AN: Hey everyone! Thanks for the reviews. Without further ado, here's the second chapter!
"It's time to get up, boys! Skittery! Ya lazy bum! Get outta that bed!"
I groaned and half rolled over, trying to ignore Kloppman's shouts. My body didn't feel like getting up…in fact, my body didn't feel like doing much of anything. But I had to sell papes, or I wouldn't be able to afford tonight's rent.
I jumped down from the bunk only to discover that my entire body was trembling and my knees were weak. I felt myself sway and start to fall, but I quickly caught myself on the bedpost. I noticed the concerned look on Mush's face right away.
"You okay, Skitts?"
I opened my mouth to speak as I let go of the bed and took two steps toward the washroom, but I couldn't seem to form words. The room was spinning, out of control, and I barely felt it as Kid Blink caught me in mid-fall.
"Somebody help me get him on a bed!" I heard him say, and through the haze that seemed to cover the whole room I saw Mush grab one leg and Jack grab the other, lifting me ever so slowly onto Race's bunk.
"I'm fine, guys…" I managed to mutter, much to their amusement. I then realized that the room had become fiery hot in a matter of seconds.
Shit. I was sick.
I slipped back into unconsciousness, and when I woke up, all the newsies were gone except for Mush. He was sitting by my bed, reading the morning paper. He noticed that I was awake, and helped me sit up before handing me a glass of water.
"Welcome back to da land of da livin'." He joked as I sipped at the cool liquid.
"I don't feel like I'm livin'…"
"Obviously."
He took the water from me and set it aside as I dropped back to the pillow. Then he picked the newspaper back up and began giving me a summary of today's articles.
"And there's this big to-do over at Irving Hall. Somethin' about some kid who played piano and ran off right aftah he preformed. They even got da bulls on da lookout for him."
"What?!"
I snatched the paper out of his hands and read the article as fast as I could with my limited reading skills. I couldn't understand the whole thing, but I got the basic jist of it.
They called me 'one of a kind'. Stunning. Spectacular. A prodigy of the arts. And they were still looking for me.
"What's wrong, Skitts? It's just a dumb article."
I looked at my pocket watch. It was 11:30. I could still make it to my lesson on time if I left now. I pushed myself up and then shakily stood, much to Mush's dismay.
"Lay back down! You're gonna pass out again!"
"Mush, I have to go." I said, and then I fished my last quarter out of my pocket and shoved it into his hand. "Dat's for da sellin' you missed this morning."
He stood up and grabbed onto my sleeve. "I can't accept this…and you can't just get up and leave!"
I wrenched my sleeve away from his grip, and then I smiled. "Watch me."
I didn't even care that I was wearing the same clothes that I had been in yesterday. I walked out the door, trying to keep my footsteps steady and ignore the feeling of nausea rising in me. I had to talk to Medda; this was getting out of hand.
It took longer than usual to get there, but I felt like I was gaining strength and I walked in at noon on the dot. I was shocked to find at least seven or eight reporters crowded around Medda, who was obviously soaking up the attention.
"And there's the man of the hour!" she exclaimed when she saw me, and the reporters were on me in an instant. A million questions were being thrown at me at once, and I looked at Medda helplessly. She pushed through them, and then yelled, "Alright, that's enough! I have a lesson to give! Toby, escort these people out."
It took a few minutes to get them to leave, and once they were gone I sighed with relief, sinking into the nearest chair. Medda kneeled in front of me, and then reached up and put the back of her hand to my forehead.
"You're burning up, Skittery. Are you okay?"
"Yeah…I'm fine."
"You saw the article, didn't you?"
I nodded, and she reached into her purse and pulled out a small brown bag. "I meant to give this to you last night, but you left before I had the chance."
I hesitated before taking it, considering I had no idea what was in it. It was heavier than it looked, and when I looked inside, I could understand why.
It was filled with money. Bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, pennies…there had to be at least fifty dollars in that little bag.
"Medda…this is…"
She didn't give me a chance to finish, and I wasn't sure I could've anyway. "That's the donations that the audience put in after the show last night for you. That's your pay. That's more than I make in a week's worth of shows, and you made it in one hour."
I shook my head fiercly. "I can't take this…"
"Why not?"
"I just…oh, God…" I muttered, shoving the bag back into Medda's hands and running for the bathroom. The sick feeling had just overtaken me again- I'd never had that much money handed to me in my life, especially not with the giver saying it was all mine. This was crazy.
"You alright, kid?" Medda asked from the doorway as I leaned over the toilet. She helped me get up and walk back to the chair, and I sat down with my head in my hands. "When you're ready, there's someone here to meet you."
I looked up slowly, trying to keep from pitching over and blacking out again. "Who?"
"I'll let him speak for himself." She said, moving aside so I could see a young businessman in a black suit and tie. He offered his hand for a handshake, but I ignored it, and he just let it fall, not perturbed by my lack of effort.
"My name is Renard. Renard Danken. I'm with the Board of Education here in New York. I loved your performance last night. You have a lot of talent in those hands, young man."
"Get to da point, mister."
"Alright. I talked to some of my fellow board members, and we all agree that you're something special. We don't want a young person like you to be wasted selling newspapers or working in a factory. So if you're willing, there's a family that was present last night that wants to adopt you, and the board wants to get you started in free schooling."
I couldn't speak. My heart had dropped into my feet, and my mouth had to be hanging somewhere near the floor.
"I…you're jokin', right? Dis is all a big joke…right, Medda?"
"No, Skitts. It's not a joke." She said, stroking my hair almost like my mother would've.
The man saw that I wasn't going to respond, so he decided to push the issue. "Just think, Michael. There's a family out there who wants to take you in. A warm bed…three meals a day…going to school…and we figured that you wouldn't want to leave your friends, so there's an added option."
"Yeah, what's that?"
"The couple has agreed that two is better than one, so you are welcome to pick one of your friends and bring them with you. Like having a brother. And he'd get the same schooling you would, the same opportunities, all for free. On top of that, if you take this offer, we'll provide funding for the lodging house. Your friends back there won't go hungry for a long time."
That changed things. At first it would've seemed cheap, leaving the guys at the drop of a hat. But now I had the chance to give one of them what they'd always wanted. I had the opportunity to save them from a life on the streets. And I a chance to help the lodging house, give all of them a better life.
A chance for them was a chance I couldn't pass up.
Medda must've thought that I was having trouble with the decision, even though I knew that there was only one choice I could make here. "It's the chance of a lifetime, Skitts."
I took a deep breath, thinking about how I was going to break this to the other guys…and just who I would pick to take with me. "Okay…I'll do it."
AN: I can't decide, people! I need your input! Which newsie should he take? Read, review, and help me out here!
