AFL Chapter 15
\\A*N: I really hate floppy disks!! :( I wrote this chapter, and chapter 16, and half of 17, and for some reason my floppy disk ate them! It also ate a new story I'd just written. ACK! So I think this chap used to be a heck of a lot better, but I was trying to remember what I wrote off the top of my head. I'm so sorry!! *curses all evil floppy disks*\\
The next day, all of us decided to stay at my house instead of selling papers, except for Jack. He came back around noontime, happier than I've ever seen him. "Ha HA, read 'em an' weep, fellas!" he said happily, dropping a large amount of pennies on the table. "I sol' three hundred papes t'day!"
"You made a dollah an' fifty cents?" Racetrack asked, staring at all the pennies. "D'ya know how much money I could make gamblin' a dollah an' fifty cents?"
"No, but I know how much you could LOSE gamblin' a dollah an' fifty cents," Jack answered as he scooped the pennies back up and shoved them in his pockets. "Ya'd lose… A DOLLAH AN' FIFTY CENTS!"
Mush began laughing hysterically, and telling everyone who would listen just what Jack had said. While he was telling Skittery (who was rolling his eyes), Jack turned to me. "Spot said t' give this to ya," he said, and pressed a crumpled paper in my hand. His eyes shone with curiosity. "'E wouldn' even let ME read it."
I put the letter in the pocket of my skirt. Jack just gave me a look. "Wha', ya ain' gonna read it?" he asked.
"Not right now," I answered. His look intensified. "All right, all right! I'll tell you what it says after I've read it, okay?"
He nodded happily. "Tha' woiks for me!"
"Hey, Daffodil! Didja heah wha' Jack said?" Mush asked me.
"Yes, Mush." I laughed as he told me again, anyway.
"Hey, fellas, I'se got a joke for ya!" Jack said, and as I walked into the kitchen, he took my chair. We had all been sitting in the dining room waiting for lunch, and I decided I should check on Pierre to make sure he was still alive. "Pulitzer and Snyder was out for a walk one day, when Snyder suddenly…" Jack's voice dropped off as I walked further into the kitchen.
"Hello, Miss Victoria," said Pierre happily. He loves cooking for large groups of people, though I'm not sure why. "The food's almost ready." I grabbed some vegetables and headed back to the dining room, popping a carrot into my mouth. With any luck, I'd get back in time to hear the punchline of Jack's joke.
"…An' he's comin' ovah in a coupla minutes," Jack was saying. Nobody laughed, so I figured his joke was over and he'd moved on to a new topic.
"Who's coming over?" I asked, and since there were no more empty chairs, I stood behind Mush's chair and leaned on it.
"Spot. Hey, ya read that letteh yet?" Jack asked.
"Wha' letteh?" Mush wondered, looking up at me.
"Spot told Jack to give me a letter, that's all," I mumbled. I didn't know what was in the letter, but I did know that I didn't want Mush to read it. I put my hand in my pocket and fumbled with the creased and crinkled paper.
"Well, why ain' ya readin' it?" asked Mush, standing up and looking at me in concern. He gently took my wrist and lifted it, and pulled out my hand, which was clamped on the letter. He took it from my hand and smoothed it out, and began reading out loud. " 'Deah Daffodil, how is ya? I'se haven' been seein' ya aroun' lately.' "
"Dat's not too bad!" Jack said brightly.
Mush continued. " 'I wish I'se could take ya in me arms and hol' ya tight, like tha' one time. An' when we…' " Mush faltered for a moment, then drew a sharp breath and continued, " 'kissed, it was jus' poifect. You mean so much t' me, Daffodil. I hope Jackie Boy can get dis to ya, 'cause I'se goin' crazy without ya. Love, Spot.' " He turned away from me, and the letter trembled in his fingers.
"Mush, no!" I said, looking at him with eyes brimming tears. "He doesn't know what he's talking about, he doesn't know what he's doing…"
"Why would ya do this t' me?" he asked lowly, still not facing me. His voice sounded strange.
"I just wanted to protect you!" I said. "He doesn't mean anything to me, but I knew that if you knew that he likes me, then you'd just go and get yourself beat up by him, and—"
At that moment, Joseph (the butler) came in with a short but confident person at his side. "Miss Victoria?" he said, and then turned away, leaving the room to do his other duties.
"Nice place ya got heah, Daffodil," said Spot Conlon calmly, looking around at the splendor of my house and not noticing the intense situation at hand.
"I trusted ya, Daffodil," said Mush quietly, and he finally turned to look at me. I was shocked at the tears running down his face, splashing onto the floor. "I'se in love wit' ya. I though' ya loved me, too."
"I do, Mush!" I answered, beginning to cry too. "You mean everything to me!"
"I can't believe dis!" Jack roared, standing up. "Come on, fellas, I think it's time t' go." He glared at me as he rose. So did the rest of the boys. They filed out of the room, and Mush was the last to leave. He looked at me with an expression of love, hate, confusion, and hurt. I knew I'd never forget that expression for as long as I lived.
"Wha' happened heah?" Spot asked, raising his eyebrows. He took off his hat and threw it on the table, then ran his hand through his hair.
"Mush read your stupid letter!" I screamed, suddenly more angry than I'd ever been. All sorrow left me as the only thing I felt was pure hatred toward Spot Conlon. "He knows we kissed, he knows EVERYTHING! And it's ALL YOUR FAULT!" I held up my fists. "Fight me, Spot. Go ahead. You've already caused the breaking of my heart, so why don't you just cause the breaking of my body, too?"
Spot just reached out and caught hold of my fists, lowering them to my sides. "I don' fight goils," he answered. I began to sob and sank onto the fainting couch in the corner of the room.
"How could Mush jus' do that t' ya?" Spot mused, walking around the room. "If you was me goil, I'd neveh let you go. I'd neveh leave ya, eveh. Wha's da mattah with him? He didn' even put up a fight for ya."
That only made me cry harder.
"I won' leave ya. I promise, Daffodil," he said, and grabbed my hands, pulling me to a standing position in front of him.
"DON'T CALL ME DAFFODIL!" I screamed. "MY NAME IS VICTORIA ANNE KATHERINE THATCHER!" I reached up and slapped him.
"I though' every newsie liked t' keep deir newsie name," he said, scratching his head. The slap hadn't even phased him.
"Not if it's one that Mush gave me," I whimpered.
"Victoria's a much bettah name, anyhow," Spot told me, brushing away my tears. He leaned closer, and kissed me. It was different than Mush kissing me, but then it had to be, I supposed. His massaging lips relaxed me, and before I knew what I was doing, I was kissing him back. My hands got tangled in his longish light brown hair, and the tears that were still falling from my eyes rested on our lips and made the kiss taste bitter.
From behind us there came a little surprised sound, like an "umph!" Spot and I looked over. "Forgot me hat," Mush said coldly, brushing past us to his spot at the table.
\\A*N: I really hate floppy disks!! :( I wrote this chapter, and chapter 16, and half of 17, and for some reason my floppy disk ate them! It also ate a new story I'd just written. ACK! So I think this chap used to be a heck of a lot better, but I was trying to remember what I wrote off the top of my head. I'm so sorry!! *curses all evil floppy disks*\\
The next day, all of us decided to stay at my house instead of selling papers, except for Jack. He came back around noontime, happier than I've ever seen him. "Ha HA, read 'em an' weep, fellas!" he said happily, dropping a large amount of pennies on the table. "I sol' three hundred papes t'day!"
"You made a dollah an' fifty cents?" Racetrack asked, staring at all the pennies. "D'ya know how much money I could make gamblin' a dollah an' fifty cents?"
"No, but I know how much you could LOSE gamblin' a dollah an' fifty cents," Jack answered as he scooped the pennies back up and shoved them in his pockets. "Ya'd lose… A DOLLAH AN' FIFTY CENTS!"
Mush began laughing hysterically, and telling everyone who would listen just what Jack had said. While he was telling Skittery (who was rolling his eyes), Jack turned to me. "Spot said t' give this to ya," he said, and pressed a crumpled paper in my hand. His eyes shone with curiosity. "'E wouldn' even let ME read it."
I put the letter in the pocket of my skirt. Jack just gave me a look. "Wha', ya ain' gonna read it?" he asked.
"Not right now," I answered. His look intensified. "All right, all right! I'll tell you what it says after I've read it, okay?"
He nodded happily. "Tha' woiks for me!"
"Hey, Daffodil! Didja heah wha' Jack said?" Mush asked me.
"Yes, Mush." I laughed as he told me again, anyway.
"Hey, fellas, I'se got a joke for ya!" Jack said, and as I walked into the kitchen, he took my chair. We had all been sitting in the dining room waiting for lunch, and I decided I should check on Pierre to make sure he was still alive. "Pulitzer and Snyder was out for a walk one day, when Snyder suddenly…" Jack's voice dropped off as I walked further into the kitchen.
"Hello, Miss Victoria," said Pierre happily. He loves cooking for large groups of people, though I'm not sure why. "The food's almost ready." I grabbed some vegetables and headed back to the dining room, popping a carrot into my mouth. With any luck, I'd get back in time to hear the punchline of Jack's joke.
"…An' he's comin' ovah in a coupla minutes," Jack was saying. Nobody laughed, so I figured his joke was over and he'd moved on to a new topic.
"Who's coming over?" I asked, and since there were no more empty chairs, I stood behind Mush's chair and leaned on it.
"Spot. Hey, ya read that letteh yet?" Jack asked.
"Wha' letteh?" Mush wondered, looking up at me.
"Spot told Jack to give me a letter, that's all," I mumbled. I didn't know what was in the letter, but I did know that I didn't want Mush to read it. I put my hand in my pocket and fumbled with the creased and crinkled paper.
"Well, why ain' ya readin' it?" asked Mush, standing up and looking at me in concern. He gently took my wrist and lifted it, and pulled out my hand, which was clamped on the letter. He took it from my hand and smoothed it out, and began reading out loud. " 'Deah Daffodil, how is ya? I'se haven' been seein' ya aroun' lately.' "
"Dat's not too bad!" Jack said brightly.
Mush continued. " 'I wish I'se could take ya in me arms and hol' ya tight, like tha' one time. An' when we…' " Mush faltered for a moment, then drew a sharp breath and continued, " 'kissed, it was jus' poifect. You mean so much t' me, Daffodil. I hope Jackie Boy can get dis to ya, 'cause I'se goin' crazy without ya. Love, Spot.' " He turned away from me, and the letter trembled in his fingers.
"Mush, no!" I said, looking at him with eyes brimming tears. "He doesn't know what he's talking about, he doesn't know what he's doing…"
"Why would ya do this t' me?" he asked lowly, still not facing me. His voice sounded strange.
"I just wanted to protect you!" I said. "He doesn't mean anything to me, but I knew that if you knew that he likes me, then you'd just go and get yourself beat up by him, and—"
At that moment, Joseph (the butler) came in with a short but confident person at his side. "Miss Victoria?" he said, and then turned away, leaving the room to do his other duties.
"Nice place ya got heah, Daffodil," said Spot Conlon calmly, looking around at the splendor of my house and not noticing the intense situation at hand.
"I trusted ya, Daffodil," said Mush quietly, and he finally turned to look at me. I was shocked at the tears running down his face, splashing onto the floor. "I'se in love wit' ya. I though' ya loved me, too."
"I do, Mush!" I answered, beginning to cry too. "You mean everything to me!"
"I can't believe dis!" Jack roared, standing up. "Come on, fellas, I think it's time t' go." He glared at me as he rose. So did the rest of the boys. They filed out of the room, and Mush was the last to leave. He looked at me with an expression of love, hate, confusion, and hurt. I knew I'd never forget that expression for as long as I lived.
"Wha' happened heah?" Spot asked, raising his eyebrows. He took off his hat and threw it on the table, then ran his hand through his hair.
"Mush read your stupid letter!" I screamed, suddenly more angry than I'd ever been. All sorrow left me as the only thing I felt was pure hatred toward Spot Conlon. "He knows we kissed, he knows EVERYTHING! And it's ALL YOUR FAULT!" I held up my fists. "Fight me, Spot. Go ahead. You've already caused the breaking of my heart, so why don't you just cause the breaking of my body, too?"
Spot just reached out and caught hold of my fists, lowering them to my sides. "I don' fight goils," he answered. I began to sob and sank onto the fainting couch in the corner of the room.
"How could Mush jus' do that t' ya?" Spot mused, walking around the room. "If you was me goil, I'd neveh let you go. I'd neveh leave ya, eveh. Wha's da mattah with him? He didn' even put up a fight for ya."
That only made me cry harder.
"I won' leave ya. I promise, Daffodil," he said, and grabbed my hands, pulling me to a standing position in front of him.
"DON'T CALL ME DAFFODIL!" I screamed. "MY NAME IS VICTORIA ANNE KATHERINE THATCHER!" I reached up and slapped him.
"I though' every newsie liked t' keep deir newsie name," he said, scratching his head. The slap hadn't even phased him.
"Not if it's one that Mush gave me," I whimpered.
"Victoria's a much bettah name, anyhow," Spot told me, brushing away my tears. He leaned closer, and kissed me. It was different than Mush kissing me, but then it had to be, I supposed. His massaging lips relaxed me, and before I knew what I was doing, I was kissing him back. My hands got tangled in his longish light brown hair, and the tears that were still falling from my eyes rested on our lips and made the kiss taste bitter.
From behind us there came a little surprised sound, like an "umph!" Spot and I looked over. "Forgot me hat," Mush said coldly, brushing past us to his spot at the table.
