"Ya want ta try ya hand at sellin' wit' us?" Sli offered when she woke me up the next morning.
After grunting and groaning that it was "way too frickin' early" (I'd reformed my lack of obscene phrases only just a slight bit by then) I told her, "I guess it won't hurt to try." I rolled out of bed and grabbed a hairbrush. "I don't think I'll be too good though," I warned.
"Don' worry 'bout it. Only four newsies sold well da foist day: Jack, Spot, Gray, an' our own Sli. Notice somethin'? Dose are da leadahs of da boroughs 'roud heah. Generally, we woiked hard as hell for da numbah's we sell every day," Fingers said. I couldn't tell if I should be reassured or worried that I wouldn't sell a single paper.
"It's that hard, eh?" I asked, concern evident in my voice.
"Yeah, but don' worry, Race'll help ya, as long as da two of ya keep ya hands off each uddah long enough ta sell," she teased.
"Did I heah me name?" Race said as he emerged from the doorframe. Shrieks of protest arose as many of the girls had yet to dress, myself included.
"Get out of here, Race," I said, hiding behind a bunk. "I only have a short slip on."
"I really don' mind," Race joked, and I supposed that if I could see him I would have caught more than a glimpse of his signature sexy grin. Before I had a chance to protest – or button another shirt for that matter – he had his arm on either side of me, pushing me against the bunk. "Well, I definitely picked da right goil," he muttered, looking over my barely covered body before kissing me loftily.
I fumbled with the buttons on the shirt. "Race, I like you and all, but I don't think I'm ready to do this with you. Or anyone for that matter."
"I wasn't tryin' ta do nothin'. Jus' jokin' around. I told ya before, I respect ya wishes." He hastily kissed my cheek and left the room, promising to wait outside the door for me. I emerged a moment later, fully dressed, to be greet with, "I think ya looked bettah before."
"Glad to know you like me as more than just a pretty little thing to stare at," I said.
"I do," he said sincerely. He muttered it again softly, so that I could only just hear him, "I do, I do."
"I know you do. Thank you for waiting, I know this isn't exactly your style."
"Jus' know dat da offah always stands," he said with his patented smirk. I laughed as we approached the Manhattan distribution office.
"What ya so excited about?" I could hear Jack's commentary as we walked over to the group.
"Jack, dat's me sistah ya talkin' about. Dat just ain't right," Michael said, hitting Jack in a brotherly way.
Slider walked up from behind us and locked her arms protectively around his waist. This image brought Fire & Pie back to my mind. I scanned the crowd and saw the two of them talking. 'My work here is done,' I told myself happily.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Firecracker asked when she noticed me staring at the two of them.
"No, no, save it for your papes," I joked. She shrugged it off, obviously not getting the humor, and turned back to Pie-Eater.
"Ready to sell?" Race asked once he had bought the papers.
"I guess so," I said nervously, causing him to laugh and reassure me that everyone is bad their first day.
"What about Jack, Spot, and Sli?" I asked, having already forgotten the name of the other boy.
"Well, dere's dem. An' Gray. But I only sold ten me foist day, and Mush barely made fifteen. Blink was slower, I think he clocked a grand total of five. Had ta eat it latah though, an' dat sucked," he told me, before whipping out a paper. He started hawking headlines, yelling, "Member of Governor's Family Dead: Moider Suspected."
"Can I see the real headline?" I asked when the flock of buyers had come and gone.
"Governor's Dog Dies Of Food Poisoning?" I questioned. He grinned proudly. "Let me try," I said, scanning the headlines. "Umm.. Lack Of Production Causing Hunger!" I shouted uneasily. Only one man walked over to buy a paper.
"You're really bad, ya know dat?" Racetrack teased.
"Shouldn't a boyfriend be supportive of his girl/" I asked, pretending to be upset.
"Not if its da truth," he teased. "Care ta try again?"
"Sure," I said hastily. "Goods Not Being Produced: People Starving!" I shouted, drawing two other people. "Not exactly prime results, eh?"
"It ain't a good headline day, you might do bettah on a different day," he encouraged. "For now, let's go meet up wit' da boys and goils at da Greeley statue."
I nodded in agreement and we headed towards the statue that, according to Jack at least, had been the site of most of the key moments of the strike the boys were always talking about.
"How'd ya do?" Michael asked as I walked up with Race. I noticed his gaze drifting to Race's arm, which was draped around my shoulders, before shaking his head and looking away.
"Not too great," I said, holding up the stack that had previously been a stack of ten, that still contained seven papers. "I sold the amazing amount of . . . three papers!" I said sarcastically.
"Well, only three newies -- " he started.
"Did well their first day. You, Slider, Jack and Gray," I finished for him. "Is that your only story?" I asked.
"Of course not! We also have the story of . . . umm . . . what are we talking about again?" a taller brunette boy commented, looking around in a confused manner.
"Ah, pipe down, Skitts. Sure we got different stories, we gots all of our stories of how we got heah, or name stories, not ta mention dose from da strike," Racetrack answered my original question.
"So I heard." I laughed. "Anyway, anything on the agenda tonight?"
"Well," Jack said thoughtfully. "We've already been to Irving Hall, an' a group of us wanted ta get tagether in a few days ta watch anuddah one, so I think we's all cleared out."
"Sorry ta be breakin' up dis little party, but we bettah be headin' back ta Brooklyn, Alex," Michael said, grabbing my arm and dragging me off in the direction of his true home.
We reached Brooklyn in general silence, except for the choruses of "Heya Spot!" from everyone my brother knew. Which, apparently, was everyone in the entire city of New York. A couple of frivolous young ladies smiled at him, but noticed me and backed off, getting the wrong impression.
"Will ya back off a bit? Ya scarin' off da ladies," he told me, waving to the girls and trying to re-attract their attention.
"Have you forgotten the mother of your child?" I asked him, loudly enough for everyone around us to hear.
"So, sure Sli's good for some fun every once in a while, but she don' want me an' I ain't embarrassin' meself by pushin' da relationship," he said softly, the ladies forgotten for the moment.
"How do you know she doesn't want more?"
"She just don'. Trust me on dat one. Aftah dese three yeahs of havin' a child tagethah she don' make any move ta make somethin' outta it. I'se tellin' ya now an' ya ain't evah gonna heah it again. Havin' a baby with someone makes it woise for da relationship. Jus' remembah dat if ya evah tempted. All right?"
I looked at him, not sure what to say. All I could do was nod my head. I wasn't sure what to think, but I never forgot that advice, whether my later actions proved that or not.
Shoutouts- Way way way too tired for shout-outs!!
A/N: All right, here's the deal. I started another story (I know, I know) called Voyage in America so check that out. WUAS is still on hiatus while I work on the next chapter, which will be freakishly long so be excited. Tomorrow they are going to perform oral surgery on me so I'll be under the influence of anesthesia for a long part of the day and probably not able to write.
Everyone whose stories I read- UPDATE!! PLEASE!! I NEED SOMETHING TO READ!!
Peace and love for Dominic,
Spark Higgins