A.N. Sorry it took so long, I had ta finish off Mirror Image before I let
you read this chapter! Review!
Chapter 4:
Calli sighed with satisfaction as she patted her pocket full of money. In a week she had become quite good at selling, almost as good as Jack. She now had money enough for food and more. Every morning she would get up early, change, hide from the stampede downstairs, and go buy her newspapers.
"CURT!" Calli looked up and smiled as Kid Blink ran over to her. They had become quite good friends in the short time they had known each other and now had a perfect selling spot after much debate. (Calli hadn't liked Blink's old one.)
"Do you wanna meet Spot?" Kid Blink panted.
Calli squinted and remembered the conversation they had had over this famous character.
*
"Who's Spot?" She asked innocently. Kid Blink stared at her wide-eyed and shook his head in disbelief.
"You don't know who Spot Conlon is?!"
Calli shook her head, "No."
Kid Blink scratched his head and gestured with his arms as he described him.
"Spot Conlon is the leader of the Brooklyn newsies, and the most respected and famous newsie in all of New York. Spot is a great fighter, and was the one who helped us win the strike last summer. He's..."
*
Calli shrugged, "Sure, when?"
"Right now, we have to go and meet Jack first."
~*~*~*~*~
Calli and Kid Blink headed for Tibby's. When they got there, Blink glanced around the room and waved to Jack. "There he is." Jack joined them and they headed out the door again.
They soon reached Brooklyn and walked across the docks. *Sure are alot of half naked boys sprawled about,* she thought, carefully avoiding looking at some of them. All of the boys were huge, mean-looking, and muscular. Jack went straight to the end of the piers where a smaller newsie was sitting. The boy looked about sixteen, slender, and handsome, yet about the same build as Calli herself. *Wonder who this is?* Calli looked the boy up and down. He had blondish-brown hair, and stunning icy blue-gray eyes. He wore red suspenders, a slingshot, and a cane which he brandished confidently.
"Heya, Jacky-boy, Blink...who's dis?"
Jack grinned and stepped up to Calli. "Dis is Curt, and dis," he motioned to the newsie. "is da one and only Spot Conlon." The newsie had been watching her coolly, but his gaze flickered when Calli choked.
"E...excuse me," she said, coughing. *This little shrimp is Spot Conlon? Any one of the other boys could beat him up in a heartbeat. This is the most famous and respected newsie???* Calli turned around to compose herself, shoulders heaving as she laughed silently. Several minutes later she managed to have herself under control, and continue civil conversation.
Spot glared at her and spoke warningly. "Is dere something wrong...Curt?"
"I'm sorry, I was just expecting..." Calli gestured helplessly at him.
Spot regarded her with a mixture of condescension and amusement. "Well, you aren't 'xactly what you would call a model example of size."
Calli abruptly stopped laughing and looked at him haughtily. "I'm not a Brooklyn leader."
Spot turned his head to Jack.. "Does he always pick fights wit' people of higher authority, Jack?"
"Yeah, can't seem ta keep his mouth shut."
"Well, den, I'll overlook dat, cause yer new." Spot turned and walked away, obviously expecting them to follow.
"Thanks, I'm forever grateful." Calli couldn't resist saying. Spot shoulders stiffened, but otherwise he acted as if he hadn't heard. *He and Jack must be from the same family, so high and mighty,* Calli glanced at Kid Blink. *Glad it didn't rub off on him, goes to show that there are some nice people still here.* The rest of the day was spent following Spot around as he introduced them to his newsies proudly. "Dis here is Carrot, Clips, Kix, Curlz, Flips...." He continued on and on, seeming to never stop for air.
~*~*~*~*~
"That was so boring," Calli exclaimed, dropping onto one of the bunks.
Kid Blink looked at her in disapproval. "Well, you sure didn't do much to help yer reputation. Why do you always pick fights wit' people who jist want ta get ta know you?"
"I don't. Just Jack and Spot, and all the other 'leaders'." Calli pulled off her boots and headed into the washroom.
"Hey, Blink!" Calli called out suddenly.
"Yeah?"
"Are there any girl newsies?"
"One."
*Great! Maybe then they'll accept me as a girl, too.* "Who?"
"A goil named Michaela, in Brooklyn."
"Why didn't I see her today?"
"She was probably off with Clips, one of her best friends."
"Oh. Why isn't there any girls here in Manhattan?"
"Michaela's different. She can fight."
"Any other reason Michaela's different?"
"Two."
*Being talkative, isn't he?* Calli thought sarcastically. "They are..." she pressed.
"Well, for one Curt, Michaela is gorgeous. She is simply beautiful, and all the boys like her so much they want her around."
*Weellll, I'm not sure if I'm gorgeous, but I am pretty, maybe I have a chance,* Calli thought hopefully. "What's the other reason?"
"She's Spot's twin."
Calli's hopes deflated immediately and she tried not to be too depressed. *Family advantages,* she sighed gloomily.
~*~*~*~*~
Calli and Kid Blink decided to expand their selling spot the following morning. They slowly made their way into a richer part of town filled with restaurants and upper-class people.
Towards noon Blink looked up from his papers mischievously and beckoned to Calli. "You wanna see if they will let us hard-working newsies inta one of dese restaurants?"
Calli nodded evilly and they both subconsciously brushed the dirt off their faces and clothes. They straightened their shoulders and pushed open one of the doors to a restaurant. They succeeded in sneaking past the waiter and were almost to a table, when Calli spotted someone that made her blood run cold.
*
Callicia adjusted her red silk dress and carefully sat down on the bench swing beside Thomas. "Sooo...how are you doing?" The boy hunched his shoulders even more and appraised her with narrowed eyes. "Huh." Callicia gave up and threw her gloved hands into the air in frustration. "Look. I don't like talking to you anymore than you do to me, but since we have our future planned out ahead of us and there is nothing we can do to change it, we might as well become friends. That's what your uncle wants you to do." "So? Do I care?"
*
The next minute, Kid Blink was chasing Calli down the street. "CURT!!!! HEY CURT!!!!! WHERE ARE YOU GOING????"
Calli wasn't paying any attention. She blindly shoved her way through the crowd, desperate to get back to the Lodging House. *Maybe it wasn't even Thomas. No, it must have been, no one in the world looks like Thomas when he is having a bad day. How could he have been there? You're right, he wouldn't be in Manhattan, that wasn't him, Calli. Yes it was!*
Kid Blink finally caught up with her and pulled on her arm. She spun around with a crazed expression in her eyes which diminished when she saw it was only him.
She wrenched her arm out of his grasp, and hissed, "WHAT??" Calli didn't wait for a reply and just ran straight to the Lodging House.
~*~*~*~*~
"I tell ya, it was weird. He just ran away and acted like he didn't even hear me when I talked to him." Blink shook his head and laid his cards on the table.
Race put down his cards triumphantly and gathered the winnings. "Maybe Curt saw something."
"I know," Kid Blink rolled his eyes exasperatedly, "that's what I've been trying ta say."
"He hasn't talked ta anyone since he came barreling in heah two days ago." Bumlets commented, dealing out the cards again.
"Maybe meetin' someone new would take his mind off of whatever is wrong." Jack suggested.
"Like who?"
"I don't know. Ask Blink, he's practically best friends wit' da guy."
"Well," Kid Blink began nervously, "he asked some questions about Michaela aftah he met Spot."
The boys stopped what they were doing and looked at him, blinking rapidly. Suddenly, the room burst into an uproar.
"Is dat a good thing?"
"You know how protective Spot is."
"I wouldn't advise it."
"Nahhh...Michaela might go fer his looks, he's got dat new young-boy look about him."
"Michaela likes fighters anyway, so we got nothin' ta worry about. Not dat I like her or anything."
"Dat wouldn't make Clips happy. I t'ink he likes her."
"What was he askin' 'bout her?"
"Did he seem interested?"
"HEY! Quiet down, if it'll take his mind off his problem, den I t'ink we should introduce dem." Jack said, his voice rising commandingly above the rest. Jack had dated her when she first came, but she had dumped him, and he had never completely forgiven her for that humiliation. There were many others, which he would have loved to repay, yet the fact that she was Spot's brother posed a problem. So, to him, it seemed a good way to get two of his least favorite people out of the way.
The rest of the newsies knew better than to object, so as a result, the following afternoon was spent in Brooklyn.
Chapter 4:
Calli sighed with satisfaction as she patted her pocket full of money. In a week she had become quite good at selling, almost as good as Jack. She now had money enough for food and more. Every morning she would get up early, change, hide from the stampede downstairs, and go buy her newspapers.
"CURT!" Calli looked up and smiled as Kid Blink ran over to her. They had become quite good friends in the short time they had known each other and now had a perfect selling spot after much debate. (Calli hadn't liked Blink's old one.)
"Do you wanna meet Spot?" Kid Blink panted.
Calli squinted and remembered the conversation they had had over this famous character.
*
"Who's Spot?" She asked innocently. Kid Blink stared at her wide-eyed and shook his head in disbelief.
"You don't know who Spot Conlon is?!"
Calli shook her head, "No."
Kid Blink scratched his head and gestured with his arms as he described him.
"Spot Conlon is the leader of the Brooklyn newsies, and the most respected and famous newsie in all of New York. Spot is a great fighter, and was the one who helped us win the strike last summer. He's..."
*
Calli shrugged, "Sure, when?"
"Right now, we have to go and meet Jack first."
~*~*~*~*~
Calli and Kid Blink headed for Tibby's. When they got there, Blink glanced around the room and waved to Jack. "There he is." Jack joined them and they headed out the door again.
They soon reached Brooklyn and walked across the docks. *Sure are alot of half naked boys sprawled about,* she thought, carefully avoiding looking at some of them. All of the boys were huge, mean-looking, and muscular. Jack went straight to the end of the piers where a smaller newsie was sitting. The boy looked about sixteen, slender, and handsome, yet about the same build as Calli herself. *Wonder who this is?* Calli looked the boy up and down. He had blondish-brown hair, and stunning icy blue-gray eyes. He wore red suspenders, a slingshot, and a cane which he brandished confidently.
"Heya, Jacky-boy, Blink...who's dis?"
Jack grinned and stepped up to Calli. "Dis is Curt, and dis," he motioned to the newsie. "is da one and only Spot Conlon." The newsie had been watching her coolly, but his gaze flickered when Calli choked.
"E...excuse me," she said, coughing. *This little shrimp is Spot Conlon? Any one of the other boys could beat him up in a heartbeat. This is the most famous and respected newsie???* Calli turned around to compose herself, shoulders heaving as she laughed silently. Several minutes later she managed to have herself under control, and continue civil conversation.
Spot glared at her and spoke warningly. "Is dere something wrong...Curt?"
"I'm sorry, I was just expecting..." Calli gestured helplessly at him.
Spot regarded her with a mixture of condescension and amusement. "Well, you aren't 'xactly what you would call a model example of size."
Calli abruptly stopped laughing and looked at him haughtily. "I'm not a Brooklyn leader."
Spot turned his head to Jack.. "Does he always pick fights wit' people of higher authority, Jack?"
"Yeah, can't seem ta keep his mouth shut."
"Well, den, I'll overlook dat, cause yer new." Spot turned and walked away, obviously expecting them to follow.
"Thanks, I'm forever grateful." Calli couldn't resist saying. Spot shoulders stiffened, but otherwise he acted as if he hadn't heard. *He and Jack must be from the same family, so high and mighty,* Calli glanced at Kid Blink. *Glad it didn't rub off on him, goes to show that there are some nice people still here.* The rest of the day was spent following Spot around as he introduced them to his newsies proudly. "Dis here is Carrot, Clips, Kix, Curlz, Flips...." He continued on and on, seeming to never stop for air.
~*~*~*~*~
"That was so boring," Calli exclaimed, dropping onto one of the bunks.
Kid Blink looked at her in disapproval. "Well, you sure didn't do much to help yer reputation. Why do you always pick fights wit' people who jist want ta get ta know you?"
"I don't. Just Jack and Spot, and all the other 'leaders'." Calli pulled off her boots and headed into the washroom.
"Hey, Blink!" Calli called out suddenly.
"Yeah?"
"Are there any girl newsies?"
"One."
*Great! Maybe then they'll accept me as a girl, too.* "Who?"
"A goil named Michaela, in Brooklyn."
"Why didn't I see her today?"
"She was probably off with Clips, one of her best friends."
"Oh. Why isn't there any girls here in Manhattan?"
"Michaela's different. She can fight."
"Any other reason Michaela's different?"
"Two."
*Being talkative, isn't he?* Calli thought sarcastically. "They are..." she pressed.
"Well, for one Curt, Michaela is gorgeous. She is simply beautiful, and all the boys like her so much they want her around."
*Weellll, I'm not sure if I'm gorgeous, but I am pretty, maybe I have a chance,* Calli thought hopefully. "What's the other reason?"
"She's Spot's twin."
Calli's hopes deflated immediately and she tried not to be too depressed. *Family advantages,* she sighed gloomily.
~*~*~*~*~
Calli and Kid Blink decided to expand their selling spot the following morning. They slowly made their way into a richer part of town filled with restaurants and upper-class people.
Towards noon Blink looked up from his papers mischievously and beckoned to Calli. "You wanna see if they will let us hard-working newsies inta one of dese restaurants?"
Calli nodded evilly and they both subconsciously brushed the dirt off their faces and clothes. They straightened their shoulders and pushed open one of the doors to a restaurant. They succeeded in sneaking past the waiter and were almost to a table, when Calli spotted someone that made her blood run cold.
*
Callicia adjusted her red silk dress and carefully sat down on the bench swing beside Thomas. "Sooo...how are you doing?" The boy hunched his shoulders even more and appraised her with narrowed eyes. "Huh." Callicia gave up and threw her gloved hands into the air in frustration. "Look. I don't like talking to you anymore than you do to me, but since we have our future planned out ahead of us and there is nothing we can do to change it, we might as well become friends. That's what your uncle wants you to do." "So? Do I care?"
*
The next minute, Kid Blink was chasing Calli down the street. "CURT!!!! HEY CURT!!!!! WHERE ARE YOU GOING????"
Calli wasn't paying any attention. She blindly shoved her way through the crowd, desperate to get back to the Lodging House. *Maybe it wasn't even Thomas. No, it must have been, no one in the world looks like Thomas when he is having a bad day. How could he have been there? You're right, he wouldn't be in Manhattan, that wasn't him, Calli. Yes it was!*
Kid Blink finally caught up with her and pulled on her arm. She spun around with a crazed expression in her eyes which diminished when she saw it was only him.
She wrenched her arm out of his grasp, and hissed, "WHAT??" Calli didn't wait for a reply and just ran straight to the Lodging House.
~*~*~*~*~
"I tell ya, it was weird. He just ran away and acted like he didn't even hear me when I talked to him." Blink shook his head and laid his cards on the table.
Race put down his cards triumphantly and gathered the winnings. "Maybe Curt saw something."
"I know," Kid Blink rolled his eyes exasperatedly, "that's what I've been trying ta say."
"He hasn't talked ta anyone since he came barreling in heah two days ago." Bumlets commented, dealing out the cards again.
"Maybe meetin' someone new would take his mind off of whatever is wrong." Jack suggested.
"Like who?"
"I don't know. Ask Blink, he's practically best friends wit' da guy."
"Well," Kid Blink began nervously, "he asked some questions about Michaela aftah he met Spot."
The boys stopped what they were doing and looked at him, blinking rapidly. Suddenly, the room burst into an uproar.
"Is dat a good thing?"
"You know how protective Spot is."
"I wouldn't advise it."
"Nahhh...Michaela might go fer his looks, he's got dat new young-boy look about him."
"Michaela likes fighters anyway, so we got nothin' ta worry about. Not dat I like her or anything."
"Dat wouldn't make Clips happy. I t'ink he likes her."
"What was he askin' 'bout her?"
"Did he seem interested?"
"HEY! Quiet down, if it'll take his mind off his problem, den I t'ink we should introduce dem." Jack said, his voice rising commandingly above the rest. Jack had dated her when she first came, but she had dumped him, and he had never completely forgiven her for that humiliation. There were many others, which he would have loved to repay, yet the fact that she was Spot's brother posed a problem. So, to him, it seemed a good way to get two of his least favorite people out of the way.
The rest of the newsies knew better than to object, so as a result, the following afternoon was spent in Brooklyn.