Mucho thanks to Dizzy and Holiday for reviewing. And you both guessed the boys' identity right. Of course you did, who else wears an eye patch but Kid Blink?? Hehe! Thanks goilies!
Growth - Chapter 2
Instead of selling papers that day, the four boys first convinced Kloppman that they needed to keep the baby and that they'd take good care of her (here the oldest boys were needed just as much as the younger ones, for while Kloppman loved Pirate and Parrot, he doubted they could care for a tiny baby such as Lucy. So the two young newsies pleaded their case while the two older ones looked responsible and it was a combination of their forces which finally broke Kloppman down) and then they spent the rest of the day bonding with Lucy.
Kloppman said he didn't think she was but a month old, and Trickster taught Pirate and Parrot the correct way to hold her. Parrot, especially, connected with the baby; he insisted on holding her the most, and it was so adorable to watch him holding Lucy that Trickster and Terrain couldn't very well object.
Lucy apparently felt the connection mutual; whenever she'd begin to fuss, Parrot would ask to hold her, and as soon as she was in his arms, she'd quiet. She had fine blonde hair and big blue eyes. Parrot felt very grown-up to hold her.
Terrain insisted on carrying Lucy through the streets when they went to Tibby's for lunch, but let Parrot hold her again when they were sitting at the table. Mr. Tibby, the owner, brought a bottle with milk in it for her, and instead of himself eating, Parrot spent the mealtime feeding her.
The other newsies were flabbergasted at the sight of little curly-haired Parrot feeding a baby, but when they heard the story, they too decided they'd help out with the little girl. "Jus' look at how many bruddahs you got!" Parrot whispered to her as, sleepy from the milk, her eyes began to droop. Parrot handed her to Trickster for the walk home, and while he and Pirate walked, they sword-fought.
Pirate was a little restless with Lucy. He didn't find her nearly as fascinating at Parrot did, and he would have preferred to spend the day tagging along selling with one of the older boys. But Parrot was his best friend, and he usually didn't ask much. Pirate decided that if Parrot wanted to spend the day hanging around with some baby, then he could suffer through it, too.
That night, all the newsies gathered in a circle in the bunkroom around Lucy. Parrot acted the oldest, insisting that everyone scrub their hands before touching her. Kloppman watched from the doorway, smiling as the little boy ordered around his heroes in favor of Lucy.
At that moment, Freckle burst through the door, nearly knocking over Kloppman. He was a pale boy usually, but at that moment even more so. His name trait stood out blood-red against the washed-out look of his face. "Tricksteh!" he shouted.
"Wha's wrong, Freckle?" Trickster asked, looking up from Lucy with a smile.
"Harlem ain' too happy wit' us, anymores," Freckle said, his green eyes wide. "We'se gotsta change Pirate's name, an' quick."
"Why?" Pirate asked.
"Da leadah a' Harlem jus' changed 'is name ta Pirate. 'E t'ought it was more menacin' dan Petey. An' I jus' mentioned dat we gots a newsie called Pirate, an' da Harlem leadah neahly skinned me! 'E said dat 'e's gotsta change 'is name, OR ELSE." Freckle collapsed on his bunk, looking winded.
"Well, dat's okay," said Trickster.
"No, it ain't!" Pirate answered, feeling tears well up in his eyes. He hoped he didn't start crying, because he liked to show the big boys that he was just as grown-up as they were, and none of them ever cried. He didn't want to change his newsie name. He liked it just the way it was.
"Well, shore it is. Mos' a' us don' neveh get da chance ta change ours names," Trickster said, and smiled widely. "Le's t'ink 'a somet'in' new for ya, kid."
"How 'bout… Blink," suggested Chocolate. Chocolate was a quiet guy, who hardly ever spoke. When he did, he was listened to, just because it was so rare.
"Blink. Kid Blink!" Trickster crowed, and everyone could tell that the name fit the small boy.
Pirate looked around at all the boys, who were smiling and nodding. He nodded too. "Okay. Dat's real nice," he said, and offered a smile.
Parrot, for the first time that day, looked incredibly sad. "Wha's wrong, Parrot?" asked Trickster, kneeling beside the little boy.
Tears started flowing down Parrot's cheeks. He didn't mind crying in front of the big boys. "It ain't da same," he said. "It used ta be Pirate an' Parrot, an' da names fit tageddah."
Kid Blink came over and hugged Parrot. "'S'okay, Parrot. We's still bes' friends."
"Tell ya what," Trickster said, as always, thinking. "How about all a' us uddahs call 'im Blink, an' you call 'im Kid. You'll be da on'y one."
Parrot dried his eyes. "Dat woiks," he said happily. "Heya, Kid."
"Heya, Parrot," Kid Blink answered.
Suddenly, Freckle noticed Lucy. "Wha' da heck is DAT? I was on'y gone two days, right?"
Everyone laughed, and Parrot brought Lucy over to meet Freckle.
The next morning, the getting-ready situation went much the same way as the day before, except there was a baby that kept Parrot from moving very fast at all. He couldn't help himself from admiring everything about her.
"Hey, Parrot an' Blink. I'se goin' ta Harlem ta-day, an' I want you twose ta come wit' me," Trickster said, patiently waiting for the young kids to get dressed. "Kloppman said he'd watch Lucy, cuz he says he don' wan' 'er out on da street anyways. Whaddya say?"
Parrot was reluctant to leave Lucy, but he saw that Kid Blink was itching to go and leave Manhattan, for the day at least. And he figured that Kloppman would take good care of Lucy. So finally he agreed, and the three set out.
Parrot and Kid Blink sword-fought for a while on the back of whatever carriage they'd hopped onto, but soon tired out. It was a long trip to Harlem. They were all hungry by the time they got there, so they stopped into a little diner for some food, which Trickster paid for.
Then it took a long time to track down Pirate, the leader of Harlem. Every newsie told them a different place to go to, and the beefy boy wasn't at any of them. The sun started to set, and they still hadn't seen Pirate anywhere. Kid Blink and Parrot were beyond frightened, and had been for some time, and now even Trickster was beginning to feel worried. He brushed it off, though.
"Tricksteh." A voice behind them startled them so badly that all three jumped about a foot into the air. Trickster turned around and, with some relief, saw that it was just Pirate.
"Heya, Pirate. Freckle tol' me dat you t'ought dere was some trouble. Well, we's jus' came—"
Pirate growled audibly. Trickster turned to the two small boys and motioned with a quick jerk of his head that they should back away to the side. Trembling, the two did so, clutching onto each other.
"Da truth is dat I'se ain' been happy wit' Manhattan fer some time, Tricksteh." Pirate narrowed his eyes, and then in one second, leapt with the agility of a jungle cat onto Trickster's chest.
Though they were young, Parrot and Kid Blink knew that there were two rules about newsie fights: one, if you're not involved, don't get involved. And two, if you can, go get help.
The two six-year olds took off running, Parrot holding onto Kid Blink's sleeve to make sure they didn't get separated. They tried to stop any amiable-looking people to help them, but no one would.
"C'mon, Parrot. We's gotsta go help Tricksteh," Kid Blink finally decided. The two ventured back to the spot.
It took them quite a while to find it, but when they did, they wouldn't let themselves accept what they saw. Pirate had left, but Trickster was still there—lying on his back, blood splattered near him. It was trickling from his mouth, his nose, and a gash on his forehead. Kid Blink hung back, not wanting to look at his leader like that, but Parrot ran over as close as he could.
"Tricksteh? Is you okay?" he asked quietly, tears clouding his vision.
Trickster smiled—barely—at him, then shook his head. "Don' cry, Parrot. Newsies don' cry." His breathing was labored.
"C'mon, we's gotsta get you'se back ta Manhattan!" Parrot said anxiously, grabbing one of Trickster's arms.
"Parrot… you was always one 'a me fav'rites," Trickster said, gasping for breath between nearly every word. "Blink, too."
Parrot worked his small hand into his leader's bigger one. Trickster smiled and squeezed back, then closed his eyes.
Fifteen minutes later, Kid Blink came over and took Parrot's arm. He tried to hide his tears as he led his best friend away from their dead leader, because Parrot, the crier, wasn't even crying.
From that day on, Parrot never cried. He learned to control his emotions, like all the other newsies. Even though he was just six years old, he knew that it could be an homage to Trickster. For the next three years that followed, the only time he cried was when word was sent that California and Terrain, who had left the Lodging House and moved to Jersey shortly after Trickster's death, had been killed in a gang war that neither were involved in. They'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that meant that the three people he'd looked up to the most, including Trickster, were now gone. He never completely filled up the hole from their deaths.