Part 2: Cheating is Bad for Your Well Being
The group arrived at an abandon warehouse near the East River. The crowd was large and the air was thick with smoke, alcohol, and a stench they didn't want to recognize… "This place stinks worse then a toilet used last by Mrs. Crane" Tilda commented, holding her nose. "If this is the place, why is it so disgusting already?"
"It use to be a fish factory" Skittery answered her, making a pinched expression.
Tilda acted like she was dying from being smothered. "This is the only place they could find?" she coughed out.
Delilah elbowed her. "Will you stop making a donkey out of yourself and deal with it."
Tilda straightened up. "Fine."
They wavered through the several poker tables and roller games on the floor. Some of the older boys raised their heads to gawk and make cat calls at the girls. One greasy headed boy at a poker table reached out and tweaked Delilah's back end.
"Whoa!" she screeched, smacking the culprit's head. "The merchandise ain't for touching!"
Skittery, who was walking behind her, laughed. "Those idiots don't know where the line is drawn."
Delilah laughed at his comment and what it reminded her of. "Yeah, reminds me of my brothers."
"So, what's your game, goils?" Jack asked. Delilah answered first in a short response.
"Poker."
"Double Down."
Skittery raised his hand, pointing to each of them. "Faker and risk taker."
"It fits them" Snitch remarked with a snort.
"Oh!" Tilda got excited, not even watching her volume level. "You should see Delilah's poker face. She gets a little twitch in her eye when she's bluffing."
"Let's announce it to the whole world, Tilda!" She pushed her sister on the chest.
"Is that a request?" Tilda retort, daring her sister to start a fight. She knew Delilah's fiery temper was short and a lifetimes from being sweet.
Delilah glared at her with piercing daggers then spun on her heel in the opposite direction the group had been traveling. Skittery smirked at his friends, and turned to follow her off.
Snitch shook his head at the whole scene before wading off in another direction to stop at a blackjack table. Tilda shrugged off her sister's reaction - taking it as usual behavior - and stalked over to join a dice game. Dutchy quietly followed her from a far, knowing for sure she was probably going to fall in hot water anytime soon. Jack, bored by the surroundings, had already disappeared somewhere in a separate room with what they would call a 'loose woman'.
"So, you good at poker?"
Skittery was taking a very unexpected interest in Delilah. If only he knew the one time a - foolish - boy who had taken interest in Delilah, found himself being dunked by two muscled men in the East River.
Delilah shrugged. "Taught twenty of the best female poker players all by meself" she claimed, nonchalantly. She sort of left out the 'boarding school' part of the claim though. She plopped her back end in an empty, rickety chair at a table that was just beginning a new round.
All movement ceased to exist. The three burly boys at the around the table turned in a slow motion manner, smoke from their cigarettes curling into the dim light above. The smug, trademark grin on Delilah's face fell into place. She'd drawn the attention to her which was exactly the plan.
"Deal me in, boys" she said, not even giving a look at them but reaching for cigar on the table. The cigar owner was about to protest when someone else joined in.
"Me too" came Skittery from behind, taking a seat next to her. Delilah flicked a tight smirk at him then elbowed him.
"Gotta light?"
Skittery didn't get to answer; the boy on the other side of Delilah snatched the cigar from her grasp. "Next time, don't even try it" he snarled, lowly. Delilah seemed to just blow him off. The card dealer shuffled the deck then distributed the cards to the players.
*writer changes regular narration voice to...announcer voice!*
The wonderful world of poker gaming is underway! In the first chair, dealing the cards, is Enric Redding - known for his hot temper and being a very sore loser! In the second chair is Fred Edwards, but he really has no point in this story then just filling space. Okay. In the third chair, we have Cigar Smoke - known for his bad habit of cigar smoking! In the fourth chair is Deliliah "I'm Always in Trouble" Delancey - known for...well, getting in trouble. Finally, in the fifth chair is Skittery the Pink Underpants Boy...who will learn later that hanging around a Delancey sister is hazardous to your health. Let's getting a closer shot at our players hands.
Cigar Smoke has three of a kind. Pretty good hand. Skittery is exchanging two cards. Yikes! The bets are going higher! Oh no, Fred just folded. They're laying out their hands. Redding has a Straight Flush! That's the best natural hand in the game. But, wait. Delilah has this smug look on her face because she has...five of a kind! That's the highest possible hand ever! She pulls her winnings to her; Redding is wearing a very irritated expression.
*Twenty minutes and three rounds later*
Looks like Delilah has been beating the pants off the other players. She has won three out of four games so far. Let's see if she can pull off another win this round...
*Announcer voice disappears and narrative voice triumphantly returns!*
Redding glared suspiciously at Delilah. She was winning too often, and that was something to get very suspicious about. Delilah looked at her cards as if she didn't have a care in the world. Her eye hadn't even twitched all night. It was fun playing poker. You could mess with people's minds and win their money all at the same time. Sort of like dangling a banana out of Oscar's reach. Although, you didn't get money for that...only a busted gut from laughing so much. But that's worth more than money.
"What do you have?" Redding said, directly at Delilah after laying his full house on the table. Everyone else had folded in fear of losing to a girl again.
Delilah sighed, disrupted. She frowned deeply then laid down her four of a kind of all aces. "Whoa, looks like I beat you again."
Redding went wide eyed. This was definitely the last straw. He stared all over Delilah, finally settling on her left arm sleeve. He reached over, pulling out a joker card and holding it in her face. "What is this?" he asked in a dangerous tone.
"Uh..." Delilah stuttered, stunned that she'd been caught. It wasn't the first time, but Delilah had it in her head that she'd become an expert by now. She'd spent too many nights playing poker with those naive school girls. "I wear it for luck?" She shrugged, and a whole loose deck of cards tumbled out her right arm sleeve.
All three boys stood up, looking very tall and intimidating. Delilah cracked a weak smile. "Gotta go."
"Come back HEAH!!!" Redding yelled, shooting across the table to catch her from running.
Surprisingly, Skittery jumped up in her defense. "Don't touch her!"
Redding didn't even pause, hitting Skittery on the side of his face. "Get out of my way!"
Delilah swore, and grabbed the front of Skittery's long johns - tugging him under the poker table. "Haul rear, stupid. No time to stick around for a fight." She dragged him from under the table and headed anywhere from the three thugs they played with.
By now, Redding was furious and punching anyone near him which lead to an all round brawl in the whole place. Skittery held his nose with one hand as it bled down to his mouth. "Does a fight start wherever you go???"
Delilah shrugged, not looking back at him. "What can I say, it's a talent."
Skittery rolled his eyes. "You must be very talented!"
They dodged someone being thrown through the air. "Oh shoot! I have to find my sister!"
Meanwhile, on the other side of warehouse.
"What were you thinking using loaded dice on professional gamblers!" Snitch yelled, following Tilda and Dutchy through the crowd. Somehow he'd wound up at the same game they were at after he'd gotten tired of blackjack.
"It's not like they don't use loaded dice too!" Tilda yelled back, somewhat amused. Dutchy grinned amused also. This girl was pretty interesting even if trouble did circle around her and she was kind of crude.
Jack popped his head out of the back room. "Huh?" he gaped out. The loose woman pulled him back in, not caring what was going on.
The back door of the warehouse leading out to the docks pushed open with Delilah and Skittery stumbling out. Delilah leaned against the wall to catch her breath.
"Wasn't that a thrill."
Skittery peered over at her. "You have got to be kidding me."
Before she could retort, the door slammed open again almost hitting Delilah. "Hey! Watch it, ya bums!"
"Will you shut up!" a familiar voice crowed. Tilda planted her hands on her hips. "I think we set a new record for starting fights."
Delilah cocked an eyebrow. "You got caught too?"
Skittery leaned close to Snitch and Dutchy. "I think they start trouble on purpose."
"Ya think?" Snitch said, sarcastically.
"I think it's kind of funny." They glared at Dutchy, surprised. "What?"
"Hey boys," Tilda interrupted. "it's been fun, but we better get going."
"Yeah, our uncle will be worried sick about us." With that comment, they burst into laughter leaving the boys confused.
"Can we meet again?" Dutchy got out before the girls walked away.
Tilda cocked her head. "You actually want to see us again?"
Skittery and Dutchy nodded, while Snitch shook his head. "Why not." Skittery shrugged.
"You guys work?" Delilah asked.
"Yeah," Skittery replied. "We're newsies. We pick up our papers at The World Distribution Office real early like."
Tilda nodded. "Okay. We'll see you later then."
The girls walked off into the night. It didn't occur to them how far it was back to their apartment, but they roughed it and caught a trolley. The moon was high in the sky when they arrived home.
"Where have you been?!" Weasel demanded as they strolled in. His fists were planted on his hips, oddly resembling a fat Mrs. Crane. The girls shivered at the thought.
"Why do you care?" Delilah spat back while Tilda closed the door. "You locked us up in a boarding house for over a year. You never came to visit, and you were only a borough away!"
Weasel sighed, miserably. "Unfortunately, you two are my responsibility again, so I'm forced to watch out for you."
Tilda snorted. "You sound so concerned."
"What happen to his 'spies'?" Delilah asked lowly to the air. Weasel glared at her, hearing the comment, and stuck his whole index finger in his mouth then wiped it on Delilah's cheek. She shrieked, jumping back and wiping her cheek off with her sleeve. "Watch your comments, girl."
"I wouldn't doubt you two caught something on fire" Oscar remarked, from his perch on the old orange couch.
"You make one mistake and you're never trusted" Tilda heaved, smacking her forehead.
"Whatever you were doing, don't do it again. You better be here tomorrow when we get home, or you'll regret it." The girls rolled their eyes heavenward at that command. "Now go to sleep. You too, boys."
"Okay" Delilah and Tilda said in unison, casually strolling into their brothers' room and closing the door.
"Wait a minute!" Morris cried out, rushing to the door. The knob was locked already.
"Let us in!" Oscar shouted, banging on the door.
"Uncle Wies" Morris whined, turning to the greasy man. "You gonna let them do this to us???"
Weasel shrugged, nonchalantly. "That's not my room." With that, he walked in his bedroom leaving the brothers to bang on the door some more before giving up and playing "paper, rock, scissors" to see who would get the couch. Morris won, if you were wondering.
The group arrived at an abandon warehouse near the East River. The crowd was large and the air was thick with smoke, alcohol, and a stench they didn't want to recognize… "This place stinks worse then a toilet used last by Mrs. Crane" Tilda commented, holding her nose. "If this is the place, why is it so disgusting already?"
"It use to be a fish factory" Skittery answered her, making a pinched expression.
Tilda acted like she was dying from being smothered. "This is the only place they could find?" she coughed out.
Delilah elbowed her. "Will you stop making a donkey out of yourself and deal with it."
Tilda straightened up. "Fine."
They wavered through the several poker tables and roller games on the floor. Some of the older boys raised their heads to gawk and make cat calls at the girls. One greasy headed boy at a poker table reached out and tweaked Delilah's back end.
"Whoa!" she screeched, smacking the culprit's head. "The merchandise ain't for touching!"
Skittery, who was walking behind her, laughed. "Those idiots don't know where the line is drawn."
Delilah laughed at his comment and what it reminded her of. "Yeah, reminds me of my brothers."
"So, what's your game, goils?" Jack asked. Delilah answered first in a short response.
"Poker."
"Double Down."
Skittery raised his hand, pointing to each of them. "Faker and risk taker."
"It fits them" Snitch remarked with a snort.
"Oh!" Tilda got excited, not even watching her volume level. "You should see Delilah's poker face. She gets a little twitch in her eye when she's bluffing."
"Let's announce it to the whole world, Tilda!" She pushed her sister on the chest.
"Is that a request?" Tilda retort, daring her sister to start a fight. She knew Delilah's fiery temper was short and a lifetimes from being sweet.
Delilah glared at her with piercing daggers then spun on her heel in the opposite direction the group had been traveling. Skittery smirked at his friends, and turned to follow her off.
Snitch shook his head at the whole scene before wading off in another direction to stop at a blackjack table. Tilda shrugged off her sister's reaction - taking it as usual behavior - and stalked over to join a dice game. Dutchy quietly followed her from a far, knowing for sure she was probably going to fall in hot water anytime soon. Jack, bored by the surroundings, had already disappeared somewhere in a separate room with what they would call a 'loose woman'.
"So, you good at poker?"
Skittery was taking a very unexpected interest in Delilah. If only he knew the one time a - foolish - boy who had taken interest in Delilah, found himself being dunked by two muscled men in the East River.
Delilah shrugged. "Taught twenty of the best female poker players all by meself" she claimed, nonchalantly. She sort of left out the 'boarding school' part of the claim though. She plopped her back end in an empty, rickety chair at a table that was just beginning a new round.
All movement ceased to exist. The three burly boys at the around the table turned in a slow motion manner, smoke from their cigarettes curling into the dim light above. The smug, trademark grin on Delilah's face fell into place. She'd drawn the attention to her which was exactly the plan.
"Deal me in, boys" she said, not even giving a look at them but reaching for cigar on the table. The cigar owner was about to protest when someone else joined in.
"Me too" came Skittery from behind, taking a seat next to her. Delilah flicked a tight smirk at him then elbowed him.
"Gotta light?"
Skittery didn't get to answer; the boy on the other side of Delilah snatched the cigar from her grasp. "Next time, don't even try it" he snarled, lowly. Delilah seemed to just blow him off. The card dealer shuffled the deck then distributed the cards to the players.
*writer changes regular narration voice to...announcer voice!*
The wonderful world of poker gaming is underway! In the first chair, dealing the cards, is Enric Redding - known for his hot temper and being a very sore loser! In the second chair is Fred Edwards, but he really has no point in this story then just filling space. Okay. In the third chair, we have Cigar Smoke - known for his bad habit of cigar smoking! In the fourth chair is Deliliah "I'm Always in Trouble" Delancey - known for...well, getting in trouble. Finally, in the fifth chair is Skittery the Pink Underpants Boy...who will learn later that hanging around a Delancey sister is hazardous to your health. Let's getting a closer shot at our players hands.
Cigar Smoke has three of a kind. Pretty good hand. Skittery is exchanging two cards. Yikes! The bets are going higher! Oh no, Fred just folded. They're laying out their hands. Redding has a Straight Flush! That's the best natural hand in the game. But, wait. Delilah has this smug look on her face because she has...five of a kind! That's the highest possible hand ever! She pulls her winnings to her; Redding is wearing a very irritated expression.
*Twenty minutes and three rounds later*
Looks like Delilah has been beating the pants off the other players. She has won three out of four games so far. Let's see if she can pull off another win this round...
*Announcer voice disappears and narrative voice triumphantly returns!*
Redding glared suspiciously at Delilah. She was winning too often, and that was something to get very suspicious about. Delilah looked at her cards as if she didn't have a care in the world. Her eye hadn't even twitched all night. It was fun playing poker. You could mess with people's minds and win their money all at the same time. Sort of like dangling a banana out of Oscar's reach. Although, you didn't get money for that...only a busted gut from laughing so much. But that's worth more than money.
"What do you have?" Redding said, directly at Delilah after laying his full house on the table. Everyone else had folded in fear of losing to a girl again.
Delilah sighed, disrupted. She frowned deeply then laid down her four of a kind of all aces. "Whoa, looks like I beat you again."
Redding went wide eyed. This was definitely the last straw. He stared all over Delilah, finally settling on her left arm sleeve. He reached over, pulling out a joker card and holding it in her face. "What is this?" he asked in a dangerous tone.
"Uh..." Delilah stuttered, stunned that she'd been caught. It wasn't the first time, but Delilah had it in her head that she'd become an expert by now. She'd spent too many nights playing poker with those naive school girls. "I wear it for luck?" She shrugged, and a whole loose deck of cards tumbled out her right arm sleeve.
All three boys stood up, looking very tall and intimidating. Delilah cracked a weak smile. "Gotta go."
"Come back HEAH!!!" Redding yelled, shooting across the table to catch her from running.
Surprisingly, Skittery jumped up in her defense. "Don't touch her!"
Redding didn't even pause, hitting Skittery on the side of his face. "Get out of my way!"
Delilah swore, and grabbed the front of Skittery's long johns - tugging him under the poker table. "Haul rear, stupid. No time to stick around for a fight." She dragged him from under the table and headed anywhere from the three thugs they played with.
By now, Redding was furious and punching anyone near him which lead to an all round brawl in the whole place. Skittery held his nose with one hand as it bled down to his mouth. "Does a fight start wherever you go???"
Delilah shrugged, not looking back at him. "What can I say, it's a talent."
Skittery rolled his eyes. "You must be very talented!"
They dodged someone being thrown through the air. "Oh shoot! I have to find my sister!"
Meanwhile, on the other side of warehouse.
"What were you thinking using loaded dice on professional gamblers!" Snitch yelled, following Tilda and Dutchy through the crowd. Somehow he'd wound up at the same game they were at after he'd gotten tired of blackjack.
"It's not like they don't use loaded dice too!" Tilda yelled back, somewhat amused. Dutchy grinned amused also. This girl was pretty interesting even if trouble did circle around her and she was kind of crude.
Jack popped his head out of the back room. "Huh?" he gaped out. The loose woman pulled him back in, not caring what was going on.
The back door of the warehouse leading out to the docks pushed open with Delilah and Skittery stumbling out. Delilah leaned against the wall to catch her breath.
"Wasn't that a thrill."
Skittery peered over at her. "You have got to be kidding me."
Before she could retort, the door slammed open again almost hitting Delilah. "Hey! Watch it, ya bums!"
"Will you shut up!" a familiar voice crowed. Tilda planted her hands on her hips. "I think we set a new record for starting fights."
Delilah cocked an eyebrow. "You got caught too?"
Skittery leaned close to Snitch and Dutchy. "I think they start trouble on purpose."
"Ya think?" Snitch said, sarcastically.
"I think it's kind of funny." They glared at Dutchy, surprised. "What?"
"Hey boys," Tilda interrupted. "it's been fun, but we better get going."
"Yeah, our uncle will be worried sick about us." With that comment, they burst into laughter leaving the boys confused.
"Can we meet again?" Dutchy got out before the girls walked away.
Tilda cocked her head. "You actually want to see us again?"
Skittery and Dutchy nodded, while Snitch shook his head. "Why not." Skittery shrugged.
"You guys work?" Delilah asked.
"Yeah," Skittery replied. "We're newsies. We pick up our papers at The World Distribution Office real early like."
Tilda nodded. "Okay. We'll see you later then."
The girls walked off into the night. It didn't occur to them how far it was back to their apartment, but they roughed it and caught a trolley. The moon was high in the sky when they arrived home.
"Where have you been?!" Weasel demanded as they strolled in. His fists were planted on his hips, oddly resembling a fat Mrs. Crane. The girls shivered at the thought.
"Why do you care?" Delilah spat back while Tilda closed the door. "You locked us up in a boarding house for over a year. You never came to visit, and you were only a borough away!"
Weasel sighed, miserably. "Unfortunately, you two are my responsibility again, so I'm forced to watch out for you."
Tilda snorted. "You sound so concerned."
"What happen to his 'spies'?" Delilah asked lowly to the air. Weasel glared at her, hearing the comment, and stuck his whole index finger in his mouth then wiped it on Delilah's cheek. She shrieked, jumping back and wiping her cheek off with her sleeve. "Watch your comments, girl."
"I wouldn't doubt you two caught something on fire" Oscar remarked, from his perch on the old orange couch.
"You make one mistake and you're never trusted" Tilda heaved, smacking her forehead.
"Whatever you were doing, don't do it again. You better be here tomorrow when we get home, or you'll regret it." The girls rolled their eyes heavenward at that command. "Now go to sleep. You too, boys."
"Okay" Delilah and Tilda said in unison, casually strolling into their brothers' room and closing the door.
"Wait a minute!" Morris cried out, rushing to the door. The knob was locked already.
"Let us in!" Oscar shouted, banging on the door.
"Uncle Wies" Morris whined, turning to the greasy man. "You gonna let them do this to us???"
Weasel shrugged, nonchalantly. "That's not my room." With that, he walked in his bedroom leaving the brothers to bang on the door some more before giving up and playing "paper, rock, scissors" to see who would get the couch. Morris won, if you were wondering.