Past Secrets and Present Times
Chapter 4
By Megan
When Hotshot picked up her papers the next morning she noticed that Maurice and Oscar weren't in their usual spots behind the bars. "Hey Weasel, where's dose bums you calls nephews?"
"They got the day off, now get outta me face." What else was new, Weasel was in a bad mood. He was snapping at all the newsies, which just gave Jack an easier time bugging him.
That day they gathered into a larger group. Dutchy, Kid Blink, and Mush were with them. They wandered around town all morning selling their papers and joking around. After they grabbed a quick lunch at Tibby's they walked to the other end of town.
"Hey newsies," the call broke through the sounds the group was producing. They looked up to find Oscar and Maurice strolling over.
"You know, I thought I smelled sumthin' awful," Hotshot remarked.
Oscar glared at her obviously planning some kind of revenge. "The only thing that stinks around here is trash like the five a you."
"Ya know ya don' mean that scab," Kid Blink said, "The only trash 'round here lies in the gutter an' dat would be your job wouldn't it." The thin drizzle that had started added to the building tension.
Without warning Oscar threw himself at Kid Blink and Hotshot saw Maurice pull out his dangerous brass knuckles. Kid Blink dove out of the way and the other four scattered.
Dutchy had also seen the brass knuckles and called out a warning. He'd been beat up with them once and wasn't in a hurry to see someone else after they'd gotten beat. "It ain't worth the time guys let's go."
As he said that the familiar sound of horses hooves could be heard. That could mean only one thing; the bulls. Specs' eyes went quickly to Hotshot. Even if the bulls weren't looking for her if she got in trouble they'd figure out who she was. Both Jack and Spot would soak the four who were there with her. "Scram, it's the bulls!" he yelled.
The four others took off in the same direction with the Delancy's chasing after them. Oscar grabbed for Hotshot but only got her hat. Mush leaned over and whispered to Specs, "Get Hotshot outta here. We'll get rid a 'em. Meet you at the square in an hour." With that Mush, Kid Blink, and Dutchy swerved back toward the Delancy's.
Specs grabbed Hotshots arm and steered her into the alley. They ran as fast as they could through the maze of alleys, both of them getting soaked in the process. Hotshot slowed to a walk and leaned against a wall. Her clothes were plastered to her body, and her shoulder length brown hair fell in clumps around her face. Specs didn't look much better. Even with his hat his hair still managed to get plastered to his forehead. He pulled off his hat and leaned against the opposite wall breathing hard. As they each looked up their eyes met and both of them started laughing.
Specs tried hard to stop his laughter and quickly succeeded in doing so. He stood in front of Hotshot and took deep breaths to keep from laughing again. She seemed to be trying to catch her breath as well. Specs didn't know what came over him when she looked at him again. Something in him told him to do something so he did.
As Hotshot finally regained her ability to breath properly she stood up and looked up at Specs. Before she could react his lips were on hers. Normally if this had happened she would have been surprised enough to jump back. The wall she was leaning against prevented her from doing so. Something inside her seemed to break as he kissed her and she kissed him back. The way he kissed her proved that he had experience with girls. He pulled back after a few seconds with a shocked look on his face.
"I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking." He quickly apologized. "I shouldn't have-"
She quickly silenced him with another kiss. She had actually liked the feeling she got when he kissed her. Him not pulling back showed that he felt the same. When they finally pulled back from each other a second time she smiled, "Don't apologize, I liked it."
He smiled back at her blushing. After a moment or two of awkward silence he spoke, "We'd better get back to the square."
She nodded in agreement and took his hat off his head. Specs was going to yell at her for it but stopped when he realized why she needed it. The turned and slowly made their way back to the square where Mush, Kid Blink and Dutchy were waiting. Hotshot surveyed the damage. Dutchy had a long scratch that ran the length of his arm. Kid Blink seemed untouched except for the scratch under his good eye. Mush had gotten the worst of it, a black eye.
"Where you's two been?" Mush shouted, "We's been here for ten minutes."
"Long story," Specs explained.
Dutchy handed Hotshot her hat and they walked the rest of the way back to the boarding house. When they reached the bunkroom Jack was the first one to notice them.
"What the hell happened to you!" he yelled seeing their battle scars.
"Jus' a lil' run in wit' the Delancy's." Kid Blink explained, "We'll be fine."
"Yeah," Mush added, "You should see them."
At this a smile crossed Jack's face, "Tell."
"Well Maurice's gots a broken nose, Oscar got a black eye. Plenty a cuts an' bruises an' they's in need of a new set a clothes." Dutchy proudly shared.
Specs and Hotshot along with everyone else cheered. Jack just shook his head grinning and ushered the three injured soldiers downstairs to clean up their wounds. Specs and Hotshot walked over to their bunks, each grabbing a set of clean clothes and went to the washroom to change. Specs sat down to read the days paper when he came out and Hotshot joined Race's nightly game of poker.
The next morning everyone saw Oscar and Maurice just as the three fighters had described them the previous night. A roar of laughter echoed through the place and everyone lingered an extra second to see the soaked scabs.
Specs and Hotshot were selling alone again that morning. They were supposed to meet Jack at Tibby's at noon. He wanted to introduce Hotshot to Medda but hadn't had a chance to yet. They found a spot that was not crowded with newsies and began yelling headlines. When Hotshot only had one paper left she walked around looking for someone to buy it. She stopped near an older man. "Buy me last pape, Sir?"
"Which one is it?" he asked, looking to see it was the world, "Ah, only sellin' the best."
"Yes sir." She fought to control her voice and was saved when Specs stepped up behind her.
"Mornin' Mista Pulitzer," he said coldly.
"Good morning," Pulitzer replied in the same cold voice. He handed Hotshot a nickel, never once looking at her face. "Keep the change." He turned and marched off. Specs smiled at knowing that the newsies still seemed to have some control over Pulitzer. He was too busy smiling triumphantly to notice Hotshot shaking nervously.
"Let's go," he said walking towards Tibby's. Hotshot knocked herself out of her daze and followed him. Jack, Les and David were seated around one of the smaller tables inside. Specs took the seat beside Jack and Hotshot pulled a chair between his and Les'. She smiled at the younger boy as he bit into a hot dog.
"I think Hotshot here just topped us all for sellin' ta the strangest person," Specs said.
Jack looked at her, "Who'd you's sell to."
"Pulitzer hisself." She grinned not showing a trace of the fear that had lingered only moments before.
Jack and David laughed and Jack pushed himself up from his chair. "So who's ready for a show at Medda's?" The other four dragged themselves to their feet at different paces and followed Jack down the street. Instead of taking the front door inside Jack took them around back and entered the backstage area.
A woman that seemed to be in her twenties was walking down the ramp in the back. "Ah, Kelly, where ya been?" she asked draping an arm around his shoulders.
He smiled, "Medda you remember Specs, David and Les."
"Good to see you again boys." She said smiling.
Jack pulled Hotshot forward. "Medda this is Hotshot, a newbie. Hotshot this is Medda, the Swedish Meadow Lark."
Medda smiled, "I heard you've been here a while kid. Jack how come you're just bringing him around now?"
Jack reached over and pulled off Hotshots cap, "Well she's tryin' to settle in and I ain't had any free time."
Medda's smile grew, "A goil newsie."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"This is wonderful. You're keeping these gentlemen in line I hope."
"A few black eyes," Hotshot said smiling.
The conversation lasted another couple minutes before Medda had to go back onstage. Jack led his friends over to the backstage viewing area. Jack and David were very interested in the show and Les was into his candy, which allowed Specs and Hotshot to sneak off and be alone for a while. They talked for a little while before Specs got up the courage to kiss her again.
* * *
"So why did you bring 'er here," Medda asked, "Does she need a job?"
"Jack shook his head, "Not a job, just a hiding place. If da bulls search the boarding house or whateva she's got ta have somewhere to run. She could work here if they were looking for her. Jus' for a few days. They wouldn't think ta look here. Wadda ya say Medda?"
"Of course she can stay here," Medda said, "When have I ever turned any of you away? The only question I have is what will she do?"
"She can dance an' sing, but I don' think you'd be able to get her to wear a dress." Jack smiled.
"Well if she can't do anything she can just hide in the extra room upstairs," Medda decided, "You boys had better get going."
Jack nodded and stood up. Calling out his friends' names he walked toward the door. All of them came from different directions. "Thanks Medda!" he shouted over his shoulder as they left. A chorus of replies from the others followed.
* * *
Jack pulled Hotshot aside when they reached the lodging house. He let the others go upstairs and made her sit down. "Alright, I was talkin' to Medda taday. If the bulls ever come here lookin' for ya you's gonna need someplace else ta stay for a few days. Medda said you could stay at her place. How's that sound?"
She shrugged, "It don' really matter jus' as long as I never go back ta me family. So if someone says the bulls are here go ta Medda's."
"Yeah, or if you see 'em snoopin' 'round here," he paused, "Spot neva told me what happened wit' your family an' Kid Blink said you was rememberin' the otha day." He leaned against the wall, "You wanna talk about it?"
She looked up and met his eyes, "It's not sumthin' I like ta remember, so I really don' like ta talk about it." As she spoke she let her eyes drift around the room. "As far as I'se concerned this is me family now an' they always have been."
Jack frowned figuring it must have been really bad if she was so against even thinking about it, "That's a common though around here." He said, "Now you'd better get upstairs to try ta get Race to swear off bettin'."
He was glad to see the smile that crossed her face, "That ain't possible."
"Well at least get up there and do some damage to that over inflated ego a his," he smiled.
She got up and walked up the stairs. She dropped to the floor between Race and Skittery. "Deal me in," she said. True to her promise she did a good amount of damage to Racetrack's ego. "C'mon ya Italian midget, hand ova me money." She said at the end of the night.
"Italian midget, don' call me that, I'll soak you!" As he turned in her direction she pulled out her slingshot and set in. As he was facing her directly all he saw was the wooden part of her slingshot. He ducked out of the way even though she didn't let go of the elastic. "Are you's tryin' ta kill me." He said pulling a few coins out of his pocket.
"Me," she asked innocently taking her winnings.
"How'd ya do?" Jack asked coming into the room.
"His ego's been deflated enough for one night." she smiled climbing into bed.
About halfway through the night a loud thud woke Hotshot up. She sat up in her bunk hitting her head on the bottom of Specs'.
"Damn!" she rubbed her head praying there wouldn't be a bruise there the next morning. She continued swearing in Spanish, English, and even some Dutch that Dutchy had taught her as she fumbled for her glasses and let her eyes adjust to the dark. When she could finally see she found Boots on the floor looking around in confusion. She got up and walked over to where he was laying, "You ok?"
He looked up at her with his chocolate brown eyes wide with fear. Sweat was glistening on his face and his shoulders shook uncontrollably. "There gonna get me," he gasped.
"Whoa!" she grabbed his shoulders, "It's ok Boots. Pal you're in the lodging house. You're safe here. I promise no one is gonna hurt you." As she said this she slid an arm around his shoulders trying to comfort him.
He seemed to calm down a little and take hold of his surroundings. Obviously he'd thought he was somewhere else when he woke up. "Oh my God," he moaned, "Not again."
"Are you ok Boots?" she asked quietly.
He nodded.
"Do you wanna go back to bed?"
He nodded again and began to climb back into bed. As he started doing so Jack, who had been awake the whole time, finally found himself awake enough to get up out of bed. Boots hitting his knee on the metal bunk may have been the reason he got up. "I'm comin' Boots," he said. This showed that he hadn't heard them talking.
When he got over to the bunk he looked at Hotshot and figured out what happened. "You's gonna be alright Boots?" he asked.
The younger newsie nodded and rolled over.
Jack pulled Hotshot out to the fire escape seeing the confused look on her face.
"What was that about?" she asked as Jack closed the window most of the way.
"Boots has nightmares occasionally." Jack said, "After he was born his parents was killed an' they sent him to an orphanage. The folks that run it would beat the kids if they did sumthin' wrong. If they didn't know who did it they'd pick one a the kids an' jus' beat 'im harder. They was real prejudice too. Since Boots is black they usually picked him outta all the kids (I don't mean to offend anybody. I'm just trying to show how unfair life was for different people back then). He's scared a goin' back there an' it gives hi awful nightmares."
Hotshot was shocked. Parts of her life had been somewhat similar to his, though obviously he had been hitten more brutally. "Poor kid," she whispered.
"Yeah, that's what the rest of us say too," Jack continued, "Jus' don' bring it up during the day or he gets real upset about it."
She nodded and began to open the window.
"Hotshot," At Jack's voice she turned around, "Don't say anything about this tomorrow, to anyone."
She nodded again and climbed inside.
Jack sat outside for a few more minutes thinking about everything and then carefully slid in the window and climbed back in his bed hoping there wouldn't be any more trouble for a few days.
The next morning everyone was up at their normal time. They met David and Les at the distribution station. Les was complaining about how he'd lost his toy sword. "David thinks I left it on the roof but I didn't have time to check before we left," he told Boots.
Hotshot smiled, Les was never seen without the little wooden sword that he liked to swing around. She pulled the ever-present slingshot out of her pocket and walked over to them. "Here Les, why don't you borrow this today," she said holding it out to him.
Les' eyes lit up, "Really, thanks Hotshot." He accepted the new weapon from her and smiled widely up at his older brother.
"Sure, David or Jack can teach you guys how to use it an' you can just send it back with Jack tonight." (By the way she taught a few other newsies to use a slingshot) She threw a few coins up to Specs to buy papers.
"Alright," Les said gripping it tightly as he and Boots ran off to show their other friends.
Specs walked down the ramp and draped an arm around her shoulder in a friendly way, not the way most buys did to their girlfriends. "C'mon, we's got papers to sell." He said dragging her off.
The day's headlines were good enough that they didn't have to exaggerate, much. They had sold all of them easily by mid-afternoon. Mush and Skittery walked with them a little out of boredom.
When all the papers were sold and they were heading back to the lodging house Specs glanced at his pocket watch. "I'll meet you back at the lodging house tonight. I'se gotta go help Sarah study."
"Alright," she said.
He turned and kissed her quickly making sure no one saw. Then he waved walking down the street in the direction of the Jacobs' house.
Hotshot smiled and watched him go. When he was out of sight she continued to walk back to the lodging house. It was quicker to go through the alleys so she began to walk that way. It was starting to get dark making it more dangerous to take them but she felt as safe here as she had in Brooklyn so she figured she could protect herself. She walked past a pile of crates to hear a whisper. That sound stopped her in her tracks for a split second before her reflexes told her to run. The split second was what caused her to get caught.
A hand caught a tight grip on her arm. "Ain't that cute," Oscar drawled, "Four eyes and little miss tough stuff here are dating."
She immediately pulled out of his grip and reached for her back pocket. Realizing that her slingshot wasn't there she looked up again to see her two attackers standing there smiling.
"You know, I've been hearing rumors," Maurice said, "A bunch a people are saying that you don't fight as good as you say you do."
She kept her face blank trying not to show the fear that was screaming inside her head. She wanted to run but was cornered against the wall. She could have taken them on if someone else was there but not by herself. Maybe she could fit through the space between them and get back to the lodging house. She decided to try and ran at full speed into the space between them. She got by, but before she could get to the end of the alley one of them tackled her.
Their fists began to pound her body, painfully. She rolled onto her back trying to get away or at least fight them off. She got in a few good punches before Oscar pulled her hands behind her back. She kicked out at his older brother and was rewarded with a swift kick in the stomach. She held them off as long as she could but it was useless to fight. After a few moments she found the edges of her vision graying and gave in to the darkness that surrounded her.
Long after she had passed out they beat on her. Only when they were sure she was hurt enough did Maurice pick her up and carry her to the park. He placed her on the ground half hidden by a bush making it nearly impossible to see her. He smiled at his brother and they walked off.
Specs got back from the Jacobs' fairly early that evening. It was already dark but there was more than an hour until curfew. He walked up to the bunkroom where everyone was sitting around a large game of poker. Race and Jack were in a battle and neither seemed willing to back down. "Kill 'im Jack," he said encouraging his friend.
Jack looked up at him and frowned when he didn't see Hotshot. "Uh Specs, where's Hotshot?"
"I had to go over to the Jacobs' earlier. She came back her on her own." Specs said looking around the room to point her out. He and Jack realized at the same time that she wasn't there. Jack dropped his cards, revealing that he would have beaten Racetrack and Specs' jaw dropped.
"Did any of you's see her back here today?" Jack asked everyone.
No one could report that they had seen her.
"She's got her slingshot though," Specs said, "She can protect herself with that.
Jack pulled the slingshot out of his back pocket; "No she lent it to Les today."
Specs' stomach seemed to twist into knots. She was out at night alone and she didn't have any form of protection.
His thoughts were interrupted by Jack yelling to everyone to get into groups of two or three for a search. Jack was searching with Racetrack and Kid Blink, and Specs was with David. Those as well as the other groups set off in the direction that she would have come back from.
Specs was checking the alleys knowing that she was used to walking home that way. Jacks group was searching the streets around the square and the park.
"Jack, c'mere," Kid Blink hissed.
Jack ran over to where Blink was standing at the park's entrance. A completely serious face replaced the smile that was usually on Blink's face. "I think I found her," he said. He led Jack and Racetrack to the bushes where she was laying in the grass, obviously beaten and unconscious. Jack rolled the girl onto her back to find out it was their friend.
"Kid, go get David and Specs. Don't act all nervous about it 'cause you'll worry them." Jack wasn't asking he was ordering. "An' Racetrack try to find some a the others."
As his friends took off Jack began to wipe some of the blood from her face using the red handkerchief that he had tied around his neck. Race came back with a group of them who gathered around. "Who was it?" Race asked.
Jack's eyes blazed angrily, "The Delancy's." He clenched his teeth and took a few deep breaths.
Specs came running up and tried to push through the crowd. "Get outta me way!" he was yelling frantically to his friends. They all cleared a path for him and let him get next to Jack. Specs' face paled and he dropped to his knees. "Please tell me she ain't dead."
"No," Jack said, "But we need to get her to a doctor."
"I'll kill those Delancy bruthas." Specs cursed. He got up to do what he promised.
Jack grabbed his shoulders, "Not now." He turned to everyone else and began giving orders. Dutchy carried her back to the boarding house and they put her in one of the private rooms instead of the bunkroom.
Again Jack realized he needed to give more orders, "Snipeshooter, an' Skittery go get the doctor. Specs go down to the pier in Brooklyn an' get Spot. Tell 'im it's urgent."
The three newsies scurried off in different directions. Kloppman too was yelling a few orders to clean up her wounds and make her more comfortable. Within the next ten minutes the doctor came and by the end of his examination and bandaging Spot and Specs were there too.
Chapter 4
By Megan
When Hotshot picked up her papers the next morning she noticed that Maurice and Oscar weren't in their usual spots behind the bars. "Hey Weasel, where's dose bums you calls nephews?"
"They got the day off, now get outta me face." What else was new, Weasel was in a bad mood. He was snapping at all the newsies, which just gave Jack an easier time bugging him.
That day they gathered into a larger group. Dutchy, Kid Blink, and Mush were with them. They wandered around town all morning selling their papers and joking around. After they grabbed a quick lunch at Tibby's they walked to the other end of town.
"Hey newsies," the call broke through the sounds the group was producing. They looked up to find Oscar and Maurice strolling over.
"You know, I thought I smelled sumthin' awful," Hotshot remarked.
Oscar glared at her obviously planning some kind of revenge. "The only thing that stinks around here is trash like the five a you."
"Ya know ya don' mean that scab," Kid Blink said, "The only trash 'round here lies in the gutter an' dat would be your job wouldn't it." The thin drizzle that had started added to the building tension.
Without warning Oscar threw himself at Kid Blink and Hotshot saw Maurice pull out his dangerous brass knuckles. Kid Blink dove out of the way and the other four scattered.
Dutchy had also seen the brass knuckles and called out a warning. He'd been beat up with them once and wasn't in a hurry to see someone else after they'd gotten beat. "It ain't worth the time guys let's go."
As he said that the familiar sound of horses hooves could be heard. That could mean only one thing; the bulls. Specs' eyes went quickly to Hotshot. Even if the bulls weren't looking for her if she got in trouble they'd figure out who she was. Both Jack and Spot would soak the four who were there with her. "Scram, it's the bulls!" he yelled.
The four others took off in the same direction with the Delancy's chasing after them. Oscar grabbed for Hotshot but only got her hat. Mush leaned over and whispered to Specs, "Get Hotshot outta here. We'll get rid a 'em. Meet you at the square in an hour." With that Mush, Kid Blink, and Dutchy swerved back toward the Delancy's.
Specs grabbed Hotshots arm and steered her into the alley. They ran as fast as they could through the maze of alleys, both of them getting soaked in the process. Hotshot slowed to a walk and leaned against a wall. Her clothes were plastered to her body, and her shoulder length brown hair fell in clumps around her face. Specs didn't look much better. Even with his hat his hair still managed to get plastered to his forehead. He pulled off his hat and leaned against the opposite wall breathing hard. As they each looked up their eyes met and both of them started laughing.
Specs tried hard to stop his laughter and quickly succeeded in doing so. He stood in front of Hotshot and took deep breaths to keep from laughing again. She seemed to be trying to catch her breath as well. Specs didn't know what came over him when she looked at him again. Something in him told him to do something so he did.
As Hotshot finally regained her ability to breath properly she stood up and looked up at Specs. Before she could react his lips were on hers. Normally if this had happened she would have been surprised enough to jump back. The wall she was leaning against prevented her from doing so. Something inside her seemed to break as he kissed her and she kissed him back. The way he kissed her proved that he had experience with girls. He pulled back after a few seconds with a shocked look on his face.
"I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking." He quickly apologized. "I shouldn't have-"
She quickly silenced him with another kiss. She had actually liked the feeling she got when he kissed her. Him not pulling back showed that he felt the same. When they finally pulled back from each other a second time she smiled, "Don't apologize, I liked it."
He smiled back at her blushing. After a moment or two of awkward silence he spoke, "We'd better get back to the square."
She nodded in agreement and took his hat off his head. Specs was going to yell at her for it but stopped when he realized why she needed it. The turned and slowly made their way back to the square where Mush, Kid Blink and Dutchy were waiting. Hotshot surveyed the damage. Dutchy had a long scratch that ran the length of his arm. Kid Blink seemed untouched except for the scratch under his good eye. Mush had gotten the worst of it, a black eye.
"Where you's two been?" Mush shouted, "We's been here for ten minutes."
"Long story," Specs explained.
Dutchy handed Hotshot her hat and they walked the rest of the way back to the boarding house. When they reached the bunkroom Jack was the first one to notice them.
"What the hell happened to you!" he yelled seeing their battle scars.
"Jus' a lil' run in wit' the Delancy's." Kid Blink explained, "We'll be fine."
"Yeah," Mush added, "You should see them."
At this a smile crossed Jack's face, "Tell."
"Well Maurice's gots a broken nose, Oscar got a black eye. Plenty a cuts an' bruises an' they's in need of a new set a clothes." Dutchy proudly shared.
Specs and Hotshot along with everyone else cheered. Jack just shook his head grinning and ushered the three injured soldiers downstairs to clean up their wounds. Specs and Hotshot walked over to their bunks, each grabbing a set of clean clothes and went to the washroom to change. Specs sat down to read the days paper when he came out and Hotshot joined Race's nightly game of poker.
The next morning everyone saw Oscar and Maurice just as the three fighters had described them the previous night. A roar of laughter echoed through the place and everyone lingered an extra second to see the soaked scabs.
Specs and Hotshot were selling alone again that morning. They were supposed to meet Jack at Tibby's at noon. He wanted to introduce Hotshot to Medda but hadn't had a chance to yet. They found a spot that was not crowded with newsies and began yelling headlines. When Hotshot only had one paper left she walked around looking for someone to buy it. She stopped near an older man. "Buy me last pape, Sir?"
"Which one is it?" he asked, looking to see it was the world, "Ah, only sellin' the best."
"Yes sir." She fought to control her voice and was saved when Specs stepped up behind her.
"Mornin' Mista Pulitzer," he said coldly.
"Good morning," Pulitzer replied in the same cold voice. He handed Hotshot a nickel, never once looking at her face. "Keep the change." He turned and marched off. Specs smiled at knowing that the newsies still seemed to have some control over Pulitzer. He was too busy smiling triumphantly to notice Hotshot shaking nervously.
"Let's go," he said walking towards Tibby's. Hotshot knocked herself out of her daze and followed him. Jack, Les and David were seated around one of the smaller tables inside. Specs took the seat beside Jack and Hotshot pulled a chair between his and Les'. She smiled at the younger boy as he bit into a hot dog.
"I think Hotshot here just topped us all for sellin' ta the strangest person," Specs said.
Jack looked at her, "Who'd you's sell to."
"Pulitzer hisself." She grinned not showing a trace of the fear that had lingered only moments before.
Jack and David laughed and Jack pushed himself up from his chair. "So who's ready for a show at Medda's?" The other four dragged themselves to their feet at different paces and followed Jack down the street. Instead of taking the front door inside Jack took them around back and entered the backstage area.
A woman that seemed to be in her twenties was walking down the ramp in the back. "Ah, Kelly, where ya been?" she asked draping an arm around his shoulders.
He smiled, "Medda you remember Specs, David and Les."
"Good to see you again boys." She said smiling.
Jack pulled Hotshot forward. "Medda this is Hotshot, a newbie. Hotshot this is Medda, the Swedish Meadow Lark."
Medda smiled, "I heard you've been here a while kid. Jack how come you're just bringing him around now?"
Jack reached over and pulled off Hotshots cap, "Well she's tryin' to settle in and I ain't had any free time."
Medda's smile grew, "A goil newsie."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"This is wonderful. You're keeping these gentlemen in line I hope."
"A few black eyes," Hotshot said smiling.
The conversation lasted another couple minutes before Medda had to go back onstage. Jack led his friends over to the backstage viewing area. Jack and David were very interested in the show and Les was into his candy, which allowed Specs and Hotshot to sneak off and be alone for a while. They talked for a little while before Specs got up the courage to kiss her again.
* * *
"So why did you bring 'er here," Medda asked, "Does she need a job?"
"Jack shook his head, "Not a job, just a hiding place. If da bulls search the boarding house or whateva she's got ta have somewhere to run. She could work here if they were looking for her. Jus' for a few days. They wouldn't think ta look here. Wadda ya say Medda?"
"Of course she can stay here," Medda said, "When have I ever turned any of you away? The only question I have is what will she do?"
"She can dance an' sing, but I don' think you'd be able to get her to wear a dress." Jack smiled.
"Well if she can't do anything she can just hide in the extra room upstairs," Medda decided, "You boys had better get going."
Jack nodded and stood up. Calling out his friends' names he walked toward the door. All of them came from different directions. "Thanks Medda!" he shouted over his shoulder as they left. A chorus of replies from the others followed.
* * *
Jack pulled Hotshot aside when they reached the lodging house. He let the others go upstairs and made her sit down. "Alright, I was talkin' to Medda taday. If the bulls ever come here lookin' for ya you's gonna need someplace else ta stay for a few days. Medda said you could stay at her place. How's that sound?"
She shrugged, "It don' really matter jus' as long as I never go back ta me family. So if someone says the bulls are here go ta Medda's."
"Yeah, or if you see 'em snoopin' 'round here," he paused, "Spot neva told me what happened wit' your family an' Kid Blink said you was rememberin' the otha day." He leaned against the wall, "You wanna talk about it?"
She looked up and met his eyes, "It's not sumthin' I like ta remember, so I really don' like ta talk about it." As she spoke she let her eyes drift around the room. "As far as I'se concerned this is me family now an' they always have been."
Jack frowned figuring it must have been really bad if she was so against even thinking about it, "That's a common though around here." He said, "Now you'd better get upstairs to try ta get Race to swear off bettin'."
He was glad to see the smile that crossed her face, "That ain't possible."
"Well at least get up there and do some damage to that over inflated ego a his," he smiled.
She got up and walked up the stairs. She dropped to the floor between Race and Skittery. "Deal me in," she said. True to her promise she did a good amount of damage to Racetrack's ego. "C'mon ya Italian midget, hand ova me money." She said at the end of the night.
"Italian midget, don' call me that, I'll soak you!" As he turned in her direction she pulled out her slingshot and set in. As he was facing her directly all he saw was the wooden part of her slingshot. He ducked out of the way even though she didn't let go of the elastic. "Are you's tryin' ta kill me." He said pulling a few coins out of his pocket.
"Me," she asked innocently taking her winnings.
"How'd ya do?" Jack asked coming into the room.
"His ego's been deflated enough for one night." she smiled climbing into bed.
About halfway through the night a loud thud woke Hotshot up. She sat up in her bunk hitting her head on the bottom of Specs'.
"Damn!" she rubbed her head praying there wouldn't be a bruise there the next morning. She continued swearing in Spanish, English, and even some Dutch that Dutchy had taught her as she fumbled for her glasses and let her eyes adjust to the dark. When she could finally see she found Boots on the floor looking around in confusion. She got up and walked over to where he was laying, "You ok?"
He looked up at her with his chocolate brown eyes wide with fear. Sweat was glistening on his face and his shoulders shook uncontrollably. "There gonna get me," he gasped.
"Whoa!" she grabbed his shoulders, "It's ok Boots. Pal you're in the lodging house. You're safe here. I promise no one is gonna hurt you." As she said this she slid an arm around his shoulders trying to comfort him.
He seemed to calm down a little and take hold of his surroundings. Obviously he'd thought he was somewhere else when he woke up. "Oh my God," he moaned, "Not again."
"Are you ok Boots?" she asked quietly.
He nodded.
"Do you wanna go back to bed?"
He nodded again and began to climb back into bed. As he started doing so Jack, who had been awake the whole time, finally found himself awake enough to get up out of bed. Boots hitting his knee on the metal bunk may have been the reason he got up. "I'm comin' Boots," he said. This showed that he hadn't heard them talking.
When he got over to the bunk he looked at Hotshot and figured out what happened. "You's gonna be alright Boots?" he asked.
The younger newsie nodded and rolled over.
Jack pulled Hotshot out to the fire escape seeing the confused look on her face.
"What was that about?" she asked as Jack closed the window most of the way.
"Boots has nightmares occasionally." Jack said, "After he was born his parents was killed an' they sent him to an orphanage. The folks that run it would beat the kids if they did sumthin' wrong. If they didn't know who did it they'd pick one a the kids an' jus' beat 'im harder. They was real prejudice too. Since Boots is black they usually picked him outta all the kids (I don't mean to offend anybody. I'm just trying to show how unfair life was for different people back then). He's scared a goin' back there an' it gives hi awful nightmares."
Hotshot was shocked. Parts of her life had been somewhat similar to his, though obviously he had been hitten more brutally. "Poor kid," she whispered.
"Yeah, that's what the rest of us say too," Jack continued, "Jus' don' bring it up during the day or he gets real upset about it."
She nodded and began to open the window.
"Hotshot," At Jack's voice she turned around, "Don't say anything about this tomorrow, to anyone."
She nodded again and climbed inside.
Jack sat outside for a few more minutes thinking about everything and then carefully slid in the window and climbed back in his bed hoping there wouldn't be any more trouble for a few days.
The next morning everyone was up at their normal time. They met David and Les at the distribution station. Les was complaining about how he'd lost his toy sword. "David thinks I left it on the roof but I didn't have time to check before we left," he told Boots.
Hotshot smiled, Les was never seen without the little wooden sword that he liked to swing around. She pulled the ever-present slingshot out of her pocket and walked over to them. "Here Les, why don't you borrow this today," she said holding it out to him.
Les' eyes lit up, "Really, thanks Hotshot." He accepted the new weapon from her and smiled widely up at his older brother.
"Sure, David or Jack can teach you guys how to use it an' you can just send it back with Jack tonight." (By the way she taught a few other newsies to use a slingshot) She threw a few coins up to Specs to buy papers.
"Alright," Les said gripping it tightly as he and Boots ran off to show their other friends.
Specs walked down the ramp and draped an arm around her shoulder in a friendly way, not the way most buys did to their girlfriends. "C'mon, we's got papers to sell." He said dragging her off.
The day's headlines were good enough that they didn't have to exaggerate, much. They had sold all of them easily by mid-afternoon. Mush and Skittery walked with them a little out of boredom.
When all the papers were sold and they were heading back to the lodging house Specs glanced at his pocket watch. "I'll meet you back at the lodging house tonight. I'se gotta go help Sarah study."
"Alright," she said.
He turned and kissed her quickly making sure no one saw. Then he waved walking down the street in the direction of the Jacobs' house.
Hotshot smiled and watched him go. When he was out of sight she continued to walk back to the lodging house. It was quicker to go through the alleys so she began to walk that way. It was starting to get dark making it more dangerous to take them but she felt as safe here as she had in Brooklyn so she figured she could protect herself. She walked past a pile of crates to hear a whisper. That sound stopped her in her tracks for a split second before her reflexes told her to run. The split second was what caused her to get caught.
A hand caught a tight grip on her arm. "Ain't that cute," Oscar drawled, "Four eyes and little miss tough stuff here are dating."
She immediately pulled out of his grip and reached for her back pocket. Realizing that her slingshot wasn't there she looked up again to see her two attackers standing there smiling.
"You know, I've been hearing rumors," Maurice said, "A bunch a people are saying that you don't fight as good as you say you do."
She kept her face blank trying not to show the fear that was screaming inside her head. She wanted to run but was cornered against the wall. She could have taken them on if someone else was there but not by herself. Maybe she could fit through the space between them and get back to the lodging house. She decided to try and ran at full speed into the space between them. She got by, but before she could get to the end of the alley one of them tackled her.
Their fists began to pound her body, painfully. She rolled onto her back trying to get away or at least fight them off. She got in a few good punches before Oscar pulled her hands behind her back. She kicked out at his older brother and was rewarded with a swift kick in the stomach. She held them off as long as she could but it was useless to fight. After a few moments she found the edges of her vision graying and gave in to the darkness that surrounded her.
Long after she had passed out they beat on her. Only when they were sure she was hurt enough did Maurice pick her up and carry her to the park. He placed her on the ground half hidden by a bush making it nearly impossible to see her. He smiled at his brother and they walked off.
Specs got back from the Jacobs' fairly early that evening. It was already dark but there was more than an hour until curfew. He walked up to the bunkroom where everyone was sitting around a large game of poker. Race and Jack were in a battle and neither seemed willing to back down. "Kill 'im Jack," he said encouraging his friend.
Jack looked up at him and frowned when he didn't see Hotshot. "Uh Specs, where's Hotshot?"
"I had to go over to the Jacobs' earlier. She came back her on her own." Specs said looking around the room to point her out. He and Jack realized at the same time that she wasn't there. Jack dropped his cards, revealing that he would have beaten Racetrack and Specs' jaw dropped.
"Did any of you's see her back here today?" Jack asked everyone.
No one could report that they had seen her.
"She's got her slingshot though," Specs said, "She can protect herself with that.
Jack pulled the slingshot out of his back pocket; "No she lent it to Les today."
Specs' stomach seemed to twist into knots. She was out at night alone and she didn't have any form of protection.
His thoughts were interrupted by Jack yelling to everyone to get into groups of two or three for a search. Jack was searching with Racetrack and Kid Blink, and Specs was with David. Those as well as the other groups set off in the direction that she would have come back from.
Specs was checking the alleys knowing that she was used to walking home that way. Jacks group was searching the streets around the square and the park.
"Jack, c'mere," Kid Blink hissed.
Jack ran over to where Blink was standing at the park's entrance. A completely serious face replaced the smile that was usually on Blink's face. "I think I found her," he said. He led Jack and Racetrack to the bushes where she was laying in the grass, obviously beaten and unconscious. Jack rolled the girl onto her back to find out it was their friend.
"Kid, go get David and Specs. Don't act all nervous about it 'cause you'll worry them." Jack wasn't asking he was ordering. "An' Racetrack try to find some a the others."
As his friends took off Jack began to wipe some of the blood from her face using the red handkerchief that he had tied around his neck. Race came back with a group of them who gathered around. "Who was it?" Race asked.
Jack's eyes blazed angrily, "The Delancy's." He clenched his teeth and took a few deep breaths.
Specs came running up and tried to push through the crowd. "Get outta me way!" he was yelling frantically to his friends. They all cleared a path for him and let him get next to Jack. Specs' face paled and he dropped to his knees. "Please tell me she ain't dead."
"No," Jack said, "But we need to get her to a doctor."
"I'll kill those Delancy bruthas." Specs cursed. He got up to do what he promised.
Jack grabbed his shoulders, "Not now." He turned to everyone else and began giving orders. Dutchy carried her back to the boarding house and they put her in one of the private rooms instead of the bunkroom.
Again Jack realized he needed to give more orders, "Snipeshooter, an' Skittery go get the doctor. Specs go down to the pier in Brooklyn an' get Spot. Tell 'im it's urgent."
The three newsies scurried off in different directions. Kloppman too was yelling a few orders to clean up her wounds and make her more comfortable. Within the next ten minutes the doctor came and by the end of his examination and bandaging Spot and Specs were there too.