"This your girl Conlon?" One of the other men, a leanly tall fellow with a thin handlebar mustache and impressive dark sideburns clenched his fists and gave Spot a level look. Spot inclined his chin and smirked at him.
"One of 'em Riley, don't fuck with her. Nobody fucks with my girls." The man, Riley nodded once and jerking his chin at the other man, they gathered their comrade and made a retreat. I stared at Spot, open-mouthed while he calmly gathered my fallen papers and dusted them off, his cane tucked under his arm.
"Just like that those grown men back off?"
"Yep, just like that. Riley and Seamus know me from way back, and the third guy Sean is an idiot. Don't know when to back off. You ready to go; we have a long day ahead of us." I mutely nodded and we spent the rest of the morning selling papers, Spot sending me a little ways down the street so that I'd get some business. Around lunchtime, I followed a quick-stepping Conlon to the docks where the rest of the newsies apparently gathered for food and to relax.
Spot was looking for someone, Cinder I supposed. She wasn't there, and I saw his skinny face darken slightly before herding me to his perch high up on a small platform where he could keep an eye on his waterfront territory. Sitting down gingerly, I heard and felt my stomach rumble. Spot pulled a gunnysack out from behind a small crate and rummaging around came out with some apples and crackers. I ate gratefully, thanking him while trying not to spit food everywhere.
He gave me that slow, mischievous grin that he was so good at and biting a huge chunk out of an apple started giving me the run down of rules and regulations. No sleeping around in the lodging house that was allowed elsewhere, but not there. If there was fighting with another borough, I HAD to prove my worth and step in, to live at the lodging house meant I must protect it as well. He ticked off the rest of the obligations on his fingers, most of them following a gang mentality, which I had been expecting. But some took me aback, and were highly chauvinistic.
The female newsies were expected to take care of any newsies under the age of ten, find them clothing, food, cut their hair, give them baths, teach them to read and write. Our jobs were to act as surrogate mothers to the young newsies and as maids to the older ones. We were also expected to do laundry and clean the lodging house once a week.
My mouth was hanging open and I could almost hear the steam hissing out of my ears. By the time he finished this last bit, I was so pissed off that I almost couldn't see straight. Slowly putting my apple core down next to me, while struggling with the sudden desire to bean him right between the eyes with it, I took a deep breath and looked him full on.
"You've got to be shitting me," I said flatly, tucking a wayward lock of my black hair that had been tugged free by a playful breeze. Spot's easy demeanor changed instantly, his shoulder's squaring, jaw tightening. Raising that damned eyebrow of his he smirked at me.
"S'your problem?" I unconsciously clenched and unclenched my fists in a vain attempt to stay calm.
"You expect the girls to work a full day just like the boys and then come home and play fucking house to a gang of delinquents? You're mad! Let the boys help, it's only fair!"
"You don't like it, then leave, simple as that."
"Maybe I will, you…snotty son of a…"
"Hey! Watch yer mouth before I kick your ass and leave you here."
"Fine, get lost. Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya." Spot paused at this last retort and regarded me solemnly before hunching over and laughing in a boyish manner almost falling off of the platform in the process. Clapping a dirty hand on my shoulder he grinned, shaking his head, a lock of his dirty blonde hair falling into one of his cool blue eyes.
"You're a riot, you know that? For some reason…Ahhh I don't know what it is, I just feel like we've met before. You sure you're new to the city?" I nodded dumbly, suddenly subdued immensely as with that statement I was reminded as to why I was back in the past and my mission. Spot stretched then, and casting his gaze out over the kids swarming the docks, he suddenly gathered up his slingshot and cane and dropped the few feet from the platform to the dock with a solid thud.
Looking back up at me, he studied my face intently as I averted my eyes and thumbed through my stack of papers left over. Really, I was horrible at selling papers and I had no hope that it would get easier with time. Holding a hand up to me, he waited for me to take it. When I didn't, he looked up, his face carrying a slightly annoyed expression.
"You coming Riot?" My head jerked slightly and I grabbed his hand and let him pull me down to the dock, almost losing my balance as I did so.
"What was that you called me?"
"Riot, it's your newsie name. Every newsie has to have a newsie name, no arguing about it. And they usually don't get to pick it either, it's always given to 'em. You made me laugh harder then I have all week, so yours is now Riot. Get used to it kid, now let's go I have an errand to run and since I'm showin' you the ropes today you're comin' with me."
I rolled the name 'Riot' around on my tongue for a few minutes as I silently followed him down the dock, through throngs of crudely dressed, foul-mouthed, chain-smoking youngsters. I felt tingly warmth spread through me as I realized that I had just passed another step closer to my goal. The leader of the Brooklyn newsies, one of the two I was supposed to befriend had just given me my newsie name. I was being accepted into their ranks, and it was about damned time. Happily walking behind Conlon, I felt a bounce in my step and smiled broadly. Today was turning out to be a great day.
Shout Outs!
NadaZimri – Yay, update your story soon!
Spot: ::grabs Nada's tongue and yanks on it::
SPOT!
Spot: Err….::sheepish grin::
Oh Lily always knew how to lie; she just hadn't used it yet. :D
Lady of Tir Na Nog – Maple definitely has issues. You know the real Emotions? And I'm doing a good job with her? Yay that's an awesome, awesome compliment, thank you.
Lisa – Thank you I'm glad you like it!
Uninvisible – Hah yeah I know that I'm making the Brooklyn kids have a Mafia mentality but the way I see it is, back then if you stuck together in a gang like that you probably acted just like that; a gang. And sooo I make them hooligans to an extent.
Raeghann – Your character made a brief appearance in this chapter, not to worry she'll be in plenty more. I hope I did her justice, it was a great profile. I definitely think Spot would have to be tough and strong, I don't agree with any of the fan fics that make him this freakin' sap from the get-go. He wouldn't have made it where he was if he wasn't a strong, strong, tough as nails boy. I'm glad I haven't disappointed you so far!
BlackWiltedRose – Yay another new reviewer, welcome! Eeeep what an awesome review, I'm blushing! Thank you so much I shall continue to try to do a good job with this story.
Rede – Welcome! ::does new reviewer dance:: Thanks so much for your kind words, here's an update!
JustDuck – Yes Cinder is going to be partial to her…for the time being…muahaha or maybe I'm lying about that. ::evil grin:: Nailed. ::leer:: Yes my nom de plume. I should have called myself Misery Riot or some such nonsense. Of course you gotta win all the boy's money every once in awhile. Shake things up a bit'n'all. ;D
Dimonah Tralon – Yeah I decided to give you an original character as a boyfriend because then I can just mold him to the personality in the profile you gave me and he'll be the perfect boy-o. Ahhh…fiction. As if that would ever happen in real life! ::snorts:: Glad I got your character down, I'm always happy to hear that from the owners of the characters I steal. Err…borrow. I meant borrow.
Spot: Swift, Riot.
Shaddup dinkus! Humph. Well Anywho glad you liked, keep on readin' and reviewin'!!
