Part 6
The place: Manhattan Newsboys Lodging House
The time: the morning following Jack & Co.'s visit to Brooklyn
The situation: waking up four cranky teenage girls who haven't changed clothes for two days straight, and have slept in these same clothes for the past two nights
Skittery had had his doubts about these girls in the House, but after seeing them sell the previous day, most of his doubts had vanished. They were actually pretty decent sellers. Not fantastic, but decent enough to survive. Add to that the fact that they were just hilarious when they wanted to be, and it was enough to lighten even his spirits.
This morning, he listened as they tried to convince Jack to let them use the washroom. Skittery gave them credit for trying, but that washroom was male only in the mornings. There was just no other way about it.
It was obvious from the way they were grinning that some of the other boys had heard the "confrontation" as well. The most vocal participant was probably Ivy. This surprised none of them overly much. Ever since that first night, she seemed to have taken on the role of arguing for the girls against Jack, or whomever else stood in their way.
Skittery turned back to washing his face in the sink, ignoring the sounds form the doorway. As such, he was surprised when Luna and shorthaired Jill took up places on either side of him. "Wha' da Hell?" Jill nodded her head in the direction of the doorway, where jack and Ivy could still be heard arguing.
"We got tired of waiting for them to stop," Luna said matter-of-factly. The boys near them starting laughing as they went back to their morning routines.
The other Jill emerged from one of the toilets stretching. "Hey Jill," she called to her friend, "do you have anything that'll fit me? These jeans are a bitch to sleep in."
"I might, want me to go check now?"
"Could you? I'd love you forever."
"Of course hon! Just let me sneak back past Ivy and Jack and I'll get back to you on that." Ivy's sister then left the washroom. She returned a few minutes later with a pair of gray trousers that said Carlynton Track and Field on them. She threw them to the other Jill, who caught the sweatpants and yelled "Thanks!"
"They might be a little dirty from track practice."
They're better than these jeans."
"Okay. If that doesn't bother you then be my guest. Be. Our. Guest. Be our guest. Put our service to the test. Tie a napkin 'round your neck cherie as we provide the rest!"
Luna sighed and shook her head. "What did I tell you about singing Disney songs?"
"Ummm…"
"Never mind. You are a hopeless cause."
"I know!" Little Jill was grinning rather widely by now, and seemed more than a bit hyper.
Race looked between the two Jills and sighed. "Y'know, we need ta give one o' ya a nickname or somethin' so's we'se can tell ya apart." The washroom turned thoughtful.
Luna looked at her coworker. "I don't know if you want to be called Artemis here or if you want us to come up with a new name."
Little Jill grinned. "A new name, I think. Artemis is for camp, and online. I need something else. Jill, you don't mind if we give me the nickname, do you?"
"Oh no, you can take it. Though it would be kinda fun, you're more used to it."
The room was mostly silent as they tried to think of a name. Then a shout was heard from the girls' room.
"Jill! How many freaking books to you have in here??"
The sister of the one yelling smiled sheepishly. "Um, not enough?" she yelled back to Ivy.
Racetrack laughed. "Dat's it! We'll call ya Books! Makes sense, don't it?"
Ivy then walked into the washroom. Despite their searching looks, none of the boys could see Jack anywhere. Ivy noticed and grinned. "He's a bit…preoccupied boys," she said. "Hey Jill!"
Both Jills turned to look at her.
"My sister, I meant. How come Jill gets your sweatpants and I don't? Don't I deserve something for being related to you?"
"No. If you want something, you can go raid my bag for it."
"Okay then!" Ivy dashed out of the washroom. The newly christened Books shook her head.
"Sisters," she muttered. Jill and Luna laughed.
"Hey, at least I don't have to deal with mine here," Jill said.
"Me either," was Luna's reply.
Books turned to Jill. "Dude, you and Jaime would kill each other!"
Jill laughed. "Yeah, we probably would." Ivy made her next entrance. There was still no sign on Jack.. The tiny blond held up a pair of pants.
"Race, can I wear these?" Racetrack almost choked when he saw that she had grabbed his smallest pair of pants that really didn't fit him anymore but he'd kept anyway. The other boys laughed at his expression.
"I guess so," he said, still a bit flustered that she'd gone through his clothes.
"Sweet!" Ivy disappeared into one of the toilet stalls to change her pants.
**************
Arrival at the Distribution Center was preceded by finding Jack nursing wounds in the corner of the bunkroom. Questions weren't asked, though answered were most definitely inferred. Davey was waiting for the group from the Lodging House, keeping a firm hold on Les until they were in sight. Once Les was let loose, he sprinted to the girls. Books picked him up and spun him around. Jack and Race proffered raised eyebrows while Specs just shrugged it off. Les always became a favorite of any girls in the group.
Upon lowering Les to the ground, Books approached David and gave him a hug and an overly cheery "Morning Dave!"
Davey grunted at the force of her hug. "Morning Jill."
"Nuh-uh," she said, waving a finger at him, "it's Books now." She winked behind her at the group.
Itey turned to Snitch. "She soah is actin it up, ain't she?" he muttered. Snitch was almost too busy glaring daggers at David to notice, but he did.
"So?" he asked defensivele.
"Nuttin, jus' t'inkin' mebe she should be on stage."
Snitch gave it some thought. "Mebe we'se can ask Medda tanight."
Meanwhile, the group had moved into the center and the Newsies were starting to get their papes. The girls each only took a dozen papers and stood to one side to look at the headlines and, more importantly, the articles themselves. Jill, scanning the paper, snorted in disgust.
"God, I could write better stories that this! Hell, I know I can!" The other girls nodded, knowing of Jill's massive collection of original and historical fiction that might never see the light of day outside her room, but was all excellently written.
"Do you really think so?" The voice from behind them scared the shit out of the girls. A middle-aged man in a black suit with white-ish hair stood there looking at them with interest.
"Yeah, I do." Jill's voice was a little shaky but confident. The man looked at her appraisingly.
"Very well," he said. "I'm Seitz, Mr. Pulitzer's assistant. I'm hiring you to write news stories for the New York World, starting today. We expect the articles in by midnight tonight." He handed her a card. "Use this to get paid for your work." Seitz waked into the World building, leaving several stunned Newsies standing in the street.
"Okay then," Jill said in the stunned silence. "I need someone to walk with me back to the Lodging House so I can get my notebook and start reporting."
Mush stepped forward. "I'se'll go wit' ya," he said. Jill smiled as she looked into his brown eyes and started to blush a little.
That blush only deepened as Ivy called after them, "You two had better behave yourselves while we're not there!" Mush noticed her discomfort and hurried them along slightly faster. The pair walked in more-or-less silence each thinking their own thoughts.
The day before, Mush had sold with Ivy, and the pair had flirted outrageously throughout the day. It wasn't that either had any real interest in the other; they were just flirting for the fun of it, and both knew it. At the moment, however, Mush was noticing just how different Jill and Ivy were. Jill tended to be quiet, prefering to listen rather than talk, though she made some pretty funny jokes.
Jill, for her part, was wondering what the hell was exactly going on between Ivy and Mush. She believed that if Ivy were truly interested in Mush, she herself would back off. Not that she had very far to back off of, as she hadn't really staked any kind of claim on him…and wow, that sounded a bit obsessive. Jill shook her head, feeling her confidence rising as it always did around cute guys. That was definitely not good. Definitely not good.
They reached the Lodging House without any real incident. They could hear Kloppman upstairs somewhere and they proceeded to ignore him as they went to the girls' room. Jill went immediately to her bookbag, thanking whatever gods were listening that she'd kept her school stuff with her that day. She grabbed the notebook labeled Meteorology/Science Trends out of her bag as well as her pencil(1) while Mush was standing somewhat awkwardly in the doorway. Jill stuck the pencil in the spiral binding of the notebook and shoved the notebook under her arm with her papes.
"Let's go sell," she said to Mush, and the pair headed out the door.
*********************
Meanwhile, Snitch had grabbed Books and they went to his normal selling spot. Snitch had discovered the previous day that Books was good with coming up with synonyms for the headlines, not that he knew what the word synonym meant. He just knew that Books was excellent for rewording headlines, and he took full advantage of it.
They laughed as they walked through New York. Even though it was her second day, Books was still a bit awed by the city.
"It's only my second time here ever," she protested when Snitch started laughing. "Last time the city was really different, seeing as how it was a hundred years in the future." That got Snitch wondering.
"What's it like, in da fuchur?"
Books' face became serious as she wondered just how much she should, or could, tell him. The layout of the city, she figured, shouldn't harm him too much.
"It's really, really crowded. New York's one of the most densely populated cities in the world, next to Tokyo I think. The buildings are huge, sometimes over a hundred stories tall. And it's a mess to get around in, especially as a visitor."
"Sounds intr'estin'," was all he'd say on the subject. Books raised an eyebrow in response, but Snitch didn't take the bait and instead turned his attention to selling papers. Books followed his lead, using her wide vocabulary to their mutual advantage.
****************
Luna had immediately latched on to Jack's arm and insisted on going selling with him. He sighed, realizing that there was no way out of it, and took her with David, Les, and himself. The group ended up near Irving Hall and decided to take a break and see Medda in order to forewarn her of the night's expectations.
Introductions went well, and upon hearing that the girls were staying at the Lodging House Medda insisted that they get themselves ready right at her place in the back. What sold Luna was the prospect of "shaking a tower"(2) as she put it, though most would call it "taking a shower." Luna thanked Medda profusely and promised to tell the other girls. When she brought appropriate clothing, Jack said he had it covered.
"Some o' me boys 'ave goils who woik da fact'ries an' are willin' ta loan you'se some clothes foah tanight."
*******************
Ivy, for once, was at a loss for what to do as she watched her friends and sister walk off. Making up her mind, however, she decided to spend the day with Race. What better payment, she thought, for loaning a pair of pants than for her to come and help him sell his papers.
Racetrack's opinion of the matter was one of indifference, though it soon changed to appreciation once they reached Sheepshead Bay. Ivy, it seemed, had a talent for drawing attention to herself, and Race leaped upon the opportunity. She was not only a good-looking girl, but a talented gymnast, and she played on that. By the time the day was through, she and Race had easily sold all of their papes and laughingly hitched a ride back to the city on the back of a carriage.
********************
They were supposed to meet Spot at seven-ish. That meant, of course that the girls had to leave by at least five-thirty if they all wanted to primp themselves. Specs, Dutchy, Skittery, and David were kind enough to ask the women in their lives to loan these strange young women some clothing for the night, and the clothes were accepted with much grace as they dashed out the door to Medda's.
Once there, Ivy, Jill, and Books were introduced to the Vaudeville star and she ushered them upstairs to the washroom. "Now," Medda explained, "there are two tubs with warm water waiting for you. I'll be up periodically to check on you, so be good."
It was decided that Ivy and Jill would have the first round of washing, and Books and Luna the second. They were left in peace until, while Books was bathing, Medda arrived to see how they were coming along. Books, it just happened, was a shower-singer.
"Goodness child!" Medda exclaimed. "Would you be willing to sing like that on stage? I'm always looking for new talent."
"I guess so…" Books was a little unsure about performing by herself, and the Swedish singer noticed.
"Is there anyone you'd want to perform with hon?"
A more than slightly evil glint entered her eyes. "My sister Ivy, if you don't mind. She's a pretty good singer too." Medda failed to notice the look in Books' eyes.
"Sure hon, if she's willing."
Ivy, it turned out, wasn't exactly thrilled, but she knew it was better than being a Newsie for a living. God only knew how long they were going to be in the past, so they might as well make the most of it. The sisters explained to Medda that they could both, in a way, dance, and that Ivy was a gymnast. Medda made them promise to stop sometime that week to work out a schedule, and then left them to the remainder of their preparations.(3)
******************
The boys, needless to say, were waiting anxiously inside Irving Hall for the girls to show. When they finally arrived, the boys were impressed. Not that the girls were dressed in anything extravagant, but just that they were dressed like…well, girls. Everyone took their seats at a circular table, Ivy between Mush and Itey, Jill between Mush and Blink, Luna between Jack and Race, and Books between Jack and Snitch, who was right next to Itey. Ivy, through some twist of fate, was sitting with her back to the entrance.
It was Books who voiced something that had been bothering the girls. "There're two extra seats here. I thought we were just meeting Spot?"
Jack grinned. "Spot's bringin' a guest of soits," he said nonchalantly. Jill looked at Books and shrugged.
"Okay, I guess."
Before long, Jack, sitting across from Ivy, noticed the door open and Spot Conlon enter. His guest, however, spotted the table first, and with a cry of "Ahvie!" threw herself at Ivy. The two girls were knocked to the floor with Ivy groaning and Heather giggling like a maniac.
"Oh God, not you too!" Ivy's moan caused Jill, Luna, and Books to break their astonished stares and burst into giggles, though Books' with a bit more condescending head shaking than one would have thought was necessary.
By this time Spot had reached them. "So, goil, whatcha' gotta hold ah heah?" he asked Heather, smirking.
Heather shot him a Look, but made the introductions. "This is my cousin Ivy, and that's my cousin Jill." She would have continued but was interrupted by Books.
"Hey, dorkface, it's Books now."
Heather groan and rolled her eyes. "I don't even want to know, though I could probably guess. Anyway, that's my friend Jill, and another friend Luna." Spot nodded his hellos as his eyes took in the unusual seating arrangements. It had just happened that he and Heather were to be situated between Race and Blink. He grabbed Heather's arm and moved around the table so as to sit her next to Race and himself next to Blink.
The conversation was lively throughout the small meal and the show. Heather was revealed to have "blond moments" more often than her blond cousins, causing Books to call her an idiot several times. This, in turn, caused Jill and Luna to start laughing. The girls, however, soon lost the boys as they started a conversation about school and other things from back home. The boys looked at each other, and then in unison slapped a hand over the nearest girl's mouth.
Two seconds later, Jack yelped in pain as Luna bit his hand. Hard. This caused everyone else to start chuckling, distracting the boys enough so that the girls could remove the offending hands. Conversation started back up, and Books brought up a point.
"I need to talk to Medda sometime this week," she said, taking a mental note. Snitch looked at her curiously.
"Why'se dat?" he asked. Books tried to act nonchalant, but it didn't quite work.
"'Cause she offered me and Ivy jobs." Several approving looks were sent their way. Heather pouted.
"Why don't I get a job?" she whined proficiently. This time it was Spot's turn to give her the Look.
"'Cahs you'se a Newsie wit me," he proclaimed almost regally. Ivy and Jill shared an amused look, wondering what the Hell Heather had gotten herself into with him.
It was not long after this that Medda herself visited the table. She greeted the boys with smiles and winks and the girls with hugs after being introduced to Heather. The festivities lasted for an awfully long time, and when Spot finally checked the time, he realized that it would be practically murder to try to make it back to Brooklyn.
"Ehy, Jack, ya got any extry beds at da House?" Jack looked up from his conversation with Race, who had switched seats with Luna.
"Yeah, why?"
"'Cahs we'se stayin heah tanight," came Spot's reply. The girls looked at each other and began, as a group, to grin maniacally. The party broke up and they made the dangerous trek back to the Lodging House. On the way they stopped by the World building so that Jill could drop off her first assignment and receive her first payment. It totaled about two dollars, and the boys gave her slightly envious glares as they continued home. Kloppman was, surprisingly, waiting up for them, though most of the rest of the House was already I bed, if not asleep. He handed the girls some extra blankets and everyone disappeared to their respective rooms.
The girl's conversations lasted long into the night, and they laughed about things from home. They discussed definite fears, and thoughts on going home.
"I don't know if we will," Books voiced.
"I don't know if I want to," was Luna's opinion.
Heather's turn next. "How much time will have passed? I mean, we've already been here for about 3 days, has three days passed at home too?"
This caused some thought. Books voiced the Fushigi Yuugi theory, and this caused Ivy to wonder if they'd transfer between times at all. All in all, it was a night for thought, and by the time they fell asleep, their thoughts were heavy with speculation.
Jill always uses this one mechanical pencil, and she's really anal retentive about it. Shaking a tower is camp slang for taking a shower. It's a sort-of code that we use frequently.A/N: Well, I think that ended on a crappy note, but everyone else here is happy that this is so long. Which is also why this took so long to get out. ^_^;; Some other random notes here include Heather leaping on Ivy (they really do this at home) and Heather originally wanted me to give her a "Mary Poppins bag" in which she could stuff all sorts of things. That got shot down in the planning stages, though Heather gave me a really funny look when it did. ^_^ I'm such a mean younger sister. ^_~ The Fushigi Yuugi theory of time travel involves the fact that time moves differently in the two places, controlled by some outside force. Also, I'm trying to give all the girls equal time, and if it seems like I'm favoring anyone, tell me please!
Shout-outs:
Cynic: Glad you like it still! ^_^ You and Jaede crack me up with your joint reviews.
Jaede: Thanks for the encouragement! I luffle you muchly!
Dreamer: Yay for a new reviewer! To me at least. ^_^;; I'm so glad you like it, it really means a lot to me.
Lil Rain Angel: Oh yes, Snitch goodness must be preserved, and I fully intend on some of that goodness, though probably a bit angsty too. I have plans for that boy. ^_~ And yes, singing like that kicks much arse.
Review, I ask you!
