1 Chapter 4
A/N: The beginning of this chapter is synonomous w/what happened in Chapter 3. Or in plain English, it's the same events through a different point of view. Just wanted to clear up any confusion, I had people swearing at me for not writing it clearly enough.
Flare growled to herself. Saying today was a slow day would be an understatement. She had only gotten rid of six of her fifty papers in the two hours she had been selling, despite the headline she & Mush had come up with. Annoyed, she held up a paper.
"Nude corpse found in burnt-out tenement!" she called out, waving the paper around like a madman.
"Cut dat out, Flare," Mush said, hitting her in the shoulder & laughing.
"Well no one's even lookin' at us," she muttered. "Might as well try to grab their attention somehow." Shaking her head, she took off her cap & wiped her forehead.
"Gawd, it's hot," she complained. "Why is it so damned hot?"
"Maybe 'cause it's July," Mush teased, shoving her a little. "Hey, maybe we should split up. We could probably sell more, faster." Flare nodded, replacing her cap.
"Dat ain't a bad idea," she agreed. "Even fer you." Mush pretended to be hurt & she grinned. "We'll meet here when we're done."
" 'Kay," Mush agreed. He hesitated, then gave her a quick kiss on the lips & walked away. Flare watched him for a moment, a small smile playing at her lips, then groaned. Back to work. She turned, seeking out her next victim. Raising the paper above her head, she called her headline again. No one responded.
"Fer cryin' out loud," she muttered, than gathered her strength & shouted one last time.
"Extra! Extra! Nude corpse found in tenement!" she hollered. 'Finally,' she though as a small group crowded around her, suddenly eager to get their hands on a copy. 'Men'll buy anything with the woid 'nude' in it,' she thought, laughing to herself. She thanked them for the money & moved away quickly. She didn't want to be around when they found out their "nude corpse" was just the dead body of a cat.
A movement in an alley caught her attention. She looked over & saw two guys standing in there over a third form. Delanceys, her mind supplied. They seemed to be beating on some poor street kid. 'Just walk away,' she told herself. 'Don't pay any attention.' Against her better judgement, she looked over again.
"Damned conscience," she muttered, tucking her papers into her makeshift belt. Shaking her head, she quickly made her way over to the alley. None of them noticed her approach, giving her an advantage. She snuck up behind Oscar & tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around, her fist connected with his jaw. She caught him again in the eye. Oscar stumbled back a little & she gave him a hard shove into the brick wall behind him. Morris turned around to see what had happened & was greeted by Flare's knee to his stomach. She kneed him again & he fell to the ground. Oscar was up again & prepared to rush her, but she elbowed him in the chest - hard. Both guys got up & into a fighting stance. Flare made a move as if to run towards them & they took off running down the alley.
"Assholes," Flare muttered. She brushed her hands off on her pants. A job well-done. She heard a groan & turned around to see the kid still on the ground. Checking to make sure she still had the bulk of her papers, she made his way over to him & held out her hand.
"You okay?" she asked, w/genuine concern. James brushed her hand aside & pushed himself off the ground.
"Fine," he replied shortly. "Jist fine. An' even if I wasn't, I wouldn't need help from some goil." His pride had been stung; he didn't want to admit that he had needed help defending himself from a couple of street jerks-especially when it was apparent that those jerks weren't particularly tough.
Flare glared at him, & suddenly, without warning, belted him in the stomach. James fell over again, coughing.
"What in the hell was dat for?" he sputtered. Flare's eyes narrowed.
"Trust me kid," she growled. "Dis is one goil ya don't wanna cross." She started to walk away, but turned around to look at him struggling to get back up. 'Damned conscience,' she thought again, going back over & offering her hand a second time. James just looked at her & she rolled her eyes.
"Ya gonna stare at it or are ya gonna get up?"
James stared at her outstretched hand a moment longer before accepting it. flare helped pull him to his feet & he winced slightly at the pain in his ribs.
"Sorry 'bout dat punch," Flare said, "but you deserved it. With that attitude, ya won't last 10 minutes out heah."
"It's okay," James replied. "It wasn't dat hard anyway." Again, Flare narrowed her eyes, but then she grinned ever-so-slightly. James was a little surprised by that; he had expected to make her mad again.
"Ya got a name, kid?" she inquired. James opened his mouth to reply but shut it again. He felt reluctant to give his real name, foolish as it seemed. Flare seemed to sense this because she just nodded.
"Well, I'm Flare," she introduced herself with a quick mock-bow. James grinned at her.
"Interestin' name," he said. Flare shrugged.
"Yeah, well, it's just a nickname," she explained, " 'cuz of my temper." She rolled her eyes a little. "My real name's Isabelle. But don't call me dat or I'll soak ya." She looked at the patch over his eye.
"What's dat for?" she asked, reaching for it. James quickly pushed her hand away.
"Oh, it's real," she said softly. Before James could ask what she meant by that, she was talking again. "Well, dat's okay, ya can use it as a handicap."
"A handicap?" James echoed. "What's dat supposed ta be?"
"Ya know, an injury or somethin' like dat, ta make people feel bad fer ya."
"Why do I want people ta feel bad fer me?"
"Pity," Flare explained. "Pity sells papes. People tend ta be more- what's the woid?-" she stopped to think for a second, "-generous. And-"
"Wait a minute," James interrupted. "Who said I was gonna sell?"
"How much money ya got?" Flare challenged.
"None," James admitted.
"An' how do ya plan on makin' any?"
James shifted his weight, saying nothing.
"Ya see, sellin's yer only option." She grinned. "I'll show ya the ropes, it ain't that hard." She took several papers out of the stack hanging from her belt. James hesitated before taking them from her.
"C'mon, kid," she said, motioning for James to follow her. "We got papes ta sell." They walked to an open spot.
"Okay, this is pretty easy," Flare explained to James. "Mostly, ya just pick out an interestin' headline, yell it out, an' wait fer people ta buy a pape. Watch." She cleared her throat & held up a paper. "Nude corpse found in tenement remains!" Once again, several people clustered around her, eager to read the story. James quickly scanned down the front page. Not much in the news. Sighing, he finally raised up a paper.
"Mayor's house fumigated, cockroach problem solved!" he called out. No one even blinked an eye. He heard Flare chuckle behind him & turned to glare at her.
"Dat's yer second lesson." She grinned. "Improvin' the headlines. Where's that story, foist page?" James nodded. Flare located the story & held the paper up again.
"Massacre at mayor's house, hundreds killed!" Immediately, Flarewas surrounded by customers again. James nodded, starting to catch on, & called out the same headline. He, too, soon had people flocking over to buy a paper.
"Penny a pape!" Flare yelled. "Massacre at mayor's house! Extra! Extra!" James noted the price to himself & sold one to a middle-aged man who seemed to be in a rush.
"Young man, why do you have to wear that patch?" an elderly lady asked James. He swallowed hard. Flare noticed this & trotted over.
"Factory accident, ma'am," she answered for him. "He's my brother. He was fired from his old job an' now sellin's all we got." She allowed her eyes to tear up as she said this, & her lip trembled a little. 'She's good,' James thought.
"Poor dears!" the old lady exclaimed. She dropped a dime into James's hand & gave one to Flare too. James nodded, smiling, & Flare tipped her cap.
"Much obliged, ma'am," she said. The woman smiled in return & walked away.
"Ain't dat lyin'?" James asked, turning to face Flare. She smiled a little.
"You tell me," she replied, turning away.
"What's dat supposed ta mean?"
"Well, ya haven't told me anythin' 'bout who ya are or where ya came from." She turned to face him again. "I don't even know yer name."
"Why should I tell ya anything?" James shot back defensively. "You've known me fer about 10 minutes!"
"I ain't askin' fer yer life story, kid," she replied. "Dat ain't my business." She turned away & began shouting her headline again. James shook his head & turned to do the same. 'She different, dat's fer sure,' he thought.
A/N: Well, I'm usually not one to go begging for attention, but I just wanted to know, what did you guys think of Flare as a character? Personally, I kinda like her, but I want your opinions here. Please review.or Email me.or send me an IM (CrimsonNight17) & tell me what you thought!
A/N: The beginning of this chapter is synonomous w/what happened in Chapter 3. Or in plain English, it's the same events through a different point of view. Just wanted to clear up any confusion, I had people swearing at me for not writing it clearly enough.
Flare growled to herself. Saying today was a slow day would be an understatement. She had only gotten rid of six of her fifty papers in the two hours she had been selling, despite the headline she & Mush had come up with. Annoyed, she held up a paper.
"Nude corpse found in burnt-out tenement!" she called out, waving the paper around like a madman.
"Cut dat out, Flare," Mush said, hitting her in the shoulder & laughing.
"Well no one's even lookin' at us," she muttered. "Might as well try to grab their attention somehow." Shaking her head, she took off her cap & wiped her forehead.
"Gawd, it's hot," she complained. "Why is it so damned hot?"
"Maybe 'cause it's July," Mush teased, shoving her a little. "Hey, maybe we should split up. We could probably sell more, faster." Flare nodded, replacing her cap.
"Dat ain't a bad idea," she agreed. "Even fer you." Mush pretended to be hurt & she grinned. "We'll meet here when we're done."
" 'Kay," Mush agreed. He hesitated, then gave her a quick kiss on the lips & walked away. Flare watched him for a moment, a small smile playing at her lips, then groaned. Back to work. She turned, seeking out her next victim. Raising the paper above her head, she called her headline again. No one responded.
"Fer cryin' out loud," she muttered, than gathered her strength & shouted one last time.
"Extra! Extra! Nude corpse found in tenement!" she hollered. 'Finally,' she though as a small group crowded around her, suddenly eager to get their hands on a copy. 'Men'll buy anything with the woid 'nude' in it,' she thought, laughing to herself. She thanked them for the money & moved away quickly. She didn't want to be around when they found out their "nude corpse" was just the dead body of a cat.
A movement in an alley caught her attention. She looked over & saw two guys standing in there over a third form. Delanceys, her mind supplied. They seemed to be beating on some poor street kid. 'Just walk away,' she told herself. 'Don't pay any attention.' Against her better judgement, she looked over again.
"Damned conscience," she muttered, tucking her papers into her makeshift belt. Shaking her head, she quickly made her way over to the alley. None of them noticed her approach, giving her an advantage. She snuck up behind Oscar & tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around, her fist connected with his jaw. She caught him again in the eye. Oscar stumbled back a little & she gave him a hard shove into the brick wall behind him. Morris turned around to see what had happened & was greeted by Flare's knee to his stomach. She kneed him again & he fell to the ground. Oscar was up again & prepared to rush her, but she elbowed him in the chest - hard. Both guys got up & into a fighting stance. Flare made a move as if to run towards them & they took off running down the alley.
"Assholes," Flare muttered. She brushed her hands off on her pants. A job well-done. She heard a groan & turned around to see the kid still on the ground. Checking to make sure she still had the bulk of her papers, she made his way over to him & held out her hand.
"You okay?" she asked, w/genuine concern. James brushed her hand aside & pushed himself off the ground.
"Fine," he replied shortly. "Jist fine. An' even if I wasn't, I wouldn't need help from some goil." His pride had been stung; he didn't want to admit that he had needed help defending himself from a couple of street jerks-especially when it was apparent that those jerks weren't particularly tough.
Flare glared at him, & suddenly, without warning, belted him in the stomach. James fell over again, coughing.
"What in the hell was dat for?" he sputtered. Flare's eyes narrowed.
"Trust me kid," she growled. "Dis is one goil ya don't wanna cross." She started to walk away, but turned around to look at him struggling to get back up. 'Damned conscience,' she thought again, going back over & offering her hand a second time. James just looked at her & she rolled her eyes.
"Ya gonna stare at it or are ya gonna get up?"
James stared at her outstretched hand a moment longer before accepting it. flare helped pull him to his feet & he winced slightly at the pain in his ribs.
"Sorry 'bout dat punch," Flare said, "but you deserved it. With that attitude, ya won't last 10 minutes out heah."
"It's okay," James replied. "It wasn't dat hard anyway." Again, Flare narrowed her eyes, but then she grinned ever-so-slightly. James was a little surprised by that; he had expected to make her mad again.
"Ya got a name, kid?" she inquired. James opened his mouth to reply but shut it again. He felt reluctant to give his real name, foolish as it seemed. Flare seemed to sense this because she just nodded.
"Well, I'm Flare," she introduced herself with a quick mock-bow. James grinned at her.
"Interestin' name," he said. Flare shrugged.
"Yeah, well, it's just a nickname," she explained, " 'cuz of my temper." She rolled her eyes a little. "My real name's Isabelle. But don't call me dat or I'll soak ya." She looked at the patch over his eye.
"What's dat for?" she asked, reaching for it. James quickly pushed her hand away.
"Oh, it's real," she said softly. Before James could ask what she meant by that, she was talking again. "Well, dat's okay, ya can use it as a handicap."
"A handicap?" James echoed. "What's dat supposed ta be?"
"Ya know, an injury or somethin' like dat, ta make people feel bad fer ya."
"Why do I want people ta feel bad fer me?"
"Pity," Flare explained. "Pity sells papes. People tend ta be more- what's the woid?-" she stopped to think for a second, "-generous. And-"
"Wait a minute," James interrupted. "Who said I was gonna sell?"
"How much money ya got?" Flare challenged.
"None," James admitted.
"An' how do ya plan on makin' any?"
James shifted his weight, saying nothing.
"Ya see, sellin's yer only option." She grinned. "I'll show ya the ropes, it ain't that hard." She took several papers out of the stack hanging from her belt. James hesitated before taking them from her.
"C'mon, kid," she said, motioning for James to follow her. "We got papes ta sell." They walked to an open spot.
"Okay, this is pretty easy," Flare explained to James. "Mostly, ya just pick out an interestin' headline, yell it out, an' wait fer people ta buy a pape. Watch." She cleared her throat & held up a paper. "Nude corpse found in tenement remains!" Once again, several people clustered around her, eager to read the story. James quickly scanned down the front page. Not much in the news. Sighing, he finally raised up a paper.
"Mayor's house fumigated, cockroach problem solved!" he called out. No one even blinked an eye. He heard Flare chuckle behind him & turned to glare at her.
"Dat's yer second lesson." She grinned. "Improvin' the headlines. Where's that story, foist page?" James nodded. Flare located the story & held the paper up again.
"Massacre at mayor's house, hundreds killed!" Immediately, Flarewas surrounded by customers again. James nodded, starting to catch on, & called out the same headline. He, too, soon had people flocking over to buy a paper.
"Penny a pape!" Flare yelled. "Massacre at mayor's house! Extra! Extra!" James noted the price to himself & sold one to a middle-aged man who seemed to be in a rush.
"Young man, why do you have to wear that patch?" an elderly lady asked James. He swallowed hard. Flare noticed this & trotted over.
"Factory accident, ma'am," she answered for him. "He's my brother. He was fired from his old job an' now sellin's all we got." She allowed her eyes to tear up as she said this, & her lip trembled a little. 'She's good,' James thought.
"Poor dears!" the old lady exclaimed. She dropped a dime into James's hand & gave one to Flare too. James nodded, smiling, & Flare tipped her cap.
"Much obliged, ma'am," she said. The woman smiled in return & walked away.
"Ain't dat lyin'?" James asked, turning to face Flare. She smiled a little.
"You tell me," she replied, turning away.
"What's dat supposed ta mean?"
"Well, ya haven't told me anythin' 'bout who ya are or where ya came from." She turned to face him again. "I don't even know yer name."
"Why should I tell ya anything?" James shot back defensively. "You've known me fer about 10 minutes!"
"I ain't askin' fer yer life story, kid," she replied. "Dat ain't my business." She turned away & began shouting her headline again. James shook his head & turned to do the same. 'She different, dat's fer sure,' he thought.
A/N: Well, I'm usually not one to go begging for attention, but I just wanted to know, what did you guys think of Flare as a character? Personally, I kinda like her, but I want your opinions here. Please review.or Email me.or send me an IM (CrimsonNight17) & tell me what you thought!
