OE Chapter 5 - What A Girl Wants
"They say if you love something let it go / If it comes back, it's yours / That's how you know that / It's for keeps and it's for sure." - Christina Aguilera
"Jus' get outta heah, Spot," Jack said coolly, then turned to leave. He was disgusted with the leader of Brooklyn, and couldn't believe that Spot—who had ALWAYS been friendly with him—would come back to rub THIS in his face. He shook his head in scorn.
"Hey, nobody walks away from Brooklyn!" Bruise shouted, and Jack's head snapped up as he halted, his back to him. He pivoted slowly, until he was staring Bruise down.
Bruise kept his eyes hard and unfeeling, and knew that there was no way Jack Kelly could fight him. Jack was all talk. He was tricky, but he played by the rules. And Bruise was very good at breaking those rules AND the jerks who chose to keep them.
"I made ya a newsie, Pie Eateh," Jack said, ignoring Bruise's new name. "I'se da one dat trained ya. I'se made you GREAT!"
"No you didn'!" Bruise said, looking disgusted. "Ya came ta Manhattan two yeahs afteh I was alrea'y heah. You'se jus' took oveh. But den again, ya prolly didn' even notice tha I was heah. No one eveh noticed I was heah!" he shouted, staring at all the Manhattan newsies, most of which looked dreadfully, angrily back at him. "Snoddy was really da on'y true friend I ever had!" Snoddy's fists, which he'd been clenching in the air, slowly relaxed down to his side. "An'… an' Ocean Eyes," Bruise said softly, but wouldn't look at her. "Until someone I t'ought was me friend decided I'se not good enough fer 'er."
Kid Blink suddenly felt ashamed, something he didn't feel often. "It's not that it's jus' you," he began apologetically. "Nobody could ever be good enough fer me sistah."
"Oh, so why did ya tell 'er ta become Mush's goil?" Bruise taunted. He shook his head in disgust. "No one's good enough fer 'er… unless 'e happens ta be you'se bes' friend. You'se all hypacrites oveh heah. At leas' in Brooklyn, I'se know where I'se stand."
"In da barnyard wit' da pigs?" Jack said coldly, his eyes like ice. The other Manhattan newsies laughed.
Fever cracked his knuckles threateningly and stepped forward; Bruise held him back. "Jackie Boy is mine," he said, narrowing his eyes. Before Jack had time to think, Bruise had leapt.
The two went down on the ground, rolling in the dust. Ocean Eyes screamed. Kid Blink finally let out his anger at Bruise's coolness and refusal of his apology, and jumped into the brawl. Skittery and Itey joined in as well. Fever and Travel went to help Bruise, but Spot held them back, a manic glint in his eye. Ocean Eyes wondered why the Brooklyn leader would let one of his newsies suffer so.
The dust began to pick up, and though the odds were terribly stacked, Bruise seemed to be holding his own. Soon Skittery and Itey were back out, blood gushing from various places on their body, both moaning horribly. Jack couldn't even muster the strength to crawl back to the sides; he just lay in the dust and hoped to God that no one would trample him. Then it was just Kid Blink versus Bruise.
"Why was you so against me?" Bruise shouted, his face twisted in anger.
"Because… I'se don' know!" Kid Blink shouted back. Bruise jumped at him and punched him in the jaw, then in the stomach.
"STOP!" screamed Ocean Eyes, sobbing.
"I neveh woulda hoit 'er!" Bruise yelled, kicking at Kid Blink's shins. Kid was now doubled over in pain, and when he looked up, Bruise noticed the blood coming from a gash on his forehead. The blood gushed forth and covered Kid Blink's entire face, as if he were wearing red make-up.
"I… I know!" Kid Blink shouted back, tears of frustration and pain leaking from his eye and mixing with the blood as Bruise grabbed his arm and twisted it back.
"Den why'd ya say dat? Huh?" Bruise shouted, letting go of the arm but pulling at Kid Blink's hair. Kid howled in pain.
"Jesus! I don' know!" Kid Blink shouted, as Bruise again hit him in the face.
"STOP IT! PIE EATEH! NO MOAH!" shouted Ocean Eyes from the side. Nobody listened.
"Dat… ain'… good… enough!" screamed Bruise, accenting every word with another punch at Kid Blink.
"I'se jus' didn' wan' me sistah datin' no Jew!" Kid Blink finally shouted.
Bruise stopped at once, and just stared at Kid Blink. "Huh?" he said, dumbfounded.
Kid Blink clutched at his head, feeling lightheaded. "I'se didn' wan' 'er datin' a Jew," he repeated, quieter as the world's colors grew more purple and the sounds began to get fuzzy and sound far away.
"But I ain't Jewish," Bruise said in confusion as Kid Blink slumped to the ground.
In an instant, Ocean Eyes had run over. She bent over her fallen brother's body, then stood up next to her former beau. Her beautiful eyes were alight with fire. "YOU HOIT HIM!" she screamed, and punched and kicked at him until Mush came and gently carried her away. Specs helped Jack. Dutchy and Snoddy picked up Kid Blink, and Snoddy just glared at Bruise as he left.
"I'SE CAN'T BELIEVE I'SE USED TA LOVE YOU!" shouted Ocean Eyes as Mush carried her. She screamed obscenities at him until she was out of sight.
Spot chuckled. "Neveh a dull day in Manhattan," he said cheerfully, as if all of the day's activities had been normal. He didn't register that Bruise's open-mouthed stare wasn't because of his first well-fought victory against another group of newsies, but because of the fact that Kid Blink had banned his sister from dating him for NO REASON.
'A Jew?' The thought raced through his head all day, even at the celebration dinner Spot held for him that night, in honor of the fight. 'Why 'id 'e t'ink me's a Jew?'
"Wha's on you'se mind, cricket?" Spot asked. He had heard a few days ago some shop owner calling an apprentice "grasshopper" and liked it so much, he'd begun calling all his Brooklynites "cricket". It had the same effect as grasshopper, without the pressure of knowing that he stole it from someone else. Above everything, Spot liked to be original.
Bruise just sighed. "Nuttin', Spot," he said quietly. He pretended to be into the festivities, but while his hand was toasting, his mouth singing, his feet dancing, and his eyes twinkling, his brain was thinking. She had looked so beautiful. He hadn't realized how much he'd been missing her.
*
"Whaddya mean, ya miss 'im?!" Melody asked incredulously that night, raising her eyebrows at Ocean Eyes. "'e beat up you'se bloody bruddah!"
Chance gave a laugh. "Bloody? 'E was covered in blood? … Aw, c'mon, dat was a good pun dat she had!"
"Hey, t'anks!" answered Melody. Ocean Eyes didn't even acknowledge their chatter. She was staring dreamily into space.
"Mush is terrific," she said softly, so softly that the other two girls had to lean in to hear what she was saying. "But he isn't Pie Eateh."
"Yeah, well, dat boy taday wasn't Pie Eateh, eiddah," answered Melody. "Pie Eateh wouldn' a beat up NOBODY. Gawd, I wish 'e didn' go ta Brooklyn…"
"But how 'bout dat stupid bruddah a' yours?" Chance asked, peeking at Ocean Eyes. "Ferbiddin' ya ta see Pie Eateh, when it toins out dat Pie Eateh ain't even Jewish!"
"Hey, dat stupid bruddah a' hoirs is MY man," Melody protested. She was highly protective of Kid Blink.
"Waddn' it stupid a him, though?" Chance said.
Melody nodded. "But dat don' mean ya should make fun a him!" she cried righteously.
That was the one piece of information that Ocean Eyes had refused to receive in her brain. She didn't want to admit that her brother had done something totally uncalled for. When one devotes her life to her brother's wishes, one often does not want to hear that he has been wrong. She bit her lip and let a few tears fall silently once the lights were off and the candles blown out. She wished she could take back time, and ask Christian herself why he wouldn't let her see Pie Eater. She could have assured him that Pie Eater wasn't Jewish, and then it wouldn't be a big deal … and she'd still be with Pie Eater. The tears fell faster as she realized that with one simple question, so much could've been prevented.
Ocean Eyes' tide came in and out as she cried off and on until daybreak.
"Snoddy?" she called, once the day was officially rolling. She quickly found him, just shouldering his newly-bought papes.
"Oh, heya, Ocean Eyes," he said, avoiding her stare and trudging to an empty corner.
"Snoddy, don' ya miss 'im?" she asked, tugging on his arm to make him stop moving.
Snoddy's eyes locked on hers. "Who?" he asked simply.
She blinked. "Pie Eateh! Who else would I'se be talkin' about, huh?"
Snoddy stared for a moment. "Yeah. But Pie Eateh's dead now." He began to yell out headlines.
"Snoddy, we could bring 'im back," Ocean Eyes whispered. "Da two a' us. We's was his bes' friends. Da on'y ones 'e eveh trusted. We can' jus' let 'im ruin 'is life oveh dere in Brooklyn!" Her voice shook with passion and she tried to convey to Snoddy just how much this meant to her.
Snoddy shook his head. "'E don' wanna come back, Ocean." His tone was gentle and sweet, as if he were talking to a five-year old. "'E's happy oveh dere in Brooklyn. Who is we ta rob 'im of 'is happiness?"
Ocean Eyes glared at him. "You'se so stubborn! Jus' LIKE 'im! An' jus' like Jack, an' jus' like Christian! Why can't you boys jus' get SMART? Pie Eateh needs ours help, Snoddy! An' you an' me, we's gotsta save 'im. I can't do it alone. I NEED YOU."
Snoddy looked at her, and shook his head. "Sorry, Ocean. It can't be done. Now go an' find Mush an' sell you'se papes, a'right?" He shook his hair from his eyes and turned his back on her.
She fought tears, but did as he said and ran straight to Mush. He had been holding her papers for her. She grabbed the stack from under his arms, and threw them at Mush's feet.
"Whoa! What's you doin'?" Mush asked, picking up the papers for her. "You'se gettin' 'em all doity! You silly goil." He ruffled her hair affectionately, then handed her the papers. Again, she threw them down. He gave her a puzzled look this time, and bent to get them again. The third time the papers landed at his feet, he just stared at her. "Hey! Wha' gives?"
"I'se quittin', Mush," she answered, lifting her chin. "I'se got nothin' ta stay heah for, do I? No. Me bruddah lies ta me, I'se can't sell anyhows, an' da one I love—"
"Da one you love loves you back," said Mush, kissing her cheek and pulling her into a hug. "I'se shure dat I'd be los' widdout you, Ocean Eyes."
This statement only made her begin to cry. "Mush, I ain't talkin' about you!" she wailed. "I'se still love Pie Eateh!"
Mush pulled away quickly, and searched her face, as if sure this was a joke. "But 'e soaked yer bruddah! Yer bruddah ain't out heah sellin' ta-day because you'se BELOVED PIE EATEH soaked 'im! Yer bruddah is hoitin' – bad – an' you STILL love da boy? Wha' abou' me, huh?" He looked hurt.
"I'se sorry, Mush," she said, and indeed she sounded sorry. "I'se didn' wanna hoit ya. But I can' help da way me heart feels."
"It don' mattah," he said, trying to make his tone carefree. He couldn't let a GIRL see how much she meant to him. He DID have his pride.
"Oh, Mush," she said, deeply touched by this for some reason. She tried to hug him, but he pulled away. She watched him as he walked slowly from her. At the end of the street, he threw his remaining papers down and punched a building. Then he turned out of view.
A shadow fell over Ocean Eyes. She hastily wiped at the tears which threatened to leave her eyes. She straightened and looked up.
There was a pause, then at last the person began to speak. "Well, I guess we'se gotta do it alone, den." She looked uncertainly up into his face.
Snoddy, standing before her, let a grin cross his face. He spit on his hand and held it out to her. Ocean Eyes spit on her hand, too. "Da two a' us? How could he resist?" she asked, jokingly. After shaking, she pulled him into a hug, and then did begin to cry.
"Don' worry, Ocean," Snoddy whispered to her. "We'se gonna make it a'right. I promise."
**Copyright © 2002 Mondie**