Disclaimer: do I really have to put this on?
Chapter 13
The walk back from Brooklyn was not as light as the walk to Brooklyn.
Everyone was silent, but they were all thinking the same thing: We are
screwed.
"Look, we'se ain't finished yet," Jack told them. "Alls we gotta is rally
da newsies our boys and Moose and Flame got taday and we'se'll show dem
Brooklyns we mean bidness."
"I hope you're right," Casey sighed.
As they neared the square, the group saw only the 'Hattans.
"Well that's not good," David stated.
"Thanks captain Obvious," Fiona came back.
When they reached the others, Casey asked Amanda, "'Ey, where is everyone?"
"Dey don't wanna join til they know for a fact Brooklyn's in."
The 4 looked at each other with worried faces.
"So Jack, where's Spot?" Race wondered.
"He was concerned 'bout us bein' serious. Can ya imagine dat?"
"Well Jack, maybe we outta ease off a little."
Amanda's mouth dropped. "What? Where'd this come from?"
"It ain't just me. It's all of us."
Jean looked to Crutchy. "You'se don't think we outta give up, do ya?"
"Not give up. Just take a break." She looked shocked.
Race went on, "I mean, widout Spot and de ouddas, dere ain't enough of us."
Mush added, "Maybe we're movin' too fast. Maybe we'se ain't ready."
"I defiantly think we outta forget it for a little while," Skittery
continued.
"Oh, do ya?" Jack responded. He seemed angry.
"What's da matta wid all ya?" Casey cried. "Have ya forgotten what we're
fightin' for?"
"This is for your own life!" Fiona yelled.
"You all just wanna give in ta Pulitzer and de ouddas?" Amanda added on.
None of them responded.
After a minute, Race said, "Well, widout know."
"Spot was right! Dis is just a game ta you'se guys?" Jack questioned.
"We are serious 'bout dis. We'se just can't do it on our own," Skittery
explained.
They need to seize the day and not be afraid. No one can just take away our
rights. We just have to be united and these wrongs will be set right,"
David was thinking, although he didn't have the courage to say them himself.
Jack turned to the girls, "Dey need some motivation. You goils don't know
any song dat might 'elp 'em, do ya?"
"Course we do!" Jean answered.
"Great! Think you can sing it?"
Then Fiona had an idea. "Sure, but we're not gonna sing it," she said,
refrencing herself, Jean and Amanda.
"Whadda ya mean?"
The 3 turned to Casey who gave them a confused look. And then she figured
it out.
"No!" she exclaimed. "No! No! No! No! No!"
"Casey-" Jean started, but was interrupted.
"No!"
"Look, do ya wanna finally get over dis silly stage fright?"
"No, I'm good."
"So, you has da nerve ta punch Spot Conlon in da face, but you can't sing
in front of da guys that are basically ya brothers?" Amanda questioned.
"I can't! I just really really can't!"
"DB," David came in. He put his hand on her shoulder and she turned to him.
"Look, I know what it's like to be really shy and quiet and not want to be
heard. You heard my Ma say how much time I spent just studying." She
laughed a little. "But this is really important. If the guys get into this,
the strike can happen and we can show those rich men how much we really
matter. We need you." He smiled and her stomach flip flopped.
She took a breath and then said quietly, "Okay. I-I'll do it." She turned
to her friends. "I'll sing the solo part. But you guys have to sing the
others." They agreed.
"'Ey! Listen up!" Jack called out to everyone. They all shut up and turned
to him. "Da goils have somethin' dat dey think will 'elp you'se get
inspired. So pay attention. A'ight DB, it's all you."
Now everyone was looking at her and she could feel her face getting hot.
She opened her mouth and nothing came out. She started playing with her
bracelet, like she always does when she gets very nervous and looked to
David.
"You can do it," he mouthed and smiled.
That helped her a little, but not a lot.
She took one last breath then, very quietly and looking at the ground,
started singing, "Open the gates and seize the day. Don't be afraid and
don't delay. Nothing can break us, no one can make us give our rights away.
Arise and seize the day." She looked up and saw the group in front of her
smiling and looking impressed. Very few of them had ever heard her sing by
herself, so this was big for them. She could also tell that the song was
starting to work through them. So she decided to continue on, "Now is the
time to seize the day."
"Now is the time to seize the day!" the girls sang back. That made Casey
feel a little bit more confident, remembering that her friends were there
with her. She was able to actually look up and sing out a little more.
"Send out the call and join the fray!"
"Send out the call and join the fray!"
"Wrongs will be righted if we're united!"
They all sang together on, "Let us seize the day!"
The guys were now clapping and cheering.
"Yeah DB!" she heard Jack call.
She smiled. Her nerves were pretty much gone. She was now able to have fun
as she went on, "Friends of the friendless seize the day!" Her friends
pushed her up onto the statue so all the guys could see and hear her.
"Friends of the friendless seize the day!"
"Raise up the torch and light the way!" She punched her fist in the air.
"Raise up the torch and light the way!" They did the same.
They joined together again on, "Proud and defiant we'll slay the giant!"
Casey jumped down from the statue. But as she came down, she felt hands
around her waist. David caught her and lowered her safely to the ground.
"I told you you could do it," he told her. They smiled as she tried not to
get lost in his sparkling blue eyes.
She heard the others sing, "Let us seize the day!" She took David's hand
and they ran over to them.
Casey joined them again with, "Neighbor to neighbor, father to son, one
for all and all for one!"
She let go of David's hand and went next to the girls. They continued with
Casey calling out and Amanda, Jean and Fiona echoing. "Open the gates and
seize the day!"
"Open the gates and seize the day!"
"Don't be afraid and don't delay!"
"Don't be afraid and don't delay!"
They came together to finish up with, "Nothing can break us, no one can
make us give our rights away! Neighbor to neighbor, father to son, one for
all and all for one!"
When they were done, the 3 all hugged Casey who had a huge smile on her
face.
"Ya did it! Ya sang in front of people!" Jean congratulated.
"OMLJ! I can't believe I did that!" she said in complete disbelief.
"Think ya ready ta sing at Medda's?" Amanda wondered.
"Let's not push it."
They then all heard a bell go off. It was calling for the newsies to come
get the afternoon edition.
"Anybody hear dat?" Jack called out.
"No!" everyone shouted back.
"So what we gonna do 'bout it?"
"Soak 'em!"
They all ran into the open gates and surrounded the circulation desk where
the afternoon newsies were already lined up.
One boy had already bought his papers. But when he turned to leave, he was
met with a crowd of angry newsies, Jack in the front with the girls next to
him; David was right behind them. They were all staring him down. Looking
around at the large group, he knew he had no chance and threw the papers on
the ground, joining them. Three others followed him.
But the fourth was more stubborn. He held onto his papers and tried to get
around the group, but kept getting stopped.
"Are ya wid us or not?" Fiona asked him threateningly.
The other girls gave him death glares, which read as "Drop the papes or
else."
He wouldn't budge though. He tried to get around the group, but he was pushed back inot place. He went to go the other way but Mush blocked him. David tried to calm them all down. But Jack tensed up, and David noticed.
"Now Jack, just don't…" he said to him, trying to get him to relax. His mind had traveled back to the Trolley Strike and he didn't want to see a violent fight like that break out.
Like dat's gonna stop him from soakin' the scab, Casey thought.
Jack didn't hear what David had said. He was fixated on the boy in front of him.
Suddenly, he knocked the papers out of his hands. The other stared at Jack for a moment then reached down to get it. But Amanda saw the scheming look in his eye and wasn't too surprised when, instead of picking up the papers, he punched Jack in the stomach. Then everyone started rioting.
They all made their way onto the platform and grabbed papers by the armful. They started throwing them around and tearing them apart, destroying them all completely.
David hesitated in participating. He just wasn't used to things like this. Casey saw that and went to him.
"Try it," she told him, handing him a paper.
He looked to her, then back to the paper. He took it and, again, looked at her. She nodded intently. He ripped it in half and continued tearing it. He chuckled as it fell to the ground.
Casey and David looked at the scene around them. They saw their friends throwing papers, Amanda and Jean were with Crutchy and Race throwing tomatoes at Weasel and the Delanceys, Fiona and a bunch of other newsies had pushed over a cart of newspapers and were destroying them. The two couldn't help but laugh.
"It's really happening," David stated.
"Who'da thought it," Casey added.
They smiled at each other then turned and started ripping up more papers.
All of a sudden, they heard whistles and shouts. Casey looked up and could see men in uniforms on horses working their way towards them. She left David and ran to Jack.
"Jack! Jack!" she called to him. He looked to her and she pointed towards the men. His eyes went wide.
"'Ey! Cheese it! Cheese it! It's da bulls!" he cried. He grabbed Casey's hand and ran for the gates with everyone following him.
As she was being pulled, her eyes scoured the crowd for David.
Let him get out, let him get out, she pleaded in her head.
"'Ey! Cheese it! Cheese it! It's da bulls!" David had heard Jack yell.
He immediately looked to where Casey had been, but he found she wasn't there.
Where is she? She was just here! he thought, worried.
Them, he felt someone take his arm. He saw Fiona next to him trying to pull him along. Les was with her.
"Dave, we'se gotta go! C'mon!"
He tried to pull away. "No! I need to find1" He stopped before he said too much.
But she knew hat he meant. "Jack got 'er out. She's fine. Now c'mon!"
Warily, he let her take him.
When everyone was out, they gathered at the statue and made sure each other was okay.
When casey saw David, she ran to him and hugged him.
"Thank God! I'se was worried dey got ya," she said to him.
He hugged her back. "I'm so happy you got out."
When they realized after a couple moments they were still together, they quickly pulled apart and looked away awkwardly.
"Casey!" she heard Amanda yell. She saw her friends coming towards her.
She ran to them too and they group hugged.
"You'se guys a'ight?" she asked them.
"Yeah, yeah, we'se fine," Fina answered. "You?" She nodded.
"Dat was really close," Amanda commented. "I was scared dat-"
"'Ey, where's Crutchy?" they heard Blink wonder. "Anybody seen Crutchy?"
As they looked around, Casey noticed something too. "Guys, Jean ain't 'ere either."
The girls looked around everyone again, suddenly terrified for their friend.
No jokes to define…
Okay, so I just found out that Arvie Lowe Jr., the actor who played Boots, played Mr. Dig in Lizzie McGuire! SOOOOOOOO much more love for that show(:
Next chapter coming very soon so stay tuned! Virtual hugs from your fave newsie if you review3