MinnieG-Well thank you! I'm glad you liked it. As always. I had lots of fun imaging the reactions. I always enjoy writing, especially when you enjoy reading them so much.
Carey and Crutchy were in the lodging house bunk room enjoying some alone time. Well, trying to enjoy some alone time. Newsies kept wandering in and out and there seemed to be an annoyingly loud cricket somewhere in the room. Every time they had a second alone, the cricket let out a chirp and ruined the mood.
"Arggg!" Crutchy let out a yell the tenth time they had been left alone. He reached for his crutch and started hobbling around the room. "Where is dat cricket? I'll squish 'im!"
Carey crawled underneath one of the beds in search for the offending insect. "Here little guy. Come out, come out wherever you are!"
Race walked in just then, holding something cupped between his hands. "Heya Crutchy," he greeted. "Guess wat I gots?"
"Tell me it ain't a cricket," Crutchy muttered, poking his head out from under his bed.
"It ain't a cricket," Race said promptly, looking at his friend oddly.
Carey poked her head out near Crutchy's head, waving as she scooted out from underneath the bed.
"Hi Race," she greeted cheerfully, walking over. "We're cricket hunting. Wanna help?"
"Look wat Ise got," Race told her, opening his hands a crack. Inside was a baby mouse. It poked its nose between Race's open hand before jumping out at Carey. She shrieked and scrambled onto the nearest top bunk. Crutchy pulled himself onto a bed, waving his crutch around and yelling for the mouse to scram.
"Stop dat yelling!" Race shouted at them, diving under a bed to catch the mouse. "Youse is scarin' 'im."
"Scarin' who?" Jack's voice startled both Race, who bumped his head on the bed, and the mouse, who squeaked and ran to the middle of the room. Jack let out a yell as Mush-hiding behind Jack-jumped on his friend's back. Race rubbed his head and muttered something unintelligible under his breath. Kloppman wandered in just then, followed by Laura and Blink.
"What's all this racket?" Kloppman asked, taking in the scene.
"Mouse." Carey pointed to the mouse, who was sitting on its back legs with its nose in the air. Blink promptly joined Carey on the bunk. Race took another dive for the mouse. Jack dumped Mush on the floor and made his own attempt to catch the mouse. Chaos erupted as Jack, Mush, and Race chased the mouse around the room trying to catch it. Carey cheered them on from her top bunk perch, Crutchy waved his crutch around and made a bunch of noise, Blink sat there trying to give directions, and Kloppman and Laura watched in amusement, the latter clapping her hands at the sight. After about half an hour, the boys were tired of the chase and the mouse was still running around uncaught.
"I hate dat mouse," Mush mumbled, rubbing his nose where he had hit it on the wall trying to catch the mouse.
"Agreed," Jack said, throwing a pillow across the room. Race was slumped in one corner with his arms crossed, pouting. The mouse ran up to his knee and froze there. He growled at it, flicking his hand in a shooing motion. Laura slowly walked over and gently scooped it up. Just then the cricket chirped again.
"Stupid cricket!" yelled Crutchy. Kloppman reached underneath one of the bunks and pulled out the cricket.
"Oh there it is," Carey said, jumping off the bunk to get a closer look at it. "It's so small."
"It's nothin' but trouble," Crutchy muttered. "Let's squish it."
"No! Let's set it free."
"Laura and Ise can bring dem out," Blink offered. "Youse two stay here."
The two of them left, followed by Kloppman and Race. Mush stepped into the washroom and Jack, grabbing his cowboy hat, went back downstairs.
"Alone at last," sighed Carey. "Just listen to that silence." She sat on Crutchy's bed next to him. He put an arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. After a few minutes of quiet, Crutchy leaned in to kiss Carey. Somewhere in the room, another cricket chirped. The couple froze and looked at each other.
"Here we go again," said Carey.
"You know wat?" Crutchy asked. "Ise don't care." He turned Carey's head to face him and kissed her. The cricket chirped again and they broke apart.
"Okay, where's dat cricket?"