October 31, 1899
The next morning a few of the Manhattan boys (Jack, David, Les, Mush, Crutchy, Racetrack, and Kid Blink) went up to Brooklyn to help move things along. It was hard, Brooklyn had a lot of young kids under the age of 10. They almost never got out the door on time.
"Good morning, boys." Ms. Casella greeted cheerfully as she opened the door.
The boys tipped their hats to her. "Have you had breakfast?"
"Aw, you don't have to do that, Ma'am." David said.
"Yeah, we're good," Jack agreed.
But the boys' stomachs growling begged to differ.
Ms. Casella raised an eyebrow. "Don't lie to me, I'll always find out," then she smiled. "Would you boys like some muffins and jam? I made some fresh last night."
"Well..."The newsies shared glances. It was too tempting. Ms. Casella's jam was famous, at least to the working kids of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
"Sure!"
"Absolutely."
"What kind a' jam?"
"Need some help in there?"
Ms. Casella laughed. "Make yourselves at home. The girls are upstairs getting ready, but you might want to let them know you're here so they come down."
The newsboys watched Ms. Casella walk through the kitchen door.
"She does too much for us." Racetrack sighed.
"Yeah, she's an angel." added Blink.
They waited a few minutes as Ms. Casella made them their breakfast. They savored every bite of their delicious meal. Besides David and Les, none of them could afford breakfast, so this was a treat indeed. After that, they talked about the headlines and the previous day, arguing over who had a more exciting time. Then Mush, Jack, and David got on Kid Blink and Racetrack's case about their love lives. Apparently Crutchy already had his eye on a girl (Mush insisted on giving him some advice on how to pick her up).
It was an hour later. The boys had run out of things to talk about. David and Les plunked out a duet on the piano, it was the only one they both knew, and they absolutely hated it. Race and Blink were nodding off over a card game. The doorbell rang.
"Huh?!" Kid Blink was startled awake. He pushed up his eye patch, it was starting to slip down.
"Could one of you kind gentlemen get the door for me?" Ms. Casella called from the kitchen.
"Sure thing, Ma'am!" Crutchy jumped up first and hobbled to the door. The other boys laughed at Crutchy's enthusiasm. Even his time in the refuge didn't crush his spirit. He was a light for all of them. "Hi'ya, Spot!"
"Hey, Crutchy," Spot punched Crutchy in the arm to say 'Hello'. "Are the girls ready?"
"Nope, we've been waitin' a while."
"How long have yous been here?"
"About an hour."
Spot shook his head impatiently and sat down on the couch next to Jack.
"Where are your guys, Spot?" Jack asked.
"They're back at the docks waitin'." He tilted his head to try to listen to the girls to get an indication of when they would come downstairs.
"This a regular thing?"
Spot gave him a look. "What do you think?"
Until Chase came into his life, Spot was never late for anything. Of course, being the King, he got to say what time everything started. It was very annoying when he wanted to be the first at the circulation desk and she was still doing her hair.
"What is takin' them so long?" Les complained. He had been more than patient for his age and now he was starting to get antsy.
Mush smiled sympathetically. "Girls got a lot more to get ready. They wear more, like skirts and dresses and there's lots of buttons and ribbons. And then there's their hair and maybe makeup. They also wear more underneath, you know, underwear..." He trailed off when the guys gave him weird looks. "What? I got a lot of experience with girls, alright?"
Jack raised an eyebrow. "And what kinda experience do you have with girls' underwear?"
Mush's face turned a deep red.
"Ah, we're just messin' with you, Mush." Jack smacked him on the back. Mush gave him a good-natured shove.
Helena knocked on the boys' lodging house door, waiting for her uncle to park the car and join her. Through the walls, Helena could hear the boys fighting and clamoring to get ready. She glanced back to the street briefly and the door swung open.
It was one of Skittery's friends, Bumlets, she thought was his name. "Hey," he smiled a little, self-consciously smoothing out his thick, dark, disheveled hair. "You can come in- if you really want to. I think we're almost ready."
Helena gave a cheerful laugh. "Rough morning?"
He exhaled. "You have no idea."
Bumlets led Helena inside, Denton went to talk to Kloppman. The scene was chaotic. Boys ran through the lodging house half dressed, instigating problems. Toys, cards, and articles of clothing were strewn about the floor. Exasperated, the older newsies tried to calm things down so they could leave for Coney Island.
"TUMBLER, GET YOUR PANTS ON!" A blur of pink and orange bolted down the steps. Bumlets stepped aside but Helena wasn't that quick so she was knocked to the ground.
"Ha ha!" Tumbler (the orange blur) stuck out his tongue at his pursuer and escaped to the foyer.
"I'm so sorry," Helena looked up and saw Skittery blushing apologetically. He offered his hand to help her up. Skittery was a mess, with his shirt half tucked but not buttoned and his suspenders hung around his waist and his hair stuck out at odd angles.
"It's ok," she smoothed out her dress. "No harm done."
He looked relieved.
"Want some help?"
Skittery nodded a little irritably. "If you can."
Helena stepped into the middle of the room and surveyed the situation. She clapped her hands once. No one seemed to notice. She tapped foot as she thought of another idea.
"Hey!" she shouted. "Boys!" it wasn't working. "EVERYONE, SHUT UP!"
Everyone stopped dead in their tracks, especially surprised to see that the screamer was Helena and not one of the Brooklyn girls.
Helena had to hold back a triumphant smile. Skittery and the other boys just stared with amazement. "Ok, now that I've got your attention..." she panned the room. "It's time to get ready. We're going to have a really fun day today but that's not going to happen if we can't even leave. You guys want to have fun, right?"
A few boys nodded.
"Well than, get dressed and get out the door."
They newsies slowly made their way upstairs, dragging their feet like it was such a hardship.
"I'll give you each a nickel if we can get out of here by 8:00." Which was in 5 minutes.
That woke them up. The boys raced upstairs to complete their task.
The older boys still gaped at Helena.
"What?" she smiled sheepishly.
"How did you do that?" They were astonished that a girl such as Helena had such a big voice and presence like that.
The guys voted to send Mush upstairs to get the girls.
"Why do I gotta go?" he hesitated. Mush was always made to things like this for his friends because he almost always agreed or gave in.
"Because you're blood related to one girl and you're in love with another." Jack stated. "You know them the best."
"Why can't Spot do it?"
"'Cause I have to deal with 'em every day." Spot quipped.
"And you don't think I do?"
"You don't get 'em in the mornings."
"Plus, Romeo," Racetrack chewed on his cigar. "You have a lot of experience with girls."
The guys all laughed.
"Come on, fellas-" Mush was starting to get whiney.
"Mush," Kid Blink put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You know they're never comin' down unless you go up there."
Mush scoffed, shaking his head. It was too early to get into this.
David pulled out his pocket watch just as the church bells began to chime the hour. "Guys, it's 8:00. We're gonna be late."
The five other boys stared at him expectantly.
"Alright," Mush broke down. "I'm goin'." He stomped over to the steps.
"You can do it!" Crutchy encouraged in his sunny way. Mush tried his hardest not to smile but he couldn't. He slowly made his way up the steps and knocked on the door. It was silent downstairs as his friends listened.
Mush knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" one of the girls called through the door.
"It's me, Mush. We gotta go. It's gettin' late."
There was a pause.
"Hey, Chase!" The girl yelled. "We gotta go."
"Who says?" Mush recognized his sister's voice.
"Mush!"
"He doesn't have any idea what he's talking about." The girls giggled.
Mush rolled his eyes and leaned against the door. "Come on, Rosie. You're pretty enough already, what's there to fix?"
Mush could hear her come right up to the door.
"Are you a girl?"
"...Well, no-"
"Right, so how would you know what it takes to get ready?"
"I wouldn't." Mush sighed.
"Well then go join your friends and we'll be out in a few minutes."
"Is everyone here?" Medda did a quick head count as she, her husband, Denton, Helena, and all of the newsies stood at the entrance to Coney Island.
"Manhattan's all here." Jack said.
"And Brooklyn." Spot smirked and lifted his chin.
"Ok, I've got the tickets and some extra money for later- are we forgetting anything?" Panic rose in Medda's voice
"It's alright dear," Mark took her hand. "I'm sure we didn't forget anything."
As Medda and Mark made sure everything was in place, Helena and Denton scrambled to assemble Denton's camera. They wanted to document this special occasion.
"Alright," Denton projected his voice so everyone could hear. "Everyone, come in close. Let's take a picture."
"Ah! get your elbow outta my side!"
"Gimme some room, I'm dyin' over here!"
"Move your butt!"
The next few minutes were painful (literally and figuratively) as the newsies lined up to take the picture. None of them could sit still for a very long time, let alone pose for the picture. Especially the little ones.
When the kids were finally posed and ready to go, Helena took one last look, trying to picture how the photograph would turn out. As she scanned the group, she noticed something was, in fact, missing.
"Wait, where's-"
A voice spoke from behind, causing her to jump. "Where's Skittery? I'm right here." Skittery said irritably. "Yous forgot me again, didn't yous?" Skittery had stepped out to take Tumbler to relieve himself before they went in the park.
"It's alright, I'm used to it." Several of Skittery's friends stared at the ground. Just like the previous night, things like this were regular occurences.
Racetrack spoke up first. "It's too early to be 'Glum and Dumb'."
Skittery glared.
Race didn't really mean it so insensitive as it sounded. He was just trying to help his friend cheer up, and comedy and sarcasm were Racetrack's specialty. Too bad Skittery was not in the mood.
Denton tried to change the subject. "Skittery, why don't you go stand next to Specs."
Skittery obeyed, still offended that his friends had forgotten about him yet again.
"On the count of three. One... Two... Three, smile!"
The flash powder lit up. "AHHH, I'M BLIND!" Les cried.
Jack picked him up and swung him over his shoulder, stifling a laugh. "You're not blind."
"Yeah, kid," said Blink. "You don't even know what blind is."
Everyone stopped and stared at Kid Blink.
"I'm just kiddin'!" he laughed.
As soon as they entered the park, the younger kids took off. They had never seen anything like Coney Island and they wanted to do everything they saw. It was spectacular.
"No, guys! Don't-" David yelled as Les, Snipeshooter, Boots, and Tumbler escaped toward the Steeplechase Horse Race attraction.
"Come on, Davey!" Story grabbed David's hand and chased after the boys. "We'll meet yous at the show later!"
"Ok- No! Katrina, Ellie, get back here!" Chase attempted to run after the little girls who wanted to ride the carousel. For obvious reasons, Chase couldn't keep up and she slipped in the process. "Ahh!" Fortunately, Mush caught her from behind.
"Careful," he warned as he helped her to her feet.
"I am! I just don't want the girls to get lost in the crowd."
"I'll get 'em." Spot volunteered heroically, sprinting after the two young newsgirls who were quite fast. He grabbed them around their waists and carried them back to the group. The little girls giggled wildly in response. "Yous don't wanna get lost, do ya's?"
"Maybe we do." Ellie sassed.
"Yeah," Katrina always followed Ellie's example.
Spot (carefully) dropped the two girls. "Yous two have been listenin' to Spark and Chase, haven't ya?"
"Uh huh!" Ellie and Katrina smiled innocently and then ran back to Chase and the others.
Spot sauntered back at his own leisure. "I hope you know you got two little smart-alecs on your hands."
"Come on, slow-pokes!" Les called over his shoulder. The boys were already onto the next: the Ferris Wheel.
"Davey, I don't know about this one." said Story.
"Why not?" he asked. "Oh, right. You're scared of heights."
She nodded.
"It's alright, I'll be right with you." David put his arm around her and she calmed down a little.
"Sorry about that earlier," Helena apologized, she and Skittery were the only two, besides Denton, Mark, and Medda, who didn't run off to the rides or chasing little kids. "I didn't realize you were gone. There was so much going on and I was helping my uncle-"
"Nah, it's fine. It ain't your job to keep track of me." said Skittery, still a little bitter.
"I take it this happens to you a lot?"
Skittery thought for a second, "Yeah, I have great friends, don't I?"
"Well," Helena sighed. "At least you have friends."
Skittery stopped short. He was not expecting to hear something like that from a girl like Helena. He'd only met her the night before, but she seemed like a girl people would want to get to know. She was unique, interesting.
"You mean to tell me you don't have any friends?"
Helena nodded sadly. "I don't really get along with girls my age. They all think I'm odd. I'm hoping me coming to New York and attending a new school will be a brand new start for me." she sighed hopefully.
Skittery locked eyes with Helena. There was even pain in the upper class. He could see it behind her eyes. "Well, you got one friend at least." Skittery took Helena's arm. She beamed.
Helena and Skittery walked around aimlessly for a few minutes, trying to figure out where to go first. The lines were long and the park was busy. People were trying to get their last minute trip to Coney Island in before the end of the season. The two of them finally decided to go on the Ferris Wheel. The line was shorter, and more importantly, they didn't have to walk that far to get there. In front of them in line were David, Story, Les, Boots, and Tumbler.
"Hey Skittery, Helena" David took off his hat.
"Hello," Helena said.
Skittery simply acknowledged David by nodding and then he turned to Story. "What are you guys up to?"
"Just watchin' these little ones."
"Oh," said Skittery. "Need some help?" he really didn't expect much of a response. Story was one who liked to deal with things by herself.
"That would be great," she said gratefully. "Me and David just realized the Ferris Wheel only has 4 seats per car. We wouldn't all fit."
"We'll take a couple of them. Is that ok for you?" Skittery looked back at Helena.
"Yes, that's alright with me." Helena answered politely.
As soon as the Ferris wheel was unloaded, the younger boys scrambled to get seats, Les and Boots in one, Snipeshooter and Tumbler in another.
"David, over here!" Les called his brother.
"We'll see you guys back at the bottom." David and Story took their seats on either side of Les and Boots. As soon as they sat down, Story grabbed David's hand and closed her eyes.
Skittery stared at the couple longingly. He wished Story would give him the time of day. She did, but it wasn't what he wanted. They were just friends. And that's all they would ever be.
"You kids gettin' on or what?" the man running the ride asked impatiently.
"Yes, we are," Helena took Skittery by the hand and dragged him into the car next to Tumbler. She sat on the other side of Snipeshooter. "You seem a little preoccupied."
"Huh?" Skittery snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, no I'm not. Just tired, is all."
