Chapter 12

Chapter 12

As I rubbed my eyes and looked up, I saw Racetrack's face peering down at me. I was so startled that I screamed. He jumped back quickly and stared at me, then suddenly burst out laughing. I threw my pillow at him in anger. But he quickly dodged it and looked at me.

"So, you think you're tough eh?"

He disappeared into the bathroom, and thinking that I had gotten him off of my back, I laid back down and closed my eyes again. Suddenly, I felt cold water come down on me. I screamed again and jumped out of the bed. I saw Racetrack standing in front of it with an empty bucket and a huge grin on his face.

"You idiot! Look at what you did! I'll get you!"

I chased him around the bunkroom for a few minutes, but finally stopped when I realized that I was still soaking wet and needed to get changed. Since everybody else was changed, I went into the bathroom and put on a pair of brown pants, a plaid shirt and a cap. I could hear Racetrack saying, "It was the only way I could make hoir get up! Besides, it's time ta carry da bannah!"

I sighed and walked out of the bathroom, where Jack was waiting for me. He was smiling and said, "You alright?"

"Yeah," I said, "but Racetrack won't be after I find him." Jack laughed and said that it was normal. And we set off to get our papes and start selling.

All along the way, Jack told me about the strike that he held because Joe Pulitzer had raised the prices of the papes for the newsies. The Brooklyn newsies had joined forces with them, and so did Queens, Harlem, and every other newsie in New York. There had been tough times along the road, but they finally made it. Of course, I had heard the story a million times since I met Jack, but I always listened with enthusiasm, since the story was very interesting to me. I had read about it in the papers before in Brooklyn, but had never paid much attention to it.

Thinking about Brooklyn, my thoughts suddenly turned to Spot. How was he? Had I hurt him? I felt bad about leaving without letting him give me an explanation for what he did, but what hurt me even more was what I did to Sunny and Hope and all of the other girl newsies in Brooklyn. I hadn't told them where I went, or why I left. But would they care if I was gone or not? But I quickly put this out of my mind as I got my papes.

"Awright, ya think youse can handle sellin on your own taday, Bristles? Cuz I got sum business ta take care in Brooklyn,"

"Yeah, sure, Jack."

I resisted asking him why he was going Brooklyn, because I was afraid about what he was going to answer. So I bid him goodbye and headed off to Central Park.