Chapter 3: Guessing Games
Spot walked quickly across the bridge to Manhattan as the sun started setting on the horizon. His pockets sounded with coins rattling around inside. He was bound and determined not to lose to Racetrack tonight. Chance, Blade and Random followed Spot to Manhattan. Random's fingers were laced with Blade's as they walked. Chance looked at the two every now and then and whispered a few crude jokes, along the lines of 'get a room'. Blade paid little attention to Chance. He was too caught up in the fact that he finally had a girl he adored.
The wind across the bridge blew cool air into the heat and dampness of the twilight atmosphere. Spot looked back at three newsies following him and smiled to himself. It was nice to have an entourage.
"Hey Spot, we stayin' in Manhattan tonight?" Blade asked as they stepped off the bridge.
"Might as well," Spot sighed, "Unless yous wanna walk back to Brooklyn 'round one in da mornin."
Random laughed, "Nah, I ain't even gonna be up that late. Might as well jus sleep heyah then."
"We still sellin' in Brooklyn tomorrow?" Chance questioned.
"Yeah, Ise don't need any more territory problems. We'll sell in Brooklyn tomorrow," Spot added, "It ain't woirth a war between us all."
Random nodded, "That's the foirst smart thing yous said all day Spot."
Spot looked back at Random and smiled, "Well, that still keeps me one smart remark ahead of yous."
Random frowned, "Ha ha Spot. Funny. I almost forgot ta laugh."
Blade squeezed Random's hand and kissed her cheek. Spot looked at the couple and shook his head almost wishing he had what they had. They were almost the perfect couple in his mind. Blade adored Random and Random did anything to make Blade happy. It was almost sickening. A few more minutes of walking and they finally reached the Manhattan LH. Spot looked at the building with a familiar glance and then walked in.
"The fun has arrived," Spot announced as he entered the LH with his newsies right behind him.
Jack looked up from a table where he sat with Mush, Blink, Jake and a few others gathered around playing cards. Spit Fire looked down from her seat on the stairs and smirked. She stood up and decided to grab a quick nap. She had no real need to go downstairs and be ridiculed by Spot all night. Besides the boys would be up till midnight playing cards and she knew she'd never get any sleep if she stayed up with them. Spot, unbeknownst to everyone in the room, watched Spit Fire walk upstairs and smiled to himself, while tracing her movements with his eyes.
"Hey Spot!" Jack called, "Ovah heyah Brooklyn."
Spot turned back to the boys and smirked, "Time for me ta bust ya huh boys? Got all yur money ready ta hand ovah?"
Blink laughed and stood up making a seat for the Brooklyn leader. He found another table and Chance joined him, dealing out some more cards. Blade sat down next to Spot while Random went over by Chance. She couldn't play cards for the life of her. She remembered her first day in Brooklyn when she lost two dollars to Conlon playing his version of poker. She refused to make that mistake again. Jake and Mush found seats at Chance's table and started pulling out their money. The atmosphere in the lodging house was an upbeat one. Chance had left his game long enough to find some appetizers for the group to eat and soon laughter had filled the room. It was a very rare sight to see two cities such as Manhattan and Brooklyn getting along so well. Their annual poker games were more like diplomatic meetings to keep the peace between them.
"So, any of me boys cross ovah in Brooklyn today Spot?" Jack asked while pulling out a few coins.
"Jus' one Jacky-boy. She's been a real pain in me side for the past two weeks," Spot commented while dealing cards.
Jack sighed, "Spit Fire huh? She knows bettah then that."
"Well I ain't wagin' war cause of a goirl Jack. I'll jus deal wid'er latah," Spot smirked almost crudely.
Jack sighed and rolled his eyes, "Careful, she'll soak ya."
Spot laughed as well as Blade and Chance who overheard their conversation.
"Jacky-boy, she'll have Brooklyn come down on'er if she even tries it." Spot rolled his eyes.
Chance smirked, while winning a small game against Mush, Random and Jake and shook his head; "Spot yous got the biggest ego Ise evah known."
Spot threw his hat at Chance playfully, "Shuddup…" and laughed.
Spit Fire who was up in the bunks listened to the boy's conversations. She grumbled to herself while listening to Spot's part of the conversation, "He's an egotistical jerk! I have every right to sell where ever I want. Even if I want to sell in Brooklyn." Spit Fire considered why she even sold in Brooklyn. It wasn't because she liked Brooklyn, she just really wanted to annoy some guys and start up some mischief. Obviously it was working. She had no need to throw Manhattan and Brooklyn into a war because of it, but it was fun to watch.
"Jacky-boy? Where's Race?" Spot asked.
"At the track. Where'd ya expect'im?"
Spot laughed, "Well, at least this way I can win all your money tonight and not worry 'bout him gittin' at any of it. It'll be a clean sweep."
"Remind me again Jack, why wes invite Brooklyn ovah ta play pokah wid us?" Blink laughed waiting for Chance to deal him his cards.
Jack looked over at the table that Blink was at and smiled, "Cause it's nice of us ta hand ovah all our cash ta Brooklyn every now and then." Jack laughed, "Cause then…they won't have any reason ta take ovah Manhattan cause wes all broke."
Spot laughed at this, "Very smart of yous Jacky-boy."
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A few hours later, Spit Fire woke up from her small nap to find all the boys still downstairs playing poker. She stretched and slowly made her way down the stairs to see who was winning since they were being too loud for her to get anymore sleep.
"Spot! Dat ain't fair!" Mush yelled, "Yous got all da good cards."
Spot stood up taking the money from the table, "Well, yous gotta have luck Mush. Yous ain't got luck."
Mush wasn't about ready to accuse Spot of cheating even though he had a feeling that Spot might have been. Jack looked at Mush and laughed.
"Easy Mush. It's only a game." Jack stood up and searched his pockets for some money.
Chance and Random split their winnings, since they didn't have much to begin with. Blade was winning almost as much as Spot and Blink was very close in winnings as well. He was making more then the rest of the Manhattan newsies, including Jack, combined. Spot was starting to admire the way Blink played poker.
"You're still up?" Spit Fire commented while she entered the room.
Spot turned his head to look at Spit Fire, "Since when did yous decide ta grace the room wid your presence." He sneered and then looked back at his cards.
Spit Fire rolled her eyes, "Git ovah yourself Conlon."
Blade yawned and put his cards down, folding. He walked over next to Random and knelt down besides her smiling at her. She looked down at him and smirked.
"What do yous want?" She laughed.
"Besides the obvious?" Blade winked at her.
Random rolled her eyes; "Yous done playin' cards?"
He nodded, "Ise headin' in for some sleep."
Jack looked over, "Much of the bunks are open up there. Lotta the boys is sleepin' out undah the stars, it's so nice out."
Blade smiled, "Thanks Jack."
Blade headed upstairs to find a bunk for himself. A few moments later Random headed in the same direction followed by Chance and some random Manhattan newsies. Pretty soon, the only people left sitting around the round wooden table in the Manhattan LH were Spit Fire, Spot, Jack and Kid Blink. Spit Fire kept a close watch on Jack and Blink. They liked to stay up late at night. 'Maybe it's Blink or Jack.' After another hour of playing poker, they all decided to head in for some sleep. The moon was bright outside but clouds were drifting in and out of its light.
Spit Fire went to bed as determined as ever to find out her mysterious lover. She stayed up after all the lights went out for another half hour to see if anyone was going to try anything with her tonight. Her eyes sagged from the imaginary weight of sleep deprivation. Eventually she fell asleep, not even noticing the eyes watching her from a few bunks down as a small boy sat up in bed and made his way over to her.
Spot walked quickly across the bridge to Manhattan as the sun started setting on the horizon. His pockets sounded with coins rattling around inside. He was bound and determined not to lose to Racetrack tonight. Chance, Blade and Random followed Spot to Manhattan. Random's fingers were laced with Blade's as they walked. Chance looked at the two every now and then and whispered a few crude jokes, along the lines of 'get a room'. Blade paid little attention to Chance. He was too caught up in the fact that he finally had a girl he adored.
The wind across the bridge blew cool air into the heat and dampness of the twilight atmosphere. Spot looked back at three newsies following him and smiled to himself. It was nice to have an entourage.
"Hey Spot, we stayin' in Manhattan tonight?" Blade asked as they stepped off the bridge.
"Might as well," Spot sighed, "Unless yous wanna walk back to Brooklyn 'round one in da mornin."
Random laughed, "Nah, I ain't even gonna be up that late. Might as well jus sleep heyah then."
"We still sellin' in Brooklyn tomorrow?" Chance questioned.
"Yeah, Ise don't need any more territory problems. We'll sell in Brooklyn tomorrow," Spot added, "It ain't woirth a war between us all."
Random nodded, "That's the foirst smart thing yous said all day Spot."
Spot looked back at Random and smiled, "Well, that still keeps me one smart remark ahead of yous."
Random frowned, "Ha ha Spot. Funny. I almost forgot ta laugh."
Blade squeezed Random's hand and kissed her cheek. Spot looked at the couple and shook his head almost wishing he had what they had. They were almost the perfect couple in his mind. Blade adored Random and Random did anything to make Blade happy. It was almost sickening. A few more minutes of walking and they finally reached the Manhattan LH. Spot looked at the building with a familiar glance and then walked in.
"The fun has arrived," Spot announced as he entered the LH with his newsies right behind him.
Jack looked up from a table where he sat with Mush, Blink, Jake and a few others gathered around playing cards. Spit Fire looked down from her seat on the stairs and smirked. She stood up and decided to grab a quick nap. She had no real need to go downstairs and be ridiculed by Spot all night. Besides the boys would be up till midnight playing cards and she knew she'd never get any sleep if she stayed up with them. Spot, unbeknownst to everyone in the room, watched Spit Fire walk upstairs and smiled to himself, while tracing her movements with his eyes.
"Hey Spot!" Jack called, "Ovah heyah Brooklyn."
Spot turned back to the boys and smirked, "Time for me ta bust ya huh boys? Got all yur money ready ta hand ovah?"
Blink laughed and stood up making a seat for the Brooklyn leader. He found another table and Chance joined him, dealing out some more cards. Blade sat down next to Spot while Random went over by Chance. She couldn't play cards for the life of her. She remembered her first day in Brooklyn when she lost two dollars to Conlon playing his version of poker. She refused to make that mistake again. Jake and Mush found seats at Chance's table and started pulling out their money. The atmosphere in the lodging house was an upbeat one. Chance had left his game long enough to find some appetizers for the group to eat and soon laughter had filled the room. It was a very rare sight to see two cities such as Manhattan and Brooklyn getting along so well. Their annual poker games were more like diplomatic meetings to keep the peace between them.
"So, any of me boys cross ovah in Brooklyn today Spot?" Jack asked while pulling out a few coins.
"Jus' one Jacky-boy. She's been a real pain in me side for the past two weeks," Spot commented while dealing cards.
Jack sighed, "Spit Fire huh? She knows bettah then that."
"Well I ain't wagin' war cause of a goirl Jack. I'll jus deal wid'er latah," Spot smirked almost crudely.
Jack sighed and rolled his eyes, "Careful, she'll soak ya."
Spot laughed as well as Blade and Chance who overheard their conversation.
"Jacky-boy, she'll have Brooklyn come down on'er if she even tries it." Spot rolled his eyes.
Chance smirked, while winning a small game against Mush, Random and Jake and shook his head; "Spot yous got the biggest ego Ise evah known."
Spot threw his hat at Chance playfully, "Shuddup…" and laughed.
Spit Fire who was up in the bunks listened to the boy's conversations. She grumbled to herself while listening to Spot's part of the conversation, "He's an egotistical jerk! I have every right to sell where ever I want. Even if I want to sell in Brooklyn." Spit Fire considered why she even sold in Brooklyn. It wasn't because she liked Brooklyn, she just really wanted to annoy some guys and start up some mischief. Obviously it was working. She had no need to throw Manhattan and Brooklyn into a war because of it, but it was fun to watch.
"Jacky-boy? Where's Race?" Spot asked.
"At the track. Where'd ya expect'im?"
Spot laughed, "Well, at least this way I can win all your money tonight and not worry 'bout him gittin' at any of it. It'll be a clean sweep."
"Remind me again Jack, why wes invite Brooklyn ovah ta play pokah wid us?" Blink laughed waiting for Chance to deal him his cards.
Jack looked over at the table that Blink was at and smiled, "Cause it's nice of us ta hand ovah all our cash ta Brooklyn every now and then." Jack laughed, "Cause then…they won't have any reason ta take ovah Manhattan cause wes all broke."
Spot laughed at this, "Very smart of yous Jacky-boy."
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A few hours later, Spit Fire woke up from her small nap to find all the boys still downstairs playing poker. She stretched and slowly made her way down the stairs to see who was winning since they were being too loud for her to get anymore sleep.
"Spot! Dat ain't fair!" Mush yelled, "Yous got all da good cards."
Spot stood up taking the money from the table, "Well, yous gotta have luck Mush. Yous ain't got luck."
Mush wasn't about ready to accuse Spot of cheating even though he had a feeling that Spot might have been. Jack looked at Mush and laughed.
"Easy Mush. It's only a game." Jack stood up and searched his pockets for some money.
Chance and Random split their winnings, since they didn't have much to begin with. Blade was winning almost as much as Spot and Blink was very close in winnings as well. He was making more then the rest of the Manhattan newsies, including Jack, combined. Spot was starting to admire the way Blink played poker.
"You're still up?" Spit Fire commented while she entered the room.
Spot turned his head to look at Spit Fire, "Since when did yous decide ta grace the room wid your presence." He sneered and then looked back at his cards.
Spit Fire rolled her eyes, "Git ovah yourself Conlon."
Blade yawned and put his cards down, folding. He walked over next to Random and knelt down besides her smiling at her. She looked down at him and smirked.
"What do yous want?" She laughed.
"Besides the obvious?" Blade winked at her.
Random rolled her eyes; "Yous done playin' cards?"
He nodded, "Ise headin' in for some sleep."
Jack looked over, "Much of the bunks are open up there. Lotta the boys is sleepin' out undah the stars, it's so nice out."
Blade smiled, "Thanks Jack."
Blade headed upstairs to find a bunk for himself. A few moments later Random headed in the same direction followed by Chance and some random Manhattan newsies. Pretty soon, the only people left sitting around the round wooden table in the Manhattan LH were Spit Fire, Spot, Jack and Kid Blink. Spit Fire kept a close watch on Jack and Blink. They liked to stay up late at night. 'Maybe it's Blink or Jack.' After another hour of playing poker, they all decided to head in for some sleep. The moon was bright outside but clouds were drifting in and out of its light.
Spit Fire went to bed as determined as ever to find out her mysterious lover. She stayed up after all the lights went out for another half hour to see if anyone was going to try anything with her tonight. Her eyes sagged from the imaginary weight of sleep deprivation. Eventually she fell asleep, not even noticing the eyes watching her from a few bunks down as a small boy sat up in bed and made his way over to her.