AN: This chappie isn't as good as the last, I have to admit. But if you
just stick with me, I think the third'll be better. Oh, and thanx for all
the reviews! It's nice to know that I am not completely devoid of a sense
of humor.
Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies, Disney does.
After several hours of wandering the Manhattan streets alone, Maria found that it was dark outside. Still, she had not found a suitable place to spend the night. Several friendly old couples, desperate for a child to love and raise, stood on the doorsteps of homes Maria passed. Both were waving, the man with one hand around his wife's shoulders and the woman holding a steaming gingerbread. Nearby, a newsgirls orphanage was being filled by a steady stream of its inhabitants, all of whom seemed to be intense smokers and gamblers. They started whispering amongst one another when they saw the girl pass. Taking pity on her, their leader stood and motioned for Mary Sue to come join the group. And, of course, several charities were holding Caviar Specials with Free Four-Star Hotel Overnights.
After searching for a while, Maria decided she just could not stand it any longer. She was just too exhausted. At nine o'clock, despite the dangers of the street, she crawled into a nearby dark alley and fell asleep. Rabid rats clustered around her to keep her warm. They would never bite her because they loved her too much.
This was how the unsuspecting Oscar Delancy discovered her. The only thought on the poor boy's mind as he walked down the lonely street was of his poor ailing sister, Jemima. He was working himself up to a storm thinking about her, lying in bed with pneumonia or tuberculosis or whatever it was. This was, in fact, the reason he and Morris had become scabbers. They didn't like the price raise any more than the others newsies, but unfortunately they had to think about somebody other than themselves. (That, and being the future crime lords of New York meant that you simply had to be the bad guy.)
Then he stumbled over it. the trail of money leading into a dark alley! Thinking of nothing but his sister, he followed the coins into the gloom, picking them up as he went. They led to Maria.
Maria was a very light sleeper, as it were, and as the shadow of Delancy fell over her (despite the pitch-black darkness of the alley), she awoke. A scream of utter terror pierced her lips. It was a well-tuned noise. Maria had practiced hard in self-defense classes and felt that her cry of distress said a lot about her. "I am a lady of high standing and many virtues (among them my perfect singing voice) who can afford to spend $500 dollars a week for three years on screaming classes. Save me!"
Mush, the newsie on patrol duty that night, ran promptly into the alley and beat up poor Oscar. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, he called after the Delancy: "Sorry about that, buddy. A job's a job, y'see." The other boy just nodded and limped away, wondering how he would pay for Jemima's medicine if he kept having to see the doctor about internal bleeding.
"Are you alright?" Mush asked. Taking her cue, Maria smiled up at him in a dramatically weak yet very charming way, and fainted.
After several hours of wandering the Manhattan streets alone, Maria found that it was dark outside. Still, she had not found a suitable place to spend the night. Several friendly old couples, desperate for a child to love and raise, stood on the doorsteps of homes Maria passed. Both were waving, the man with one hand around his wife's shoulders and the woman holding a steaming gingerbread. Nearby, a newsgirls orphanage was being filled by a steady stream of its inhabitants, all of whom seemed to be intense smokers and gamblers. They started whispering amongst one another when they saw the girl pass. Taking pity on her, their leader stood and motioned for Mary Sue to come join the group. And, of course, several charities were holding Caviar Specials with Free Four-Star Hotel Overnights.
After searching for a while, Maria decided she just could not stand it any longer. She was just too exhausted. At nine o'clock, despite the dangers of the street, she crawled into a nearby dark alley and fell asleep. Rabid rats clustered around her to keep her warm. They would never bite her because they loved her too much.
This was how the unsuspecting Oscar Delancy discovered her. The only thought on the poor boy's mind as he walked down the lonely street was of his poor ailing sister, Jemima. He was working himself up to a storm thinking about her, lying in bed with pneumonia or tuberculosis or whatever it was. This was, in fact, the reason he and Morris had become scabbers. They didn't like the price raise any more than the others newsies, but unfortunately they had to think about somebody other than themselves. (That, and being the future crime lords of New York meant that you simply had to be the bad guy.)
Then he stumbled over it. the trail of money leading into a dark alley! Thinking of nothing but his sister, he followed the coins into the gloom, picking them up as he went. They led to Maria.
Maria was a very light sleeper, as it were, and as the shadow of Delancy fell over her (despite the pitch-black darkness of the alley), she awoke. A scream of utter terror pierced her lips. It was a well-tuned noise. Maria had practiced hard in self-defense classes and felt that her cry of distress said a lot about her. "I am a lady of high standing and many virtues (among them my perfect singing voice) who can afford to spend $500 dollars a week for three years on screaming classes. Save me!"
Mush, the newsie on patrol duty that night, ran promptly into the alley and beat up poor Oscar. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, he called after the Delancy: "Sorry about that, buddy. A job's a job, y'see." The other boy just nodded and limped away, wondering how he would pay for Jemima's medicine if he kept having to see the doctor about internal bleeding.
"Are you alright?" Mush asked. Taking her cue, Maria smiled up at him in a dramatically weak yet very charming way, and fainted.