A/N: *Holds up her strike sign spelled: STRYKE* Did I spell it right
Kloppman?
Kloppman: No, you stupid kid.
*Sniffle* Hope you guys like it so far!
Disclaimer: Diamonds, Smudge, Stress, Lit'l Bit and Dizzy are owned by their respective owner. Ect. Ect.
`*`*`*`*`
Smudge woke up grinning. Today was their last day buying from Weasel before the strike.
Last night, they had decided to discuss the strike with Mrs. Norren. Norren, being a former newsgirl, was reluctant, saying, "How will youse make money in da meantime? Da rent ain't free ya know!" but finally agreed after a long hour of convincing.
Lit'l Bit and Dizzy joined Selley at the sinks, washing their faces and discussing the strike plans.
Selley for once, had woken up early enough to have the best towel all to herself. She joked around with the other girls, beaming with pride at being involved in such an important event like the strike. Cake laughed and tossed a towel on Selley's head, she'd never seen the shy girl be so happy.
They cart wheeled and ran to the distribution center, eager to see one last smirk on Weasel's face before they took him off guard tomorrow.
The boys laughed when the girls came running in, all grinning and laughing.
Diamonds smirked at Weasel and tossed her money into the window, the coins landing with a satisfying clink on the ground.
Weasel snarled, eyeing the money, "You'se bettah watch it." He ordered Morris to pick up the change.
Weasel grabbed a pile of 30 papes and shoved them at Diamonds harshly. Diamonds didn't even argue when she noticed he hadn't given her 50 papers. She took the papers and jumped off the platform, leaving Weasel with a look of utter confusion on his face.
The other girl's followed suite, some buying only three or four papers. A smirk played on their faces.
Selling was easy that day, after weeks of dead headlines; the writers had finally managed to come up with something interesting to the news- starved public.
"Mayor plans to leave position!" The title instantly brought crowds rushing to find out more.
Dizzy handed out pape after pape to the citizens, "Tomorrah's gonna be great! Weasel ain't gonna know what hit 'em!" She said to Lit'l Bit, who nodded in agreement.
Oscar and Morris ambled out to the Newsies Square, looking for a fight to pick. They spotted Selley selling by herself, using a fake illness trick.
He stood behind her silently, while Morris tried to hold back a laugh. Selley continued selling, the anticipation of the strike dulling her sense of awareness.
Oscar grabbed her last few papers and tossed them into a puddle left from the early morning rain. Morris snickered stupidly behind him, kicking the papers around with his dirty boot.
Selley set her mouth into a straight line and clasped her fists. She looked up into Oscar's face, her eyes burning with something he had never seen before.
She took a step towards him, not realizing she was only about half the size of him.
Oscar's grin spread wider, she was trying too hard to look tough in his eyes.
Selley threw a punch, hitting him in the stomach. Oscar winced slightly, but grabbed Selley's arm and raised his fist. Reality came flooding back to her, she had been six feet tall in her mind, but now she was just Selley again.
She closed her eyes, expecting the pain to come quickly. But nothing happened. She opened an eye.
Prairie was behind Oscar, his face grimacing in pain. Stress grabbed hold of Morris and punched him in the face twice. His nose trickled red.
Selley jumped up and cheered her friends on. Oscar and Morris needed a reminder to leave the newsies alone. They stumbled back, glared and finally left.
Stress and Prairie looked triumphant. A small crowd of newsies gathered around, laughing at Oscar and Morris' retreating backs.
At Tibby's that night, the guys listened intently to the girl's plans for the strike. They agreed to help them out as best they could, but it was the girl's strike, not theirs.
Pie Eater took a seat next to Diamonds, glancing at her every once in a while. Diamonds caught his eye once, and smiled. She was in too good of a mood to get annoyed at Pie's glances. Although she liked Pie, she hated people staring at her.
"I'se t'ink a strikes a good idea, but how are you'se gonna make money? Ya ain't bummin' any of us!" Dutchy said, waving his soup spoon around dramatically.
"I wouldn't want ya dumb money anyway!" Cake defied, sticking out her tongue. Blink looked thoughtful.
"He has a point."
Derby looked at him; none of the girls had considered that much. She whacked him lightly on the arm for being too practical.
While they pondered, Denton burst through the door, gasping.
"Heya Denton!", "Where ya been, Dents?" Greetings welcomed him. He pulled up a chair where the most newsies were gathered around, and pulled out his notebook.
"I heard something about the girls going on a strike, any truth to it?" Denton said, writing down anything anyone said. His notes looked full to the brim after a flurry of writing.
"Ya, we'se goin' on strike. We'se sick of bein' treated unfairly." Lit'l Bit replied, to which Denton picked up his pencil and asked, "Can I quote you on that?"
Poem grabbed Denton's notebook and pencil and scribbled, 'Strike!' 'No respectt, no papes!'
Denton crossed out one of the t's in 'respect', Poem frowned. She poked Skittery when he laughed.
"It ain't mattah how it's spelled. We'se goin' on strike until Weasel and EVERYBODY gives us some respect!" Poem shrugged, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
Denton's eyebrows creased when he looked over his notes, "So, you thinking of going up against Pulitzer himself like last time?" he half joked.
Prairie rested her chin in her hands, and turned to Diamonds. "Pulitzer ain't got nothin' to do wit' it! It's Weasel and da distributors who need ta learn that da newsgoils got rights too. No more 30 when we ask for 50."
Diamonds nodded slowly, envisioning strike signs. They would have to make them that night.
Denton told them he might cover the story, but it wasn't a sure thing. Not many people were interested in the newsgirls or their rights. When the newsies went up against Pulitzer, that barely made the front page, Denton's paper being the only one to cover it. They just weren't interested in the newsies. Under the table, Pie took Diamonds' hand. Diamonds looked up in surprise, but smiled. She squeezed his hand, her eyes like stars. He smiled back.
----
Poem nailed the piece of wood to a stick and held it up. The girls cheered, the sign read: Strike!, it was a sign of new beginning.
Stress painted 'Strike!' and 'No rights, No Papes!' on a few more signs, handing them to Dizzy to nail together.
Smudge bounded down the stairs, retrieving some more paint, and tripped on Prairie's half full can of white paint. The paint looked like a river, spreading across the floor.
Smudge's face matched her name, white blotches smeared everywhere. Her smile flipped upside down. Prairie giggled and turned back to her sign, but not before Smudge tossed a handful of paint on her back. It resulted in a paint war, by the end, everyone was covered with paint.
Once the signs were finished, they piled them in a corner behind Norren's desk. Norren was beaming, but her eyes held a hint of worry. She felt glad the girls were standing up for themselves, no one in her time would have dared to go on strike, girls certainly weren't considered important back then. But she something tugged at the back of her mind, if they failed Weasel would probably be even worse, plus with the threat of another price rise always present, they would be in even more debt.
She sighed as the girls took the stairs two at a time, wanting to get the night over with. The sooner the strike, the better.
Norren smiled silently and wrung a dishrag over the table.
----
Soft snores over ruled the silence of the night. Smudge and Selley had one of their nightly sub-conscious conversations, no doubt talking about the strike.
Derby lifted back a weightless curtain and stepped onto the fire escape. She sat, arms encircling her knees and thought about things.
A firefly lazily flew by emitting a glow. Derby smiled.
The moon was incandescent, the stars like small flames. Everything was perfect, just perfect.
-- From the demented desk of Derby: *Sighs over the last paragraph* Can you tell I like describing nighttime? Next chapter: The infamous strike!
Disclaimer: Diamonds, Smudge, Stress, Lit'l Bit and Dizzy are owned by their respective owner. Ect. Ect.
`*`*`*`*`
Smudge woke up grinning. Today was their last day buying from Weasel before the strike.
Last night, they had decided to discuss the strike with Mrs. Norren. Norren, being a former newsgirl, was reluctant, saying, "How will youse make money in da meantime? Da rent ain't free ya know!" but finally agreed after a long hour of convincing.
Lit'l Bit and Dizzy joined Selley at the sinks, washing their faces and discussing the strike plans.
Selley for once, had woken up early enough to have the best towel all to herself. She joked around with the other girls, beaming with pride at being involved in such an important event like the strike. Cake laughed and tossed a towel on Selley's head, she'd never seen the shy girl be so happy.
They cart wheeled and ran to the distribution center, eager to see one last smirk on Weasel's face before they took him off guard tomorrow.
The boys laughed when the girls came running in, all grinning and laughing.
Diamonds smirked at Weasel and tossed her money into the window, the coins landing with a satisfying clink on the ground.
Weasel snarled, eyeing the money, "You'se bettah watch it." He ordered Morris to pick up the change.
Weasel grabbed a pile of 30 papes and shoved them at Diamonds harshly. Diamonds didn't even argue when she noticed he hadn't given her 50 papers. She took the papers and jumped off the platform, leaving Weasel with a look of utter confusion on his face.
The other girl's followed suite, some buying only three or four papers. A smirk played on their faces.
Selling was easy that day, after weeks of dead headlines; the writers had finally managed to come up with something interesting to the news- starved public.
"Mayor plans to leave position!" The title instantly brought crowds rushing to find out more.
Dizzy handed out pape after pape to the citizens, "Tomorrah's gonna be great! Weasel ain't gonna know what hit 'em!" She said to Lit'l Bit, who nodded in agreement.
Oscar and Morris ambled out to the Newsies Square, looking for a fight to pick. They spotted Selley selling by herself, using a fake illness trick.
He stood behind her silently, while Morris tried to hold back a laugh. Selley continued selling, the anticipation of the strike dulling her sense of awareness.
Oscar grabbed her last few papers and tossed them into a puddle left from the early morning rain. Morris snickered stupidly behind him, kicking the papers around with his dirty boot.
Selley set her mouth into a straight line and clasped her fists. She looked up into Oscar's face, her eyes burning with something he had never seen before.
She took a step towards him, not realizing she was only about half the size of him.
Oscar's grin spread wider, she was trying too hard to look tough in his eyes.
Selley threw a punch, hitting him in the stomach. Oscar winced slightly, but grabbed Selley's arm and raised his fist. Reality came flooding back to her, she had been six feet tall in her mind, but now she was just Selley again.
She closed her eyes, expecting the pain to come quickly. But nothing happened. She opened an eye.
Prairie was behind Oscar, his face grimacing in pain. Stress grabbed hold of Morris and punched him in the face twice. His nose trickled red.
Selley jumped up and cheered her friends on. Oscar and Morris needed a reminder to leave the newsies alone. They stumbled back, glared and finally left.
Stress and Prairie looked triumphant. A small crowd of newsies gathered around, laughing at Oscar and Morris' retreating backs.
At Tibby's that night, the guys listened intently to the girl's plans for the strike. They agreed to help them out as best they could, but it was the girl's strike, not theirs.
Pie Eater took a seat next to Diamonds, glancing at her every once in a while. Diamonds caught his eye once, and smiled. She was in too good of a mood to get annoyed at Pie's glances. Although she liked Pie, she hated people staring at her.
"I'se t'ink a strikes a good idea, but how are you'se gonna make money? Ya ain't bummin' any of us!" Dutchy said, waving his soup spoon around dramatically.
"I wouldn't want ya dumb money anyway!" Cake defied, sticking out her tongue. Blink looked thoughtful.
"He has a point."
Derby looked at him; none of the girls had considered that much. She whacked him lightly on the arm for being too practical.
While they pondered, Denton burst through the door, gasping.
"Heya Denton!", "Where ya been, Dents?" Greetings welcomed him. He pulled up a chair where the most newsies were gathered around, and pulled out his notebook.
"I heard something about the girls going on a strike, any truth to it?" Denton said, writing down anything anyone said. His notes looked full to the brim after a flurry of writing.
"Ya, we'se goin' on strike. We'se sick of bein' treated unfairly." Lit'l Bit replied, to which Denton picked up his pencil and asked, "Can I quote you on that?"
Poem grabbed Denton's notebook and pencil and scribbled, 'Strike!' 'No respectt, no papes!'
Denton crossed out one of the t's in 'respect', Poem frowned. She poked Skittery when he laughed.
"It ain't mattah how it's spelled. We'se goin' on strike until Weasel and EVERYBODY gives us some respect!" Poem shrugged, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
Denton's eyebrows creased when he looked over his notes, "So, you thinking of going up against Pulitzer himself like last time?" he half joked.
Prairie rested her chin in her hands, and turned to Diamonds. "Pulitzer ain't got nothin' to do wit' it! It's Weasel and da distributors who need ta learn that da newsgoils got rights too. No more 30 when we ask for 50."
Diamonds nodded slowly, envisioning strike signs. They would have to make them that night.
Denton told them he might cover the story, but it wasn't a sure thing. Not many people were interested in the newsgirls or their rights. When the newsies went up against Pulitzer, that barely made the front page, Denton's paper being the only one to cover it. They just weren't interested in the newsies. Under the table, Pie took Diamonds' hand. Diamonds looked up in surprise, but smiled. She squeezed his hand, her eyes like stars. He smiled back.
----
Poem nailed the piece of wood to a stick and held it up. The girls cheered, the sign read: Strike!, it was a sign of new beginning.
Stress painted 'Strike!' and 'No rights, No Papes!' on a few more signs, handing them to Dizzy to nail together.
Smudge bounded down the stairs, retrieving some more paint, and tripped on Prairie's half full can of white paint. The paint looked like a river, spreading across the floor.
Smudge's face matched her name, white blotches smeared everywhere. Her smile flipped upside down. Prairie giggled and turned back to her sign, but not before Smudge tossed a handful of paint on her back. It resulted in a paint war, by the end, everyone was covered with paint.
Once the signs were finished, they piled them in a corner behind Norren's desk. Norren was beaming, but her eyes held a hint of worry. She felt glad the girls were standing up for themselves, no one in her time would have dared to go on strike, girls certainly weren't considered important back then. But she something tugged at the back of her mind, if they failed Weasel would probably be even worse, plus with the threat of another price rise always present, they would be in even more debt.
She sighed as the girls took the stairs two at a time, wanting to get the night over with. The sooner the strike, the better.
Norren smiled silently and wrung a dishrag over the table.
----
Soft snores over ruled the silence of the night. Smudge and Selley had one of their nightly sub-conscious conversations, no doubt talking about the strike.
Derby lifted back a weightless curtain and stepped onto the fire escape. She sat, arms encircling her knees and thought about things.
A firefly lazily flew by emitting a glow. Derby smiled.
The moon was incandescent, the stars like small flames. Everything was perfect, just perfect.
-- From the demented desk of Derby: *Sighs over the last paragraph* Can you tell I like describing nighttime? Next chapter: The infamous strike!
